U.S. patent application number 11/155300 was filed with the patent office on 2006-03-02 for multi-homed web server.
This patent application is currently assigned to GraphOn Corporation. Invention is credited to Christopher D. Coley, Ralph E. JR. Wesinger.
Application Number | 20060047833 11/155300 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 24430672 |
Filed Date | 2006-03-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060047833 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wesinger; Ralph E. JR. ; et
al. |
March 2, 2006 |
Multi-homed web server
Abstract
A multi-homed web server is disclosed including web server
software configured to provide a plurality of virtual hosts. A
configuration sub-file derived from a master configuration file is
provided and associated with each of the virtual hosts. The web
server software processes incoming connection requests according to
rules contained in the master configuration file.
Inventors: |
Wesinger; Ralph E. JR.; (San
Jose, CA) ; Coley; Christopher D.; (Morgan Hill,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SIERRA PATENT GROUP, LTD.
1657 Hwy 395, Suite 202
Minden
NV
89423
US
|
Assignee: |
GraphOn Corporation
|
Family ID: |
24430672 |
Appl. No.: |
11/155300 |
Filed: |
June 16, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
09189697 |
Nov 10, 1998 |
6647422 |
|
|
11155300 |
Jun 16, 2005 |
|
|
|
08607068 |
Feb 26, 1996 |
5870550 |
|
|
09189697 |
Nov 10, 1998 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
709/229 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 29/12386 20130101;
H04L 29/12066 20130101; H04L 61/35 20130101; H04L 69/164 20130101;
H04L 29/06 20130101; H04L 29/1249 20130101; H04L 61/2514 20130101;
H04L 63/0263 20130101; H04L 29/12009 20130101; H04L 63/0807
20130101; H04L 61/30 20130101; H04L 61/256 20130101; H04L 69/16
20130101; H04L 63/02 20130101; H04L 63/18 20130101; H04L 61/1511
20130101; H04L 61/2521 20130101; H04L 29/12594 20130101; G06F 21/42
20130101; H04L 67/02 20130101; H04L 63/0281 20130101; H04L 29/12367
20130101; G06F 16/958 20190101; H04L 63/0227 20130101; H04L
29/12783 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/229 |
International
Class: |
G06F 15/16 20060101
G06F015/16 |
Claims
1. A multi-homed web server comprising: web server software
operable on a physical machine, the web server software configured
to provide a plurality of virtual hosts, each of said virtual hosts
having an associated configuration sub-file derived from a master
configuration file; the web server software being further
configured to process an incoming connection request according to
rules contained in said master configuration file.
2. The multi-homed web server of claim 1, wherein either of the IP
address or name of the virtual host to which the connection request
is directed is identified.
3. The multi-homed web server of claim 2, wherein the master
configuration file is consulted to determine what level of
connection scrutiny is applicable for the identified virtual
host.
4. The multi-homed web server of claim 1, wherein the master
configuration file is consulted to determine what level of
connection scrutiny is applicable for the source of the connection
request.
5. The multi-homed web server of claim 1, further comprising a
plurality of modules for processing particular types of connection
requests.
6. The multi-homed web server of claim 5, wherein the master
configuration file is consulted to determine which of said
plurality of modules is appropriate for said connection
request.
7. A multi-homed web server comprising: web server means providing
a plurality of virtual host means; a plurality of configuration
sub-file means derived from a master configuration file means, each
of the configuration sub-file means being associated with a
particular virtual host means; and means for processing an incoming
connection request according to rules contained in said master
configuration file means.
8. The multi-homed web server of claim 7, wherein either of the IP
address or name of the virtual host means to which the connection
request is directed is identified.
9. The multi-homed web server of claim 8, further comprising means
for consulting said master configuration file means for determining
what level of connection scrutiny is applicable for the identified
virtual host.
10. The multi-homed web server of claim 7, further comprising means
for consulting said master configuration file means for determining
what level of connection scrutiny is applicable for the identified
virtual host.
11. The multi-homed web server of claim 7, further comprising a
plurality of module means for processing particular types of
connection requests.
12. The multi-homed web server of claim 11, further comprising
means for consulting said master configuration file means for
determining which a said plurality of module means is appropriate
for said connection request.
13. A multi-homed web server comprising: a physical machine
including web server software; the web server software configured
to provide a plurality of virtual hosts; configuration sub-file
derived from a master configuration file and associated with each
of said virtual hosts; and wherein the web server software
processes incoming connection requests according to rules contained
in said master configuration file.
14. The multi-homed web server of claim 13, wherein either of the
IP address or name of the virtual host to which the connection
request is directed is identified.
15. The multi-homed web server of claim 14, wherein the master
configuration file is consulted to determine what level of
connection scrutiny is applicable for the identified virtual
host.
16. The multi-homed web server of claim 13, wherein the master
configuration file is consulted to determine what level of
connection scrutiny is applicable for the source of the connection
request.
17. The multi-homed web server of claim 13, further comprising a
plurality of modules for processing particular types of connection
requests.
18. The multi-homed web server of claim 17, wherein the master
configuration file is consulted to determine which of said
plurality of modules is appropriate for said connection request.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 09/189,697, filed Nov. 10, 1998, which is a
divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/607,068, filed
Feb. 2, 1996, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,550.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to Web servers, i.e., server
software for delivering content through the World Wide Web.
[0004] 2. State of the Art
[0005] The Internet, and in particular the content-rich World Wide
Web ("the Web"), have experienced and continue to experience
explosive growth. The Web is an Internet service that organizes
information using hypermedia. Each document can contain embedded
reference to images, audio, or other documents. A user browses for
information by following references. Web documents are specified in
HyperText Markup Language (HTML), a computer language used to
specify the contents and format of a hypermedia document (e.g., a
homepage). HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the protocol used
to access a Web document.
[0006] Web servers offer Web services to Web clients, namely Web
browsers. Primarily, Web servers retrieve Web documents and send
them to a Web browser, which displays Web documents and provides
for user interaction with those documents. Unlike Web browsers, of
which there are many, the number of commercially available Web
server packages, although growing, remains small. Currently,
popular Web servers include those available from Netscape
Communications, National Center for Supercomputing Applications
(NCSA), and CERN.
[0007] Ideally, a Web server should be able to respond to and
expeditiously service every connection request it receives,
regardless of the volume of requests. The job of getting the
request to the server and the reply back to the requester falls to
the telecommunications infrastructure. In reality, however, because
of machine limitations, there is a limit to the number of requests
the server can serve within a given period of time without slowing
down the machine to an extent that, from the viewpoint of the
users, is perceptible, irritating, or simply intolerable. Web
servers have typically followed one of two extreme approaches,
either "rationing service" by denying further requests once some
limiting number of requests are already pending, or attempting to
service all requests received and hence slowing the machine to a
crawl during extremely busy periods.
[0008] Webs servers, most of which are written for UNIX, often run
under INETD ("eye-net-D"), an Internet services daemon in UNIX. (A
daemon is a UNIX process that remains memory resident and causes
specified actions to be taken upon the occurrence of specified
events.) Typically, if more than sixty connection requests occur
within a minute, INETD will shut down service for a period of time,
usually five minutes, during which service remains entirely
unavailable. Such interruptions are clearly undesirable, both on
the part of the client-requester and the content provider. In the
case of other Web servers, when the server is brought up, some
fixed number of copies of the server, e.g. 50, are started. Up to
50 simultaneous connections may therefore be handled. A request for
a 51st connection, however, will be denied, even if many or all of
the 50 existing connections are temporarily idle.
[0009] Other considerations further complicate the picture of what
is desired from a Web server, including considerations such as
cost, perception and the very dynamic nature of the Web and Web
content. Typically, only large organizations, or smaller
organizations having considerable technical expertise, have their
own Web servers. Establishing and running a Web server can entail a
significant and ongoing investment in time and money. The
alternative is for a person or organization to pay an Internet
Service Provider (ISP) to house its content on the Web and make it
available through the ISP's Web server. Of course, most
organizations (and people) would like to be perceived as not
lacking in either money or expertise. In cyberspace, therefore, an
important factor in how an organization is perceived is its Web
address. A Web address of XYZCorp.com commands, in a manner of
speaking, immediate attention and respect, whereas a Web address of
ISP.com/XYZCorp does not, at least to the same extent.
[0010] For a person or organization to have the best of both
worlds, i.e., house its content on someone else's server but have
it appear to be their own, the server must provide the capability
of multi-homing. A multi-homed server behaves as multiple servers
in one, responding to requests to multiple addresses, e.g. ISP.com,
XYZCorp.com, johnsmith.com, etc. Some existing servers are
multi-homed. However, the multi-homing capabilities of existing
servers are quite limited. For example, although different
customers may have different needs and desire different levels of
service, in existing multi-homed servers, as regards a particular
physical machine, the core functionality offered by the server
(whether extensive or more limited) is necessarily the same for
each customer.
[0011] An entirely different question concerns the extensibility of
Web servers. Because the Web is continually in flux, a Web server
must provide a mechanism that allows for extensions to be added to
the Web server, or face obsolescence. Presently, the commonly
accepted mechanism for extending the capabilities of existing Web
servers is one called the Common Gateway Interface (CGI). The CGI
specification has emerged as a standard way to extend the services
and capabilities of a Web server having a defined core
functionality. CGI "scripts" are used for this purpose. CGI
provides an Application Program Interface, supported by CGI-capable
Web servers, to which programmers can write to extend the
functionality of the server. CGI scripts, however, although they
may be compiled, are typically interpreted, meaning that they run
at least ten times slower, typically, than compiled binary code. As
the complexity of the Web, and hence the amount of time spent by a
Web server running CGI scripts, increases, the Web server
unavoidably suffers a significant performance hit.
[0012] What is needed, then, is a Web server that overcomes the
foregoing difficulties.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] The present invention, generally speaking, provides a Web
server having a multi-homed, modular framework. The modular
framework allows extensions to the Web server to be easily compiled
into the Web server, allowing the extensions to run natively as
part of the server instead of incurring the overhead typical of CGI
scripts, for example. The multi-homing capabilities of the Web
server provide the appearance to Web users of multiple distinct and
independent servers, allowing a small company or individual to
create the same kind of Web presence enjoyed by larger companies.
In effect, multiple virtual servers run on the same physical
machine. The Web server as a whole is easily extensible to allow
additional capabilities to be provided natively within the Web
server itself. Furthermore, each virtual server is independently
configurable in order to turn different capabilities on or off or
to modify operation of the virtual server. The Web server is also
provided with enhanced security features, built-in animation
capability, and other features that afford maximum flexibility and
versatility.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The present invention may be further understood from the
following description in conjunction with the appended drawing. In
the drawing:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the Web
server of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the manner in which
the present Web server handles connection requests;
[0017] FIG. 3 is an example of a database-like data structure that
allows extensions to the Web server to be easily added so as to run
natively as part of the Web server;
[0018] FIG. 4 is an example of a portion of the master
configuration file of FIG. 1;
[0019] FIG. 5 is an example of a conventional Web server log
entry;
[0020] FIG. 6 is an example of a Web server log entry in accordance
with one aspect of the present invention; and
[0021] FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating in greater detail the
structure of the present Web server.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0022] Referring now to FIG. 1, an overview of the present Web
server will be provided. The Web server is a software package that
runs on a physical machine 100, e.g., a super-minicomputer such as
a SunServer machine available from Sun Microsystems of Menlo Park,
Calif., or on any of a wide variety of suitable UNIX platforms.
[0023] Conventionally, a Web server is provided with some fixed
feature set. To provide additional capabilities, CGI scripts are
used. Furthermore, the logical view of the Web server on the Web is
the same as the physical view of the underlying hardware. That is,
a single physical machine running a conventional Web server appears
on the Web as a single logical machine.
[0024] The present Web server, on the other hand, although it runs
on a single physical machine 100, appears on the Web as multiple
virtual hosts VH1 through VHn. Each virtual host has a separate
configuration sub-file (sub-database) C1, C2, etc., that may be
derived from a master configuration file, or database, 110. A
defaults file 11 is used to provide plug-in extensibility of the
Web server. The defaults file is compiled as part of the Web server
and expresses at the program level what the program is to do to
provide various kinds of functionality. The configuration
sub-files, on the other hand, are text files that may be used to
enable or disable different functions for each virtual host.
[0025] Each virtual host also has its own separate log file L1, L2,
etc. This feature allows for users of different hosts on the same
machine to have access to up-to-the minute log information without
allowing access to logs of other pages--a very useful feature for
ISPs, for example. Each virtual host is capable of servicing many
simultaneous connections. The number of allowable simultaneous
connections is configurable and may be limited to a predetermined
number, or may be limited not by number but only by the load
currently experienced by the physical machine. The number of
maximum allowable connections or the maximum allowable machine load
may be specified in the configuration file.
[0026] As described in greater detail in connection with FIG. 5,
each configuration file C1, C2, etc., may have an access rules
database 113, including a Allow portion 115, a Deny portion 117, or
both. Using the access rules database 113, the Web server is able
to perform many of the functions of a conventional firewall,
thereby enhancing network security.
[0027] The Web server is self-daemoning, meaning that it is not
subject to the limitations ordinarily imposed by the usual Internet
daemon, INETD. Referring to FIG. 2, when the Web server is brought
up, it first reads in the master configuration file and then
becomes a daemon and waits for connection requests. When a
connection request is received, the Web server "forks a copy" of
itself, using the forking capabilities of UNIX, to create a virtual
host VHn to handle that connection request. When a parent process
is forked to create a child process, the child process runs off the
same base code as the parent process but using its own set of
variables. In particular, the child process will typically use its
own sub-database from within the master configuration database to
determine the configuration of that particular virtual host. Child
processes are created "on demand" as connection requests are
received and complete running as service of those connection
requests is completed.
[0028] As described in greater detail hereinafter, animation
capabilities, instead of being an add-on feature provided through a
CGI script, are built into the server itself. Hence, in FIG. 2,
when a request is received on a connection to process an animation
file 201, the child process VHn belonging to that connection is
able to process the animation file directly.
[0029] Animation is one example of a recent enhancement now
supported by some Web servers, although typically through CGI and
not directly. Numerous and varied other enhancements are sure to
follow. Hence, the present Web server, although it provides a
default feature set, allows for that default feature set to be
readily expanded.
[0030] The default feature set is defined in the defaults file 111,
an example of which is shown in FIG. 3. The defaults file is, in
effect, a database that matches different types of requests with
modules available for handling those requests. The database is a
table having, in the illustrated embodiment, four columns. In the
first column is the file extension received as part of the request.
Examples of file extensions are "ani" (animation), "cgi," "html,"
"shtml" (server-parsed HTML), etc. In the second column is a type
identifier used internally by the Web server, e.g.,
TY.sub.--ANIMATION, TY.sub.--CGI, etc. In the third column is type
information returned to the Web browser, e.g., "text/html,"
"image/gif," etc. In some instances, this type is not clearly
defined in advance but depends on the module called to process the
request. The type returned to the browser may therefore be NULL.
Finally, in the fourth column is the module to be called to process
the request, e.g., ProcessANI (an animation player), ProcessCGI,
etc.
[0031] The defaults table of FIG. 3 serves as the foundation of a
modular framework that allows extensions to the Web server to be
easily added so as to run natively as part of the Web server. In
one embodiment, extensions are added by modifying the source code
file containing the defaults table, to add a new row to the table,
for example, or to modify an existing row. A new module having new
capabilities might be substituted for an existing module, for
example. The defaults file is then recompiled and linked to the Web
server. Preferably, a software development kit is provided with the
Web server to facilitate this process.
[0032] Hence, a mechanism is established that allows modules to be
added without the need to rebuild the entire Web server. In
accordance with this mechanism, adding an additional server feature
involves the following steps: [0033] 1. Edit the defaults file (the
list of processes) and add an entry for the specific file
extension. Add the procedure name to be used for processing this
new type. Add an "#include" file defining the procedure at the
beginning of the defaults table. [0034] 2. Write the procedure. The
procedural call to the process will pass two parameters: a File
Descriptor to send output to; and a file Name of the document/file
to process. The procedure should be written accordingly. [0035] 3.
Compile the procedure, link it into the Web server, and test.
[0036] The modular framework just described governs the
capabilities of the overall Web server. All customers may not want
to pay for use of a high-performance Web server having a
comprehensive feature set. The multi-homing capabilities of the
present Web server, however, allows the same code to be configured
differently for each of multiple virtual hosts, thereby catering to
the preferences (and budgets) of different classes of customers.
The effect is the same as offering a range of different Web server
products of different capabilities, but with the distinct advantage
that only a single code package need be produced and
maintained.
[0037] Referring again to FIG. 1, apart from the defaults database,
each virtual host has its own configuration sub-file C1, C2, etc.
Within the configuration sub-file of each virtual host is a
text-file database, not compiled, that is similar in concept to the
database of FIG. 3. However, the process to be called for a
particular type of request may vary, virtual host to virtual host,
from the default process specified in the defaults database. On a
virtual host that is configured to have a more limited feature set,
for example, CGI scripts may not be allowed. Therefore, the process
specified for CGI, instead of ProcessCGI, might be NULL. Similarly
with other capabilities. The differences between the configuration
database and the defaults database, instead of limiting the
capabilities of the virtual host, may actually increase the
capabilities of the virtual host. For example, for HTML requests,
instead of the usual SendFile process, the process ProcSHTML may be
specified. This configuration would allow all HTML files to include
other files, cause execution of other programs, etc., resulting in
a dynamic document rather than a static document.
[0038] Furthermore, the Web server may be a "client application" of
a license server, described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.
08/607,081 AUTOMATED SYSTEM FOR MANAGEMENT OF LICENSED SOFTWARE now
U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,664, filed on even date herewith, incorporated
herein by reference. Using the system described in the foregoing
application, features of the Web server may be enabled or disabled
on a feature-by-feature and virtual host-by-virtual host basis.
[0039] An example of a portion of a master configuration file is
shown in FIG. 4. Within the master configuration file database,
different portions of the file form sub-databases for different
virtual hosts. Each sub-database may specify a root directory for
that particular virtual host.
[0040] Also as part of the configuration file of each virtual host,
an access rules database may be provided governing access to the
virtual host, i.e., which connections will be allowed and which
connections will be denied. Many of the features more commonly
included in a firewall may therefore be included in the Web server
itself. The syntax of the access rules database is such as to allow
great flexibility in specifying not only what machines are or are
not to be allowed access but also when such access is allowed to
occur. The access rules database may have an Allow portion, a Deny
portion or both. If the access rules database has an Allow portion,
only connections from machines matching the Allow rules will be
allowed, regardless of whether there is also a Deny portion. If
there is a Deny portion but no Allow portion, then connections from
machines matching the Deny rules will be denied and all other
connections will be allowed. Machines may be specified by name or
by IP address, and may include "wildcards," address masks, etc.,
for example: MisterPain.com, *.srmc.com, 192.168.0.*,
192.168.0.0/24, and so on.
[0041] Time restrictions may be included in either the Allow rules
or the Deny rules. For example, access may be allowed from 1 am to
12 pm; alternatively, access may be denied from 12 pm to 1 am.
Also, rules may be given identifiers, such as RULE1, RULE2, etc.,
and repeated elsewhere within the configuration sub-file of the
virtual host.
[0042] All access rules must be satisfied in order to gain access
to a virtual host. Depending on the virtual host, however, further
levels of access scrutiny may be specified within the configuration
sub-file. Each successive level of access scrutiny includes all
previous levels. The first level of access scrutiny is that all
rules must be satisfied, as previously described. The second level
of access scrutiny is that the accessing machine must have a DNS
(Domain Name Services) entry. Having a DNS entry lends at least
some level of legitimacy to the accessing machine. The third level
of access scrutiny is that the accessing machine must in addition
have a reverse DNS entry. The fourth and most stringent level of
access scrutiny is that the forward DNS entry and the reverse DNS
entry must match.
[0043] If access is granted and a connection is opened, when the
connection is later closed, a log entry is made recording
information about that access. One important feature of the present
Web server is that log entries identify the particular virtual host
that was accessed. Another important feature is that log entries
identify the "referrer," i.e., the source of any link that may have
been followed to get to the Web site that was accessed. The owner
of a Web site may advertise that site through various different
channels. In order to determine what works and what does not, in
terms of generating hits on a Web site, one must know how someone
came to access that Web site.
[0044] Referring to FIG. 5, conventional log entries are typically
of a format similar to the one shown. The IP address or name 501 of
the accessing machine is recorded, followed by the UserName 503, if
any, entered during the course of the access, the date and time
505, the connection request 507 as it was received, an error code
ERC (509) specifying any error that may have occurred, and a count
511 of the number of bytes transferred. As shown in FIG. 6, the
present Web server logs in addition the identity of the virtual
host (651) and the referrer (653). Log reports may be generated
from this information, listing, for example, the top referrers
generating hits to a Web site, etc. Log reports may be generated on
a per-host basis or may be generated for the physical machine,
i.e., all virtual hosts together.
[0045] Referring now to FIG. 7, the logical structure of the
present Web server is shown in greater detail.
[0046] The main execution thread of the Web server is controlled by
a daemon. In FIG. 7, the daemon includes elements 701, 703 and 705.
Although the daemon mode of operation is the default mode, the same
code can also be run interactively under the conventional INETD
daemon. Hence, when the Web server is first brought up,
command-line processing is performed in block 701 to determine the
mode of operation (daemon or interactive), which configuration file
to read, etc. For purposes of the present discussion, the daemon
mode of operation, which is the default, will be assumed.
[0047] Immediately thereafter, the daemon changes user in block 703
so as to become an unprivileged user. This step of becoming an
unprivileged user is a security measure that avoids various known
security hazards encountered, for example, when CGI scripts or
other programs are allowed to run.
[0048] Only after the daemon has read the specified configuration
file and become an unprivileged user does the daemon actually
become a daemon. By daemonizing after the configuration file (e.g.,
the master configuration file) has been read in, the configuration
file in effect becomes "hard coded" into the program such that the
program no longer has read it in. The daemon then waits to receive
a connection request.
[0049] When a connection request is received, the daemon forks a
copy of itself to handle the connection request. The daemon then
uses a piece of code referred to herein as an INET Wrapper 710 to
check on the local side of the connection and the remote side of
the connection to determine, in accordance with the appropriate
Allow and Deny databases, whether the connection is to be
allowed.
[0050] First the address and name (if possible) are obtained of the
virtual machine for which a connection is requested. Once the local
host has been identified by name or at least by IP address, the
master configuration database is scanned to see if a corresponding
sub-database exists for that local host. If so, the sub-database is
set as the configuration database of the local host so that the
master configuration database need no longer be referred to. If no
corresponding sub-database is found, then by default the master
configuration database is used as the configuration database. There
may be any number of virtual machines, all independently
configurable and all running on the same physical machine. The
determination of which virtual host the daemon child process is to
become is made in block 705, under the heading of
"multi-homing."
[0051] Once the daemon child process has determined which host it
is, the INET Wrapper is used to do checking on the remote host,
i.e., the host requesting the connection. Recalling the different
levels of access scrutiny described previously, first, the
configuration database is consulted to determine the level of
access scrutiny that will be applied. (The default level of access
scrutiny is that no DNS entry is required.) Then, the address and
name (if possible) are obtained of the machine requested the
connection, and the appropriate level of access scrutiny is applied
as determined from the configuration database.
[0052] If the remote host satisfies the required level of access
scrutiny insofar as DNS entries are concerned, the INET Wrapper
gets the Allow and Deny databases for the virtual host. First the
Allow database is checked, and if there is an Allow database but
the remote host is not found in it, the connection is denied. Then
the Deny database is checked. If the remote host is found in the
Deny database, then the connection is denied. All other rules must
also be satisfied, regarding time of access, etc. If all the rules
are satisfied, then the connection is allowed.
[0053] Once the connection has been allowed, the daemon invokes
HTTP server code 720 that operates in large part in a similar
manner as conventional Web server. The HTTP server code 720
processes commands by examining the filename extension associated
with the command in block 721 and calling appropriate routines such
as routines 723-726 to process those commands. When processing is
completed, the connection is closed, if it has not already been
closed implicitly.
[0054] Several features of the HTTP server code should be noted.
The server includes code for handling both client and server
proxies and redirects, all as part of the Web server. The server
mode is determined in accordance with the configuration file of the
virtual host handling the request. The configuration file may
specify Client Proxy mode for the virtual host, in which case the
virtual host proxies requests directed to the outside world, e.g.,
Web sites other than the present Web site. The configuration file
may specify Server Proxy mode for the virtual host, in which case
the virtual host proxies requests to access a different virtual
host. The configuration file may specify Redirect mode, in which
case the request is redirected to a different specified server,
either a different virtual host on the same physical machine or a
different physical machine altogether.
[0055] The animation player 726 of the present Web server also
differs in significant respects from conventional animation
players. Fundamentally, to the knowledge of the inventors, no other
Web server incorporates an animation player as part of the native
Web server code. By incorporating the animation player into the Web
server itself, instead of adding the animation capabilities through
the use of a CGI script, for example, animations may be handled
much more efficiently. Furthermore, unlike conventional animation
players, which typically just send a sequence of graphics, the
present animation player provides full-fledge programming
capability, including the ability to send one graphic at a
specified time and then a next graphic at a next specified time.
When a line is reached in the animation file that calls for a
graphic to be displayed at a certain time, if that time has already
passed, then that line is ignored by the animation player and the
graphic is not sent. Instead the animation player tries to display
the next graphic at the next specified time. In this manner,
regardless of the speed of the connection, the playing time of the
animation is always the same. On a slow connection, the user will
see fewer frames, and on a fast connection the user will see more
frames. The length of the animation will be the same. Also, labels
may be included in the animation, and commands may be used to go to
a specified label, or go to the beginning of the animation.
[0056] It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art
that the invention can be embodied in other specific forms without
departing from the spirit or essential character thereof. The
foregoing description is therefore considered in all respects to be
illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is
indicated by the appended claims, and all changes which come within
the meaning and range of equivalents thereof are intended to be
embraced therein.
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