Systems and methods for transparent communication with bandwidth conservation and HTTP caching

A network component for processing object data requests generated by a client and directed to a server, the network component including an interface and being communicatively interposed between the client and the server, comprising:

• a request/response list for tracking requests and associated responses;
• a processor communicatively coupled to a memory and operative to execute instructions stored in the memory to:
• forward a request for object data to the server;
• receive a control message from a network node communicatively interposed between the client and the network component, the control message including an indication of one or more of a presence or status of object data located at the network node;
• update an entry in the request/response list that corresponds to the forwarded request in accordance with the indication included in the control message;
• receive a response from the server that includes object data requested by the client;
• make a determination whether to compress the object data included in the response in accordance with the updated entry in the request/response list;
• process the response in accordance with the determination;
• and
• forward the processed response to the network node.

A system for providing transparency between a client and a server in a communication network in which the bandwidth used for responses provided from the server to the client is reduced, comprising:

• a first network node that includes a transparent cache database;
• a second network node;
• the first and the second network nodes being communicatively interposed between the client and the server and being communicatively coupled to each other;
• the first network node being operative to forward a request for object data from the client to the server;
• the first network node being further operative to forward a control message to the second network node, the control message including an indication of one or more of a presence or status of the object data in relation to the transparent cache database;
• the second network node being operative to receive a response from the server that includes the requested object data;
• the second network node being further operative to make a determination whether to compress the object data received in the response from the server in accordance with the indication included in the control message;
• and
• the second network node being further operative to process the response in accordance with the determination and to forward the processed response to the first network node.

A method of a network component implemented by a processor executing instructions from a communicatively coupled memory to process object data requests generated by a client and directed to a server, comprising:

• receiving a request for object data generated by the client and directed to the server;
• making a first determination whether the requested object data is located in a transparent cache database;
• forwarding the request toward the server;
• forwarding a control message to a network node communicatively interposed between the network component and the server, the control message including an indication of the first determination;
• receiving a response from the network node that includes a representation of at least some of the object data;
• making a second determination whether the at least some of the object data is in a compressed state;
• processing the response to obtain the at least some of the object data in an uncompressed state based on the second determination using one or more of the representation in the response and the requested object data located in the transparent cache database;
• and
• forwarding the at least some of the object data in the uncompressed state to the client.

A method of a network component implemented by a processor executing instructions from a communicatively coupled memory to process object data requests generated by a client and directed to a server, comprising:

• forwarding a request for object data to the server;
• receiving, at the network component, a control message from a network node communicatively interposed between the client and the network component, the control message including an indication of one or more of a presence or status of object data located at the network node;
• updating an entry in a request/response list that corresponds to the forwarded request in accordance with the indication included in the control message;
• receiving a response from the server that includes object data requested by the client;
• making a determination whether to compress the object data included in the response in accordance with the updated entry in the request/response list;
• processing the response in accordance with the determination;
• and
• forwarding the processed response to the network node.

A network component for processing object data requests generated by a client and directed to a server, the network component being communicatively coupled between the client and the server, the network component comprising:

• a cache database;
• a memory;
• and
• a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and operative to execute instructions stored in the memory:
• to receive a request for specific object data from the client;
• to forward the request to a network node communicably coupled between the network component and the server;
• to make a determination as to whether corresponding object data is stored in the cache database;
• to forward, to the network node, a control message that includes a first indication of the determination;
• to receive, from the network node, a response to the request that includes at least some of the specific object data, the at least some of the specific object data being received at the network node from the server, the at least some of the specific object data having been compressed at the network node based on the first indication included in the control message;
• to decompress the at least some of the specific object data included in the response using the corresponding object data stored in the cache database;
• and
• to forward the at least some of the specific object data to the client.

A method of a network component implemented by a processor executing instructions from a memory to process requests for object data generated by a client and directed to a server, the network component including a cache database, the method comprising:

• receiving a request for specific object data from the client;
• forwarding the request to a network node communicably coupled between the network component and the server;
• making a determination as to whether corresponding object data is stored in the cache database;
• forwarding, to the network node, a control message that includes a first indication of the determination;
• receiving, from the network node, a response to the request that includes at least some of the specific object data, the at least some of the specific object data being received at the network node from the server, the at least some of the specific object data having been compressed at the network node based on the first indication included in the control message;
• decompressing the at least some of the specific object data included in the response using the corresponding object data stored in the cache database;
• and
• forwarding the at least some of the specific object data to the client.

A network component for processing requests for object data generated by a client and directed to a server, the network component being communicatively coupled between the client and the server, the network component comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and operative to execute instructions stored in the memory:
• to receive a request for specific object data from a network node communicatively coupled between the client and the network component;
• to forward the request to the server;
• to receive a control message from the network node, the control message including an indication of one or more of a presence and a status of corresponding object data cached at the network node;
• to receive, from the server, a response to the request that includes at least some of the specific object data;
• to make a determination as to whether to compress the at least some of the specific object data included in the response in accordance with the indication included in the control message;
• to process the at least some of the specific object data included in the response in accordance with the determination;
• and
• to forward the at least some of the specific object data to the network node.

A method of a network component implemented by a processor executing instructions from a memory to process requests for object data generated by a client and directed to a server, the method comprising:

• receiving a request for specific object data from a network node communicatively coupled between the client and the network component;
• forwarding the request to the server;
• receiving a control message from the network node, the control message including an indication of one or more of a presence and a status of corresponding object data cached at the network node;
• receiving, from the server, a response to the request that includes at least some of the specific object data;
• making a determination as to whether to compress the at least some of the specific object data included in the response in accordance with the indication included in the control message;
• processing the at least some of the specific object data included in the response in accordance with the determination;
• and
• forwarding the at least some of the specific object data to the network node.