WO2002100071A2 - Improvements in and relating to a distributed network - Google Patents
Improvements in and relating to a distributed network Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2002100071A2 WO2002100071A2 PCT/IB2002/001939 IB0201939W WO02100071A2 WO 2002100071 A2 WO2002100071 A2 WO 2002100071A2 IB 0201939 W IB0201939 W IB 0201939W WO 02100071 A2 WO02100071 A2 WO 02100071A2
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- resource
- address
- server
- query
- management
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L61/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
- H04L61/30—Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
- G06F16/90—Details of database functions independent of the retrieved data types
- G06F16/95—Retrieval from the web
- G06F16/955—Retrieval from the web using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
- G06F16/9566—URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L61/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
- H04L61/45—Network directories; Name-to-address mapping
- H04L61/4505—Network directories; Name-to-address mapping using standardised directories; using standardised directory access protocols
- H04L61/4511—Network directories; Name-to-address mapping using standardised directories; using standardised directory access protocols using domain name system [DNS]
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L61/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
- H04L61/45—Network directories; Name-to-address mapping
- H04L61/4552—Lookup mechanisms between a plurality of directories; Synchronisation of directories, e.g. metadirectories
Definitions
- the present invention relates to identifying and locating resources on a distributed network, particularly although not exclusively resources in the form of data streams.
- resources may be located anywhere there is storage capacity.
- resources may be moved between storage locations, replicated or even deleted.
- the lack of fixedness of resources within that structure increases the difficulty imposed on processes making use of those resources.
- URL Uniform Resource Locators
- Resources addressable using a URL include but are not limited to documents, files, images and the like.
- the URL points merely to the location of the resource, it is not synonymous with a filename and/or directory location at which the resource is instantiated such as a physical data stream, for example.
- so-called broken links to resources which result in the process requesting the resource receiving an error message indicating that the resource cannot be located.
- a PURL takes the format http://purl.oclc.org/data/ and comprises three elements.
- a protocol element in this example 'http', a resolver address, in this example 'purl.oclc.org' and finally a name, in this example 'data'.
- the resolution of an address is carried out by a dedicated resolver or server located at the resolver address which maps the PURL to a corresponding URL which URL is returned to a requesting process.
- the PURL is intended to be invariant over time whilst the mapped URL may vary.
- a resource locating system for receiving a query from a client process, the system comprising a plurality of resource location servers connected to said network, each said server including a query resolution application operable to parse a query to extract a resource name and a corresponding management path, a register containing a set of predefined management paths of differing scope and a table binding addresses to resource names of some at least of said management paths, said register further including an address of at least one other, different, resource location server, said address being associated with another one of said predefined management paths, the resolution application being further operable to provide said process with an address corresponding to either a said resource name or a said different, resource location server.
- the resources are defined in terms of a management path linkage with a resource can be maintained.
- the symbolic representation realised by the management path and resource name is therefore a structured name setting out the context for a resource namely the management path, and the name of that resource within the context namely the resource name.
- a method of resolving a symbolic identifier to locate a physical data stream comprising parsing a symbolic identifier to obtain a first management path portion of variable domain scope and a second resource name portion and identifying a resource having a domain corresponding to said first portion, said resource providing a mapping between said second portion and a physical data stream.
- the present invention unlike, for example, PURLs where the scope domain is fixed, allows multiple domains to be defined, each domain being the set of all possible resources which can be named in a particular context.
- each domain it is further provided that only one mapping or binding exists from a name to a corresponding resource.
- the resource may be straightforward data or a process such as an executable file, to take just two examples, the name may have attributive or invocative qualities in the sense that resolution of an attributive name provides the resource whereas resolution of an invocation name results in an action brought about by the resource.
- the present invention facilitates the adoption of the protocols and other measures necessary to ensure secure and confidential transfer of data between the process and the repository on which the resource is located or indeed secure interaction with the resource itself.
- a resource location server for connection to a distributed network, the server including a query resolution application operable to parse a query received from said network and thereby extract a resource name and a corresponding management path, a register containing a set of predefined management paths of differing scope and a table binding addresses to resource names of some at least of said management paths, said register further including an address of at least one other, different, resource location server, said address being associated with another one of said predefined management paths, the resolution application being further operable in response to a query to derive an address corresponding to either a said resource name or a said different resource location server.
- a method of locating a resource on a distributed network comprising the initial steps of binding an address to a respective resource name associated with a particular management path and storing an address of a resource location server associated with a further management path, subsequently receiving a query from said network, parsing said request to obtain a resource name and a corresponding management path, comparing said parsed management path with said particular and further management paths and in accordance with said comparison obtaining a respective one of said associated addresses for inclusion in a response to said query.
- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a communication network incorporating a plurality of resource location servers in accordance with the invention
- Figure 2 is a more detailed diagrammatic view of a resource location server of Figure 1 shown connected to a network
- Figure 3 is a portion of pseudocode in accordance with a method of the invention for use in the server of Figure 2;
- Figure 4 is a chart illustrating relationships in scope between servers of Figure
- Figure 5 is a flowchart useful in understanding the pseudocode of Figure 3;
- Figure 6 is signalling diagram further illustrating the operation of the servers of Figure 1 ;
- Figure 7 is a similar view further illustrating the operation of the servers of Figure 1 ; and Figures 8a and 8b are views of example screen displays 5 useful in understanding the invention of Figure 1.
- FIG. 1 With reference to Figure 1 , there is shown a distributed network 1 to which a terminal 3 is capable of connecting. Further connections exist between the network 1 and independent storage devices or repositories 5a, 5b, 5c and also between the network 1 and a number of Resource Locator Service (RLS) servers 7a, 7b, 7c.
- RLS Resource Locator Service
- the mechanisms and methods by which the various above described equipment connect to the network 1 are well known to those skilled in the art and may included wired and wireless connections and both fixed and mobile equipment.
- the repositories 5 each contain resources in the form of files, data streams or the like which may be required by a process operating in the terminal 3.
- the resources themselves may be stored in any particular manner provided the manner of storage does not prevent access in a consistent manner by processes external to the repository 5.
- each RLS server 7 comprises an interface 9 capable of receiving a request for resolution of a Uniform Resource Indicator in the form of a Managed Resource Name (MRN).
- MRN Managed Resource Name
- the interface is also capable of receiving the request in the form of an URN namely "um:mm: ⁇ MSP ⁇ : ⁇ RSS ⁇ .
- a resolution application 11 an extract of which is shown in the form of pseudocode in
- Figure 3 responds to such a request as is set out in more detail below.
- Each RLS server 7 further includes a mapping application 13 which, in conjunction with a table 15 provides a binding of a Uniform Resource Locator
- the URL 17 may, of course point to any suitable repository 5 on which the resource identified by the MSP and RSS 19 is resident.
- the mapping application 13 is responsive to requests from the resolution application 11.
- the table 15 itself is updated in response to instructions generated by the owners of the resources to which the RSS point.
- each RSS server 7 includes a register 17 a portion 19 of which holds identity, network location and status information relevant to that server 7 including a flag indicative of whether the server is a root server.
- the register portion 21 holds details of those management paths of differing scope managed by the server 7.
- a further portion 23 of the register 17 holds corresponding information relating to other servers 7 responsible for immediately subordinate and superordinate management scopes as shown in Figure 4.
- a register maintenance application 25 is provided both to ensure that the register 17 contains the information necessary for the resolution application 11 to operate and also to facilitate the distribution of register information amongst selected other RLS servers, the selection being based on the requirements of the resolution application 11 namely maintaining the register entries for subordinate and where appropriate superordinate RCS servers.
- the registry maintenance application 25 is thus responsive to requests from the resolution application 11 and updates of register information received from other RLS servers 7.
- the registry maintenance application 25 provides as has been previously stated details of its own identity, network location and status information to RSL servers identified in the remote register as being responsible for immediately superordinate management scopes.
- the query is generated at a terminal 3 by a process.
- the query may be generated either through user interaction with a browser, or in an autonomous manner by the process substantially independent of any user input.
- the query is addressed 27 to a pre-selected RLS server 7 identified in the configuration settings of the terminal 3, this address being obtained by the process from the terminal operating system.
- the query is in the format set out above, namely an initial namespace identifier "mm” followed by a management scope path "MSP” made up of a set of domains delimited in order of reducing scope, followed by a resource specific string "RSS" which identifies a particular resource at the level of management scope defined by the MSP.
- MSP management scope path
- RSS resource specific string
- the query is received from the network via the RLS server interface 9 which passes the query to the resolution application 11.
- the resolution application 11 parses the query to obtain the most significant domain of the MSP.
- the parsing process therefore includes stripping the namespace identifier(s) from the query.
- the most significant portion of the path on domain is then compared 100 with a set of paths on domains 21 managed by that RLS server 7 and held in the local information portion register 17.
- the RLS server 7 may generate a re-direction request as set out in the following paragraph using known http commands and send 29 the request to the process or further parse the MSP of the query.
- a re-direction request is generated 29.
- the contents of the re-direction request 29, namely the address of the new RLS server 7 to which the process is pointed will vary depending on the status of the RLS server 7 which is obtained by the resolution process 11 from the register application 25 having access to the local information register portion 19.
- the local information register portion 19 contains a flag indicative of whether 101 the RLS server is a root RLS.
- the register application 25 informs the resolution application which obtains from a remote information register portion 23 the address of a server 7 responsible for managing the particular scopes set out in the initial portion of the MSP query.
- the present RLS server 7 will provide 103 the process, in the form of the redirect request 29, with a new URL identifying the new RLS server 7 to contact.
- the process will issue 31 the same query to the identified RLS 7 server which will respond 33 in the manner described herein.
- the resolution application 1 is provided 103 with an address from the remote register portion 23 of a superordinate RLS server in the form of a redirect request 29 which provides the process with a new URL identifying the new RLS server 7 to contact. Again, the process should issue 33 the same query to the identified RLS server 7 which will respond in the manner described herein.
- the resolution application 11 further parses the query. As a consequence of this further comparison 104, it is identified whether the entire scope of the query corresponds to one of said set of managed scope 21 held in the local information register portion 19. If not, the resolution application 11 identifies 105 whether any complete management scope path in the register 21 matches a most significant prefix of the query MSP with the outcomes set out below. Alternatively, where the entire scope of the query does match 106 one of the set of managed scopes 21 held in the RLS server registry 19 then the RSS portion of the query is parsed by the mapping application 13. The mapping application 13 interrogates the table 15 and obtains a corresponding
- the terminal 3 on receiving the redirect request from the RLS server directly contacts 35 the resource at the specified URL which is then made available
- the resolution application 11 provides 103 the process, via the network 7, with a redirect response 29 setting out the URL of a superordinate RLS server 7 having a greater management scope.
- the resolution application 11 contacts the registry management application 25 to determine 106 whether the register 17 holds the address of another RLS server 7 whose scope matches the remaining least significant portion or suffix of the query MSP. If this is the case, the registry management application 25 provides the appropriate address to the resolution application 11 , which address is then used to form a redirection request to be delivered 29 to the process. Otherwise, the resolution application 11 causes the mapping application 13 to obtain a URL corresponding to the RSS portion of the query. This URL is then formatted as a redirect request for delivery 33 to the process which is then able to contact directly 35 the resource. The resource is then made available 37 to the process.
- FIGs 8a and 8b are illustrations of typical user interfaces provided by a browser.
- the browser supplies a set of links of possible interest to a user.
- the user instructs the browser to pass the selected mrn in the form of a query to the preselected RLS server 7 whose address is identified in the configuration settings of the browser.
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP02733081A EP1393531A2 (en) | 2001-06-05 | 2002-05-30 | Improvements in and relating to a distributed network |
AU2002304307A AU2002304307A1 (en) | 2001-06-05 | 2002-05-30 | Improvements in and relating to a distributed network |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB0113680.3 | 2001-06-05 | ||
GBGB0113680.3A GB0113680D0 (en) | 2001-06-05 | 2001-06-05 | Improvements in and relating to distributed network |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2002100071A2 true WO2002100071A2 (en) | 2002-12-12 |
WO2002100071A3 WO2002100071A3 (en) | 2003-10-02 |
Family
ID=9915964
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/IB2002/001939 WO2002100071A2 (en) | 2001-06-05 | 2002-05-30 | Improvements in and relating to a distributed network |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP1393531A2 (en) |
AU (1) | AU2002304307A1 (en) |
GB (1) | GB0113680D0 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2002100071A2 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2008028890A1 (en) * | 2006-09-05 | 2008-03-13 | Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) | Locator resolution in communications networks |
Citations (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6167427A (en) * | 1997-11-28 | 2000-12-26 | Lucent Technologies Inc. | Replication service system and method for directing the replication of information servers based on selected plurality of servers load |
-
2001
- 2001-06-05 GB GBGB0113680.3A patent/GB0113680D0/en not_active Ceased
-
2002
- 2002-05-30 EP EP02733081A patent/EP1393531A2/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2002-05-30 AU AU2002304307A patent/AU2002304307A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2002-05-30 WO PCT/IB2002/001939 patent/WO2002100071A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation
Patent Citations (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6167427A (en) * | 1997-11-28 | 2000-12-26 | Lucent Technologies Inc. | Replication service system and method for directing the replication of information servers based on selected plurality of servers load |
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
---|
SHAFER K ET AL: "Introduction to Persistent Uniform Resource Locators" INTERNET SOCIETY'S ANNUAL CONFERENCE, INET '96, [Online] 25 - 28 June 1996, XP002181627 Montréal Retrieved from the Internet: <URL:http://www.isoc.org/isoc/whatis/confe rences/inet/96/proceedings/a4/a4_1.htm> [retrieved on 2001-10-31] cited in the application * |
Cited By (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2008028890A1 (en) * | 2006-09-05 | 2008-03-13 | Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) | Locator resolution in communications networks |
EP2060094A1 (en) * | 2006-09-05 | 2009-05-20 | Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) | Name-address management and routing in communication networks |
US8170030B2 (en) | 2006-09-05 | 2012-05-01 | Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson | Locator resolution in communications networks |
EP2060094A4 (en) * | 2006-09-05 | 2013-06-26 | Ericsson Telefon Ab L M | Name-address management and routing in communication networks |
EP2613502A1 (en) * | 2006-09-05 | 2013-07-10 | Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ) | Locator Resolution in Communications Networks |
US8923302B2 (en) | 2006-09-05 | 2014-12-30 | Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) | Locator resolution in communications networks |
US9264355B2 (en) | 2006-09-05 | 2016-02-16 | Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ) | Name-address management and routing in communication networks |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
GB0113680D0 (en) | 2001-07-25 |
EP1393531A2 (en) | 2004-03-03 |
WO2002100071A3 (en) | 2003-10-02 |
AU2002304307A1 (en) | 2002-12-16 |
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