Method and apparatus for content-aware web switching

An apparatus comprising:

• means for applying a particular label to packets comprising a TCP/HTTP connection from a forward proxy in front of an enterprise network, to a reverse proxy in front of a server farm network, said enterprise network having at least one client, said particular label being based on content to enable content-based switching, said means for applying including:
• means for forming a communication channel between the forward proxy and the reverse proxy;
• means for sending upon said communication channel a mapping of at least one MPLS label to future requested content from the reverse proxy to the forward proxy;
• and
• said forward proxy having:
• means for inspecting each request received from each client from said at least one client;
• and
• means for assigning the particular label to all outgoing packets comprising the TCP/HTTP connection generated to serve the request to an appropriate server in the server farm network;
• said reverse proxy having:
• means for reading said particular label on all incoming packets;
• and
• means for identifying content requested;
• means for switching based on said content said incoming packets to the appropriate server within said server farm, while maintaining transport layer connectivity.

A method comprising:

• while maintaining transport layer connectivity, applying a particular label to packets comprising a TCP/HTTP connection from a forward proxy in front of an enterprise network, to a reverse proxy in front of a server farm network, said particular label being based on content, said enterprise network having at least one client, including the steps of:
• forming a communication channel between the forward proxy and the reverse proxy;
• sending upon said communication channel a mapping of at least one MPLS label from the reverse proxy to the forward proxy;
• and
• said forward proxy:
• inspecting each request received from each client from said at least one client;
• and
• assigning the particular label to all outgoing packets comprising the TCP/HTTP connection generated to serve the request to an appropriate server in the server farm network, wherein all dissemination of labels is according to different attributes, including application layer attributes.

A method comprising:

• forming a communication channel between a forward proxy and a reverse proxy, said forward proxy being in front of an enterprise network, and said reverse proxy being in front of a server farm network,
• the reverse proxy reading a particular label on all incoming packets, said particular label being based on content to enable content-based switching, and
• based on said content switching said incoming packets to an appropriate server within the server farm network, while maintaining transport layer connectivity,
• wherein the forward proxy:
• applying the particular label to packets comprising a TCP/HTTP connection from the forward proxy to the reverse proxy, said enterprise network having at least one client, sent upon said communication channel a mapping of at least one MPLS label from the reverse proxy to the forward proxy;
• inspecting each request received from each client from said at least one client;
• and
• identifying content requested;
• assigning the particular label to all outgoing packets comprising the TCP/HTTP connection generated to serve the request to the appropriate server in the server farm network.

A method comprising:

• while maintaining transport layer connectivity, applying a specific port to packets comprising a Web request on a TCP/HTTP connection from a forward proxy in front of an enterprise network, said enterprise network having at least one client, to a reverse proxy in front of a server farm network, including the steps of:
• forming a communication channel between the forward proxy and the reverse proxy;
• sending upon said communication channel a mapping of at least one TCP Port number from the reverse proxy to the forward proxy;
• and
• said forward proxy:
• inspecting each request received from each client from said at least one client;
• and
• assigning said TCP port number to all outgoing packets comprising the TCP/HTTP connection generated to serve the request to an appropriate server in the server farm network;
• said reverse proxy:
• reading said TCP port number on all incoming packets;
• and
• replacing the TCP port number and IP address of the incoming packet with a port number of HTTP server and IP address of an appropriate server.

A method comprising:

• using MPLS labels for web switching, including the steps of:
• obtaining a set of labels at a forward proxy wherein each client Web request is mapped to a set of labels, said labels being based on content;
• applying a stack of said set of labels on packets comprising said client Web requests at said forward proxy;
• and
• based on said content switching said packets at the reverse proxy based on said label stack, while maintaining transport layer connectivity.

An apparatus serving as a forward proxy comprising:

• traditional forward proxy modules comprising:
• an HTTP proxy module which receives client Web requests, and can make connections to Web servers on behalf of clients, and
• a request inspector module to inspect said requests;
• further comprising:
• a label map which includes a mapping of client request to label or TCP port number;
• a set of labels wherein each client Web request is mapped to a set of labels, each of said labels being based on content;
• a label communicator module which receives said mapping from a reverse proxy and stores it in the label map;
• a label applicator module which applies a label stack to packets belonging to said requests in forming labeled requests;
• a means for forwarding said labeled packets to the reverse proxy, while maintaining transport layer connectivity.

A method comprising:

• using MPLS labels for web switching, including the steps of:
• encoding the set of labels in URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) embedded in Web pages sent to clients from Web servers
• extracting said set of labels in said URLs from client Web requests at a forward proxy, each of said labels being based on content;
• applying said set of labels on packets comprising said client Web requests at said forward proxy;
• and
• switching said packets at the reverse proxy based on said set of labels, while maintaining transport layer connectivity.

A method comprising:

• using TCP port numbers for web switching including the steps of:
• obtaining a set of port numbers at the forward proxy for use with client Web requests;
• using a port number from the said set of port numbers on packets comprising said client requests at said forward proxy based on content;
• and
• switching said packets at the reverse proxy based on said port number by replacing the IP address and said port number with a new IP address and port number, while maintaining transport layer connectivity.