U.S. patent application number 16/481470 was filed with the patent office on 2020-12-10 for system and method for improving content fetching by selecting tunnel devices.
The applicant listed for this patent is LUMINATI NETWORKS LTD.. Invention is credited to Derry Shribman, Ofer Vilenski.
Application Number | 20200389429 16/481470 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005003679 |
Filed Date | 2020-12-10 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200389429 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Shribman; Derry ; et
al. |
December 10, 2020 |
System and Method for Improving Content Fetching by Selecting
Tunnel Devices
Abstract
A method for fetching a content from a web server to a client
device is disclosed, using tunnel devices serving as intermediate
devices. The tunnel device is selected based on an attribute, such
as IP Geolocation. A tunnel bank server stores a list of available
tunnels that may be used, associated with values of various
attribute types. The tunnel devices initiate communication with the
tunnel bank server, and stays connected to it, for allowing a
communication session initiated by the tunnel bank server. Upon
receiving a request from a client to a content and for specific
attribute types and values, a tunnel is selected by the tunnel bank
server, and is used as a tunnel for retrieving the required content
from the web server, using standard protocol such as SOCKS, Web
Socket or HTTP Proxy. The client only communicates with a super
proxy server that manages the content fetching scheme.
Inventors: |
Shribman; Derry; (Tel Aviv,
IL) ; Vilenski; Ofer; (Moshav Hadar Am, IL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
LUMINATI NETWORKS LTD. |
Netanya |
|
IL |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000005003679 |
Appl. No.: |
16/481470 |
Filed: |
August 16, 2018 |
PCT Filed: |
August 16, 2018 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/IL2018/050910 |
371 Date: |
July 28, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62550834 |
Aug 28, 2017 |
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62563157 |
Sep 26, 2017 |
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62624208 |
Jan 31, 2018 |
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62684211 |
Jun 13, 2018 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 63/164 20130101;
H04L 61/2592 20130101; H04L 63/0272 20130101; H04L 67/42 20130101;
H04L 69/16 20130101; H04L 61/2007 20130101; H04L 61/2589 20130101;
H04L 63/029 20130101; H04L 67/02 20130101; H04L 67/142 20130101;
H04L 67/141 20130101; H04L 67/28 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04L 29/12 20060101
H04L029/12; H04L 29/06 20060101 H04L029/06; H04L 29/08 20060101
H04L029/08 |
Claims
1. A method for fetching a content that is identified by a content
identifier by a client device from a web server using tunnel
devices, for use with first and second servers and a group of
tunnel devices that are each connected to the Internet and are each
addressable in the Internet using a respective Internet Protocol
(IP) address, wherein the first server stores a list of tunnel
devices by the IP addresses associated with the tunnel devices in
the group, the method comprising: sending, by the client device to
the second server, a request message that comprises the content
identifier; receiving, by the second server from the client device,
the request message; sending, by the second server to the first
server, a first message in response to the received request
message; receiving, by the first server from the second server, the
first message; selecting, by the first server, a tunnel device from
the list of tunnel devices by selecting an IP address that is
associated with the selected tunnel device, in response to the
received first message; sending, by the first server to the
selected tunnel device, a second message using the selected IP
address of the selected tunnel device; receiving, by the selected
tunnel device from the first server, the second message; sending,
by the selected tunnel device to the web server, a content request
that comprises the content identifier, in response to the received
second message; receiving, by the selected tunnel device from the
web server, the content, in response to the content request;
sending, by the selected tunnel device to the second server, the
received content; receiving, by the second server from the selected
tunnel device, the content; sending, by the second server to the
client device, the received content in response to the receiving
the content from the selected tunnel device; and receiving, by the
client device from the second server, the content in response to
the request message.
2. The method according to claim 1, for use with a first device
that is connected to the Internet and addressable in the Internet
using a first IP address, the method further comprising: sending,
by the first device to the first server, a third message;
receiving, by the first server from the first device, the third
message; and adding, by the first server the first device to the
group of tunnel devices by adding and storing, in the first server,
the first IP address to the list, so that the first device can be
selected as a tunnel device as part of the selecting by the first
server.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the third message
comprises at least one value relating to at least one attribute
type associated with the first device.
4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising storing, in
the first server, the at least one value, and associating the
stored at least one value with the first device or with the first
IP address.
5. The method according to claim 2, further comprising establishing
a connection between the first server and the first device, wherein
the first server initiates communication with the first device
using the established connection.
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the established
connection is a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection
using `Active OPEN`, `Passive OPEN`, or TCP keepalive
mechanism.
7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the established
connection uses, or is based on, Virtual Private Network (VPN).
8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising for each of
the tunnel devices in the group: sending, by the tunnel device to
the first server, a third message; receiving, by the first server
from the tunnel device, the third message; and storing, in the
first server, the IP address of the tunnel device in the list, and
adding the tunnel device to the group of tunnel devices, so that
the tunnel device can be selected as a tunnel device as part of the
selecting by the first server.
9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the third message
comprises at least one value relating to at least one attribute
type associated with the tunnel device.
10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising storing, in
the first server, the at least one value, as associated with the
tunnel device or with the tunnel device IP address.
11. The method according to claim 8, further comprising
establishing a connection between the first server and the tunnel
device, wherein the first server initiates communication with the
tunnel device using the established connection.
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the established
connection is a TCP connection using `Active OPEN`, `Passive OPEN`,
or TCP keepalive mechanism.
13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the established
connection uses, or is based on, Virtual Private Network (VPN).
14. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and
second messages comprises the content identifier, and wherein the
sending by the selected tunnel device to the web server of the
content request that comprises the content identifier is in
response to the received second message.
15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the sending, by the
selected tunnel device to the second server of the content
comprises: sending, by the selected tunnel device to the first
server, the content; receiving, by the first server from the
selected tunnel device, the content; sending, by the first server
to the second server, the content; and receiving, by the second
server from the first server, the content.
16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second message
comprises the IP address of the second server.
17. The method according to claim 1, further comprising in response
to the receiving of the second message, initiating a communication,
by the selected tunnel device with the second server.
18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the initiating of the
communication by the selected tunnel device uses, or is based on,
Network Address Translator (NAT) traversal scheme.
19. The method according to claim 17, wherein the NAT traversal
scheme is according to, based on, or uses, Internet Engineering
Task Force (IETF) Request for Comments (RFC) 2663, IETF RFC 3715,
IETF RFC 3947, IETF RFC 5128, IETF RFC 5245, IETF RFC 5389, or IETF
RFC 7350.
20. The method according to claim 17, wherein the NAT traversal
scheme is according to, based on, or uses, Traversal Using Relays
around NAT (TURN), Socket Secure (SOCKS), WebSocket (ws), WebSocket
Secure (wss), NAT `hole punching`, Session Traversal Utilities for
NAT (STUN), Interactive Connectivity Establishment, (ICE), UPnP
Internet Gateway Device Protocol (IGDP), or Application-Level
Gateway (ALG).
21. The method according to claim 17, further comprising in
response to the communication initiated by the selected tunnel
device, sending, by the second server to the selected tunnel
device, the content identifier, wherein the sending, by the
selected tunnel device to the web server of the content request, is
in response to receiving the content identifier from the second
server.
22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the sending, by the
selected tunnel device to the second server of the content
comprises sending, by the selected tunnel device to the second
server, the content using the initiated communication.
23. The method according to claim 21, wherein the communication
over the Internet between the selected tunnel device and the second
server, is based on, uses, or is compatible with, Transmission
Control Protocol (TCP) over Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol or
connection.
24. The method according to claim 21, wherein the communication
over the Internet between the selected tunnel device and the second
server, is based on, uses, or is compatible with, Hypertext
Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or HTTP Secure (HTTPS) protocol or
connection, wherein the second server serves as an HTTP or HTTPS
server respectively and the selected tunnel device serves as an
HTTP or HTTPS client respectively.
25. The method according to claim 21, wherein the communication
over the Internet between the selected tunnel device and the second
server, is based on, uses, or is compatible with, Socket Secure
(SOCKS) protocol or connection, wherein the second server serves as
an SOCKS server and the selected tunnel device serves as an SOCKS
client.
26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the SOCKS protocol or
connection is according to, based on, or is compatible with,
SOCKS4, SOCKS4a, or SOCKS5.
27. The method according to claim 25, wherein the SOCKS protocol or
connection is according to, based on, or is compatible with, IETF
RFC 1928, IETF RFC 1929, IETF RFC 1961, or IETF RFC 3089.
28. The method according to claim 21, wherein the communication
over the Internet between the selected tunnel device and the second
server, is based on, uses, or is compatible with, HTTP Proxy
protocol or connection, wherein the second server serves as an HTTP
Proxy server and the selected tunnel device serves as an HTTP Proxy
client.
29. The method according to claim 21, wherein the communication
over the Internet between the selected tunnel device and the second
server, is based on, uses, or is compatible with, WebSocket (ws) or
WebSocket Secure (wss) protocol or connection, wherein the second
server serves as an WebSocket (ws) or WebSocket Secure (wss) server
and the selected tunnel device serves as an WebSocket (ws) or
WebSocket Secure (wss) client.
30. The method according to claim 29, wherein the WebSocket (ws) or
WebSocket Secure (wss) protocol or connection is according to,
based on, or is compatible with, IETF RFC 6455.
31. The method according to claim 21, further comprising
establishing a connection between the second server and the
selected tunnel device, wherein the second server initiates
communication with the selected tunnel device using the established
connection.
32. The method according to claim 31, wherein the established
connection is a TCP connection using `Active OPEN`, `Passive OPEN`,
or TCP keepalive mechanism.
33. The method according to claim 31, wherein the established
connection uses, or is based on, Virtual Private Network (VPN).
34. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: sending,
by the second server to the client device, the IP address of the
selected tunnel device; receiving, by the client device from the
second server, the IP address of the selected tunnel device; and
storing, by the client device, the received IP address of the
selected tunnel device.
35. The method according to claim 1, for use with a first IP
address stored in the client device, wherein the request message
comprises the first IP address.
36. The method according to claim 35, wherein the first message
comprises the first IP address.
37. The method according to claim 36, wherein the selecting, by the
first server of the tunnel device from the list of tunnel devices
is based on, or in response to, the received first IP address.
38. The method according to claim 37, wherein the selecting by the
first server of the tunnel device comprises selecting a tunnel
device having the first IP address.
39. The method according to claim 1, wherein a first tunnel device
in the group is operating in multiple states that includes an idle
state and non-idle states, the method further comprising by the
first tunnel device: responsive to being in one of the non-idle
states, determining, if an idling condition is met; responsive to
the determination that the idling condition is met, shifting to the
idle state; responsive to being in the idle state, determining if
an idling condition is met; and responsive to the determination
that the idling condition is not met, shifting to one of the
non-idle states.
40. The method according to claim 39, wherein the first tunnel
device is selected by the first server in response to the first
tunnel device being in the idle state.
41. The method according to claim 39, further comprising receiving,
by the first server from the first tunnel device, a message
responsive to the first tunnel device state, wherein the first
tunnel device is selected by the first server in response to the
first tunnel device state being the idle state.
42. The method according to claim 39, further comprising: sending,
by the first tunnel device to the first server, a first status
message in response to shifting to the idle state; and sending, by
the first tunnel device to the first server, a second status
message in response to shifting to a non-idle state.
43. The method according to claim 42, wherein the first tunnel
device is selected by the first server in response to the first or
second status message.
44. The method according to claim 42, further comprising:
receiving, by the first server from the first tunnel device, the
first status message; and adding, the IP address of the first
tunnel device to the list of IP addresses in response to received
first status message.
45. The method according to claim 44, further comprising:
receiving, by the first server from the first tunnel device, the
second status message; and removing, the IP address of the first
tunnel device from the list of IP addresses in response to received
second status message.
46. The method according to claim 39, for use with an additional
idling condition, wherein the determining comprises determining if
the idling condition and the additional idling condition are
met.
47. The method according to claim 39, further comprising operating,
by the first tunnel device, an operating system or a program
process or thread, wherein the idling condition is determined to be
met based on, or according to, activating or executing the process
or thread by the operating system or the program.
48. The method according to claim 47, wherein the process or thread
comprises a low-priority or background task, an idle process, or a
screensaver.
49. The method according to claim 47, wherein the process or thread
comprises using an entire screen for displaying.
50. The method according to claim 39, further comprising monitoring
or metering, by the first tunnel device, a resource utilization,
wherein the idling condition is determined to be met based on, or
according to, the monitored or metered resource utilization being
under a threshold.
51. The method according to claim 50, wherein the resource
utilization comprises the utilization of a processor in the first
tunnel device.
52. The method according to claim 39, wherein the first tunnel
device comprises an input device for obtaining an input from a
human user or operator, the method further comprising sensing, by
the first tunnel device using the input device, the input, and
wherein the idling condition is determined to be met based on, or
according to, not receiving an input from the input device for a
pre-set time interval.
53. The method according to claim 52, wherein the input device
comprises a pointing device, a keyboard, a touchscreen, or a
microphone.
54. The method according to claim 39, wherein the first tunnel
device comprises a motion sensor for sensing motion, acceleration,
vibration, or location change of the first tunnel device, the
method further comprising sensing, by the first tunnel device using
the motion sensor, the respective first tunnel device motion,
acceleration, vibration, or location change, and wherein the idling
condition is determined to be met based on, or according to,
respectively sensing the motion, the vibration, the acceleration,
or the location change being under a threshold.
55. The method according to claim 54, wherein the motion sensor
comprises an accelerometer, gyroscope, vibration sensor, or a
Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver.
56. The method according to claim 39, wherein the first tunnel
device comprises a network interface or a network transceiver for
communication over a network, the method further comprising
metering, by the first tunnel device, an amount of data transmitted
to, or received from, the network during a time interval, and
wherein the idling condition is determined to be met based on, or
according to, the metered amount of data being under a threshold
level.
57. The method according to claim 39, wherein the first tunnel
device comprises a battery, the method further comprising metering
or sensing, by the first tunnel device, a battery charging level,
and wherein the idling condition is determined to be met based on,
or according to, the metered or sensed charge level being over a
threshold level.
58. The method according to claim 57, wherein the metering or
sensing uses a Battery Management System (BMS).
59. The method according to claim 57, wherein the threshold level
is above 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of the battery defined
full charge capacity.
60. The method according to claim 1, for use with a first attribute
type, and wherein each of the tunnel devices in the group is
associated with a first value relating to the first attribute type,
and wherein the method further comprising, storing, by the first
server, the first value for associated each of the tunnel devices
in the group.
61. The method according to claim 60, wherein the first value
comprises a numeric value or an identifier of a feature, an
attribute, a characteristic, or a property of the first attribute
type.
62. The method according to claim 60, wherein the selecting, of the
tunnel device by the first server, is based on the first value
associated with the selected tunnel device.
63. The method according to claim 60, further comprising sending,
by each of the tunnel devices in the group to the first server, the
respective first value to the first server, and receiving, by the
first server, the sent first value.
64. The method according to claim 60, wherein the request message
and the first message comprise one or more values, and wherein the
selecting, of the tunnel device by the first server, is based on
comparing the one or more values to the first value associated with
the selected tunnel device.
65. The method according to claim 60, wherein the request message
and the first message comprise a requested value, and wherein the
selecting, of the tunnel device by the first server, is based on
the requested value being equal to the first value associated with
the selected tunnel device.
66. The method according to claim 60, wherein the request message
and the first message comprise multiple values, and wherein the
selecting, of the tunnel device by the first server, is based on
the first value of the associated with the selected tunnel device
being equal to one of the multiple values.
67. The method according to claim 66, wherein values of the first
attribute type are numerical values, wherein the request message
and the first message comprise a minimum value, and wherein the
selecting, of the tunnel device by the first server, is based on
the first value of the associated with the selected tunnel device
being higher than the minimum value.
68. The method according to claim 66, wherein values of the first
attribute type are numerical values, wherein the request message
and the first message comprise a maximum value, and wherein the
selecting, of the tunnel device by the first server, is based on
the first value of the associated with the selected tunnel device
being lower than the maximum value.
69. The method according to claim 68, wherein the request message
and the first message further comprise a minimum value, and wherein
the selecting, of the tunnel device by the first server, is based
on the first value of the associated with the selected tunnel
device being higher than the minimum value.
70. The method according to claim 60, further for use with a second
attribute type, wherein each of the tunnel devices in the group is
associated with a second value relating to the second attribute
type, and wherein the method further comprising, storing, by the
first server, the second value for associated each of the tunnel
devices in the group.
71. The method according to claim 70, wherein the selecting, of the
tunnel device by the first server, is based on the first and second
values associated with the selected tunnel device.
72. The method according to claim 70, further comprising sending,
by each of the tunnel devices in the group to the first server, the
respective first and second values to the first server, and
receiving, by the first server, the sent first and second
values.
73. The method according to claim 70, wherein the request message
and the first message comprise a first set of one or more values
and a second set of one or more values, and wherein the selecting,
of the tunnel device by the first server, is based on respectively
comparing the first and second sets to the first and second values
associated with the selected tunnel device.
74. The method according to claim 73, wherein the selected tunnel
device is selected by the first server so that the first value is
included in the first set and the second value is included in the
second set.
75. The method according to claim 73, wherein the selected tunnel
device is selected by the first server so that the first value is
included in the first set or the second value is included in the
second set.
76-441. (canceled)
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This patent application claims priority from U.S.
Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/550,834, which was filed on
Aug. 28, 2017, from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.
62/563,157, which was filed on Sep. 26, 2017, from U.S. Provisional
Application Ser. No. 62/624,208, which was filed on Jan. 31, 2018,
and from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/684,211, which
was filed on Jun. 13, 2018, which are all hereby incorporated
herein by reference in their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This disclosure relates generally to an apparatus and method
for improving communication over the Internet by using intermediate
nodes, and in particular, for fetching content from a web server
using tunnel devices as intermediate nodes, which are selected
based on criteria, such as an attribute type and related value.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described
in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application
and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this
section.
[0004] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram that illustrates a system 10
including a computer system 11 and an associated Internet 113
connection. Such configuration is typically used for computers
(hosts) connected to the Internet 113 and executing a server or a
client (or a combination) software. The system 11 may be used as a
portable electronic device such as a notebook/laptop computer, a
media player (e.g., MP3 based or video player), a desktop computer,
a laptop computer, a cellular phone, a Personal Digital Assistant
(PDA), an image processing device (e.g., a digital camera or video
recorder), and/or any other handheld or fixed location computing
devices, or a combination of any of these devices. Note that while
FIG. 1 illustrates various components of a computer system, it is
not intended to represent any particular architecture or manner of
interconnecting the components; as such details are not germane. It
will also be appreciated that network computers, handheld
computers, cell phones and other data processing systems which have
fewer components or perhaps more components may also be used. The
computer system of FIG. 1 may, for example, be an Apple Macintosh
computer or Power Book, or an IBM compatible PC. The computer
system 11 includes a bus 13, an interconnect, or other
communication mechanism for communicating information, and the
processor 27, commonly in the form of an integrated circuit,
coupled to the bus 13 for processing information and for executing
the computer executable instructions. Computer system 11 also
includes a main memory 25a, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM) or
other dynamic storage device, coupled to bus 13 for storing
information and instructions to be executed by the processor 27.
Main memory 25a also may be used for storing temporary variables or
other intermediate information during execution of instructions to
be executed by processor 27. The computer system 11 further
includes a Read Only Memory (ROM) 25b (or other non-volatile
memory) or other static storage device coupled to the bus 13 for
storing static information and instructions for the processor 27. A
storage device 25c, such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, a hard
disk drive (HDD) for reading from and writing to a hard disk, a
magnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a magnetic
disk, and/or an optical disk drive (such as DVD) for reading from
and writing to a removable optical disk, is coupled to bus 13 for
storing information and instructions. The hard disk drive, magnetic
disk drive, and optical disk drive may be connected to the system
bus by a hard disk drive interface, a magnetic disk drive
interface, and an optical disk drive interface, respectively. The
drives and their associated computer-readable media provide
non-volatile storage of computer readable instructions, data
structures, program modules and other data for the general purpose
computing devices. Typically, the computer system 11 includes an
Operating System (OS) stored in a non-volatile storage for managing
the computer resources and provides the applications and programs
with an access to the computer resources and interfaces. An
operating system commonly processes system data and user input, and
responds by allocating and managing tasks and internal system
resources, such as controlling and allocating memory, prioritizing
system requests, controlling input and output devices, facilitating
networking and managing files. Non-limiting examples of operating
systems are Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
[0005] The term "processor" is used herein to include, but not
limited to, any integrated circuit or other electronic device (or
collection of devices) capable of performing an operation on at
least one instruction, including, without limitation, Reduced
Instruction Set Core (RISC) processors, CISC microprocessors,
Microcontroller Units (MCUs), CISC-based Central Processing Units
(CPUs), and Digital Signal Processors (DSPs). The hardware of such
devices may be integrated onto a single substrate (e.g., silicon
"die"), or distributed among two or more substrates. Furthermore,
various functional aspects of the processor may be implemented
solely as software or firmware associated with the processor.
[0006] The computer system 11 may be coupled via the bus 13 to a
display 17, such as a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), a Liquid Crystal
Display (LCD), a flat screen monitor, a touch screen monitor or
similar means for displaying text and graphical data to a user. The
display may be connected via a video adapter for supporting the
display. The display 17 allows a user to view, enter, and/or edit
information that is relevant to the operation of the system. An
input device 18, including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupled
to the bus 13 for communicating information and command selections
to the processor 27. Another type of user input device is a cursor
control 19, such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys
for communicating direction information and command selections to
the processor 27 and for controlling cursor movement on the display
17. This input device typically has two degrees of freedom in two
axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that
allows the device to specify positions in a plane.
[0007] The computer system 11 may be used for implementing the
methods and techniques described herein. According to one
embodiment, those methods and techniques are performed by the
computer system 11 in response to the processor 27 executing one or
more sequences of one or more instructions contained in a main
memory 25a. Such instructions may be read into the main memory 25a
from another computer-readable medium, such as the storage device
25c. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in the
main memory 25a causes the processor 27 to perform the process
steps described herein. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired
circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software
instructions to implement the arrangement. Thus, embodiments of the
invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware
circuitry and software.
[0008] The term "computer-readable medium" (or "machine-readable
medium") is used herein to include, but not limited to, any medium
or any memory, that participates in providing instructions to a
processor, (such as the processor 27) for execution, or any
mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form
readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). Such a medium may store
computer-executable instructions to be executed by a processing
element and/or control logic, and data which is manipulated by a
processing element and/or control logic, and may take many forms,
including but not limited to, non-volatile medium, volatile medium,
and transmission medium. Transmission media includes coaxial
cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that
comprise the bus 13. Transmission media can also take the form of
acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave
and infrared data communications, or other form of propagating
signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals,
etc.). Common forms of computer-readable media include, for
example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape,
or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium,
punch-cards, paper-tape, any other physical medium with patterns of
holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory
chip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any
other medium from which a computer can read.
[0009] Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in
carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to the
processor 27 for execution. For example, the instructions may
initially be carried on a magnetic disk of a remote computer. The
remote computer can load the instructions into its dynamic memory
and send the instructions over a telephone line using a modem. A
modem local to the computer system 11 can receive the data on the
telephone line and use an infrared transmitter to convert the data
to an infrared signal. An infrared detector can receive the data
carried in the infrared signal and appropriate circuitry can place
the data on the bus 13. The bus 13 carries the data to the main
memory 25a, from which the processor 27 retrieves and executes the
instructions. The instructions received by the main memory 25a may
optionally be stored on the storage device 25c either before or
after execution by the processor 27.
[0010] The computer system 11 commonly includes a communication
interface 29 coupled to the bus 13. The communication interface 29
provides a two-way data communication coupling to a network link 28
that is connected to a local network 14. For example, the
communication interface 29 may be an Integrated Services Digital
Network (ISDN) card or a modem to provide a data communication
connection to a corresponding type of telephone line. As another
non-limiting example, the communication interface 29 may be a local
area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection
to a compatible LAN. For example, Ethernet based connection based
on IEEE802.3 standard may be used, such as 10/100 BaseT, 1000 BaseT
(gigabit Ethernet), 10 gigabit Ethernet (10 GE or 10 GbE or 10 GigE
per IEEE Std. 802.3ae-2002as standard), 40 Gigabit Ethernet (40
GbE), or 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100 GbE as per Ethernet standard
IEEE P802.3ba). These technologies are described in Cisco Systems,
Inc. Publication number 1-587005-001-3 (6/99), "Internetworking
Technologies Handbook", Chapter 7: "Ethernet Technologies", pages
7-1 to 7-38, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes
as if fully set forth herein. In such a case, the communication
interface 29 typically includes a LAN transceiver or a modem, such
as Standard Microsystems Corporation (SMSC) LAN91C111 10/100
Ethernet transceiver, described in a Standard Microsystems
Corporation (SMSC) data-sheet "LAN91C111 10/100 Non-PCI Ethernet
Single Chip MAC+PHY` Data-Sheet, Rev. 15 (Feb. 20, 2004), which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein.
[0011] The Internet 113 is a global system of interconnected
computer networks that use the standardized Internet Protocol Suite
(TCP/IP), including Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the
Internet Protocol (IP), to serve billions of users worldwide. It is
a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public,
academic, business, and government networks, of local to global
scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic and optical
networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast range of
information resources and services, such as the interlinked
hypertext documents on the World Wide Web (WWW) and the
infrastructure to support electronic mail. The Internet backbone
refers to the principal data routes between large, strategically
interconnected networks and core routers in the Internet. These
data routes are hosted by commercial, government, academic and
other high-capacity network centers, the Internet exchange points
and network access points that interchange Internet traffic between
the countries, continents and across the oceans of the world.
Traffic interchange between Internet service providers (often Tier
1 networks) participating in the Internet backbone exchange traffic
by privately negotiated interconnection agreements, primarily
governed by the principle of settlement-free peering.
[0012] An Internet Service Provider (ISP) 12 is an organization
that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in
the Internet 113. Internet Service Providers may be organized in
various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or
otherwise privately owned. Internet services typically provided by
ISPs include Internet access, Internet transit, domain name
registration, web hosting, and colocation. Various ISP Structures
are described in Chapter 2: "Structural Overview of ISP Networks"
of the book entitled: "Guide to Reliable Internet Services and
Applications", by Robert D. Doverspike, K K Ramakrishnan, and Chris
Chase, published 2010 (ISBN: 978-1-84882-827-8), which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein.
[0013] A mailbox provider is an organization that provides services
for hosting electronic mail domains with access to storage for
mailboxes. It provides email servers to send, receive, accept, and
store email for end users or other organizations. Internet hosting
services provide email, web-hosting, or online storage services.
Other services include virtual server, cloud services, or physical
server operation. A virtual ISP (VISP) is an operation that
purchases services from another ISP, sometimes called a wholesale
ISP in this context, which allow the VISP's customers to access the
Internet using services and infrastructure owned and operated by
the wholesale ISP. It is akin to mobile virtual network operators
and competitive local exchange carriers for voice communications. A
Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) is an Internet service
provider with a network based on wireless networking. Technology
may include commonplace Wi-Fi wireless mesh networking, or
proprietary equipment designed to operate over open 900 MHz, 2.4
GHz, 4.9, 5.2, 5.4, 5.7, and 5.8 GHz bands or licensed frequencies
in the UHF band (including the MMDS frequency band) and LMDS.
[0014] ISPs may engage in peering, where multiple ISPs interconnect
at peering points or Internet exchange points (IXs), allowing
routing of data between each network, without charging one another
for the data transmitted--data that would otherwise have passed
through a third upstream ISP, incurring charges from the upstream
ISP. ISPs requiring no upstream and having only customers (end
customers and/or peer ISPs), are referred to as Tier 1 ISPs.
[0015] A multitasking is a method where multiple tasks (also known
as processes or programs) are performed during the same period of
time--they are executed concurrently (in overlapping time periods,
new tasks starting before others have ended) instead of
sequentially (one completing before the next starts). The tasks
share common processing resources, such as a CPU and main memory.
Multitasking does not necessarily mean that multiple tasks are
executing at exactly the same instant. In other words, multitasking
does not imply parallelism, but it does mean that more than one
task can be part-way through execution at the same time, and more
than one task is advancing over a given period of time.
[0016] In the case of a computer with a single CPU, only one task
is said to be running at any point in time, meaning that the CPU is
actively executing instructions for that task. Multitasking solves
the problem by scheduling which task may be the one running at any
given time, and when another waiting task gets a turn. The act of
reassigning a CPU from one task to another one is called a context
switch. When context switches occur frequently enough, the illusion
of parallelism is achieved. Even on computers with more than one
CPU (called multiprocessor machines) or more than one core in a
given CPU (called multicore machines), where more than one task can
be executed at a given instant (one per CPU or core), multitasking
allows many more tasks to be run than there are CPUs.
[0017] Operating systems may adopt one of many different scheduling
strategies. In multiprogramming systems, the running task keeps
running until it performs an operation that requires waiting for an
external event (e.g. reading from a tape) or until the computer's
scheduler forcibly swaps the running task out of the CPU.
Multiprogramming systems are designed to maximize CPU usage. In
time-sharing systems, the running task is required to relinquish
the CPU, either voluntarily or by an external event such as a
hardware interrupt. Time sharing systems are designed to allow
several programs to execute apparently simultaneously. In real-time
systems, some waiting tasks are guaranteed to be given the CPU when
an external event occurs. Real time systems are designed to control
mechanical devices such as industrial robots, which require timely
processing.
[0018] The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer
networks that use the standardized Internet Protocol Suite
(TCP/IP), including the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the
Internet Protocol (IP), to serve billions of users worldwide. It is
a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public,
academic, business, and government networks, of local to global
scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic and optical
networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast range of
information resources and services, such as the interlinked
hypertext documents on the World Wide Web (WWW) and the
infrastructure to support electronic mail. The Internet backbone
refers to the principal data routes between large, strategically
interconnected networks and core routers in the Internet. These
data routes are hosted by commercial, government, academic, and
other high-capacity network centers, the Internet exchange points
and network access points that interchange Internet traffic between
the countries, continents and across the oceans of the world.
Traffic interchange between Internet service providers (often Tier
1 networks) participating in the Internet backbone exchange traffic
by privately negotiated interconnection agreements, primarily
governed by the principle of settlement-free peering.
[0019] The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is one of the core
protocols of the Internet protocol suite (IP) described in RFC 675
and RFC 793, and the entire suite is often referred to as TCP/IP.
TCP provides reliable, ordered and error-checked delivery of a
stream of octets between programs running on computers connected to
a local area network, intranet or the public Internet. It resides
at the transport layer. Web browsers typically use TCP when they
connect to servers on the World Wide Web, and used to deliver email
and transfer files from one location to another. HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP,
POP3, IMAP, SSH, FTP, Telnet and a variety of other protocols that
are typically encapsulated in TCP. As the transport layer of TCP/IP
suite, the TCP provides a communication service at an intermediate
level between an application program and the Internet Protocol
(IP). Due to network congestion, traffic load balancing, or other
unpredictable network behavior, IP packets can be lost, duplicated,
or delivered out of order. TCP detects these problems, requests
retransmission of lost data, rearranges out-of-order data, and even
helps minimize network congestion to reduce the occurrence of the
other problems. Once the TCP receiver has reassembled the sequence
of octets originally transmitted, it passes them to the receiving
application. Thus, TCP abstracts the application's communication
from the underlying networking details. The TCP is utilized
extensively by many of the Internet's most popular applications,
including the World Wide Web (WWW), E-mail, File Transfer Protocol,
Secure Shell, peer-to-peer file sharing, and some streaming media
applications.
[0020] While IP layer handles actual delivery of the data, TCP
keeps track of the individual units of data transmission, called
segments, which a message is divided into for efficient routing
through the network. For example, when an HTML file is sent from a
web server, the TCP software layer of that server divides the
sequence of octets of the file into segments and forwards them
individually to the IP software layer (Internet Layer). The
Internet Layer encapsulates each TCP segment into an IP packet by
adding a header that includes (among other data) the destination IP
address. When the client program on the destination computer
receives them, the TCP layer (Transport Layer) reassembles the
individual segments and ensures they are correctly ordered and
error free as it streams them to an application.
[0021] The TCP protocol operations may be divided into three
phases. Connections must be properly established in a multi-step
handshake process (connection establishment) before entering the
data transfer phase. After data transmission is completed, the
connection termination closes established virtual circuits and
releases all allocated resources. A TCP connection is typically
managed by an operating system through a programming interface that
represents the local end-point for communications, the Internet
socket. During the duration of a TCP connection, the local
end-point undergoes a series of state changes.
[0022] Since TCP/IP is based on the client/server model of
operation, the TCP connection setup involves the client and server
preparing for the connection by performing an OPEN operation. A
client process initiates a TCP connection by performing an active
OPEN, sending a SYN message to a server. A server process using TCP
prepares for an incoming connection request by performing a passive
OPEN. Both devices create for each TCP session a data structure
used to hold important data related to the connection, called a
Transmission Control Block (TCB).
[0023] There are two different kinds of OPEN, named `Active OPEN`
and `Passive OPEN`. In Active OPEN the client process using TCP
takes the "active role" and initiates the connection by actually
sending a TCP message to start the connection (a SYN message). In
Passive OPEN the server process designed to use TCP is contacting
TCP and saying: "I am here, and I am waiting for clients that may
wish to talk to me to send me a message on the following port
number". The OPEN is called passive because aside from indicating
that the process is listening, the server process does nothing. A
passive OPEN can in fact specify that the server is waiting for an
active OPEN from a specific client, though not all TCP/IP APIs
support this capability. More commonly, a server process is willing
to accept connections from all comers. Such a passive OPEN is said
to be unspecified.
[0024] In passive OPEN, the TCP uses a three-way handshake, and
before a client attempts to connect with a server, the server must
first bind to and listen at a port to open it up for connections.
Once the Passive OPEN is established, a client may initiate an
Active OPEN. To establish a connection, the three-way (or 3-step)
handshake occurs: [0025] 1. SYN: The active open is performed by
the client sending a SYN to the server. The client sets the
segment's sequence number to a random value A. [0026] 2. SYN-ACK:
In response, the server replies with a SYN-ACK. The acknowledgment
number is set to one more than the received sequence number, i.e.
A+1, and the sequence number that the server chooses for the packet
is another random number, B. [0027] 3. ACK: Finally, the client
sends an ACK back to the server. The sequence number is set to the
received acknowledgement value, i.e. A+1, and the acknowledgement
number is set to one more than the received sequence number i.e.
B+1.
[0028] At this point, both the client and server have received an
acknowledgment of the connection. The steps 1, 2 establish the
connection parameter (sequence number) for one direction and it is
acknowledged. The steps 2, 3 establish the connection parameter
(sequence number) for the other direction and it is acknowledged,
and then a full-duplex communication is established.
[0029] TCP keepalive. When two hosts are connected over a network
via TCP/IP, TCP Keepalive Packets can be used to determine if the
connection is still valid, and terminate it if needed. Most hosts
that support TCP also support TCP Keepalive, where each host (or
peer) periodically sends a TCP packet to its peer which solicits a
response. The TCP keepalive scheme involves using timers when
setting up a TCP connection, and when the keepalive timer reaches
zero, a keepalive probe packet is sent with no data in it and the
ACK flag turned on. This procedure is useful because if the other
peers lose their connection (for example by rebooting) the broken
connection is noticed, even no traffic on it is exchanged. If the
keepalive probe is not replied to, the connection cannot be
considered valid anymore. The TCP keepalive mechanism may be used
to prevent inactivity from disconnecting the channel. For example,
when being behind a NAT proxy or a firewall, a host may be
disconnected without a reason. This behavior is caused by the
connection tracking procedures implemented in proxies and
firewalls, which keep track of all connections that pass through
them. Due to the physical limits of these machines, they can only
keep a finite number of connections in their memory. The most
common and logical policy is to keep newest connections and to
discard old and inactive connections first.
[0030] A keepalive signal is often sent at predefined intervals,
and plays an important role on the Internet. After a signal is
sent, if no reply is received the link is assumed to be down and
future data will be routed via another path until the link is up
again. A keepalive signal can also be used to indicate to Internet
infrastructure that the connection should be preserved. Without a
keepalive signal, intermediate NAT-enabled routers can drop the
connection after timeout. Since the only purpose is to find links
that don't work or to indicate connections that should be
preserved, keepalive messages tend to be short and not take much
bandwidth.
[0031] Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) keepalives are an
optional feature, and if included must default to off. The
keepalive packet contains null data, and in an Ethernet network, a
keepalive frame length is 60 bytes, while the server response to
this, also a null data frame, is 54 bytes. There are three
parameters related to keepalive: Keepalive time is the duration
between two keepalive transmissions in idle condition where TCP
keepalive period is required to be configurable and by default is
set to no less than 2 hours, Keepalive interval is the duration
between two successive keepalive retransmissions, if
acknowledgement to the previous keepalive transmission is not
received, and Keepalive retry is the number of retransmissions to
be carried out before declaring that remote end is not
available.
[0032] The Internet Protocol (IP) is the principal communications
protocol used for relaying datagrams (packets) across a network
using the Internet Protocol Suite. Responsible for routing packets
across network boundaries, it is the primary protocol that
establishes the Internet. IP is the primary protocol in the
Internet Layer of the Internet Protocol Suite and has the task of
delivering datagrams from the source host to the destination host
based on their addresses. For this purpose, IP defines addressing
methods and structures for datagram encapsulation. Internet
Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) is the dominant protocol of the Internet.
IPv4 is described in Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request
for Comments (RFC) 791 and RFC 1349, and the successor, Internet
Protocol Version 6 (IPv6), is currently active and in growing
deployment worldwide. IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses (providing 4
billion: 4.3.times.10.sup.9 addresses), while IPv6 uses 128-bit
addresses (providing 340 undecillion or 3.4.times.10.sup.38
addresses), as described in RFC 2460.
[0033] An overview of an IP-based packet 15 is shown in FIG. 2a.
The packet may be generally segmented into the IP data 16b to be
carried as payload, and the IP header 16f. The IP header 16f
contains the IP address of the source as Source IP Address field
16d and the Destination IP Address field 16c. In most cases, the IP
header 16f and the payload 16b are further encapsulated by adding a
Frame Header 16e and Frame Footer 16a used by higher layer
protocols.
[0034] The Internet Protocol is responsible for addressing hosts
and routing datagrams (packets) from a source host to the
destination host across one or more IP networks. For this purpose
the Internet Protocol defines an addressing system that has two
functions. Addresses identify hosts and provide a logical location
service. Each packet is tagged with a header that contains the
meta-data for the purpose of delivery. This process of tagging is
also called encapsulation. IP is a connectionless protocol for use
in a packet-switched Link Layer network, and does not need circuit
setup prior to transmission. The aspects of guaranteeing delivery,
proper sequencing, avoidance of duplicate delivery, and data
integrity are addressed by an upper transport layer protocol (e.g.,
TCP--Transmission Control Protocol and UDP--User Datagram
Protocol).
[0035] The main aspects of the IP technology are IP addressing and
routing. Addressing refers to how IP addresses are assigned to end
hosts and how sub-networks of IP host addresses are divided and
grouped together. IP routing is performed by all hosts, but most
importantly by internetwork routers, which typically use either
Interior Gateway Protocols (IGPs) or External Gateway Protocols
(EGPs) to help make IP datagram forwarding decisions across IP
connected networks. Core routers serving in the Internet backbone
commonly use the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) as per RFC 4098 or
Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS). Other prior art publications
relating to Internet related protocols and routing include the
following chapters of the publication number 1-587005-001-3 by
Cisco Systems, Inc. (7/99) entitled: "Internetworking Technologies
Handbook", which are all incorporated in their entirety for all
purposes as if fully set forth herein: Chapter 5: "Routing Basics"
(pages 5-1 to 5-10), Chapter 30: "Internet Protocols" (pages 30-1
to 30-16), Chapter 32: "IPv6" (pages 32-1 to 32-6), Chapter 45:
"OS/Routing"(pages 45-1 to 45-8) and Chapter 51: "Security" (pages
51-1 to 51-12), as well as in a IBM Corporation, International
Technical Support Organization Redbook Documents No. GG24-4756-00,
entitled: "Local area Network Concepts and Products: LAN Operation
Systems and management", 1st Edition May 1996, Redbook Document No.
GG24-4338-00, entitled: "Introduction to Networking Technologies",
1.sup.st Edition April 1994, Redbook Document No. GG24-2580-01 "IP
Network Design Guide", 2.sup.nd Edition June 1999, and Redbook
Document No. GG24-3376-07 "TCP/IP Tutorial and Technical Overview",
ISBN 0738494682 8.sup.th Edition December 2006, which are
incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set
forth herein.
[0036] An Internet packet typically includes a value of
Time-to-Live (TTL) for avoiding the case of packet looping
endlessly. The initial TTL value is set in the header of the
packet, and each router in the packet path subtracts one from the
TTL field, and the packet is discarded upon the value exhaustion.
Since the packets may be routed via different and disparately
located routers and servers, the TTL of the packets reaching the
ultimate destination computer are expected to vary.
[0037] The Internet architecture employs a client-server model,
among other arrangements. The terms `server` or `server computer`
relates herein to a device or computer (or a plurality of
computers) connected to the Internet and is used for providing
facilities or services to other computers or other devices
(referred to in this context as `clients`) connected to the
Internet. A server is commonly a host that has an IP address and
executes a `server program`, and typically operates as a socket
listener. Many servers have dedicated functionality such as web
server, Domain Name System (DNS) server (described in RFC 1034 and
RFC 1035), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server
(described in RFC 2131 and RFC 3315), mail server, File Transfer
Protocol (FTP) server and database server. Similarly, the term
`client` is used herein to include, but not limited to, a program
or to a device or a computer (or a series of computers) executing
this program, which accesses a server over the Internet for a
service or a resource. Clients commonly initiate connections that a
server may accept. For non-limiting example, web browsers are
clients that connect to web servers for retrieving web pages, and
email clients connect to mail storage servers for retrieving
mails.
[0038] Web page. A web-page is typically a collection of
information, consisting of one or more resources, intended to be
rendered simultaneously, and identified by a single Uniform
Resource Identifier. More specifically, a web page may consist of a
resource with zero, one, or more embedded resources intended to be
rendered as a single unit, and referred to by the URI of the one
resource which is not embedded. A Uniform Resource Identifier (URI)
is intended to be recognized by a user as representing the identity
of a specific Web Page (resource). A resource may include a network
data object or service that can be identified by a URI. Resources
may be available in multiple representations (e.g. multiple
languages, data formats, size, resolution) or vary in other ways.
The URI specification defines a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI)
or URL (Uniform Resource Locator) as a compact string of characters
for identifying an abstract or physical resource.
[0039] HTTP. The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an
application protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia
information systems, commonly used for communication over the
Internet. Hypertext is. HTTP is the protocol to exchange or
transfer hypertext, which is a structured text that uses logical
links (hyperlinks) between nodes containing text. HTTP version 1.1
was standardized as RFC 2616 (June 1999), which was replaced by a
set of standards (obsoleting RFC 2616), including RFC
7230--HTTP/1.1: Message Syntax and Routing, RFC 7231--HTTP/1.1:
Semantics and Content, RFC 7232--HTTP/1.1: Conditional Requests,
RFC 7233--HTTP/1.1: Range Requests, RFC 7234--HTTP/1.1: Caching,
and RFC 7235--HTTP/1.1: Authentication. HTTP functions as a
request-response protocol in the client-server computing model. A
web browser, for example, may be the client and an application
running on a computer hosting a website may be the server. The
client submits an HTTP request message to the server. The server,
which provide resources such as HTML files and other content, or
performs other functions on behalf of the client, returns a
response message to the client. The response contains completion
status information about the request and may also contain requested
content in its message body. A web browser is an example of a user
agent (UA). Other types of user agent include the indexing software
used by search providers (web crawlers), voice browsers, mobile
apps and other software that accesses, consumes or displays web
content.
[0040] HTTP is designed to permit intermediate network elements to
improve or enable communications between clients and servers.
High-traffic websites often benefit from web cache servers that
deliver content on behalf of upstream servers to improve response
time. Web browsers cache previously accessed web resources and
reuse them when possible, to reduce network traffic. HTTP proxy
servers at private network boundaries can facilitate communication
for clients without a globally routable address, by relaying
messages with external servers. HTTP is an application layer
protocol designed within the framework of the Internet Protocol
Suite. Its definition presumes an underlying and reliable transport
layer protocol, and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is commonly
used. However, HTTP can use unreliable protocols such as the User
Datagram Protocol (UDP), for example, in the Simple Service
Discovery Protocol (SSDP). HTTP resources are identified and
located on the network by Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) or,
more specifically, Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), using the http
or https URI schemes. URIs and hyperlinks in Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML) documents form webs of inter-linked hypertext
documents. An HTTP session is a sequence of network
request-response transactions. An HTTP client initiates a request
by establishing a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection to
a particular port on a server. An HTTP server listening on that
port waits for a client's request message. Upon receiving the
request, the server sends back a status line, such as "HTTP/1.1 200
OK", and a message of its own. The body of this message is
typically the requested resource, although an error message or
other information may also be returned. HTTP is a stateless
protocol. A stateless protocol does not require the HTTP server to
retain information or status
[0041] HTTP persistent connection, also called HTTP keep-alive, or
HTTP connection reuse, refers to using a single TCP connection to
send and receive multiple HTTP requests/responses, as opposed to
opening a new connection for every single request/response pair.
Persistent connections provide a mechanism by which a client and a
server can signal the close of a TCP connection. This signaling
takes place using the Connection header field. The HTTP persistent
connection is described in IETF RFC 2616, entitled: "Hypertext
Transfer Protocol--HTTP/1.1". In HTTP 1.1, all connections are
considered persistent unless declared otherwise. The HTTP
persistent connections do not use separate keepalive messages, but
they allow multiple requests to use a single connection. The
advantages of using persistent connections involve lower CPU and
memory usage (because fewer connections are open simultaneously),
enabling HTTP pipelining of requests and responses, reduced network
congestion (due to fewer TCP connections), and reduced latency in
subsequent requests (due to minimal handshaking). Any connection
herein may use, or be based on, an HTTP persistent connection.
[0042] HTTPS. HTTPS (also referred to as HTTP over Transport Layer
Security (TLS), HTTP over SSL, and HTTP Secure) is a communications
protocol for secure communication over a computer network which is
widely used on the Internet. HTTPS consists of communication over
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) within a connection encrypted by
Transport Layer Security, or its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer.
The main motivation for HTTPS is authentication of the visited
website and protection of the privacy and integrity of the
exchanged data. HTTPS typically provides authentication of the
website and associated web server with which one is communicating,
which protects against man-in-the-middle attacks. Additionally, it
provides bidirectional encryption of communications between a
client and server, which protects against eavesdropping and
tampering with or forging the contents of the communication. In
practice, this provides a reasonable guarantee that one is
communicating with precisely the website that one intended to
communicate with (as opposed to an impostor), as well as ensuring
that the contents of communications between the user and site
cannot be read or forged by any third party.
[0043] The HTTPS Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) scheme has
identical syntax to the standard HTTP scheme, aside from its scheme
token. However, HTTPS signals the browser to use an added
encryption layer of SSL/TLS to protect the traffic. SSL/TLS is
especially suited for HTTP, since it can provide some protection
even if only one side of the communication is authenticated. This
is the case with HTTP transactions over the Internet, where
typically only the server is authenticated (by the client examining
the server's certificate). HTTPS creates a secure channel over an
insecure networks, hence ensuring reasonable protection from
eavesdroppers and man-in-the-middle attacks, provided that adequate
cipher suites are used and that the server certificate is verified
and trusted. Because HTTPS piggybacks HTTP entirely on top of TLS,
the entirety of the underlying HTTP protocol can be encrypted. This
includes the request URL (which particular web page was requested),
query parameters, headers, and cookies (which often contain
identity information about the user). However, because host
(website) addresses and port numbers are necessarily part of the
underlying TCP/IP protocols, HTTPS cannot protect their disclosure.
In practice this means that even on a correctly configured web
server, eavesdroppers can infer the IP address and port number of
the web server (sometimes even the domain name e.g.,
www.example.org, but not the rest of the URL) that one is
communicating with, as well as the amount (data transferred) and
duration (length of session) of the communication, though not the
content of the communication.
[0044] Deploying HTTPS also allows the use of HTTP/2 (or its
predecessor, the now-deprecated protocol SPDY), that are new
generations of HTTP, designed to reduce page load times and
latency. HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) is typically used
with HTTPS to protect users from man-in-the-middle attacks,
especially SSL stripping. While HTTPS URLs begin with "https://"
and use port 443 by default, or alternatively 8443, the HTTP URLs
begin with "http://" and use port 80 by default, and HTTP is not
encrypted and is thus vulnerable to man-in-the-middle and
eavesdropping attacks, which can let attackers gain access to
website accounts and sensitive information, and modify webpages to
inject malware or advertisements. HTTPS is designed to withstand
such attacks and is considered secure against them (with the
exception of older, deprecated versions of SSL).
[0045] ASN. Within the Internet, an Autonomous System (AS) is a
collection of connected Internet Protocol (IP) routing prefixes
under the control of one or more network operators on behalf of a
single administrative entity or domain that presents a common,
clearly defined routing policy to the Internet. Autonomous System
(AS) Numbers (ASNs) are used by various routing protocols, and LANA
allocates AS Numbers to Regional Internet Registries (RIRs). The
RIRs further allocate or assign AS Numbers to network operators in
line with RIR policies. Originally the definition required control
by a single entity, typically an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or
a very large organization with independent connections to multiple
networks, that adhere to a single and clearly defined routing
policy, as originally defined in RFC 1771. The newer definition in
RFC 1930 came into use to support multiple organizations that run
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) using private AS numbers to an ISP
that connects all those organizations to the Internet. Even though
there may be multiple autonomous systems supported by the ISP, the
Internet only sees the routing policy of the ISP. That ISP must
have an officially registered Autonomous System Number (ASN). A
unique ASN is allocated to each AS for use in BGP routing, and an
ASN uniquely identifies each network on the Internet. ASN
representation is described in IETF 5396 dated December 2008 and
entitled: "Textual Representation of Autonomous System (AS)
Numbers", and four octets ASKs are described in IETF RFC 6793 dated
December 2012 entitled: "BGP Support for Four-Octet Autonomous
System (AS) Number Space".
[0046] Autonomous systems can be grouped into four categories,
depending on their connectivity and operating policy. A multihomed
autonomous system is an AS that maintains connections to more than
one other AS. This allows the AS to remain connected to the
Internet in the event of a complete failure of one of their
connections. However, unlike a transit AS, this type of AS would
not allow traffic from one AS to pass through on its way to another
AS. A stub autonomous system refers to an AS that is connected to
only one other AS. This may be an apparent waste of an AS number if
the network's routing policy is the same as its upstream AS's.
However, the stub AS may, in fact, have peering with other
autonomous systems that is not reflected in public route-view
servers. Specific examples include private interconnections in the
financial and transportation sectors. A transit autonomous system
is an AS that provides connections through itself to other
networks. That is, network A can use network B, the transit AS, to
connect to network C. If one AS is an ISP for another, then the
former is a transit AS. An Internet Exchange Point autonomous
system (IX or IXP) is a physical infrastructure through which
Internet service providers (ISPs) or content delivery networks
(CDNs) exchange Internet traffic between their networks (autonomous
systems).
[0047] An Operating System (OS) is software that manages computer
hardware resources and provides common services for computer
programs. The operating system is an essential component of any
system software in a computer system, and most application programs
usually require an operating system to function. For hardware
functions such as input and output and memory allocation, the
operating system acts as an intermediary between programs and the
computer hardware, although the application code is usually
executed directly by the hardware and will frequently make a system
call to an OS function or be interrupted by it. Common features
typically supported by operating systems include process
management, interrupts handling, memory management, file system,
device drivers, networking (such as TCP/IP and UDP), and
Input/Output (I/O) handling. Examples of popular modern operating
systems include Android, BSD, iOS, Linux, OS X, QNX, Microsoft
Windows, Windows Phone, and IBM z/OS.
[0048] A server device (in server/client architecture) typically
offers information resources, services, and applications to
clients, and is using a server dedicated or oriented operating
system. Current popular server operating systems are based on
Microsoft Windows (by Microsoft Corporation, headquartered in
Redmond, Wash., U.S.A.), Unix, and Linux-based solutions, such as
the `Windows Server 2012` server operating system is part of the
Microsoft `Windows Server` OS family, that was released by
Microsoft on 2012, providing enterprise-class datacenter and hybrid
cloud solutions that are simple to deploy, cost-effective,
application-focused, and user-centric, and is described in
Microsoft publication entitled: "Inside-Out Windows Server 2012",
by William R. Stanek, published 2013 by Microsoft Press, which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein.
[0049] Unix operating systems are widely used in servers. Unix is a
multitasking, multiuser computer operating system that exists in
many variants, and is characterized by a modular design that is
sometimes called the "Unix philosophy," meaning the OS provides a
set of simple tools that each perform a limited, well-defined
function, with a unified filesystem as the main means of
communication, and a shell scripting and command language to
combine the tools to perform complex workflows. Unix was designed
to be portable, multi-tasking and multi-user in a time-sharing
configuration, and Unix systems are characterized by various
concepts: the use of plain text for storing data; a hierarchical
file system; treating devices and certain types of Inter-Process
Communication (IPC) as files; and the use of a large number of
software tools, small programs that can be strung together through
a command line interpreter using pipes, as opposed to using a
single monolithic program that includes all of the same
functionality. Under Unix, the operating system consists of many
utilities along with the master control program, the kernel. The
kernel provides services to start and stop programs, handles the
file system and other common "low level" tasks that most programs
share, and schedules access to avoid conflicts when programs try to
access the same resource or device simultaneously. To mediate such
access, the kernel has special rights, reflected in the division
between user-space and kernel-space. Unix is described in a
publication entitled: "UNIX Tutorial" by tutorialspoint.com,
downloaded on July 2014, which is incorporated in its entirety for
all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0050] A client device (in server/client architecture) typically
receives information resources, services, and applications from
servers, and is using a client dedicated or oriented operating
system. Current popular server operating systems are based on
Microsoft Windows (by Microsoft Corporation, headquartered in
Redmond, Wash., U.S.A.), which is a series of graphical interface
operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Microsoft.
Microsoft Windows is described in Microsoft publications entitled:
"Windows Internals--Part 1" and "Windows Internals--Part 2", by
Mark Russinovich, David A. Solomon, and Alex Ioescu, published by
Microsoft Press in 2012, which are both incorporated in their
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. Windows 8
is a personal computer operating system developed by Microsoft as
part of Windows NT family of operating systems, that was released
for general availability on October 2012, and is described in
Microsoft Press 2012 publication entitled: "Introducing Windows
8--An Overview for IT Professionals" by Jerry Honeycutt, which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein.
[0051] Chrome OS is a Linux kernel-based operating system designed
by Google Inc. out of Mountain View, Calif., U.S.A., to work
primarily with web applications. The user interface takes a
minimalist approach and consists almost entirely of just the Google
Chrome web browser; since the operating system is aimed at users
who spend most of their computer time on the Web, the only "native"
applications on Chrome OS are a browser, media player and file
manager, and hence the Chrome OS is almost a pure web thin client
OS.
[0052] The Chrome OS is described as including a three-tier
architecture: firmware, browser and window manager, and
system-level software and userland services. The firmware
contributes to fast boot time by not probing for hardware, such as
floppy disk drives, that are no longer common on computers,
especially netbooks. The firmware also contributes to security by
verifying each step in the boot process and incorporating system
recovery. The system-level software includes the Linux kernel that
has been patched to improve boot performance. The userland software
has been trimmed to essentials, with management by Upstart, which
can launch services in parallel, re-spawn crashed jobs, and defer
services in the interest of faster booting. The Chrome OS user
guide is described in the Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
presentation entitled: "Google.TM. Chrome OS USER GUIDE" published
2011, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if
fully set forth herein.
[0053] RTOS. A Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) is an Operating
System (OS) intended to serve real-time applications that process
data as it comes in, typically without buffer delays. Processing
time requirements (including any OS delay) are typically measured
in tenths of seconds or shorter increments of time, and is a time
bound system which has well defined fixed time constraints.
Processing is commonly to be done within the defined constraints,
or the system will fail. They either are event driven or time
sharing, where event driven systems switch between tasks based on
their priorities while time sharing systems switch the task based
on clock interrupts. A key characteristic of an RTOS is the level
of its consistency concerning the amount of time it takes to accept
and complete an application's task; the variability is jitter. A
hard real-time operating system has less jitter than a soft
real-time operating system. The chief design goal is not high
throughput, but rather a guarantee of a soft or hard performance
category. An RTOS that can usually or generally meet a deadline is
a soft real-time OS, but if it can meet a deadline
deterministically it is a hard real-time OS. An RTOS has an
advanced algorithm for scheduling, and includes a scheduler
flexibility that enables a wider, computer-system orchestration of
process priorities. Key factors in a real-time OS are minimal
interrupt latency and minimal thread switching latency; a real-time
OS is valued more for how quickly or how predictably it can respond
than for the amount of work it can perform in a given period of
time.
[0054] Common designs of RTOS include event-driven, where tasks are
switched only when an event of higher priority needs servicing;
called preemptive priority, or priority scheduling, and
time-sharing, where task are switched on a regular clocked
interrupt, and on events; called round robin. Time sharing designs
switch tasks more often than strictly needed, but give smoother
multitasking, giving the illusion that a process or user has sole
use of a machine. In typical designs, a task has three states:
Running (executing on the CPU); Ready (ready to be executed); and
Blocked (waiting for an event, I/O for example). Most tasks are
blocked or ready most of the time because generally only one task
can run at a time per CPU. The number of items in the ready queue
can vary greatly, depending on the number of tasks the system needs
to perform and the type of scheduler that the system uses. On
simpler non-preemptive but still multitasking systems, a task has
to give up its time on the CPU to other tasks, which can cause the
ready queue to have a greater number of overall tasks in the ready
to be executed state (resource starvation).
[0055] RTOS concepts and implementations are described in an
Application Note No. RES05B00008-0100/Rec. 1.00 published January
2010 by Renesas Technology Corp. entitled: "R8C Family--General
RTOS Concepts", in JAJA Technology Review article published
February 2007 [1535-5535/$32.00] by The Association for Laboratory
Automation [doi:10.1016/j.jala.2006.10.016] entitled: "An Overview
of Real-Time Operating Systems", and in Chapter 2 entitled: "Basic
Concepts of Real Time Operating Systems" of a book published 2009
[ISBN--978-1-4020-9435-4] by Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
entitled: "Hardware-Dependent Software--Principles and Practice",
which are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if
fully set forth herein.
[0056] QNX. One example of RTOS is QNX, which is a commercial
Unix-like real-time operating system, aimed primarily at the
embedded systems market. QNX was one of the first commercially
successful microkernel operating systems and is used in a variety
of devices including cars and mobile phones. As a microkernel-based
OS, QNX is based on the idea of running most of the operating
system kernel in the form of a number of small tasks, known as
Resource Managers. In the case of QNX, the use of a microkernel
allows users (developers) to turn off any functionality they do not
require without having to change the OS itself; instead, those
services will simply not run.
[0057] FreeRTOS. FreeRTOS.TM. is a free and open-source Real-Time
Operating system developed by Real Time Engineers Ltd., designed to
fit on small embedded systems and implements only a very minimalist
set of functions: very basic handle of tasks and memory management,
and just sufficient API concerning synchronization. Its features
include characteristics such as preemptive tasks, support for
multiple microcontroller architectures, a small footprint (4.3
Kbytes on an ARM7 after compilation), written in C, and compiled
with various C compilers. It also allows an unlimited number of
tasks to run at the same time, and no limitation about their
priorities as long as used hardware can afford it.
[0058] FreeRTOS.TM. provides methods for multiple threads or tasks,
mutexes, semaphores and software timers. A tick-less mode is
provided for low power applications, and thread priorities are
supported. Four schemes of memory allocation are provided: allocate
only; allocate and free with a very simple, fast, algorithm; a more
complex but fast allocate and free algorithm with memory
coalescence; and C library allocate and free with some mutual
exclusion protection. While the emphasis is on compactness and
speed of execution, a command line interface and POSIX-like IO
abstraction add-ons are supported. FreeRTOS.TM. implements multiple
threads by having the host program call a thread tick method at
regular short intervals.
[0059] The thread tick method switches tasks depending on priority
and a round-robin scheduling scheme. The usual interval is 1/1000
of a second to 1/100 of a second, via an interrupt from a hardware
timer, but this interval is often changed to suit a particular
application. FreeRTOS.TM. is described in a paper by Nicolas Melot
(downloaded 7/2015) entitled: "Study of an operating system:
FreeRTOS--Operating systems for embedded devices", in a paper
(dated Sep. 23, 2013) by Dr. Richard Wall entitled: "Carebot PIC32
MX7ck implementation of Free RTOS", FreeRTOS.TM. modules are
described in web pages entitled: "FreeRTOS.TM. Modules" published
in the www.freertos.org web-site dated Nov. 11, 2006, and FreeRTOS
kernel is described in a paper published 1 Apr. 2007 by Rich
Goyette of Carleton University as part of `SYSC5701: Operating
System Methods for Real-Time Applications`, entitled: "An Analysis
and Description of the Inner Workings of the FreeRTOS Kernel",
which are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if
fully set forth herein.
[0060] SafeRTOS. SafeRTOS was constructed as a complementary
offering to FreeRTOS, with common functionality but with a uniquely
designed safety-critical implementation. When the FreeRTOS
functional model was subjected to a full HAZOP, weakness with
respect to user misuse and hardware failure within the functional
model and API were identified and resolved. Both SafeRTOS and
FreeRTOS share the same scheduling algorithm, have similar APIs,
and are otherwise very similar, but they were developed with
differing objectives. SafeRTOS was developed solely in the C
language to meet requirements for certification to IEC61508.
SafeRTOS is known for its ability to reside solely in the on-chip
read only memory of a microcontroller for standards compliance.
When implemented in hardware memory, SafeRTOS code can only be
utilized in its original configuration, so certification testing of
systems using this OS need not re-test this portion of their
designs during the functional safety certification process.
[0061] VxWorks. VxWorks is an RTOS developed as proprietary
software and designed for use in embedded systems requiring
real-time, deterministic performance and, in many cases, safety and
security certification, for industries, such as aerospace and
defense, medical devices, industrial equipment, robotics, energy,
transportation, network infrastructure, automotive, and consumer
electronics. VxWorks supports Intel architecture, POWER
architecture, and ARM architectures. The VxWorks may be used in
multicore asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP), symmetric
multiprocessing (SMP), and mixed modes and multi-OS (via Type 1
hypervisor) designs on 32- and 64-bit processors. VxWorks comes
with the kernel, middleware, board support packages, Wind River
Workbench development suite and complementary third-party software
and hardware technologies. In its latest release, VxWorks 7, the
RTOS has been re-engineered for modularity and upgradeability so
the OS kernel is separate from middleware, applications and other
packages. Scalability, security, safety, connectivity, and graphics
have been improved to address Internet of Things (IoT) needs.
[0062] .mu.C/OS. Micro-Controller Operating Systems (MicroC/OS,
stylized as .mu.C/OS) is a real-time operating system (RTOS) that
is a priority-based preemptive real-time kernel for
microprocessors, written mostly in the programming language C, and
is intended for use in embedded systems. MicroC/OS allows defining
several functions in C, each of which can execute as an independent
thread or task. Each task runs at a different priority, and runs as
if it owns the central processing unit (CPU). Lower priority tasks
can be preempted by higher priority tasks at any time. Higher
priority tasks use operating system (OS) services (such as a delay
or event) to allow lower priority tasks to execute. OS services are
provided for managing tasks and memory, communicating between
tasks, and timing.
[0063] Smartphone. A mobile phone (also known as a cellular phone,
cell phone, smartphone, or hand phone) is a device which can make
and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around
a wide geographic area, by connecting to a cellular network
provided by a mobile network operator. The calls are to and from
the public telephone network, which includes other mobiles and
fixed-line phones across the world. The Smartphones are typically
hand-held and may combine the functions of a personal digital
assistant (PDA), and may serve as portable media players and camera
phones with high-resolution touch-screens, web browsers that can
access, and properly display, standard web pages rather than just
mobile-optimized sites, GPS navigation, Wi-Fi, and mobile broadband
access. In addition to telephony, the Smartphones may support a
wide variety of other services such as text messaging, MMS, email,
Internet access, short-range wireless communications (infrared,
Bluetooth), business applications, gaming and photography.
[0064] An example of a contemporary smartphone is model iPhone 6
available from Apple Inc., headquartered in Cupertino, Calif.,
U.S.A. and described in iPhone 6 technical specification (retrieved
10/2015 from www.apple.com/iphone-6/specs/), and in a User Guide
dated 2015 (019-00155/2015-06) by Apple Inc. entitled: "iPhone User
Guide For iOS 8.4 Software", which are both incorporated in their
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. Another
example of a smartphone is Samsung Galaxy S6 available from Samsung
Electronics headquartered in Suwon, South-Korea, described in the
user manual numbered English (EU), 03/2015 (Rev. 1.0) entitled:
"SM-G925F SM-G925FQ SM-G925I User Manual" and having features and
specification described in "Galaxy S6 Edge--Technical
Specification" (retrieved 10/2015 from
www.samsung.com/us/explore/galaxy-s-6-features-and-specs), which
are both incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if
fully set forth herein.
[0065] A mobile operating system (also referred to as mobile OS),
is an operating system that operates a smartphone, tablet, PDA, or
other mobile device. Modern mobile operating systems combine the
features of a personal computer operating system with other
features, including a touchscreen, cellular, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS
mobile navigation, camera, video camera, speech recognition, voice
recorder, music player, near field communication and infrared
blaster. Currently popular mobile OS are Android, Symbian, Apple
iOS, BlackBerry, MeeGo, Windows Phone, and Bada. Mobile devices
with mobile communications capabilities (e.g. smartphones)
typically contain two mobile operating systems--the main
user-facing software platform is supplemented by a second low-level
proprietary real-time operating system which operates the radio and
other hardware.
[0066] Android is an open source and Linux-based mobile operating
system (OS) based on the Linux kernel that is currently offered by
Google. With a user interface based on direct manipulation, Android
is designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as
smartphones and tablet computers, with specialized user interfaces
for televisions (Android TV), cars (Android Auto), and wrist
watches (Android Wear). The OS uses touch inputs that loosely
correspond to real-world actions, such as swiping, tapping,
pinching, and reverse pinching to manipulate on-screen objects, and
a virtual keyboard. Despite being primarily designed for
touchscreen input, it also has been used in game consoles, digital
cameras, and other electronics. The response to user input is
designed to be immediate and provides a fluid touch interface,
often using the vibration capabilities of the device to provide
haptic feedback to the user. Internal hardware such as
accelerometers, gyroscopes and proximity sensors are used by some
applications to respond to additional user actions, for example
adjusting the screen from portrait to landscape depending on how
the device is oriented, or allowing the user to steer a vehicle in
a racing game by rotating the device, simulating control of a
steering wheel.
[0067] Android devices boot to the homescreen, the primary
navigation and information point on the device, which is similar to
the desktop found on PCs. Android homescreens are typically made up
of app icons and widgets; app icons launch the associated app,
whereas widgets display live, auto-updating content such as the
weather forecast, the user's email inbox, or a news ticker directly
on the homescreen. A homescreen may be made up of several pages
that the user can swipe back and forth between, though Android's
homescreen interface is heavily customizable, allowing the user to
adjust the look and feel of the device to their tastes. Third-party
apps available on Google Play and other app stores can extensively
re-theme the homescreen, and even mimic the look of other operating
systems, such as Windows Phone. The Android OS is described in a
publication entitled: "Android Tutorial", downloaded from
tutorialspoint.com on July 2014, which is incorporated in its
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0068] iOS (previously iPhone OS) from Apple Inc. (headquartered in
Cupertino, Calif., U.S.A.) is a mobile operating system distributed
exclusively for Apple hardware. The user interface of the iOS is
based on the concept of direct manipulation, using multi-touch
gestures. Interface control elements consist of sliders, switches,
and buttons. Interaction with the OS includes gestures such as
swipe, tap, pinch, and reverse pinch, all of which have specific
definitions within the context of the iOS operating system and its
multi-touch interface. Internal accelerometers are used by some
applications to respond to shaking the device (one common result is
the undo command) or rotating it in three dimensions (one common
result is switching from portrait to landscape mode). The iOS is
described in the publication entitled: "IOS Tutorial", downloaded
from tutorialspoint.com on July 2014, which is incorporated in its
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0069] Operating systems: An Operating System (OS) is software that
manages computer hardware resources and provides common services
for computer programs. The operating system is an essential
component of any system software in a computer system, and most
application programs usually require an operating system to
function. For hardware functions such as input and output and
memory allocation, the operating system acts as an intermediary
between programs and the computer hardware, although the
application code is usually executed directly by the hardware and
will frequently make a system call to an OS function or be
interrupted by it. Common features typically supported by operating
systems include process management, interrupts handling, memory
management, file system, device drivers, networking (such as TCP/IP
and UDP), and Input/Output (I/O) handling. Examples of popular
modern operating systems include Android, BSD, iOS, Linux, OS X,
QNX, Microsoft Windows, Windows Phone, and IBM z/OS.
[0070] Process management: The operating system provides an
interface between an application program and the computer hardware,
so that an application program can interact with the hardware only
by obeying rules and procedures programmed into the operating
system. The operating system is also a set of services which
simplify development and execution of application programs.
Executing an application program involves the creation of a process
by the operating system kernel which assigns memory space and other
resources, establishes a priority for the process in multi-tasking
systems, loads program binary code into memory, and initiates
execution of the application program which then interacts with the
user and with hardware devices. The OS must allocate resources to
processes, enable processes to share and exchange information,
protect the resources of each process from other processes, and
enable synchronization among processes. The OS maintains a data
structure for each process, which describes the state and resource
ownership of that process and enables the OS to exert control over
each process.
[0071] In many modern operating systems, there can be more than one
instance of a program loaded in memory at the same time; for
example, more than one user could be executing the same program,
each user having separate copies of the program loaded into memory.
With some programs, known as re-entrant type, it is possible to
have one copy loaded into memory, while several users have shared
access to it so that they each can execute the same program-code.
The processor at any instant can only be executing one instruction
from one program but several processes can be sustained over a
period of time by assigning each process to the processor at
intervals while the remainder becomes temporarily inactive. A
number of processes being executed over a period of time instead of
at the same time is called concurrent execution. A multiprogramming
or multitasking OS is a system executing many processes
concurrently. A multiprogramming requires that the processor be
allocated to each process for a period of time, and de-allocated at
an appropriate moment. If the processor is de-allocated during the
execution of a process, it must be done in such a way that it can
be restarted later as easily as possible.
[0072] There are two typical ways for an OS to regain control of
the processor during a program's execution in order for the OS to
perform de-allocation or allocation: The process issues a system
call (sometimes called a software interrupt); for example, an I/O
request occurs requesting to access a file on hard disk.
Alternatively, a hardware interrupt occurs; for example, a key was
pressed on the keyboard, or a timer runs out (used in pre-emptive
multitasking). The stopping of one process and starting (or
restarting) of another process is called a context switch or
context change. In many modern operating systems, processes can
consist of many sub-processes. This introduces the concept of a
thread. A thread may be viewed as a sub-process; that is, a
separate, independent sequence of execution within the code of one
process. Threads are becoming increasingly important in the design
of distributed and client-server systems and in software run on
multi-processor systems.
[0073] Modes: Many contemporary processors incorporate a mode bit
to define the execution capability of a program in the processor.
This bit can be set to a kernel mode or a user mode. A kernel mode
is also commonly referred to as supervisor mode, monitor mode or
ring 0. In kernel mode, the processor can execute every instruction
in its hardware repertoire, whereas in user mode, it can only
execute a subset of the instructions. Instructions that can be
executed only in kernel mode are called kernel, privileged or
protected instructions to distinguish them from the user mode
instructions. For example, I/O instructions are privileged. So, if
an application program executes in user mode, it cannot perform its
own I/O, and must request the OS to perform I/O on its behalf. The
system may logically extend the mode bit to define areas of memory
to be used when the processor is in kernel mode versus user mode.
If the mode bit is set to kernel mode, the process executing in the
processor can access either the kernel or user partition of the
memory. However, if user mode is set, the process can reference
only the user memory space, hence two classes of memory are
defined, the user space and the system space (or kernel, supervisor
or protected space). In general, the mode bit extends the operating
system's protection rights, and is set by the user mode trap
instruction, also called a supervisor call instruction. This
instruction sets the mode bit, and branches to a fixed location in
the system space. Since only the system code is loaded in the
system space, only the system code can be invoked via a trap. When
the OS has completed the supervisor call, it resets the mode bit to
user mode prior to the return.
[0074] Computer operating systems provide different levels of
access to resources, and these hierarchical protection domains are
often referred to as `protection rings`, and are used to protect
data and functionality from faults (by improving fault tolerance)
and malicious behaviour (by providing computer security). A
protection ring is one of two or more hierarchical levels or layers
of privilege within the architecture of a computer system. These
levels may be hardware-enforced by some CPU architectures that
provide different CPU modes at the hardware or microcode level.
Rings are arranged in a hierarchy from most privileged (most
trusted, usually numbered zero) to least privileged (least trusted,
usually with the highest ring number). On most operating systems,
kernel mode or `Ring 0` is the level with the most privileges and
interacts most directly with the physical hardware such as the CPU
and memory. Special gates between rings are provided to allow an
outer ring to access an inner ring's resources in a predefined
manner, as opposed to allowing arbitrary usage. Correctly gating
access between rings can improve security by preventing programs
from one ring or privilege level from misusing resources intended
for programs in another. For example, spyware running as a user
program in Ring 3 should be prevented from turning on a web camera
without informing the user, since hardware access should be a Ring
1 function reserved for device drivers. Programs such as web
browsers running in higher numbered rings must request access to
the network, a resource restricted to a lower numbered ring.
[0075] Kernel: With the aid of the firmware and device drivers, the
kernel provides the most basic level of control over all of the
computer's hardware devices. It manages memory access for programs
in the RAM, it determines which programs get access to which
hardware resources, it sets up or resets the CPU's operating states
for optimal operation at all times, and it organizes the data for
long-term non-volatile storage with file systems on such media as
disks, tapes, flash memory, etc. The part of the system executing
in kernel supervisor state is called the kernel, or nucleus, of the
operating system. The kernel operates as trusted software, meaning
that when it was designed and implemented, it was intended to
implement protection mechanisms that could not be covertly changed
through the actions of untrusted software executing in user space.
Extensions to the OS execute in user mode, so the OS does not rely
on the correctness of those parts of the system software for
correct operation of the OS. Hence, a fundamental design decision
for any function to be incorporated into the OS is whether it needs
to be implemented in the kernel. If it is implemented in the
kernel, it will execute in kernel (supervisor) space, and have
access to other parts of the kernel. It will also be trusted
software by the other parts of the kernel. If the function is
implemented to execute in user mode, it will have no access to
kernel data structures.
[0076] There are two techniques by which a program executing in
user mode can request the kernel's services, namely `System call`
and `Message passing`. Operating systems are typically with one or
the other of these two facilities, but commonly not both. Assuming
that a user process wishes to invoke a particular target system
function, in the system call approach, the user process uses the
trap instruction, so the system call should appear to be an
ordinary procedure call to the application program; the OS provides
a library of user functions with names corresponding to each actual
system call. Each of these stub functions contains a trap to the OS
function, and when the application program calls the stub, it
executes the trap instruction, which switches the CPU to kernel
mode, and then branches (indirectly through an OS table), to the
entry point of the function which is to be invoked. When the
function completes, it switches the processor to user mode and then
returns control to the user process; thus simulating a normal
procedure return. In the message passing approach, the user process
constructs a message, that describes the desired service, and then
it uses a trusted send function to pass the message to a trusted OS
process. The send function serves the same purpose as the trap;
that is, it carefully checks the message, switches the processor to
kernel mode, and then delivers the message to a process that
implements the target functions. Meanwhile, the user process waits
for the result of the service request with a message receive
operation. When the OS process completes the operation, it sends a
message back to the user process.
[0077] Interrupts handling: Interrupts are central to operating
systems, as they provide an efficient way for the operating system
to interact with and react to its environment. Interrupts are
typically handled by the operating system's kernel, and provide a
computer with a way of automatically saving local register
contexts, and running specific code in response to events. When an
interrupt is received, the computer's hardware automatically
suspends whatever program is currently running, saves its status,
and runs computer code previously associated with the interrupt.
When a hardware device triggers an interrupt, the operating
system's kernel decides how to deal with this event, generally by
running some processing code. The amount of code being run depends
on the priority of the interrupt, and the processing of hardware
interrupts is executed by a device driver, which may be either part
of the operating system's kernel, part of another program, or both.
Device drivers may then relay information to a running program by
various means. A program may also trigger an interrupt to the
operating system. For example, if a program wishes to access a
hardware (such as a peripheral), it may interrupt the operating
system's kernel, which causes control to be passed back to the
kernel. The kernel will then process the request. If a program
wishes additional resources (or wishes to shed resources) such as
memory, it will trigger an interrupt to get the kernel's attention.
Each interrupt has its own interrupt handler. The number of
hardware interrupts is limited by the number of interrupt request
(IRQ) lines to the processor, but there may be hundreds of
different software interrupts. Interrupts are a commonly used
technique for computer multitasking, especially in real-time
computing systems, which are commonly referred to as
interrupt-driven systems.
[0078] Memory management: A multiprogramming operating system
kernel is responsible for managing all system memory which is
currently in use by programs, ensuring that a program does not
interfere with memory already in use by another program. Since
programs time share, each program must have independent access to
memory. Memory protection enables the kernel to limit a process'
access to the computer's memory. Various methods of memory
protection exist, including memory segmentation and paging. In both
segmentation and paging, certain protected mode registers specify
to the CPU what memory address it should allow a running program to
access. Attempts to access other addresses will trigger an
interrupt which will cause the CPU to re-enter supervisor mode,
placing the kernel in charge. This is called a segmentation
violation (or Seg-V), and the kernel will generally resort to
terminating the offending program, and will report the error.
[0079] Memory management further provides ways to dynamically
allocate portions of memory to programs at their request, and free
it for reuse when no longer needed. This is critical for any
advanced computer system where more than a single process might be
underway at any time. Several methods have been devised that
increase the effectiveness of memory management. Virtual memory
systems separate the memory addresses used by a process from actual
physical addresses, allowing separation of processes and increasing
the effectively available amount of RAM using paging or swapping to
secondary storage. The quality of the virtual memory manager can
have an extensive effect on overall system performance.
[0080] File system: Commonly a file system (or filesystem) is used
to control how data is stored and retrieved. By separating the data
into individual pieces, and giving each piece a name, the
information is easily separated and identified, where each piece of
data is called a "file". The structure and logic rules used to
manage the groups of information and their names is called a "file
system". There are many different kinds of file systems. Each one
has a different structure and logic, properties of speed,
flexibility, security, size and more. Some file systems have been
designed to be used for specific applications. For example, the ISO
9660 file system is designed specifically for optical discs. File
systems can be used on many different kinds of storage devices.
Some file systems are used on local data storage devices; others
provide file access via a network protocol (for example, NFS, SMB,
or 9P clients). Some file systems are "virtual", in that the
"files" supplied are computed on request (e.g. procfs) or are
merely a mapping into a different file system used as a backing
store. The file system manages access to both the content of files
and the metadata about those files. It is responsible for arranging
storage space; reliability, efficiency, and tuning with regard to
the physical storage medium are important design
considerations.
[0081] A disk file system takes advantages of the ability of disk
storage media to randomly address data in a short amount of time.
Additional considerations include the speed of accessing data
following that initially requested and the anticipation that the
following data may also be requested. This permits multiple users
(or processes) access to various data on the disk without regard to
the sequential location of the data. Examples include FAT (FAT12,
FAT16, FAT32), exFAT, NTFS, HFS and HFS+, HPFS, UFS, ext2, ext3,
ext4, XFS, btrfs, ISO 9660, Files-11, Veritas File System, VMFS,
ZFS, ReiserFS and UDF. Some disk file systems are journaling file
systems or versioning file systems.
[0082] TMPFS. TMPFS (or tmpfs) is a common name for a temporary
file storage facility on many Unix-like operating systems. While
intended to appear as a mounted file system, it is stored in
volatile memory instead of a non-volatile storage device. A similar
construction is a RAM disk, which appears as a virtual disk drive
and hosts a disk file system. The tmpfs is typically a file system
based on SunOS virtual memory resources, which does not use
traditional non-volatile media to store file data; instead, tmpfs
files exist solely in virtual memory maintained by the UNIX kernel.
Because tmpfs file systems do not use dedicated physical memory for
file data, but instead use VM system resources and facilities, they
can take advantage of kernel resource management policies. Tmpfs is
designed primarily as a performance enhancement to allow
short-lived files to be written and accessed without generating
disk or network I/O. Tmpfs maximizes file manipulation speed while
preserving UNIX file semantics. It does not require dedicated disk
space for files and has no negative performance impact. The tmpfs
is described in a Sun Microsystem Inc. paper entitled: "tmpfs: A
Virtual Memory File System" by Peter Snyder, downloaded on 7/2014,
which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully
set forth herein.
[0083] Device drivers: A device driver is a specific type of
computer software developed to allow interaction with hardware
devices. Typically, this constitutes an interface for communicating
with the device, through the specific computer bus or
communications subsystem that the hardware is connected to,
providing commands to and/or receiving data from the device, and on
the other end, the requisite interfaces to the operating system and
software applications. It is a specialized hardware-dependent
computer program which is also operating system specific that
enables another program, typically an operating system or
applications software package or computer program running under the
operating system kernel, to interact transparently with a hardware
device, and usually provides the requisite interrupt handling
necessary for any necessary asynchronous time-dependent hardware
interfacing needs.
[0084] Networking: Most operating systems support a variety of
networking protocols, hardware, and applications for using them,
allowing computers running dissimilar operating systems to
participate in a common network, for sharing resources such as
computing, files, printers, and scanners, using either wired or
wireless connections. Networking can essentially allow a computer's
operating system to access the resources of a remote computer, to
support the same functions as it could if those resources were
connected directly to the local computer. This includes everything
from simple communication, to using networked file systems, or
sharing another computer's graphics or sound hardware. Some network
services allow the resources of a computer to be accessed
transparently, such as SSH, which allows networked users direct
access to a computer's command line interface. A client/server
networking allows a program on a computer, called a client, to
connect via a network to another computer, called a server. Servers
offer (or host) various services to other network computers and
users. These services are usually provided through ports or
numbered access points beyond the server's network address. Each
port number is usually associated with a maximum of one running
program, which is responsible for handling requests to that port. A
daemon, being a user program, can in turn access the local hardware
resources of that computer by passing requests to the operating
system kernel.
[0085] Input/Output (I/O) handling: An input/output (or I/O) is the
communication between an information processing system (such as a
computer) and the outside world, possibly a human or other
information processing system. The inputs are typically the signals
or data received by the system, and the outputs are the signals or
data sent from it. I/O devices may be used by a person (or other
system) to communicate with a computer. For instance, a keyboard or
a mouse may be an input device for a computer, while monitors and
printers are considered output devices for a computer. Devices for
communication between computers, such as modems and network cards,
typically serve for both input and output.
[0086] User interface: Every computer that is to be operated by a
human being requires a user interface, usually referred to as a
`shell`, and is essential if human interaction is to be supported.
The user interface views the directory structure and requests
services from the operating system that will acquire data from
input hardware devices, such as a keyboard, mouse or credit card
reader, and requests operating system services to display prompts,
status messages and such on output hardware devices, such as a
video monitor or printer. The two most common forms of a user
interface have historically been the command-line interface, where
computer commands are typed out line-by-line, and the Graphical
User Interface (GUI), where a visual environment (most commonly a
WIMP) is present. Typically the GUI is integrated into the kernel,
allowing the GUI to be more responsive by reducing the number of
context switches required for the GUI to perform its output
functions.
[0087] WDM. The Windows Driver Model (WDM), also known as the Win32
Driver Model, is a standard model defining a framework for device
drivers specified by Microsoft, providing unified driver models.
The WDM model is based on WDM drivers that are layered in a complex
hierarchy and communicate with each other via I/O Request Packets
(IRPs). The WDM was introduced with Windows 98 and Windows 2000 to
replace VxD which was used on older versions of Windows such as
Windows 95 and Windows 3.1, as well as the Windows NT Driver Model,
and WDM drivers are usable on all of Microsoft's operating systems
of Windows 95 and later. The WDM is described in the publication
entitled: "Microsoft Windows Driver Model (WDM)", by Mohamad (Hani)
Atassy, submitted to Dr. Dennis R. Hafermann dated Jan. 28, 2002,
and in publication entitled: "A Comparison of the Linux and Windows
Device Driver Architecture", by Melekam Tsegaye and Ricahrd Foss,
both from Rhodes University, South-Africa, downloaded from the
Internet on 7/2014, both are incorporated in their entirety for all
purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0088] A general schematic view of the WDM architecture 930 is
shown on FIG. 3. In the example shown, three applications
designated as application #1 931a, application #2 931b, and
application #3 931c, are accessing three peripheral hardware
devices, designated as peripheral #1 939a, peripheral #2 939b, and
peripheral #3 939c. The model involves three layers. The lower
layer is the hardware layer 930c, which includes the hardware
devices and peripherals, accessed by a processor (such as a
processor 27) via a hardware bus 930d, which may correspond to an
internal bus 13 shown in FIG. 1. The highest layer is a `user
space` layer 930a, corresponding to the user mode and to the higher
`ring` layers such as Ring 3, and is relating to the space is the
memory area where application software and some drivers execute.
The kernel of the operating system provides the services as part of
a `kernel space` layer 930b, serving as an intermediate layer
between the user space layer 930a and the hardware layer 930c. The
kernel space 930b operates in a highly privileged hierarchical
protection domain, and is strictly reserved for running privileged
kernel, kernel extensions, and most device drivers, and is
typically corresponding to the kernel mode and to the `ring-0`
layer (in x86 processors). The kernel mode may be supported by the
processor hardware, or may be supported by a code segment
level.
[0089] The user mode applications (such as application #1 931a,
application #2 931b, and application #3 931c) access the kernel
space 930b by the invoking of system calls respectively denoted as
connections 932a, 932b and 932c. Typically, such system calls are
processed via intermediating entity known as Windows API, such as a
Win32 API 933, which access the kernel space 930b via a standard
messaging 934. The Win32 API 933 is an example of a Windows API
(informally WinAPI), which is Microsoft's core set of Application
Programming Interfaces (APIs) available in the Microsoft Windows
operating systems. Almost all Windows programs interact with the
Windows API; on the Windows NT line of operating systems, a small
number (such as programs started early in the Windows startup
process) uses the Native API. Supporting for developers is in the
form of the Windows Software Development Kit (SDK), providing
documentation and tools necessary to build software based upon the
Windows API and associated Windows interfaces. The Win32 API 933 is
the 32-bit API for modern versions of Windows, and consists of
functions implemented, as with Win16, in system DLLs. The core DLLs
of the Win32 include the kernel32.dll, user32.dll, and gdi32.dll.
The Win32 API is described in the tutorial entitled: "Welcome to
Version 2.0 of the Win32 API Tutorial" by Prof. M. Saeed, published
by Brook Miles, downloaded from the Internet on 7/2014, which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein.
[0090] System calls provide an essential interface between a
process and the operating system. A system call is how a program
requests a service from an operating system's kernel. This may
include hardware related services (e.g., accessing the hard disk),
creating and executing new processes, and communicating with
integral kernel services (such as scheduling). A system call is
typically processed in the kernel mode, which is accomplished by
changing the processor execution mode to a more privileged one. The
hardware sees the world in terms of the execution mode according to
the processor status register, and processes are an abstraction
provided by the operating system. A system call does not require a
context switch to another process, it is processed in the context
of whichever process invoked it. The system calls are often
executed via traps or interrupts; that automatically puts the CPU
into some required privilege level, and then passes control to the
kernel, which determines whether the calling program should be
granted the requested service. If the service is granted, the
kernel executes a specific set of instructions over which the
calling program has no direct control, returns the privilege level
to that of the calling program, and then returns control to the
calling program. Implementing system calls requires a control
transfer, which involves some sort of architecture-specific
feature.
[0091] System calls can be roughly grouped into five major
categories: Process control, such as load, execute,
create/terminate process, get/set process attributes, wait for
time, wait event, and signal event; file management, such as
request/release device, create/delete file, open/close file,
read/write/reposition file, and get/set file attributes; device
management, such as read/write/reposition device, get/set device
attributes, and logically attach/detach devices; information
maintenance, such as get/set time or date, get/set system data, and
get/set process, file, or device attributes; and communication such
as create, delete communication connection, transfer status
information, and attach or detach remote devices.
[0092] The system calls are commonly handled by an I/O manager
935b, which allows devices to communicate with user-mode
subsystems. It translates user-mode read and write commands into
read or write IRPs which it passes to device drivers. It accepts
file system I/O requests and translates them into device specific
calls, and can incorporate low-level device drivers that directly
manipulate hardware to either read input or write output. It also
includes a cache manager to improve disk performance by caching
read requests and write to the disk in the background. The I/O
manager 935b may interface a power manager 935c, which deals with
power events (power-off, stand-by, hibernate, etc.) and notifies
affected drivers with special IRPs (Power IRPs).
[0093] A PnP manager 935a handles `Plug and Play` and supports
device detection and installation at boot time. It also has the
responsibility to stop and start devices on demand, which can
happen when a bus (such as USB or FireWire) gains a new device and
needs to have a device driver loaded to support it. The PnP manager
935a may be partly implemented in user mode, in the Plug and Play
Service, which handles the often complex tasks of installing the
appropriate drivers, notifying services and applications of the
arrival of new devices, and displaying GUI to the user.
[0094] I/O Request Packets (IRPs) are kernel mode structures that
are used to communicate with each other and with the operating
system. They are data structures that describe I/O requests, to a
driver, all of these parameters (such as buffer address, buffer
size, I/O function type, etc.) are passed via a single pointer to
this persistent data structure. The IRP with all of its parameters
can be put on a queue if the I/O request cannot be performed
immediately. I/O completion is reported back to the I/O manager by
passing its address to a routine for that purpose,
IoCompleteRequest. The IRP may be repurposed as a special kernel
APC object if such is required to report completion of the I/O to
the requesting thread. IRPs are typically created by the I/O
Manager in response to I/O requests from user mode. However, IRPs
are sometimes created by the plug-and-play manager, power manager,
and other system components, and can also be created by drivers and
then passed to other drivers.
[0095] The WDM uses kernel-mode device drivers to enable it to
interact with hardware devices, where each of the drivers has well
defined system routines and internal routines that it exports to
the rest of the operating system. DriverEntry is the first routine
called after a driver is loaded, and is responsible for
initializing the driver. All devices are seen by user mode code as
a file object in the I/O manager, though to the I/O manager itself
the devices are seen as device objects, which it defines as either
file, device or driver objects. The drivers may be aggregated as a
driver stack 936, including kernel mode drivers in three levels:
highest level drivers 936a, intermediate drivers 936b, and low
level drivers 936c. The highest level drivers 936a, such as file
system drivers for FAT and NTFS, rely on the intermediate drivers
936b, which consist of function drivers or main driver for a
device, that are optionally sandwiched between lower and higher
level filter drivers. The highest level drivers typically know how
files are represented on disk, but not the details of how to
actually fetch the data, the intermediate level drivers process the
requests from the highest level driver by breaking down a large
request into a series of small chunks. The function driver commonly
possesses the details relating to how the hardware of the
peripheral works, typically relies on a bus driver, or a driver
that services a bus controller, adapter, or bridge, which can have
an optional bus filter driver that sits between itself and the
function driver. For example, a PCI bus driver detects the PCI-slot
plugged card or hardware, and determines the I/O-mapped or the
memory-mapped connection with the host. Intermediate drivers 936b
rely on the low level drivers 936c to function. The lowest level
drivers 936c are either legacy device drivers that control a device
directly, or can be a PnP hardware bus. These lower level drivers
936c directly control hardware and do not rely on any other
drivers. The I/O manager 935b communicate with the high-level
driver 936a using IRP 937a, the high-level driver 936a communicate
with the intermediate level driver 936b using IRP 937b, the
intermediate level driver 936b communicate with the low-level
driver 936c using IRP 937c, and the low-level driver 936c
communicate with a HAL 938 using IRP 937d.
[0096] WDM drivers can be classified into the following types and
sub-types: Device function drivers, bus drivers, and filter
drivers. A function driver is the main driver for a device. A
function driver is typically written by the device vendor and is
required (unless the device is being used in raw mode). A function
driver can service one or more devices. Miniport drivers are a type
of function drivers for interfaces such as USB, audio, SCSI and
network adapters. They are hardware specific, but the control
access to the hardware is through a specific bus class driver.
Class drivers are a type of function drivers and can be thought of
as built-in framework drivers that miniport and other class drivers
can be built on top of. The class drivers provide interfaces
between different levels of the WDM architecture. Common
functionality between different classes of drivers can be written
into the class driver and used by other class and miniport drivers.
The lower edge of the class driver will have its interface exposed
to the miniport driver, while the upper edge of top level class
drivers is operating system specific. Class drivers can be
dynamically loaded and unloaded at will. They can do class specific
functions that are not hardware or bus-specific (with the exception
of bus-type class drivers) and in fact sometimes only do class
specific functions such as enumeration.
[0097] A bus driver services a bus controller, adapter, or bridge.
Microsoft provides bus drivers for most common buses, such as
Advanced configuration and Power Interface (ACPI), Peripheral
Component Interconnect (PCI), PnPISA, SCSI, Universal Serial Bus
(USB), and FireWire. A bus driver can service more than one bus if
there is more than one bus of the same type on the machine. The
ACPI bus driver interacts with the ACPI BIOS to enumerate the
devices in the system and control their power use, the PCI bus
driver (such as pci.sys) enumerates and configures devices
connected via the PCI bus, the FireWire and the USB bus driver
respectively enumerates and controls devices connected via the IEEE
1394 high speed bus and the USB. The stream class driver provides a
basic processing supporting high bandwidth, time critical, and
video and audio data related hardware, and uses minidrivers for
interfacing the actual hardware, and hard-disk, floppies, CDs, and
DVDs are interfaces using SCSI and CDROM/DVD class driver. The
Human Input Device (HID) provides an abstract view of input
devices, and the Still Image Architecture (SIA) class driver is
used to obtain content from a scanner and a still camera, using
minidrivers. For example, accessing a hard disk (such as HDD 25c)
involves a file system driver as high-level driver, a volume
manager driver as intermediate level driver, and a disk driver as a
low-level driver.
[0098] Filter drivers are optional drivers that add value to or
modify the behavior of a device and may be non-device drivers. A
filter driver can also service one or more devices. Upper level
filter drivers sit above the primary driver for the device (the
function driver), while lower level filter drivers sit below the
function driver and above the bus driver. A driver service is a
type of kernel-level filter driver implemented as a Windows service
that enables applications to work with devices.
[0099] The Hardware Abstraction Layer 938, or HAL, is a layer
between the physical hardware layer 930c of the computer and the
rest of the operating system. It was designed to hide differences
in hardware and therefore provide a consistent platform on which
the kernel is run. The HAL 938 includes hardware-specific code that
controls I/O interfaces, interrupt controllers and multiple
processors. Typically the particular hardware abstraction does not
involve abstracting the instruction set, which generally falls
under the wider concept of portability. Abstracting the instruction
set, when necessary (such as for handling the several revisions to
the x86 instruction set, or emulating a missing math coprocessor),
is performed by the kernel, or via platform virtualization.
[0100] Linux is a Unix-like and mostly POSIX-compliant computer
operating system assembled under the model of free and open source
software development and distribution. The defining component of
Linux is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first
released on 5 Oct. 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux was originally
developed as a free operating system for Intel x86-based personal
computers, but has since been ported to more computer hardware
platforms than any other operating system. Linux also runs on
embedded systems such as mobile phones, tablet computers, network
routers, facility automation controls, televisions, and video game
consoles. Android, which is a widely used operating system for
mobile devices, is built on top of the Linux kernel. Typically,
Linux is packaged in a format known as a Linux distribution for
desktop and server use.
[0101] Linux distributions include the Linux kernel, supporting
utilities and libraries and usually a large amount of application
software to fulfill the distribution's intended use. A Linux-based
system is a modular Unix-like operating system. Such a system uses
a monolithic kernel, the Linux kernel, which handles process
control, networking, and peripheral and file system access. Device
drivers are either integrated directly with the kernel or added as
modules loaded while the system is running. Some components of an
installed Linux system are a bootloader, for example GNU GRUB or
LILO, which is executed by the computer when it is first turned on,
and loads the Linux kernel into memory; an init program, which is
the first process launched by the Linux kernel, and is at the root
of the process tree, and starts processes such as system services
and login prompts (whether graphical or in terminal mode); Software
libraries which contain code which can be used by running
processes; and user interface programs such as command shells or
windowing environments. A version of Linux is described, for
example, in IBM Corporation (headquartered in Armonk, N.Y., U.S.A.)
publication No. SC34-2597-03 entitled: "Device Drivers, Features,
and Commands on Red Hat Exterprise Linux 6.3", downloaded from the
Internet on 7/2014, which is incorporated in its entirety for all
purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0102] The general schematic Linux driver architecture 950 is shown
in FIG. 3a, and the Linux kernel is further described in Wiley
Publishing, Inc. publication entitled: "Professional Linux Kernel
Architecture", by Wofgang Mauerer published 2008, and Linux
programming is described in the book entitled: "The Linux Kernel
Module Programming Guide" ver. 2.6.4 by Peter Jay Salzman, Michael
Burian, and Ori Pomerantz, dated May 18, 2007, and in the
publication entitled: "A Comparison of the Linux and Windows Device
Driver Architecture", by Melekam Tsegaye and Richard Foss, both
from Rhodes University, South-Africa, downloaded from the Internet
on 7/2014, which are all incorporated in their entirety for all
purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0103] Similar to the WDM 930 shown in FIG. 3, the Linux kernel
involves a `System Call Interface` 953, receiving system calls
952a, 952b, and 952c from the respective applications such as an
application #1 931a, an application #2 931b, and an application #3
931c, and serves as the denomination for the entirety of all
implemented and available system calls in a kernel. The Linux
kernel is based on a layered modules stack 954, which may include
three levels of modules, such as module #1 954a, module #2 954b,
and module #3 954c, where the module #1 954a communicate over
connection 955a with the system call interface 953, the module #2
954b communicates with the module #1 954a over connection 955b, the
module #3 954c communicates over the connection 955c with the
module #2 954b and over a connection 955d with the HAL 938.
[0104] Similar to the WDM 930 shown in FIG. 3, the Linux kernel
shown as the arrangement 950 in FIG. 3a, is using the concept of
layered architecture of a modules stack 954, which may comprise
module #1 954a, module #2 954b, and module #3 954c, communicating
using messaging mechanism, such as a connection 955a between the
system call interface 953 and the module #1 954a, a connection 955b
between the module #1 954a and the module #2 954b, a connection
955c between the module #2 954b and the module #3 954c, and a
connection 955d between the module #3 954c and the HAL 938.
[0105] The modules in the modules stack 954, typically referred to
as Loadable Kernel Modules (or LKM), are object files that contain
code to extend the running Linux kernel, or so-called base kernel.
LKMs are typically used to add support for new hardware and/or
filesystems, or for adding system calls. When the functionality
provided by a LKM is no longer required, it can be unloaded in
order to free memory and other resources. Loadable kernel modules
in Linux are located in /lib/modules and have had the extension
`.ko` ("kernel object") since version 2.6 (previous versions used
the .o extension), and are loaded (and unloaded) by the modprobe
command. The lsmod command lists the loaded kernel modules. In
emergency cases, when the system fails to boot (due to e.g. broken
modules), specific modules can be enabled or disabled by modifying
the kernel boot parameters list (for example, if using GRUB, by
pressing `e` in the GRUB start menu, then editing the kernel
parameter line). Linux allows disabling module loading via sysctl
option /proc/sys/kernel/modules_disabled. An initramfs system may
load specific modules needed for a machine at boot and then disable
module loading.
[0106] A web browser (commonly referred to as a browser) is a
software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing
information resources on the World Wide Web. An information
resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI/URL)
and may be part of a web page, a web-page, an image, a video, or
any other piece of content. Hyperlinks present in resources enable
users easily to navigate their browsers to related resources.
Although browsers are primarily intended to use the World Wide Web,
they can also be used to access information provided by web servers
in private networks or files in file systems. The primary purpose
of a web browser is to bring information resources to the user
("retrieval" or "fetching"), allowing them to view the information
("display", "rendering"), and then access other information
("navigation", "following links"). Currently the major web browsers
are known as Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Opera, and
Safari.
[0107] The process begins when the user inputs a Uniform Resource
Locator (URL), for example `http://en.wikipedia.org/`, into the
browser. The prefix of the URL, the Uniform Resource Identifier or
URI, determines how the URL will be interpreted. The most commonly
used kind of URI starts with http: and identifies a resource to be
retrieved over the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Many
browsers also support a variety of other prefixes, such as https:
for HTTPS, ftp: for the File Transfer Protocol, and file: for local
files. Prefixes that the web browser cannot directly handle are
often handed off to another application entirely. For example,
mailto: URIs are usually passed to the user's default e-mail
application, and news: URIs are passed to the user's default
newsgroup reader. In the case of http, https, file, and others,
once the resource has been retrieved the web browser will display
it. HTML and associated content (image files, formatting
information such as CSS, etc.) is passed to the browser's layout
engine to be transformed from markup to an interactive document, a
process known as "rendering". Aside from HTML, web browsers can
generally display any kind of content that can be part of a web
page. Most browsers can display images, audio, video, and XML
files, and often have plug-ins to support Flash applications and
Java applets. Upon encountering a file of an unsupported type or a
file that is set up to be downloaded rather than displayed, the
browser prompts the user to save the file to disk. Information
resources may contain hyperlinks to other information resources.
Each link contains the URI of a resource to go to. When a link is
clicked, the browser navigates to the resource indicated by the
link's target URI, and the process of bringing content to the user
begins again. The architecture of a web browser is described in the
publication entitled: "Architecture and evolution of the modern web
browser" by Alan Grosskurth and Michael W. Godfrey of the
University of Waterloo in Canada, dated Jun. 20, 2006, which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein.
[0108] A currently popular web browser is the Internet Explorer
(formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet
Explorer, commonly abbreviated IE or MSIE) from Microsoft
Corporation, headquartered in Redmond, Wash., U.S.A., which is a
series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and
included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating
systems. The Internet Explorer 8 is described, for example, in
Microsoft 2009 publication entitled: "Step by Step Tutorials for
Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 Accessibility Options", which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein. Another popular web browser is the Google Chrome which is a
freeware web browser developed by Google, headquartered in
Googleplex, Mountain View, Calif., U.S.A. Google Chrome aims to be
secure, fast, simple, and stable, providing strong application
performance and JavaScript processing speed.
[0109] A mobile browser, also called a microbrowser, minibrowser,
or Wireless Internet Browser (WIB), is a web browser designed for
use on a mobile device such as a mobile phone or PDA. Mobile
browsers are optimized so as to display Web content most
effectively for small screens on portable devices. Mobile browser
software must be small and efficient to accommodate the low memory
capacity and low-bandwidth of wireless handheld devices. Some
mobile browsers can handle more recent technologies like CSS 2.1,
JavaScript, and Ajax. Websites designed for access from these
browsers are referred to as wireless portals or collectively as the
Mobile Web. They may automatically create "mobile" versions of each
page, for example this one
[0110] The mobile browser typically connects via cellular network,
via Wireless LAN, or via other wireless networks, and are using
standard HTTP over TCP/IP, and displays web pages written in HTML,
XHTML Mobile Profile (WAP 2.0), or WML (which evolved from HDML).
WML and HDML are stripped-down formats suitable for transmission
across limited bandwidth, and wireless data connection called WAP.
WAP 2.0 specifies XHTML Mobile Profile plus WAP CSS, subsets of the
W3C's standard XHTML and CSS with minor mobile extensions. Some
mobile browsers are full-featured Web browsers capable of HTML,
CSS, ECMAScript, as well as mobile technologies such as WML, i-mode
HTML, or cHTML. To accommodate small screens, some mobile browsers
use Post-WIMP interfaces. An example of a mobile browser is Safari,
which is a mobile web browser developed by Apple Inc.
(headquartered in Apple Campus, Cupertino, Calif., U.S.A), included
with the OS X and iOS operating systems, and described in Apple
publication entitled: "Safari Web Content Guide", dated March 2014,
which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully
set forth herein.
[0111] Virtualization. The term virtualization typically refers to
the technology that allows for the creation of software-based
virtual machines that can run multiple operating systems from a
single physical machine. In one example, virtual machines can be
used to consolidate the workloads of several under-utilized servers
to fewer machines, perhaps a single machine (server consolidation),
providing benefits (perceived or real, but often cited by vendors)
such as savings on hardware, environmental costs, management, and
administration of the server infrastructure. Virtualization scheme
allows for the creation of substitutes for real resources, that is,
substitutes that have the same functions and external interfaces as
their counterparts, but that differ in attributes, such as size,
performance, and cost. These substitutes are called virtual
resources, and their users are typically unaware of the
substitution.
[0112] Virtualization is commonly applied to physical hardware
resources by combining multiple physical resources into shared
pools from which users receive virtual resources. With
virtualization, you can make one physical resource look like
multiple virtual resources. Virtual resources can have functions or
features that are not available in their underlying physical
resources. Virtualization can provide the benefits of consolidation
to reduce hardware cost, such as to efficiently access and manage
resources to reduce operations and systems management costs while
maintaining needed capacity, and to have a single server function
as multiple virtual servers. In addition, virtualization can
provide optimization of workloads, such as to respond dynamically
to the application needs of its users, and to increase the use of
existing resources by enabling dynamic sharing of resource pools.
Further, virtualization may be used for IT flexibility and
responsiveness, such as by having a single, consolidated view of,
and easy access to, all available resources in the network,
regardless of location, and reducing the management of your
environment by providing emulation for compatibility and improved
interoperability.
[0113] Virtual machine (VM). Virtual machine is a representation of
a real machine using software that provides an operating
environment which can run or host a guest operating system. In one
example, a virtual machine may include a self-contained software
emulation of a machine, which does not physically exist, but shares
resources of an underlying physical machine. Like a physical
computer, a virtual machine runs an operating system and
applications. Multiple virtual machines can operate concurrently on
a single host system. There are different kinds of virtual
machines, each with different functions: System virtual machines
(also termed full virtualization VMs) provide a substitute for a
real machine. They provide functionality needed to execute entire
operating systems. A hypervisor uses native execution to share and
manage hardware, allowing for multiple environments which are
isolated from one another, yet exist on the same physical machine.
Modern hypervisors use hardware-assisted virtualization,
virtualization-specific hardware, primarily from the host CPUs.
Process virtual machines are designed to execute computer programs
in a platform-independent environment. Some virtual machines, such
as QEMU, are designed to also emulate different architectures and
allow execution of software applications and operating systems
written for another CPU or architecture. Operating-system-level
virtualization allows the resources of a computer to be partitioned
via the kernel's support for multiple isolated user space
instances, which are usually called containers and may look and
feel like real machines to the end users.
[0114] Guest Operating System. A guest operating system is an
operating system running in a virtual machine environment that
would otherwise run directly on a separate physical system.
Operating-system-level virtualization, also known as
containerization, refers to an operating system feature in which
the kernel allows the existence of multiple isolated user-space
instances. Such instances, called containers, partitions,
Virtualization Engines (VEs) or jails (FreeBSD jail or chroot
jail), may look like real computers from the point of view of
programs running in them. A computer program running on an ordinary
operating system can see all resources (connected devices, files
and folders, network shares, CPU power, quantifiable hardware
capabilities) of that computer. However, programs running inside a
container can only see the container's contents and devices
assigned to the container. In addition to isolation mechanisms, the
kernel often provides resource-management features to limit the
impact of one container's activities on other containers. With
operating-system-virtualization, or containerization, it is
possible to run programs within containers, to which only parts of
these resources are allocated. A program expecting to see the whole
computer, once run inside a container, can only see the allocated
resources and believes them to be all that is available. Several
containers can be created on each operating system, to each of
which a subset of the computer's resources is allocated. Each
container may contain any number of computer programs. These
programs may run concurrently or separately, even interact with
each other.
[0115] Hypervisor. Hypervisor commonly refers to a thin layer of
software that generally provides virtual partitioning capabilities
which runs directly on hardware, but underneath higher-level
virtualization services. The hypervisor typically manages virtual
machines, allowing them to interact directly with the underlying
hardware. System virtualization creates many virtual systems within
a single physical system. Virtual systems are independent operating
environments that use virtual resources. System virtualization can
be approached through hardware partitioning or hypervisor
technology. Hardware partitioning subdivides a physical server into
fractions, each of which can run an operating system. These
fractions are typically created with coarse units of allocation,
such as whole processors or physical boards. This type of
virtualization allows for hardware consolidation, but does not have
the full benefits of resource sharing and emulation offered by
hypervisors. Hypervisors use a thin layer of code in software or
firmware to achieve fine-grained, dynamic resource sharing. Because
hypervisors provide the greatest level of flexibility in how
virtual resources are defined and managed, they are the primary
technology for system virtualization.
[0116] Virtual Machine Monitor. A Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) is
computer software, firmware or hardware that creates and runs
virtual machines. A computer on which a hypervisor runs one or more
virtual machines is called a host machine, and each virtual machine
is called a guest machine. The hypervisor presents the guest
operating systems with a virtual operating platform and manages the
execution of the guest operating systems. Multiple instances of a
variety of operating systems may share the virtualized hardware
resources: for example, Linux, Windows, and macOS instances can all
run on a single physical x86 machine. This contrasts with
operating-system-level virtualization, where all instances (usually
called containers) must share a single kernel, though the guest
operating systems can differ in user space, such as different Linux
distributions with the same kernel. Typically, a VMM refers to a
software that runs in a layer between a hypervisor or host
operating system and one or more virtual machines that provides the
virtual machines abstraction to the guest operating systems. With
full virtualization, the VMM exports a virtual machine abstraction
identical to the physical machine, so the standard operating system
can run just as they would on physical hardware.
[0117] Hardware virtualization or platform virtualization refers to
the creation of a virtual machine that acts like a real computer
with an operating system. Software executed on these virtual
machines is separated from the underlying hardware resources. In
hardware virtualization, the host machine is the actual machine on
which the virtualization takes place, and the guest machine is the
virtual machine. The words host and guest are used to distinguish
the software that runs on the physical machine from the software
that runs on the virtual machine. The software or firmware that
creates a virtual machine on the host hardware is called a
hypervisor or Virtual Machine Manager. Different types of hardware
virtualization include full-virtualization, where almost complete
simulation of the actual hardware to allow software, which
typically consists of a guest operating system, to run unmodified,
and Para-virtualization, where a hardware environment is not
simulated; however, the guest programs are executed in their own
isolated domains, as if they are running on a separate system.
Guest programs need to be specifically modified to run in this
environment.
[0118] Hardware-assisted virtualization is a way of improving
overall efficiency of virtualization. It involves CPUs that provide
support for virtualization in hardware, and other hardware
components that help improve the performance of a guest
environment. Hardware virtualization can be viewed as part of an
overall trend in enterprise IT that includes autonomic computing, a
scenario in which the IT environment will be able to manage itself
based on perceived activity, and utility computing, in which
computer processing power is seen as a utility that clients can pay
for only as needed. The usual goal of virtualization is to
centralize administrative tasks while improving scalability and
overall hardware-resource utilization. With virtualization, several
operating systems can be run in parallel on a single central
processing unit (CPU). This parallelism tends to reduce overhead
costs and differs from multitasking, which involves running several
programs on the same OS. Using virtualization, an enterprise can
better manage updates and rapid changes to the operating system and
applications without disrupting the user.
[0119] Server Virtualization. Server virtualization is a
virtualization technique that involves partitioning a physical
server into a number of small, virtual servers with the help of
virtualization software. In server virtualization, each virtual
server runs multiple operating system instances at the same time. A
Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a virtual machine sold as a service
by an Internet hosting service, that runs its own copy of an
Operating System (OS), and customers may have superuser-level
access to that operating system instance, so they can install
almost any software that runs on that OS. For many purposes they
are functionally equivalent to a dedicated physical server, and
being software-defined, are able to be much more easily created and
configured. They are typically priced much lower than an equivalent
physical server. However, as they share the underlying physical
hardware with other VPS's, performance may be lower, depending on
the workload of any other executing virtual machines. Dedicated
Servers may also be more efficient with CPU dependent processes
such as hashing algorithms.
[0120] Application Virtualization. Application virtualization is
software technology that encapsulates computer programs from the
underlying operating system on which it is executed. A fully
virtualized application is not installed in the traditional sense,
although it is still executed as if it were. The application
behaves at runtime like it is directly interfacing with the
original operating system and all the resources managed by it, but
can be isolated or sandboxed to varying degrees. Application
virtualization is layered on top of other virtualization
technologies, allowing computing resources to be distributed
dynamically in real-time. In this context, the term
"virtualization" commonly refers to the artifact being encapsulated
(application), which is quite different from its meaning in
hardware virtualization, where it refers to the artifact being
abstracted (physical hardware).
[0121] Network Virtualization. Network Virtualization refers to the
process of combining hardware and software network resources to
create a single pool of resources that make up a virtual network
that can be accessed without regard to the physical component.
Network virtualization typically involves combining hardware and
software network resources and network functionality into a single,
software-based administrative entity, a virtual network. Network
virtualization involves platform virtualization, often combined
with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is categorized
as either external virtualization, combining many networks or parts
of networks into a virtual unit, or internal virtualization,
providing network-like functionality to software containers on a
single network server.
[0122] Storage Virtualization. Storage virtualization refers to the
process of consolidating the physical storage from multiple network
storage devices so that it appears to be a single storage unit.
Within the context of a storage system, there are two primary types
of virtualization that can occur: Block virtualization used in this
context refers to the abstraction (separation) of logical storage
(partition) from physical storage so that it may be accessed
without regard to physical storage or heterogeneous structure. This
separation allows the administrators of the storage system greater
flexibility in how they manage storage for end users. File
virtualization addresses the NAS challenges by eliminating the
dependencies between the data accessed at the file level and the
location where the files are physically stored. This provides
opportunities to optimize storage use and server consolidation and
to perform non-disruptive file migrations.
[0123] Desktop Virtualization. Desktop virtualization refers to the
process of virtualizing desktop computers using virtualization
software, such that the desktop computer and the associated
operating system and applications are separated from the physical
client device that is used to access it. Desktop virtualization is
software technology that separates the desktop environment and
associated application software from the physical client device
that is used to access it.
[0124] Desktop virtualization can be used in conjunction with
application virtualization and user profile management systems, now
termed "user virtualization," to provide a comprehensive desktop
environment management system. In this mode, all the components of
the desktop are virtualized, which allows for a highly flexible and
much more secure desktop delivery model. In addition, this approach
supports a more complete desktop disaster recovery strategy as all
components are essentially saved in the data center and backed up
through traditional redundant maintenance systems. If a user's
device or hardware is lost, the restore is straightforward and
simple, because the components will be present at login from
another device. In addition, because no data is saved to the user's
device, if that device is lost, there is much less chance that any
critical data can be retrieved and compromised. Virtual Desktop
Infrastructure (VDI)--The practice of hosting a desktop environment
within a virtual machine that runs on a centralized or remote
server.
[0125] An example of a virtualization architecture 900 is shown in
FIG. 3b, where three virtual machines are exemplified. A Virtual
Machine (VM) #1 910a provides virtualization for the application
901a that uses the guest OS 902a, which in turn interfaces with the
virtual hardware 903a that emulates the actual hardware. Similarly,
a Virtual Machine (VM) #2 910b provides virtualization for the
application 901b that uses the guest OS 902b, which in turn
interfaces with the virtual hardware 903b that emulates the
associated actual hardware, and a Virtual Machine (VM) #3 910c
provides virtualization for the application 901c that uses the
guest OS 902c, which in turn interfaces with the virtual hardware
903c that emulates the associated actual hardware. The abstraction
layer is provided by VMM 904, allowing of hardware-independence of
operating system and applications, provisioning on any single
physical system, and managing the applications and the OSs as a
single encapsulated unit.
[0126] A hosted architecture 900a for virtualization is shown in
FIG. 3c, where a wide range of actual host hardware 906 may be used
by implementing a host operating system 905 layer between the
actual hardware 906 and the VMM 904. Such configuration relies on
the host OS 905 for device support and physical resource
management. In contrast, a bare-metal architecture 900b is shown in
FIG. 3d, where a hypervisor layer (in addition to, or as part of,
the VMM 904) is used as the first layer, allowing the VMM 904 to
have direct access to the hardware resources, hence providing more
efficient, and greater scalability, robustness, and
performance.
[0127] Cloud computing and virtualization is described in a book
entitled "Cloud Computing and Virtualization" authored by
Dac-Nhuong Le (Faculty of Information Technology, Haiphong
University, Haiphong, Vietnam), Raghvendra Kumar (Department of
Computer Science and Engineering, LNCT, Jabalpur, India), Gia Nhu
Nguyen (Graduate School, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam), and
Jyotir Moy Chatterjee (Department of Computer Science and
Engineering at GD-RCET, Bhilai, India), and published 2018 by John
Wiley & Sons, Inc. [ISBN 978-1-119-48790-6], which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein. The book describes the adoption of virtualization in data
centers creates the need for a new class of networks designed to
support elasticity of resource allocation, increasing mobile
workloads and the shift to production of virtual workloads,
requiring maximum availability. Building a network that spans both
physical servers and virtual machines with consistent capabilities
demands a new architectural approach to designing and building the
IT infrastructure. Performance, elasticity, and logical addressing
structures must be considered as well as the management of the
physical and virtual networking infrastructure. Once deployed, a
network that is virtualization-ready can offer many revolutionary
services over a common shared infrastructure. Virtualization
technologies from VMware, Citrix and Microsoft encapsulate existing
applications and extract them from the physical hardware. Unlike
physical machines, virtual machines are represented by a portable
software image, which can be instantiated on physical hardware at a
moment's notice. With virtualization, comes elasticity where
computer capacity can be scaled up or down on demand by adjusting
the number of virtual machines actively executing on a given
physical server. Additionally, virtual machines can be migrated
while in service from one physical server to another.
[0128] Extending this further, virtualization creates "location
freedom" enabling virtual machines to become portable across an
ever-increasing geographical distance. As cloud architectures and
multi-tenancy capabilities continue to develop and mature, there is
an economy of scale that can be realized by aggregating resources
across applications, business units, and separate corporations to a
common shared, yet segmented, infrastructure. Elasticity, mobility,
automation, and density of virtual machines demand new network
architectures focusing on high performance, addressing portability,
and the innate understanding of the virtual machine as the new
building block of the data center. Consistent network-supported and
virtualization-driven policy and controls are necessary for
visibility to virtual machines' state and location as they are
created and moved across a virtualized infrastructure.
[0129] Virtualization technologies in data center environments are
described in a eBook authored by Gustavo Alessandro Andrade Santana
and published 2014 by Cisco Systems, Inc. (Cisco Press) [ISBN-13:
978-1-58714-324-3] entitled: "Data Center Virtualization
Fundamentals", which is incorporated in its entirety for all
purposes as if fully set forth herein. PowerVM technology for
virtualization is described in IBM RedBook entitled: "IBM PowerVM
Virtualization--Introduction and Configuration" published by IBM
Corporation June 2013, and virtualization basics is described in a
paper by IBM Corporation published 2009 entitled: "Power
Systems--Introduction to virtualization", which are both
incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set
forth herein.
[0130] Encryption based mechanisms are commonly end-to-end
processes involving only the sender and the receiver, where the
sender encrypts the plain text message by transforming it using an
algorithm, making it unreadable to anyone, except the receiver
which possesses special knowledge. The data is then sent to the
receiver over a network such as the Internet, and when received the
special knowledge enables the receiver to reverse the process
(decrypt) to make the information readable as in the original
message. The encryption process commonly involves computing
resources such as processing power, storage space and requires time
for executing the encryption/decryption algorithm, which may delay
the delivery of the message.
[0131] Transport Layer Security (TLS) and its predecessor Secure
Sockets Layer (SSL) are non-limiting examples of end-to-end
cryptographic protocols, providing secured communication above the
OSI Transport Layer, using keyed message authentication code and
symmetric cryptography. In client/server applications, the TLS
client and server negotiate a stateful connection by using a
handshake procedure, during which various parameters are agreed
upon, allowing a communication in a way designed to prevent
eavesdropping and tampering. The TLS 1.2 is defined in RFC 5246,
and several versions of the protocol are in widespread use in
applications such as web browsing, electronic mail, Internet
faxing, instant messaging and Voice-over-IP (VoIP). In application
design, TLS is usually implemented on top of any of the Transport
Layer protocols, encapsulating the application-specific protocols
such as HTTP, FTP, SMTP, NNTP, and XMPP. Historically, it has been
used primarily with reliable transport protocols such as the
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). However, it has also been
implemented with datagram-oriented transport protocols, such as the
User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and the Datagram Congestion Control
Protocol (DCCP), a usage which has been standardized independently
using the term Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS). A
prominent use of TLS is for securing World Wide Web traffic carried
by HTTP to form HTTPS. Notable applications are electronic commerce
and asset management. Increasingly, the Simple Mail Transfer
Protocol (SMTP) is also protected by TLS (RFC 3207). These
applications use public key certificates to verify the identity of
endpoints. Another Layer 4 (Transport Layer) and upper layers
encryption-based communication protocols include SSH (Secure Shell)
and SSL (Secure Socket Layer).
[0132] To provide the server name, RFC 4366 Transport Layer
Security (TLS) Extensions allow clients to include a Server Name
Indication extension (SNI) in the extended ClientHello message.
This extension hints the server immediately which name the client
wishes to connect to, so the server can select the appropriate
certificate to send to the clients.
[0133] Layer 3 (Network Layer) and lower layer encryption based
protocols include IPsec, L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol) over
IPsec, and Ethernet over IPsec. The IPsec is a protocol suite for
securing IP communication by encrypting and authenticating each IP
packet of a communication session. The IPsec standard is currently
based on RFC 4301 and RFC 4309, and was originally described in
RFCs 1825-1829, which are now obsolete, and uses the Security
Parameter Index (SPI, as per RFC 2401) as an identification tag
added to the header while using IPsec for tunneling the IP traffic.
An IPsec overview is provided in Cisco Systems, Inc. document
entitled: "An Introduction to IP Security (IPSec) Encryption",
which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully
set forth herein.
[0134] Two common approaches to cryptography are found in U.S. Pat.
No. 3,962,539 to Ehrsam et al., entitled "Product Block Cipher
System for Data Security", and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,829 to Rivest
et al., entitled "Cryptographic Communications System and Method",
which are both incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as
if fully set forth herein. The Ehrsam patent discloses what is
commonly known as the Data Encryption Standard (DES), while the
Rivest patent discloses what is commonly known as the RSA algorithm
(which stands for Rivest, Shamir and Adleman who first publicly
described it), which is widely used in electronic commerce
protocols. The RSA involves using a public key and a private key.
DES is based upon secret-key cryptography, also referred to as
symmetric cryptography, and relies upon a 56-bit key for
encryption. In this form of cryptography, the sender and receiver
of cipher text both possess identical secret keys, which are, in an
ideal world, completely unique and unknown to the world outside of
the sender and receiver. By encoding plain text into cipher text
using the secret key, the sender may send the cipher text to the
receiver using any available public or otherwise insecure
communication system. The receiver, having received the cipher
text, decrypts it using the secret key to arrive at the plain
text.
[0135] SNI. Server Name Indication (SNI) is an extension to the TLS
computer networking protocol by which a client indicates which
hostname it is attempting to connect to at the start of the
handshaking process. This allows a server to present multiple
certificates on the same IP address and TCP port number and hence
allows multiple secure (HTTPS) websites (or any other Service over
TLS) to be served by the same IP address without requiring all
those sites to use the same certificate. It is the conceptual
equivalent to HTTP/1.1 name-based virtual hosting, but for HTTPS.
The desired hostname is not encrypted, so an eavesdropper can see
which site is being requested.
[0136] SNI addresses this issue by having the client sends the name
of the virtual domain as part of the TLS negotiation. This enables
the server to select the correct virtual domain early and present
the browser with the certificate containing the correct name.
Therefore, with clients and servers that implement SNI, a server
with a single IP address can serve a group of domain names for
which it is impractical to get a common certificate. SNI was added
to the IETF's Internet RFCs in June 2003 through RFC 3546,
Transport Layer Security (TLS) Extensions. The latest version of
the standard is RFC 6066. For an application program to implement
SNI, the TLS library it uses must implement it and the application
must pass the hostname to the TLS library. Further, the TLS library
may either be included in the application program or be a component
of the underlying operating system.
[0137] Proxy. A proxy server is a server (a computer system or an
application) that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients
seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the
proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection,
web page, or other resource, available from a different server and
the proxy server evaluates the request as a way to simplify and
control its complexity. Proxies may be used to add structure and
encapsulation to distributed systems. Today, most proxies are web
proxies, facilitating access to content on the World Wide Web and
providing anonymity. A proxy server may reside on the user's local
computer, or at various points between the user's computer and
destination servers on the Internet. A proxy server that passes
requests and responses unmodified is usually called a gateway or
sometimes a tunneling proxy. A forward proxy is an Internet-facing
proxy used to retrieve from a wide range of sources (in most cases
anywhere on the Internet). Forward proxies are proxies in which the
client server names the target server to connect to, and are able
to retrieve from a wide range of sources (in most cases anywhere on
the Internet). An open proxy is a forwarding proxy server that is
accessible by any Internet user, while browsing the Web or using
other Internet services. There are varying degrees of anonymity,
however, as well as a number of methods of `tricking` the client
into revealing itself regardless of the proxy being used. A reverse
proxy is usually an Internet-facing proxy used as a front-end to
control and protect access to a server on a private network. A
reverse proxy commonly also performs tasks such as load-balancing,
authentication, decryption or caching.
[0138] Random. Randomness is commonly implemented by using random
numbers, defined as a sequence of numbers or symbols that lack any
pattern and thus appear random, are often generated by a random
number generator. Randomness for security is also described in IETF
RFC 1750 "Randomness Recommendations for Security" (12/1994), which
is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set
forth herein. A random number generator (having either analog or
digital output) can be hardware based, using a physical process
such as thermal noise, shot noise, nuclear decaying radiation,
photoelectric effect or other quantum phenomena. Alternatively, or
in addition, the generation of the random numbers can be software
based, using a processor executing an algorithm for generating
pseudo-random numbers which approximates the properties of random
numbers.
[0139] The term `random` herein is intended to cover not only pure
random, non-deterministically and non-predicted generated signals,
but also pseudo-random, deterministic signals such as the output of
a shift-register arrangement provided with a feedback circuit as
used to generate pseudo-random binary signals or as scramblers, and
chaotic signals, and where a randomness factor may be used.
[0140] A digital random signal generator (known as random number
generator) wherein numbers in binary form replaces the analog
voltage value output may be used for any randomness. One approach
to random number generation is based on using linear feedback shift
registers. An example of random number generators is disclosed in
U.S. Pat. No. 7,124,157 to Ikake entitled: "Random Number
Generator", in U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,176 to Schulz entitled: "Random
Number Generator Circuit", in U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,884 to Brown et
al. entitled: "Random Number Generator with Digital Feedback" and
in U.S. Pat. No. 7,145,933 to Szajnowski entitled: "Method and
Apparatus for generating Random signals", which are incorporated in
its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0141] A digital random signal generator may be based on `True
Random Number Generation IC RPG100/RPG100B` available from FDK
Corporation and described in the data sheet `Physical Random number
generator RPG100.RPG100B` REV. 08 publication number
HM-RAE106-0812, which is incorporated in its entirety for all
purposes as if fully set forth herein. The digital random signal
generator can be hardware based, generating random numbers from a
natural physical process or phenomenon, such as the thermal noise
of semiconductor which has no periodicity. Typically, such hardware
random number generators are based on microscopic phenomena such as
thermal noise, shot noise, nuclear decaying radiation,
photoelectric effect or other quantum phenomena, and typically
contain a transducer to convert some aspect of the physical
phenomenon to an electrical signal, an amplifier and other
electronic to bring the output into a signal that can be converted
into a digital representation by an analog to digital converter. In
the case where digitized serial random number signals are
generated, the output is converted to parallel, such as 8 bits
data, with 256 values of random numbers (values from 0 to 255).
Alternatively, a digital random signal generator may be software
(or firmware) based, such as pseudo-random number generators. Such
generators include a processor for executing software that includes
an algorithm for generating numbers, which approximates the
properties of random numbers. The random signal generator (either
analog or digital) may output a signal having uniform distribution,
in which there is a substantially or purely equal probability of a
signal falling between two defined limits, having no appearance
outside these limits. However, Gaussian and other distribution may
be equally used.
[0142] Tunneling. Computer networks may use a tunneling protocol
where one network protocol (the delivery protocol) encapsulates a
different payload protocol. Tunneling enables the encapsulation of
a packet from one type of protocol within the datagram of a
different protocol. For example, VPN uses PPTP to encapsulate IP
packets over a public network, such as the Internet. A VPN solution
based on Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), Layer Two
Tunneling Protocol (L2TP), or Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol
(SSTP) can be configured. By using tunneling a payload may be
carried over an incompatible delivery-network, or provide a secure
path through an untrusted network. Typically, the delivery protocol
operates at an equal or higher OSI layer than does the payload
protocol. In one example of a network layer over a network layer,
Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE), a protocol running over IP (IP
Protocol Number 47), often serves to carry IP packets, with RFC
1918 private addresses, over the Internet using delivery packets
with public IP addresses. In this case, the delivery and payload
protocols are compatible, but the payload addresses are
incompatible with those of the delivery network. In contrast, an IP
payload might believe it sees a data link layer delivery when it is
carried inside the Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP), which appears
to the payload mechanism as a protocol of the data link layer.
L2TP, however, actually runs over the transport layer using User
Datagram Protocol (UDP) over IP. The IP in the delivery protocol
could run over any data-link protocol from IEEE 802.2 over IEEE
802.3 (i.e., standards-based Ethernet) to the Point-to-Point
Protocol (PPP) over a dialup modem link.
[0143] Tunneling protocols may use data encryption to transport
insecure payload protocols over a public network (such as the
Internet), thereby providing VPN functionality. IPsec has an
end-to-end Transport Mode, but can also operate in a tunneling mode
through a trusted security gateway. HTTP tunneling is a technique
by which communications performed using various network protocols
are encapsulated using the HTTP protocol, the network protocols in
question usually belonging to the TCP/IP family of protocols. The
HTTP protocol therefore acts as a wrapper for a channel that the
network protocol being tunneled uses to communicate. An HTTP stream
with its covert channel is termed an HTTP tunnel. HTTP tunnel
software consists of client-server HTTP tunneling applications that
integrate with existing application software, permitting them to be
used in conditions of restricted network connectivity including
firewalled networks, networks behind proxy servers, and network
address translation.
[0144] Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are point-to-point
connections across a private or public network, such as the
Internet. A VPN client typically uses special TCP/IP-based
protocols, called tunneling protocols, to make a virtual call to a
virtual port on a VPN server. In a typical VPN deployment, a client
initiates a virtual point-to-point connection to a remote access
server over the Internet, then the remote access server answers the
call, authenticates the caller, and transfers data between the VPN
client and the organization's private network. To emulate a
point-to-point link, data is encapsulated, or wrapped, with a
header. The header provides routing information that enables the
data to traverse the shared or public network to reach its
endpoint. To emulate a private link, the data being sent is
encrypted for confidentiality. Packets that are intercepted on the
shared or public network are indecipherable without the encryption
keys. The link in which the private data is encapsulated and
encrypted is known as a VPN connection. Commonly two types of VPN
connections are used, referred to as Remote Access VPN and
Site-to-Site VPN. Popular VPN connections use PPTP, L2TP/IPsec, or
SSTP protocols. The RFC 4026 provides `Provider Provisioned Virtual
Private Network (VPN) Terminology`, and RFC 2547 provides a VPN
method based on MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) and BGP
(Border Gateway Protocol).
[0145] Remote access VPN connections enable users working at home
or on the road to access a server on a private network using the
infrastructure provided by a public network, such as the Internet.
From the user's perspective, the VPN is a point-to-point connection
between the computer (the VPN client) and an organization's server.
The exact infrastructure of the shared or public network is
irrelevant because it appears logically as if the data is sent over
a dedicated private link.
[0146] Site-to-site VPN connections (also known as router-to-router
VPN connections) enable organizations to have routed connections
between separate offices or with other organizations over a public
network while helping to maintain secure communications. A routed
VPN connection across the Internet logically operates as a
dedicated wide area network (WAN) link. When networks are connected
over the Internet, a router forwards packets to another router
across a VPN connection. To the routers, the VPN connection
operates as a data-link layer link. A site-to-site VPN connection
connects two portions of a private network. The VPN server provides
a routed connection to the network to which the VPN server is
attached. The calling router (the VPN client) authenticates itself
to the answering router (the VPN server), and, for mutual
authentication, the answering router authenticates itself to the
calling router. In the site-to site VPN connection, the packets
sent from either router across the VPN connection typically do not
originate at the routers.
[0147] There is a growing widespread use of the Internet for
carrying multimedia, such as a video and audio. Various audio
services include Internet-radio stations and VoIP (Voice-over-IP).
Video services over the Internet include video conferencing and
IPTV (IP Television). In most cases, the multimedia service is a
real-time (or near real-time) application, and thus sensitive to
delays over the Internet. In particular, two-way services such a
VoIP or other telephony services and video-conferencing are delay
sensitive. In some cases, the delays induced by the encryption
process, as well as the hardware/software costs associated with the
encryption, render encryption as non-practical. Therefore, it is
not easy to secure enough capacity of the Internet accessible by
users to endure real-time communication applications such as
Internet games, chatting, VoIP, and MoIP (Multimedia-over-IP), so
there may be a data loss, delay or severe jitter in the course of
communication due to the property of an Internet protocol, thereby
causing inappropriate real-time video communication. The following
chapters of the publication number 1-587005-001-3 by Cisco Systems,
Inc. (7/99), entitled: "Internetworking Technologies Handbook",
relate to multimedia carried over the Internet, and are all
incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set
forth herein: Chapter 18: "Multiservice Access Technologies" (pages
18-1 to 18-10), and Chapter 19: "Voice/Data Integration
Technologies" (pages 19-1 to 19-30).
[0148] VoIP systems in widespread use today fall into three groups:
systems using the ITU-T H.323 protocol, systems using the SIP
protocol, and systems that use proprietary protocols. H.323 is a
standard for teleconferencing that was developed by the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU). It supports full
multimedia, audio, video and data transmission between groups of
two or more participants, and it is designed to support large
networks. H.323 is network-independent: it can be used over
networks using transport protocols other than TCP/IP. H.323 is
still a very important protocol, but it has fallen out of use for
consumer VoIP products due to the fact that it is difficult to make
it work through firewalls that are designed to protect computers
running many different applications. It is a system best suited to
large organizations that possess the technical skills to overcome
these problems.
[0149] Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is an Internet Engineering
Task Force (IETF) standard signaling protocol for teleconferencing,
telephony, presence and event notification and instant messaging.
It provides a mechanism for setting up and managing connections,
but not for transporting the audio or video data. It is probably
now the most widely used protocol for managing Internet telephony.
Similar to the IETF protocols, SIP is defined in a number of RFCs,
principally RFC 3261. A SIP-based VoIP implementation may send the
encoded voice data over the network in a number of ways. Most
implementations use a Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP), which is
defined in RFC 3550. Both SIP and RTP are implemented on UDP,
which, as a connectionless protocol, can cause difficulties with
certain types of routers and firewalls. Usable SIP phones therefore
also need to use Simple Traversal of UDP over NAT (STUN), a
protocol defined in RFC 3489 that allows a client behind a NAT
router to find out its external IP address and the type of NAT
device.
[0150] FIG. 2 shows arrangement 20 of devices communicating over
the Internet. Various devices such as a client #1 24a, a client #2
24b, a client #3 24c, a client #4 24d, and a client #5 24e, may
communicate over the Internet 113 for obtaining data from a data
server #1 22a and a data server #2 22b. It is noted that the terms
`Data Server` and `Web server` are used herein interchangeably. In
one example, the servers are HTTP servers, sometimes known as web
servers. A method describing a more efficient communication over
the Internet is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,560,604 to Shribman et
al. entitled: "System and Method for Providing Faster and More
Efficient Data Communication" (hereinafter the "'604 Patent"),
which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully
set forth herein. The method described in the '604 Patent uses an
acceleration server 23 for managing the traffic in the network, as
shown in FIG. 2. A splitting of a message or a content into slices,
and transferring each of the slices over a distinct data path is
described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2012/0166582 to Binder
entitled: "System and Method for Routing-Based Internet Security",
which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully
set forth herein.
[0151] The amount of data transferred in a given period in commonly
referred to as `bandwidth` (BW) or `bit-rate`, which is the number
of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time. The bit
rate is quantified using the bits per second unit (symbol bit/s or
b/s), often in conjunction with an SI prefix such as kilo- (1
Kbit/s=1000 bit/s), mega- (1 Mbit/s=1000 Kbit/s), giga- (1
Gbit/s=1000 Mbit/s) or tera- (1 Tbit/s=1000 Gbit/s). The
non-standard abbreviation bps is often used to replace the standard
symbol bit/s, so that, for example, "1 Mbps" (or 1 Mb/s) is used to
mean one million bits per second. One byte per second (1 B/s)
corresponds to 8 bit/s.
[0152] Latency is typically defined as a time interval between the
stimulation and the response, or, from a more general point of
view, as a time delay between the cause and the effect of some
physical change in the system being observed. Network-related
latency, such as in a packet-switched network, is measured either
one-way (the time from the source sending a packet to the
destination receiving it), or Round-Trip delay Time (RTT),
referring to the one-way latency from source to destination plus
the one-way latency from the destination back to the source, plus
any delays at the destination, such as processing or other delays.
Round-trip latency can be measured from a single point. Latency
limits total bandwidth in reliable two-way communication systems as
described by the bandwidth-delay product, which refers to the
product of a data link's capacity (in bits per second) and its
end-to-end delay (in seconds). The result, an amount of data
measured in bits (or bytes), is equivalent to the maximum amount of
data on the network circuit at any given time, i.e., data that has
been transmitted but not yet acknowledged. Sometimes it is
calculated as the data link's capacity multiplied by its round trip
time. A network with a large bandwidth-delay product is commonly
known as a Long Fat Network (LFN). As defined in IETF RFC 1072, a
network is considered an LFN if its bandwidth-delay product is
significantly larger than 105 bits (12500 bytes).
[0153] The Round-trip Delay Time (RTD) or Round-Trip Time (RTT) is
the length of time it takes for a signal to be sent and to be
received and processed at the destination node, plus the length of
time it takes for an acknowledgment of that signal to be received.
This time delay therefore includes the propagation times between
the two points of a signal. The signal is generally a data packet,
and the RTT is also known as the ping time, and an internet user
can determine the RTT by using the ping command. Network links with
both a high bandwidth and a high RTT can have a very large amount
of data (the bandwidth-delay product) "in flight" at any given
time. Such "long fat pipes" require a special protocol design. One
example is the TCP window scale option. The RTT was originally
estimated in TCP by:
RTT=(.alpha.Old_RTT)+((1-.alpha.)New_Round_Trip_Sample), where
.alpha. is a constant weighting factor (0.ltoreq..alpha.<1).
Choosing a value .alpha. close to 1 makes the weighted average
immune to changes that last a short time (e.g., a single segment
that encounters long delay). Choosing a value for .alpha. close to
0 makes the weighted average response to changes in delay very
quickly. Once a new RTT is calculated, it is entered into the above
equation to obtain an average RTT for that connection, and the
procedure continues for every new calculation. The RTT may be
measured as described in IETF 1323, and may be estimated by using a
method described in IETF RFC 6323, which are both incorporated in
their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0154] An estimation of RTT for messages using TCP may use Karn's
Algorithm, described by Karn, Phil and Craig Partridge in ACM
SIGCOMM '87--Computer Communication Review publication, entitled:
"Improving Round-Trip Time Estimates in Reliable Transport
Protocols", which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes
as if fully set forth herein. The round trip time is estimated as
the difference between the time that a segment was sent and the
time that its acknowledgment was returned to the sender, but when
packets are re-transmitted there is an ambiguity: the
acknowledgment may be a response to the first transmission of the
segment or to a subsequent re-transmission. Karn's Algorithm
ignores re-transmitted segments when updating the round trip time
estimate. Round trip time estimation is based only on unambiguous
acknowledgments, which are acknowledgments for segments that were
sent only once.
[0155] Many software platforms provide a service called `ping` that
can be used to measure round-trip latency. Ping performs no packet
processing; it merely sends a response back when it receives a
packet (i.e., performs a no-op), thus it is a first rough way of
measuring latency. Ping operates by sending Internet Control
Message Protocol (ICMP) echo requesting packets to the target host,
and waiting for an ICMP response. During this process it measures
the time from transmission to reception (round-trip time) and
records any packet loss. The results of the test are printed in a
form of a statistical summary of the response packets received,
including the minimum, maximum, and the mean round-trip times, and
sometimes the standard deviation of the mean.
[0156] The Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
suite normally used on the Internet has included an Internet
Message Control Protocol (ICMP) that is commonly used in echo
testing or ping and trace route applications. In general, the
Internet standard `ping` or `ICMP echo` has a request/response
format, wherein one device sends an ICMP echo request and another
device responds to a received ICMP echo request with a transmitted
ICMP echo response. Normally, IP devices are expected to implement
the ICMP as part of the support for IP, to be able to use ICMP for
testing. Internet RFC 792, entitled "Internet Control Message
Protocol: DARPA Internet Program Protocol Specification", which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein, at least partially describes the behavior of ICMP. The ICMP
echo message has a type field, a code field, a checksum field, an
identifier field, a sequence number field, and a data field.
According to RFC 79: "The data received in the echo message must be
returned in the echo reply message". Thus, an RFC compliant ping
responders or an ICMP echo reply message responders are supposed to
copy the received data field in an echo request message directly
into the data field of the transmitted echo response message.
[0157] A newer version of ICMP known as ICMP version 6 or ICMPv6 as
described at least partially in RFCs 1885 and 2463, which are both
entitled "Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMPv6) for the
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Specification", which are both
incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set
forth herein. According to RFC 2463, "Every [IPv6] node MUST
implement an ICMPv6 Echo responder function that receives Echo
Requests and sends corresponding Echo Replies. An IPv6 node SHOULD
also implement an application-layer interface for sending Echo
Requests and receiving Echo Replies, for diagnostic purposes.".
Thus, responding to ICMP echo requests normally is a necessary
function in supporting IPv4 and/or IPv6 standards. The ICMPv6 RFCs
1885 and 2464 goes on to specify that the data field of an ICMP
echo response contains the "data from the invoking Echo Request
message." Therefore, both ICMP and ICMP v6 associated with IPv4 and
IPv6, respectively, specify that the data field in an ICMP echo
reply message is to essentially contain a copy of the data received
in the corresponding ICMP echo request message.
[0158] Moreover, the ICMP echo protocol is basically a two-way echo
in which one initiating device and/or process starts the
communication by transmitting an echo request message, which may be
then received by an echo responder process. The echo responder
process, generally located on another device, receives the echo
request message and responds with an echo reply back to the
initiating process. Once the initiating device and/or process
receives the response or times out waiting on the response, the
two-way echo exchange of messages is complete. Although the echo
request and echo response normally are performed between processes
on two different devices, one skilled in the art will be aware that
a device can ping its own IP address implying that the echo request
and echo responder reply processes are on the same device. In
addition, the loopback address of network 127.0.0.0 in IPv4 can be
used to allow a device to the loopback outbound echo request
messages back into the device own incoming echo request responder
processes. IPv6 has a loopback functionality as well.
[0159] This copying of data exactly in the ICMP echo response is
somewhat wasteful because the responder generally does not convey
that much (if any) information back to the ICMP echo request
initiating device. Arguably the initiating device could compute bit
error rate (BER) statistics on the transmitted versus the received
data field in ICMP echo packets. However, such physical layer
issues as BER statistics normally are not as relevant for network
layer IP datagrams that already include various error control code
mechanisms. Arguably the device running the responding process can
communicate information to the device running the initiating
process by having the device running the original responding
process initiate its own echo request and wait for an echo response
from the original initiating device. Such a solution results in
four packets, with a first echo request from a local device
responded to by a first echo response from a remote device, and
with a second echo request from the remote device responded to by a
second echo response from the local device.
[0160] An identifier and/or sequence number in ping packets
generally has allowed the ping to be used by a device to determine
the round-trip delay from the time an ICMP echo request packet is
sent to the time corresponding to when an associated received ICMP
echo request is received back at an initiating device. Furthermore,
ping packets generally convey little or no information about the
type of the device that initiated the ping. Moreover, although IPv4
has Type of Service (ToS) fields in the IP datagram, these fields
have become more important as the services used over the Internet
and networks using Internet technology have grown from basic
computer data communication to also include real-time applications
such as voice and/or video. Various Type of Service (ToS) in IPv4
and IPv6 have been used in implementing various (Quality of
Service) QoS characteristics that are defined for different classes
of service and/or Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
[0161] SDK. As used herein, the term Software Development Kit (SDK)
refers to a specific software package, software framework, hardware
platform, or a set of development tools and the like at the time of
establishment of the operating system software. Typically, an SDK
includes a programming package that enables a programmer to develop
applications for a specific platform, and may include one or more
APIs, programming tools, and documentation. It may be as simple as
the implementation of one or more application programming
interfaces (APIs) in the form of some libraries to interface to a
particular programming language or to include sophisticated
hardware that can communicate with a particular embedded system.
Common tools include debugging facilities and other utilities,
often presented in an integrated development environment (IDE).
SDKs also frequently include sample code and supporting technical
notes or other supporting documentation to help clarify points made
by the primary reference material. SDKs may have attached licenses
that make them unsuitable for building software intended to be
developed under an incompatible license. For example, a proprietary
SDK will probably be incompatible with free software development,
while a GPL-licensed SDK could be incompatible with proprietary
software development. LGPL SDKs are typically safe for proprietary
development.
[0162] A software engineer typically receives the SDK from the
target system developer. Often the SDK can be downloaded directly
via the Internet or via SDKs marketplaces. Many SDKs are provided
for free to encourage developers to use the system or language.
Sometimes this is used as a marketing tool. Freely offered SDKs may
still be able to monetize, based on user data taken from the apps,
which may serve the interests of big players in the ecosystem, for
example the operating system. A SDK for an operating system add-on
(for instance, QuickTime for classic Mac OS) may include the add-on
software itself to be used for development purposes, albeit not
necessarily for redistribution together with the developed
product.
[0163] Timestamp. A timestamp is a sequence of characters or
encoded information identifying when a certain event occurred,
usually giving date and time of day, sometimes accurate to a small
fraction of a second, and also refers to digital date and time
information attached to the digital data. For example, computer
files contain timestamps that tell when the file was last modified,
and digital cameras add timestamps to the pictures they take,
recording the date and time the picture was taken. A timestamp is
typically the time at which an event is recorded by a computer, not
the time of the event itself. In many cases, the difference may be
inconsequential: the time at which an event is recorded by a
timestamp (e.g., entered into a log file) should be close to the
time of the event. Timestamps are typically used for logging events
or in a Sequence of Events (SOE), in which case each event in the
log or SOE is marked with a timestamp. In a file system such as a
database, timestamp commonly mean the stored date/time of creation
or modification of a file or a record. The ISO 8601 standard
standardizes the representation of dates and times which are often
used to construct timestamp values, and IETF RFC 3339 defines a
date and time format for use in Internet protocols using the ISO
8601 standard representation.
[0164] Caching. A system and method for increasing cache size by
performing the steps of: categorizing storage blocks within a
storage device as within a first category of storage blocks if the
storage blocks that are available to the system for storing data
when needed; categorizing storage blocks within the storage device
as within a second category of storage blocks if the storage blocks
contain application data therein; and categorizing storage blocks
within the storage device as within a third category of storage
blocks if the storage blocks are storing cached data and are
available for storing application data if no first category of
storage blocks are available to the system, is described in U.S.
Pat. No. 8,135,912 to Shribman et al. entitled: "System and Method
of Increasing Cache Size", which is incorporated in its entirety
for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. A system for
resolving Domain Name System (DNS) queries that contains a
communication device for resolving DNS queries, wherein the
communication device further contains a memory and a processor that
is configured by the memory, a cache storage for use by the
communication device, and a network of authoritative domain name
servers, where in a process of the communication device looking up
a DNS request within the cache storage, if the communication device
views an expired DNS entry within the cache storage, the
communication device continues the process of looking up the DNS
request in the cache storage while, in parallel, sending out a
concurrent DNS request to an authoritative domain name server that
the expired DNS entry belongs to, is described in U.S. Pat. No.
8,671,221 to the same inventors as this application, entitled:
"Method and System for Increasing Speed of Domain Name System
Resolution within a Computing Device", which is incorporated in its
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0165] Systems and methods of storing previously transmitted data
and using it to reduce bandwidth usage and accelerate future
communications, and using algorithms to identify long compression
history matches. A network device that may improve compression
efficiency and speed is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,865,585 to
Samuels et al., entitled: "Systems and Methods for Providing
Dynamic Ad Hok Proxy-Cache Hierarchies", which is incorporated in
its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Further, a method and system for accelerating the receipt of data
in a client-to-client network described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,203,741
to Marco et al., entitled: "Method and System for Accelerating
Receipt of Data in a Client-to-Client Network", which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein.
[0166] Heartbeat. A heartbeat is a periodic signal generated by
hardware or software to indicate normal operation or to synchronize
other parts of a system. Usually a heartbeat is sent between
machines at a regular interval of an order of seconds. If a
heartbeat is not received for a time--usually a few heartbeat
intervals--the machine that should have sent the heartbeat is
assumed to have failed. As used herein, a heartbeat is a periodic
message, such as a `ping`, generated by devices connected to the
Internet to indicate being `online` (connected to the Internet) and
normal operation, and if a heartbeat is not received for a time,
the device is assumed to be `offline` (not connected to the
Internet). A heartbeat protocol is generally used to negotiate and
monitor the availability of a resource, such as a floating IP
address. Typically, when a heartbeat starts on a machine, it will
perform an election process with other machines on the network to
determine which machine, if any, owns the resource. The IETF RFC
6520 describes Heartbeat operation for the Transport Layer Security
(TLS), and is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if
fully set forth herein.
[0167] Users in the Internet may desire anonymity in order not to
be identified as a publisher (sender), or reader (receiver), of
information. Common reasons include censorship at the local,
organizational, or national level, personal privacy preferences
such as preventing tracking or data mining activities, the material
or its distribution is considered illegal or incriminating by
possible eavesdroppers, the material may be legal but socially
deplored, embarrassing, or problematic in the individual's social
world, and fear of retribution (against whistleblowers, unofficial
leaks, and activists who do not believe in restrictions on
information nor knowledge). Full anonymity on the Internet,
however, is not guaranteed since IP addresses can be tracked,
allowing to identify the computer from which a certain post was
made, albeit not the actual user. Anonymizing services, such as
I2P--`The Anonymous Network` or Tor, address the issue of IP
tracking, as their distributed technology approach may grant a
higher degree of security than centralized anonymizing services
where a central point exists that could disclose one's identity. An
anonymous web browsing refers to browsing the World Wide Web while
hiding the user's IP address and any other personally identifiable
information from the websites that one is visiting. There are many
ways of accomplishing anonymous web browsing. Anonymous web
browsing is generally useful to internet users who want to ensure
that their sessions cannot be monitored. For instance, it is used
to circumvent traffic monitoring by organizations that want to find
out or control which web sites employees visit. Further, since some
web-sites response differently when approached from mobile devices,
anonymity may allow for accessing such a web-site from a non-mobile
device, posing as a mobile device.
[0168] WiFi. A device herein (such as the computer system 11) may
consist of, be part of, or include, a Personal Computer (PC), a
desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, a notebook
computer, a tablet computer, a server computer, a handheld
computer, a handheld device, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
device, or a cellular handset. Alternatively or in addition, a
device may consist of, be part of, or include, a handheld PDA
device, an on-board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device, a
vehicular device, a non-vehicular device, a mobile device, or a
portable device. A network herein (such as the LAN 14), may consist
of, be part of, or include, a wired or wireless network, a Local
Area Network (LAN), a Wireless LAN (WLAN), a Metropolitan Area
Network (MAN), a Wireless MAN (WMAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a
Wireless WAN (WWAN), a Personal Area Network (PAN), or a Wireless
PAN (WPAN). Alternatively or in addition, a network herein may be
operating substantially in accordance with existing IEEE 802.11,
802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11k, 802.11n, 802.11r, 802.16,
802.16d, 802.16e, 802.20, 802.21 standards and/or future versions
and/or derivatives of the above standards. Further, a network
element (or a device) herein may consist of, be part of, or
include, a cellular radio-telephone communication system, a
cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a Personal Communication
Systems (PCS) device, a PDA device which incorporates a wireless
communication device, or a mobile/portable Global Positioning
System (GPS) device. The communication interface 29 may consist of,
be part of, or include, a transceiver or modem for communication
with the network, such as LAN 14. In the case of wired networks,
the communication interface 29 connects to the network via a port
28 that may include a connector, and in the case of wireless
network, the communication interface 29 connects to the network via
the port 28 that may include an antenna.
[0169] The LAN 14 may be a Wireless LAN (WLAN) such as according
to, or base on, IEEE 802.11-2012, and the WLAN port may be a WLAN
antenna and the WLAN transceiver may be a WLAN modem. The WLAN may
be according to, or base on, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE
802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, or IEEE 802.11ac. Commonly referred to as
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), such communication makes use of
the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) frequency spectrum. In
the US, three of the bands within the ISM spectrum are the A-Band,
902-928 MHz; the B-Band, 2.4-2.484 GHz (a.k.a. 2.4 GHz); and the
C-Band, 5.725-5.875 GHz (a.k.a. 5 GHz). Overlapping and/or similar
bands are used in different regions such as Europe and Japan. In
order to allow interoperability between equipment manufactured by
different vendors, few WLAN standards have evolved, as part of the
IEEE 802.11 standard group, branded as WiFi (www.wi-fi.org). The
IEEE 802.11b standard describes a communication using the 2.4 GHz
frequency band and supporting a communication rate of 11 Mb/s, IEEE
802.11a uses the 5 GHz frequency band to carry 54 MB/s, and IEEE
802.11g uses the 2.4 GHz band to support 54 Mb/s. The WiFi
technology is further described in a publication entitled: "WiFi
Technology" by Telecom Regulatory Authority, published on July
2003, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if
fully set forth herein. The IEEE 802 defines an ad-hoc connection
between two or more devices without using a wireless access point:
the devices communicate directly when in range. An ad hoc network
offers peer-to-peer layout and is commonly used in situations such
as a quick data exchange or a multiplayer LAN game, because the
setup is easy and an access point is not required.
[0170] Image/video. Any content herein may consist of, be part of,
or include, an image or a video content. A video content may be in
a digital video format that may be based on one out of: TIFF
(Tagged Image File Format), RAW format, AVI, DV, MOV, WMV, MP4, DCF
(Design Rule for Camera Format), ITU-T H.261, ITU-T H.263, ITU-T
H.264, ITU-T CCIR 601, ASF, Exif (Exchangeable Image File Format),
and DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) standards. A intraframe or
interframe compression may be used, and the compression may a lossy
or a non-lossy (lossless) compression, that may be based on a
standard compression algorithm, which may be one or more out of
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) and MPEG (Moving Picture
Experts Group), ITU-T H.261, ITU-T H.263, ITU-T H.264 and ITU-T
CCIR 601.
[0171] DHCP. The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a
standardized networking protocol used on Internet Protocol (IP)
networks for dynamically distributing network configuration
parameters, such as IP addresses for interfaces and services. With
DHCP, network elements request IP addresses and networking
parameters automatically from a DHCP server, reducing the need for
a network administrator or a user to configure these settings
manually.
[0172] DHCP is typically used by network elements for requesting
Internet Protocol parameters, such as an IP address from a network
server, and is based on the client-server model. When a network
element connects to a network, its DHCP client software in the
operating system sends a broadcast query requesting necessary
information. Any DHCP server on the network may service the
request. The DHCP server manages a pool of IP addresses and
information about client configuration parameters such as default
gateway, domain name, the name servers, and time servers. On
receiving a request, the server may respond with specific
information for each client, as previously configured by an
administrator, or with a specific address and any other information
valid for the entire network, and the time period for which the
allocation (lease) is valid. A host typically queries for this
information immediately after booting, and periodically thereafter
before the expiration of the information. When an assignment is
refreshed by the client computer, it initially requests the same
parameter values, and may be assigned a new address from the
server, based on the assignment policies set by administrators.
[0173] Depending on implementation, the DHCP server may have three
methods of allocating IP-addresses: (a) Dynamic allocation, where a
network administrator reserves a range of IP addresses for DHCP,
and each client computer on the LAN is configured to request an IP
address from the DHCP server during network initialization. The
request-and-grant process uses a lease concept with a controllable
time period, allowing the DHCP server to reclaim (and then
reallocate) IP addresses that are not renewed. (b) Automatic
allocation, where the DHCP server permanently assigns an IP address
to a requesting client from the range defined by the administrator.
This is similar to dynamic allocation, but the DHCP server keeps a
table of past IP address assignments, so that it can preferentially
assign to a client the same IP address that the client previously
had. (c) Static allocation, where the DHCP server allocates an IP
address based on a preconfigured mapping to each client's MAC
address.
[0174] DHCP used for Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is
described in IETF RFC 2131, entitled "Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol", and DHCP for IPv6 is described IETF RFC 3315, entitled:
"Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6)", both
incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set
forth herein. While both versions serve the same purpose, the
details of the protocol for IPv4 and IPv6 are sufficiently
different that they may be considered separate protocols. For IPv6
operation, devices may alternatively use stateless address
auto-configuration. IPv4 hosts may also use link-local addressing
to achieve operation restricted to the local network link.
[0175] The DHCP protocol employs a connectionless service model,
using the User Datagram Protocol (UDP). It is implemented with two
UDP port numbers for its operations, which are the same as for the
BOOTP protocol. The UDP port number 67 is the destination port of a
server, and the UDP port number 68 is used by the client. DHCP
operations fall into four phases: Server discovery, IP lease offer,
IP request, and IP lease acknowledgment. These stages are often
abbreviated as DORA for discovery, offer, request, and
acknowledgment. The DHCP protocol operation begins with clients
broadcasting a request. If the client and server are on different
subnets, a DHCP Helper or DHCP Relay Agent may be used. Clients
requesting renewal of an existing lease may communicate directly
via an UDP unicast, since the client already has an established IP
address at that point.
[0176] Gateway. The term `gateway` is used herein to include, but
not limited to, a network element (or node) that is equipped for
interfacing between networks that uses different protocols. A
gateway typically contains components such as protocol translators,
impedance matching devices, rate converters, fault isolators, or
signal translators, as necessary to provide networking
interoperability. A gateway may be a router or a proxy server that
routes between networks, and may operate at any network layer. In a
network for an enterprise, a computer server acting as a gateway
node is often also acting as a proxy server and a firewall server.
A gateway is often associated with both a router, which knows where
to direct a given packet of data that arrives at the gateway, and a
switch, which furnishes the actual path in and out of the gateway
for a given packet.
[0177] A subnet mask is a mask used to determine what subnet
belongs to an IP address. An IP address has two components, the
network address and the host address. For example, consider the IP
address 150.215.017.009. Assuming this is part of a Class B
network, the first two numbers (150.215) represent the Class B
network address, and the second two numbers (017.009) identify a
particular host on this network. A subnetting enables the network
administrator to further divide the host part of the address into
two or more subnets. In this case, a part of the host address is
reserved to identify the particular subnet. On an IP network,
clients should automatically send IP packets with a destination
outside a given subnet mask to a network gateway. A subnet mask
defines the IP range of a private network. For example, if a
private network has a base IP address of 192.168.0.0 and has a
subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, then any data going to an IP address
outside of 192.168.0.X will be sent to that network gateway. While
forwarding an IP packet to another network, the gateway might or
might not perform Network Address Translation (NAT).
[0178] Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical distributed
naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to
the Internet or a private network. It associates various
information with domain names assigned to each of the participating
entities, and translates easily memorized domain names to the
numerical IP addresses needed for the purpose of locating computer
services and devices worldwide. The DNS is described, for example,
in the IETF RFC 3467 entitled: "Role of the Domain Name System
(DNS)", in the IETF RFC 6195 entitled: "Domain Name System (DNS)
IANA Considerations", and in the IETF RFC 1591 entitled: "Domain
Name System Structure and Delegation", which are incorporated in
their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0179] VPN. Computer networks may use a tunneling protocol where
one network protocol (the delivery protocol) encapsulates a
different payload protocol. Tunneling enables the encapsulation of
a packet from one type of protocol within the datagram of a
different protocol. For example, VPN uses PPTP to encapsulate IP
packets over a public network, such as the Internet. A VPN solution
based on Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), Layer Two
Tunneling Protocol (L2TP), or Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol
(SSTP) can be configured. By using tunneling a payload may be
carried over an incompatible delivery-network, or provide a secure
path through an untrusted network.
[0180] Typically, the delivery protocol operates at an equal or
higher OSI layer than does the payload protocol. In one example of
a network layer over a network layer, Generic Routing Encapsulation
(GRE), a protocol running over IP (IP Protocol Number 47), often
serves to carry IP packets, with RFC 1918 private addresses, over
the Internet using delivery packets with public IP addresses. In
this case, the delivery and payload protocols are compatible, but
the payload addresses are incompatible with those of the delivery
network. In contrast, an IP payload might believe it sees a data
link layer delivery when it is carried inside the Layer 2 Tunneling
Protocol (L2TP), which appears to the payload mechanism as a
protocol of the data link layer. L2TP, however, actually runs over
the transport layer using User Datagram Protocol (UDP) over IP. The
IP in the delivery protocol could run over any data-link protocol
from IEEE 802.2 over IEEE 802.3 (i.e., standards-based Ethernet) to
the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) over a dialup modem link.
[0181] Tunneling protocols may use data encryption to transport
insecure payload protocols over a public network (such as the
Internet), thereby providing VPN functionality. IPsec has an
end-to-end Transport Mode, but can also operate in a tunneling mode
through a trusted security gateway. HTTP tunneling is a technique
by which communications performed using various network protocols
are encapsulated using the HTTP protocol, the network protocols in
question usually belonging to the TCP/IP family of protocols. The
HTTP protocol therefore acts as a wrapper for a channel that the
network protocol being tunneled uses to communicate. The HTTP
stream with its covert channel is termed an HTTP tunnel. HTTP
tunnel software consists of client-server HTTP tunneling
applications that integrate with existing application software,
permitting them to be used in conditions of restricted network
connectivity including firewalled networks, networks behind proxy
servers, and network address translation.
[0182] Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are point-to-point
connections across a private or public network, such as the
Internet. A VPN client typically uses special TCP/IP-based
protocols, called tunneling protocols, to make a virtual call to a
virtual port on a VPN server. In a typical VPN deployment, a client
initiates a virtual point-to-point connection to a remote access
server over the Internet, and then the remote access server answers
the call, authenticates the caller, and transfers data between the
VPN client and the organization's private network. To emulate a
point-to-point link, data is encapsulated, or wrapped, with a
header. The header provides routing information that enables the
data to traverse the shared or public network to reach its
endpoint. To emulate a private link, the data being sent is
encrypted for confidentiality. Packets that are intercepted on the
shared or public network are indecipherable without the encryption
keys. The link in which the private data is encapsulated and
encrypted is known as a VPN connection.
[0183] Commonly there are two types of VPN connections, referred to
as Remote Access VPN and Site-to-Site VPN. Popular VPN connections
use PPTP, L2TP/IPsec, or SSTP protocols. PPTP is described in IETF
RFC 2637 entitled: "Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)", L2TP
is described in IETF RFC 2661 entitled: "Layer Two Tunneling
Protocol "L2TP"", which are both incorporated in their entirety for
all purposes as if fully set forth herein. VPN and VPN uses are
described in Cisco Systems, Inc. 2001 publication entitled: "IP
Tunneling and VPNs", and in Cisco Systems, Inc. 2001 handbook
`Internetworking Technologies Handbook` [No. 1-58705-001-3] chapter
18 entitled: "Virtual Private Networks", and in IBM Corporation
Redbook series publications entitled: "A Comprehensive Guide to
Virtual Private Networks" including "Vol. I: IBM Firewall, Server
and Client Solutions" [SG24-5201-00, June 1998], "Vol II: IBM Nways
Router Solutions" [SG24-5234-01, November 1999], and "Vol III:
Cross-Platform Key and Policy Management" [SG24-5309-00, November
1999], which are all incorporated in their entirety for all
purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0184] VPN and its uses are further described in the IETF RFC 4026
entitled: "Provider Provisioned Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Terminology" that describes provider provisioned Virtual Private
Network (VPN), in the IETF RFC 2764 entitled: "A Framework for IP
Based Virtual Private Networks" that describes a framework for
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) running across IP backbones, in the
IETF RFC 3931 entitled: "Layer Two Tunneling Protocol--Version 3
(L2TPv3)", and in the IETF RFC 2547 entitled: "BGP/MPLS VPNs" that
provides a VPN method based on MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching)
and BGP (Border Gateway Protocol), which are all incorporated in
their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0185] Remote access VPN connections enable users working at home
or on the road to access a server on a private network using the
infrastructure provided by a public network, such as the Internet.
From the user's perspective, the VPN is a point-to-point connection
between the computer (the VPN client) and an organization's server.
The exact infrastructure of the shared or public network is
irrelevant because it appears logically as if the data is sent over
a dedicated private link.
[0186] Site-to-site VPN connections (also known as router-to-router
VPN connections) enable organizations to have routed connections
between separate offices, or with other organizations over a public
network while helping to maintain secure communications. A routed
VPN connection across the Internet logically operates as a
dedicated wide area network (WAN) link. When networks are connected
over the Internet, a router forwards packets to another router
across a VPN connection. To the routers, the VPN connection
operates as a data-link layer link. A site-to-site VPN connection
connects two portions of a private network. The VPN server provides
a routed connection to the network to which the VPN server is
attached. The calling router (the VPN client) authenticates itself
to the answering router (the VPN server), and for mutual
authentication, the answering router authenticates itself to the
calling router. In the site-to site VPN connection, the packets
sent from either router across the VPN connection typically do not
originate at the routers.
[0187] Negotiating encryption keys may involve performing Internet
Key Exchange (IKE or IKEv2) as part of establishing a session under
the Security Protocol for the Internet (IPSec), as described in
IETF RFC 2409 entitled: "The Internet Key Exchange (IKE)", and in
RFC 4306 entitled: "Internet Key Exchange (IKEv2) Protocol", which
are both incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if
fully set forth herein. Alternatively or in addition, negotiating
encryption keys may involve performing RSA Key Exchange or
Diffie-Helman Key Exchange described in IETF RFC 2631 entitled:
"Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement Method", which is incorporated in its
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein, as part of
establishing a session under the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or
Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol.
[0188] Tunnel. As used herein, the term `tunnel` includes an
intermediary program which is acting as a blind relay between two
connections. Once active, a tunnel is not considered a party to the
HTTP communication, though the tunnel may have been initiated by an
HTTP request. The tunnel ceases to exist when both ends of the
relayed connections are closed.
[0189] Proxy. As used herein, the term `proxy` includes an
intermediary program which acts as both a server and a client for
the purpose of making requests on behalf of other clients. Requests
are serviced internally or by passing them on, with possible
translation, to other servers. A proxy MUST implement both the
client and server requirements of this specification. A
"transparent proxy" is a proxy that does not modify the request or
response beyond what is required for proxy authentication and
identification. A "non-transparent proxy" is a proxy that modifies
the request or response in order to provide some added service to
the user agent, such as group annotation services, media type
transformation, protocol reduction, or anonymity filtering. Except
where either transparent or non-transparent behavior is explicitly
stated, an HTTP proxy requirements apply to both types of proxies,
and is described in IETF RFC 2616, entitled: "Hypertext Transfer
Protocol--HTTP/1.1".
[0190] HTTP Proxy. A proxy server is a server (a computer system or
an application) that acts as an intermediary for requests from
clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to
the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file,
connection, web page, or other resource available from a different
server and the proxy server evaluates the request as a way to
simplify and control its complexity. Proxies were invented to add
structure and encapsulation to distributed systems. Today, most
proxies are web proxies, facilitating access to content on the
World Wide Web, providing anonymity and may be used to bypass IP
address blocking.
[0191] A proxy server may reside on the user's local computer, or
at various points between the user's computer and destination
servers on the Internet, and a proxy server that passes requests
and responses unmodified is usually called a gateway or sometimes a
tunneling proxy. A forward proxy is an Internet-facing proxy used
to retrieve from a wide range of sources (in most cases anywhere on
the Internet), and a reverse proxy is usually an internal-facing
proxy used as a front-end to control and protect access to a server
on a private network. A reverse proxy commonly also performs tasks
such as load-balancing, authentication, decryption or caching. An
open proxy is a forwarding proxy server that is accessible by any
Internet user. An anonymous open proxy allows users to conceal
their IP address while browsing the Web or using other Internet
services. There are varying degrees of anonymity however, as well
as a number of methods of `tricking` the client into revealing
itself regardless of the proxy being used.
[0192] A reverse proxy (or surrogate) is a proxy server that
appears to clients to be an ordinary server. Requests are forwarded
to one or more proxy servers which handle the request. The response
from the proxy server is returned as if it came directly from the
original server, leaving the client no knowledge of the origin
servers. Reverse proxies are installed in the neighborhood of one
or more web servers. All traffic coming from the Internet and with
a destination of one of the neighborhood's web servers goes through
the proxy server. The use of "reverse" originates in its
counterpart "forward proxy" since the reverse proxy sits closer to
the web server and serves only a restricted set of websites.
[0193] A `transparent proxy` is a proxy that does not modify the
request or response beyond what is required for proxy
authentication and identification. Transparent proxy, also known as
an intercepting proxy, inline proxy, or forced proxy, is a proxy
that intercepts normal communication at the network layer without
requiring any special client configuration. Clients need not be
aware of the existence of the proxy. A transparent proxy is
normally located between the client and the Internet, with the
proxy performing some of the functions of a gateway or router. A
`non-transparent proxy` is a proxy that modifies the request or
response in order to provide some added service to the user agent,
such as group annotation services, media type transformation,
protocol reduction, or anonymity filtering. TCP Intercept is a
traffic filtering security feature that protects TCP servers from
TCP SYN flood attacks, which are a type of denial-of-service
attack. TCP Intercept is available for IP traffic only.
Intercepting proxies are commonly used in businesses to enforce
acceptable use policy, and to ease administrative overheads, since
no client browser configuration is required. This second reason
however is mitigated by features such as Active Directory group
policy, or DHCP and automatic proxy detection. Intercepting proxies
are also commonly used by ISPs in some countries to save upstream
bandwidth and improve customer response times by caching.
[0194] HTTP tunneling. HTTP tunneling is a technique by which
communications performed using various network protocols are
encapsulated using the HTTP protocol, the network protocols in
question usually belonging to the TCP/IP family of protocols. The
HTTP protocol therefore acts as a wrapper for a channel that the
network protocol being tunneled uses to communicate. The HTTP
stream with its covert channel is termed an HTTP tunnel, and an
HTTP tunnel software consists of client-server HTTP tunneling
applications that integrate with existing application software,
permitting them to be used in conditions of restricted network
connectivity including firewalled networks, networks behind proxy
servers, and network address translation.
[0195] An HTTP tunnel is used most often as a means for
communication from network locations with restricted
connectivity--most often behind NATs, firewalls, or proxy servers,
and most often with applications that lack native support for
communication in such conditions of restricted connectivity.
Restricted connectivity in the form of blocked TCP/IP ports,
blocking traffic initiated from outside the network, or blocking of
all network protocols except a few is a commonly used method to
lock down a network to secure it against internal and external
threats.
[0196] HTTP CONNECT tunneling. A variation of HTTP tunneling when
behind an HTTP proxy server is to use the "CONNECT" HTTP method. In
this mechanism, the client asks an HTTP proxy server to forward the
TCP connection to the desired destination. The server then proceeds
to make the connection on behalf of the client. Once the connection
has been established by the server, the proxy server continues to
proxy the TCP stream to and from the client. Note that only the
initial connection request is HTTP--after that, the server simply
proxies the established TCP connection. This mechanism is how a
client behind an HTTP proxy can access websites using SSL or TLS
(i.e. HTTPS). Not all HTTP proxy servers support this feature, and
even those that do may limit the behavior (for example only
allowing connections to the default HTTPS port 443, or blocking
traffic which doesn't appear to be SSL).
[0197] HTTP tunneling without using CONNECT. In some networks, the
use of CONNECT method is restricted to some trusted sites. In such
cases, an HTTP tunnel can still be implemented using only the usual
HTTP methods as POST, GET, PUT and DELETE. This is similar to the
approach used in Bidirectional-streams Over Synchronous HTTP
(BOSH). In this proof-of-concept program, the server runs outside
the protected network and acts as a special HTTP server. The client
program is run on a computer inside the protected network. Whenever
any network traffic is passed from the client, the client
repackages the traffic data as an HTTP request and relays the data
to the outside server, which extracts and executes the original
network request for the client. The response to the request, sent
to the server, is then repackaged as an HTTP response and relayed
back to the client. Since all traffic is encapsulated inside normal
GET and POST requests and responses, this approach works through
most proxies and firewalls.
[0198] SOCKS. Socket Secure (SOCKS) is an Internet protocol that
performs at Layer 5 of the OSI model (the session layer, an
intermediate layer between the presentation layer and the transport
layer) that exchanges network packets between a client and server
through a proxy server. SOCKS5 additionally provides authentication
so only authorized users may access a server. Practically, a SOCKS
server proxies TCP connections to an arbitrary IP address, and
provides a means for UDP packets to be forwarded. SOCKS server
accepts incoming client connection on TCP port 1080. SOCKS is a de
facto standard for circuit-level gateways, and is also used as a
circumvention tool, allowing traffic to bypass Internet filtering
to access content otherwise blocked, e.g., by governments,
workplaces, schools, and country-specific web services. Client
software must have native SOCKS support in order to connect through
SOCKS.
[0199] Further, the SOCKS protocol provides a framework for
client-server applications in both the TCP and UDP domains to
conveniently and securely use the services of a network firewall.
The protocol is conceptually a "shim-layer" between the application
layer and the transport layer, and as such does not provide
network-layer gateway services, such as forwarding of ICMP
messages. SOCKS protocol typically relays TCP sessions at a
firewall host to allow application users transparent access across
the firewall. Because the protocol is independent of application
protocols, it can be (and has been) used for many different
services, such as telnet, ftp, finger, whois, gopher, WWW, etc.
Access control can be applied at the beginning of each TCP session;
thereafter the server simply relays the data between the client and
the application server, incurring minimum processing overhead.
Since SOCKS never has to know anything about the application
protocol, it should also be easy for it to accommodate applications
which use encryption to protect their traffic from nosey
snoopers.
[0200] SOCKS operates at a lower level than HTTP proxying: SOCKS
uses a handshake protocol to inform the proxy software about the
connection that the client is trying to make, and then acts as
transparently as possible, whereas a regular proxy may interpret
and rewrite headers (say, to employ another underlying protocol,
such as FTP; however, an HTTP proxy simply forwards an HTTP request
to the desired HTTP server). Though HTTP proxying has a different
usage model in mind, the CONNECT method allows for forwarding TCP
connections; however, SOCKS proxies can also forward UDP traffic
and work in reverse, while HTTP proxies cannot. HTTP proxies are
traditionally more aware of the HTTP protocol, performing
higher-level filtering (though that usually only applies to GET and
POST methods, not the CONNECT method). SOCKS4a extends the SOCKS4
protocol to allow a client to specify a destination domain name
rather than an IP address; this is useful when the client itself
cannot resolve the destination host's domain name to an IP
address.
[0201] The SOCKS5 protocol is defined in RFC 1928 dated March 1996
and entitled: "SOCKS Protocol Version 5", which is incorporated in
its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. It is
an extension of the SOCKS4 protocol; it offers more choices for
authentication and adds support for IPv6 and UDP, the latter of
which can be used for DNS lookups. The protocol specification for
SOCKS Version 5 RFC 1929 dated March 1996 and entitled:
"Username/Password Authentication for SOCKS V5", which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein, specifies a generalized framework for the use of arbitrary
authentication protocols in the initial socks connection setup, and
describes one of those protocols, as it fits into the SOCKS Version
5. RFC 1961 dated June 1996 entitled: "GSS-API Authentication
Method for SOCKS Version 5", which is incorporated in its entirety
for all purposes as if fully set forth herein, provides the
specification for the SOCKS V5 GSS-API authentication protocol, and
defines a GSS-API-based encapsulation for provision of integrity,
authentication and optional confidentiality. RFC 3089 dated April
2001 entitled: "A SOCKS-based IPv6/IPv4 Gateway Mechanism", which
is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set
forth herein, describes a SOCKS-based IPv6/IPv4 gateway mechanism
that enables smooth heterogeneous communications between the IPv6
nodes and IPv4 nodes.
[0202] WebSocket. WebSocket is a computer communications protocol,
providing full-duplex communication channels over a single TCP
connection. The WebSocket Protocol enables two-way communication
between a client running untrusted code in a controlled environment
to a remote host that has opted-in to communications from that
code. The security model used for this is the origin-based security
model commonly used by web browsers. The protocol consists of an
opening handshake followed by basic message framing, layered over
TCP. The goal of this technology is to provide a mechanism for
browser-based applications that need two-way communication with
servers that does not rely on opening multiple HTTP connections
(e.g., using XMLHttpRequest or <iframe>s and long polling).
The WebSocket protocol is defined in RFC 6455 dated December 2011
and entitled: "The WebSocket Protocol", which is incorporated in
its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0203] While both WebSocket and HTTP protocols are located at layer
7 in the OSI model and, as such, depend on TCP at layer 4, and
while WebSocket is designed to work over HTTP ports 80 and 443 as
well as to support HTTP proxies and intermediaries, the protocols
are different. Unlike HTTP, WebSocket provides full-duplex
communication, and in addition, WebSocket enables streams of
messages on top of TCP. TCP alone deals with streams of bytes with
no inherent concept of a message. To achieve compatibility, the
WebSocket handshake uses the HTTP Upgrade header to change from the
HTTP protocol to the WebSocket protocol. The WebSocket protocol
enables interaction between a web client (e.g. a browser) and a web
server with lower overheads, facilitating real-time data transfer
from and to the server. This is made possible by providing a
standardized way for the server to send content to the client
without being first requested by the client, and allowing for
messages to be passed back and forth while keeping the connection
open. In this way, a two-way (bi-directional) ongoing conversation
can take place between the client and the server. The
communications are done over TCP port number 80 (or 443 in the case
of TLS-encrypted connections), which is of benefit for those
environments which block non-web Internet connections using a
firewall.
[0204] The WebSocket protocol specification defines ws (WebSocket)
and wss (WebSocket Secure) as two new Uniform Resource Identifier
(URI) schemes that are used for unencrypted and encrypted
connections, respectively. Apart from the scheme name and fragment
(# is not supported), the rest of the URI components are defined to
use URI generic syntax. Using browser developer tools, developers
can inspect the WebSocket handshake as well as the WebSocket
frames. WebSocket protocol client implementations try to detect if
the user agent is configured to use a proxy when connecting to
destination host and port and, if it is, uses HTTP CONNECT method
to set up a persistent tunnel.
[0205] While the WebSocket protocol itself is unaware of proxy
servers and firewalls, it features an HTTP-compatible handshake
thus allowing HTTP servers to share their default HTTP and HTTPS
ports (80 and 443) with a WebSocket gateway or server. The
WebSocket protocol defines a ws:// and wss:// prefix to indicate a
WebSocket and a WebSocket Secure connection, respectively. Both
schemes use an HTTP upgrade mechanism to upgrade to the WebSocket
protocol. Some proxy servers are transparent and work fine with
WebSocket; others will prevent WebSocket from working correctly,
causing the connection to fail. In some cases, additional proxy
server configuration may be required, and certain proxy servers may
need to be upgraded to support WebSocket. If unencrypted WebSocket
traffic flows through an explicit or a transparent proxy server
without WebSockets support, the connection will likely fail.
[0206] Further, if an encrypted WebSocket connection is used, then
the use of Transport Layer Security (TLS) in the WebSocket Secure
connection ensures that an HTTP CONNECT command is issued when the
browser is configured to use an explicit proxy server. This sets up
a tunnel, which provides low-level end-to-end TCP communication
through the HTTP proxy, between the WebSocket Secure client and the
WebSocket server. In the case of transparent proxy servers, the
browser is unaware of the proxy server, so no HTTP CONNECT is sent.
However, since the wire traffic is encrypted, intermediate
transparent proxy servers may simply allow the encrypted traffic
through, so there is a much better chance that the WebSocket
connection will succeed if WebSocket Secure is used.
[0207] Firewall. As used herein, the term `firewall` is a device
that inspects network traffic passing through it, and may perform
actions, such as denying or permitting passage of the traffic based
on a set of rules. Firewalls may be implemented as stand-alone
network devices or, in some cases, integrated in a single network
device, such as a router or switch that performs other functions.
For instance, a network switch may perform firewall related
functions as well as switching functions. A firewall may be
implemented using a hardware and/or software-based, and may include
all necessary subsystems that may control incoming and outgoing
network traffic based on an applied rule set. A firewall may be
used to establish a barrier between a trusted, secure internal
network and another network, such as the Internet, that may not be
secure and trusted. Firewalls exist both as software to run on
general purpose hardware and as a hardware appliance. Many
hardware-based firewall environments also offer other
functionalities to the internal network that the firewall
environments protect.
[0208] NAT Traversal. Network Address Translator (NAT) traversal is
a networking technique of establishing and maintaining Internet
protocol connections across gateways that implement network address
translation (NAT). NAT traversal techniques are required for many
network applications, such as peer-to-peer file sharing and Voice
over IP. NAT devices are commonly used to alleviate IPv4 address
exhaustion by allowing the use of private IP addresses on private
networks behind routers with a single public IP address facing the
public Internet. The internal network devices communicate with
hosts on the external network by changing the source address of
outgoing requests to that of the NAT device and relaying replies
back to the originating device. NAT traversal techniques usually
bypass enterprise security policies. Enterprise security experts
prefer techniques that explicitly cooperate with NAT and firewalls,
allowing NAT traversal while still enabling marshalling at the NAT
to enforce enterprise security policies. IETF standards based on
this security model are Realm-Specific IP (RSIP) and middlebox
communications (MIDCOM).
[0209] Various NAT traversal techniques are available, such as
WebSocket (ws) or WebSocket Secure (wss), Socket Secure (SOCKS)
that uses proxy servers to relay traffic between networks or
systems, Traversal Using Relays around NAT (TURN) that is a relay
protocol designed specifically for NAT traversal, NAT hole punching
is a general technique that exploits how NATs handle some protocols
(for example, UDP, TCP, or ICMP) to allow previously blocked
packets through the NAT, Session Traversal Utilities for NAT (STUN)
is a standardized set of methods and a network protocol for NAT
hole punching. It was designed for UDP but was also extended to
TCP, Interactive Connectivity Establishment (ICE) is a complete
protocol for using STUN and/or TURN to do NAT traversal while
picking the best network route available, UPnP Internet Gateway
Device Protocol (IGDP) is supported by many small NAT gateways in
home or small office settings. It allows a device on a network to
ask the router to open a port, NAT-PMP is a protocol introduced by
Apple as an alternative to IGDP, PCP is a successor of NAT-PMP, and
Application-Level Gateway (ALG) is a component of a firewall or NAT
that allows for configuring NAT traversal filters.
[0210] IPsec virtual private network clients use NAT traversal in
order to have Encapsulating Security Payload packets traverse NAT.
IPsec uses several protocols in its operation which must be enabled
to traverse firewalls and network address translators: Internet Key
Exchange (IKE)--User Datagram Protocol (UDP) port 500,
Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP)--IP protocol number 50,
Authentication Header (AH)--IP protocol number 51, and IPsec NAT
traversal--UDP port 4500, when NAT traversal is in use. Many
routers provide explicit features, often called `IPsec
Passthrough`. NAT traversal and IPsec may be used to enable
opportunistic encryption of traffic between systems. NAT traversal
allows systems behind NATs to request and establish secure
connections on demand.
[0211] NAT Traversal techniques, method, utilities and uses are
described in the IETF RFC 2663 (dated August 1999) entitled: "IP
Network Address Translator (NAT) Terminology and Considerations",
in the IETF RFC 3715 (dated March 2004) entitled: "IPsec-Network
Address Translation (NAT) Compatibility Requirements", in the IETF
RFC 3947 (dated January 2005) entitled: "Negotiation of
NAT-Traversal in the IKE", in the IETF RFC 5128 (dated March 2008)
entitled: "State of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Communication across Network
Address Translators (NATs)", in the IETF RFC 5245 (dated April
2010) entitled: "Interactive Connectivity Establishment (ICE): A
Protocol for Network Address Translator (NAT) Traversal for
Offer/Answer Protocols", in the IETF RFC 5389 (dated October 2008)
entitled: "Session Traversal Utilities for NAT (STUN)", and in the
IETF RFC 7350 (dated August 2014) entitled: "Datagram Transport
Layer Security (DTLS) as Transport for Session Traversal Utilities
for NAT (STUN)", which are all incorporated in their entirety for
all purposes as if fully set forth herein. One of the simplest but
most robust and practical NAT traversal techniques, commonly known
as "hole punching", is described in a paper by Bryan Ford (of
Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Pyda Srisuresh (of Caymas
Systems, Inc.) and Dan Kegel published 2008 and entitled:
"Peer-to-Peer Communication Across Network Address Translators",
which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully
set forth herein. The paper documents and analyzes Hole punching
for UDP communication, and how it can be reliably used to set up
peer-to-peer TCP streams as well. NAT traversal techniques in P2P
networks are described in a paper dated January 2008 by Huynh Cong
Phuoc, Ray Hunt, and Andrew McKenzie (all of University of
Canterbury, Chistchurch, New Zealand) entitled: "NAT Traversal
Techniques in Peer-to-Peer Networks", which is incorporated in its
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. Initially
Network Address Translation (NAT) detection is categorized and both
UDP and TCP traversal techniques are discussed. Methodologies such
as Relaying, Connection Reversal, and Hole Punching are then
analyzed. Finally the development of a testbed is described which
can be used to evaluate NAT traversal techniques and to determine
appropriate configurations in order to achieve P2P networking.
[0212] Sharding. Database systems with large data sets and high
throughput applications can challenge the capacity of a single
server. High query rates can exhaust the CPU capacity of the
server, and larger data sets exceed the storage capacity of a
single machine. Further, working set sizes larger than the system's
RAM stress the I/O capacity of disk drives. To address these issues
of scales, database systems have two basic approaches: vertical
scaling and sharding. Vertical scaling adds more CPU and storage
resources to increase capacity. Scaling by adding capacity has
limitations: high performance systems with large numbers of CPUs
and large amount of RAM are disproportionately more expensive than
smaller systems. Additionally, cloud-based providers may only allow
users to provision smaller instances. As a result there is a
practical maximum capability for vertical scaling. Sharding, or
horizontal scaling, by contrast, divides the data set and
distributes the data over multiple servers, or shards. Each shard
is an independent database, and collectively, the shards make up a
single logical database.
[0213] A database shard is a horizontal partition of data in a
database or search engine, where each individual partition is
referred to as a shard or database shard. Each shard is held on a
separate database server instance, to spread load. Some data within
a database remains present in all shards, but some appears only in
a single shard. Each shard (or server) acts as the single source
for this subset of data. Horizontal partitioning is a database
design principle whereby rows of a database table are held
separately, rather than being split into columns (which is what
normalization and vertical partitioning do, to differing extents).
Each partition forms part of a shard, which may in turn be located
on a separate database server or physical location.
[0214] Since the tables are divided and distributed into multiple
servers, the total number of rows in each table in each database is
reduced. This reduces index size, which generally improves search
performance. A database shard can be placed on separate hardware,
and multiple shards can be placed on multiple machines. This
enables a distribution of the database over a large number of
machines, greatly improving performance. In addition, if the
database shard is based on some real-world segmentation of the data
(e.g., European customers v. American customers) then it may be
possible to infer the appropriate shard membership easily and
automatically, and query only the relevant shard.
[0215] Horizontal partitioning splits one or more tables by row,
usually within a single instance of a schema and a database server.
It may offer an advantage by reducing index size (and thus search
effort) provided that there is some obvious, robust, implicit way
to identify in which partition a particular row will be found,
without first needing to search the index. Splitting shards across
multiple isolated instances requires more than simple horizontal
partitioning. The hoped-for gains in efficiency would be lost, if
querying the database required both instances to be queried, just
to retrieve a simple dimension table. Beyond partitioning, sharding
thus splits large partitionable tables across the servers, while
smaller tables are replicated as complete units.
[0216] Database sharding is described in a white paper published
April 2017 by Oracle Corporation (having a World Headquarters at
500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, Calif. 94065, USA) entitled:
"Oracle Sharding: Linear Scalability, Fault Isolation and
Geo-distribution for Web-scale OLTP Applications", and in an
MongoDB Documentation Project paper dated Jan. 12, 2015 (Release
2.8.0-rc3) entitled: "Sharding and MongoDB", which are both
incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set
forth herein.
[0217] Multihoming. Multihoming refers to the practice of
connecting a host or a computer network to more than one network,
in order to increase reliability or performance, or to reduce cost.
While a typical host or end-user network is connected to just one
network, in many circumstances it can be useful to connect a host
or network to multiple networks, in order to increase reliability
(if a single link fails, packets can still be routed through the
remaining networks), to improve performance (depending on the
destination, it may be more efficient to route through one network
or the other) and to decrease cost (depending on the destination,
it may be cheaper to route through one network or the other).
[0218] There are several different ways to perform multihoming. In
host multihoming, a single host may be connected to multiple
networks. For example, a mobile phone might be simultaneously
connected to a WiFi network and a 3G network, and a desktop
computer might be connected to both a home network and a VPN. A
multihomed host usually is assigned multiple addresses, one per
connected network. In classical multihoming a network is connected
to multiple providers, and uses its own range of addresses
(typically from a Provider Independent (PI) range). The network's
edge routers communicate with the providers using a dynamic routing
protocol, typically BGP, which announces the network's address
range to all providers. If one of the links fail, the dynamic
routing protocol recognizes the failure within seconds or minutes,
and reconfigures its routing tables to use the remaining links,
transparently to the hosts. Classical multihoming is costly, since
it requires the use of address space that is accepted by all
providers, a public Autonomous System (AS) number, and a dynamic
routing protocol. Since multihomed address space cannot be
aggregated, it causes growth of the global routing table. In
multihoming with multiple addresses approach, the network is
connected to multiple providers, and assigned multiple address
ranges, one for each provider. Hosts are assigned multiple
addresses, one for each provider. Multihoming with multiple
addresses is cheaper than classical multihoming, and can be used
without any cooperation from the providers (e.g., in a home
network) but requires additional technology in order to perform
routing: for incoming traffic, hosts must be associated with
multiple A or AAAA DNS records so that they are reachable through
all providers; and for outgoing traffic, a technique such as
source-specific routing must be used to route packets through the
correct provider, and reasonable source address selection policies
must be implemented by hosts. Classical multihoming is the dominant
technique for IPv4, and requires that a network have its own public
IP address range and a public Autonomous System (AS) number. It is
also possible to implement multihoming for IPv4 using multiple NAT
gateways.
[0219] Both classical multihoming and multihoming with multiple
addresses may be used in IPv6. When using classical multihoming,
the Provider Independent Address Space (PI) that is available in
IPv6 may be used. This technique has the advantage of working like
IPv4, supporting traffic balancing across multiple providers, and
maintaining existing TCP and UDP sessions through cut-overs.
Multihoming with multiple addresses may be implemented for IPv6,
where for outgoing traffic, the host uses either protocol agnostic
(Multipath TCP, SCTP, etc.) or IPv6 specific (e.g. SHIM6). The
functional requirements and possible solutions for multihoming
without the use of NAT in IPv6 for hosts and small IPv6 networks
are described in the IETF RFC 7157 (dated March 2014) entitled:
"IPv6 Multihoming without Network Address Translation", which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein.
[0220] DNS. Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical distributed
naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to
the Internet or a private network. It associates various
information with domain names assigned to each of the participating
entities, and translates easily memorized domain names to the
numerical IP addresses needed for the purpose of locating computer
services and devices worldwide. The DNS is described, for example,
in the IETF RFC 3467 entitled: "Role of the Domain Name System
(DNS)", in the IETF RFC 6195 entitled: "Domain Name System (DNS)
IANA Considerations", and in the IETF RFC 1591 entitled: "Domain
Name System Structure and Delegation", which are incorporated in
their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0221] A system for resolving Domain Name System (DNS) queries that
contains a communication device for resolving DNS queries, wherein
the communication device further contains a memory and a processor
that is configured by the memory, a cache storage for use by the
communication device, and a network of authoritative domain name
servers, where in a process of the communication device looking up
a DNS request within the cache storage, if the communication device
views an expired DNS entry within the cache storage, the
communication device continues the process of looking up the DNS
request in the cache storage while, in parallel, sending out a
concurrent DNS request to an authoritative domain name server that
the expired DNS entry belongs to, is described in U.S. Pat. No.
8,671,221 to the same inventors as this application, entitled:
"Method and System for Increasing Speed of Domain Name System
Resolution within a Computing Device", which is incorporated in its
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0222] Systems and methods of storing previously transmitted data
and using it to reduce bandwidth usage and accelerate future
communications, and using algorithms to identify long compression
history matches. A network device that may improve compression
efficiency and speed is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,865,585 to
Samuels et al., entitled: "Systems and Methods for Providing
Dynamic Ad Hok Proxy-Cache Hierarchies", which is incorporated in
its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Further, a method and system for accelerating the receipt of data
in a client-to-client network described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,203,741
to Marco et al., entitled: "Method and System for Accelerating
Receipt of Data in a Client-to-Client Network", which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein.
[0223] WWAN. Any wireless network herein may be a Wireless Wide
Area Network (WWAN) such as a wireless broadband network, and the
WWAN port may be an antenna and the WWAN transceiver may be a
wireless modem. The wireless network may be a satellite network,
the antenna may be a satellite antenna, and the wireless modem may
be a satellite modem. The wireless network may be a WiMAX network
such as according to, compatible with, or based on, IEEE
802.16-2009, the antenna may be a WiMAX antenna, and the wireless
modem may be a WiMAX modem. The wireless network may be a cellular
telephone network, the antenna may be a cellular antenna, and the
wireless modem may be a cellular modem. The cellular telephone
network may be a Third Generation (3G) network, and may use UMTS
W-CDMA, UMTS HSPA, UMTS TDD, CDMA2000 1.times.RTT, CDMA2000 EV-DO,
or GSM EDGE-Evolution. The cellular telephone network may be a
Fourth Generation (4G) network and may use or be compatible with
HSPA+, Mobile WiMAX, LTE, LTE-Advanced, MBWA, or may be compatible
with, or based on, IEEE 802.20-2008.
[0224] WLAN. Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), is a popular
wireless technology that makes use of the Industrial, Scientific
and Medical (ISM) frequency spectrum. In the US, three of the bands
within the ISM spectrum are the A band, 902-928 MHz; the B band,
2.4-2.484 GHz (a.k.a. 2.4 GHz); and the C band, 5.725-5.875 GHz
(a.k.a. 5 GHz). Overlapping and/or similar bands are used in
different regions such as Europe and Japan. In order to allow
interoperability between equipment manufactured by different
vendors, few WLAN standards have evolved, as part of the IEEE
802.11 standard group, branded as WiFi (www.wi-fi.org). IEEE
802.11b describes a communication using the 2.4 GHz frequency band
and supporting communication rate of 11 Mb/s, IEEE 802.11a uses the
5 GHz frequency band to carry 54 MB/s and IEEE 802.11g uses the 2.4
GHz band to support 54 Mb/s. The WiFi technology is further
described in a publication entitled: "WiFi Technology" by Telecom
Regulatory Authority, published on July 2003, which is incorporated
in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The
IEEE 802 defines an ad-hoc connection between two or more devices
without using a wireless access point: the devices communicate
directly when in range. An ad hoc network offers peer-to-peer
layout and is commonly used in situations such as a quick data
exchange or a multiplayer LAN game, because the setup is easy and
an access point is not required.
[0225] A node/client with a WLAN interface is commonly referred to
as STA (Wireless Station/Wireless client). The STA functionality
may be embedded as part of the data unit, or alternatively be a
dedicated unit, referred to as bridge, coupled to the data unit.
While STAs may communicate without any additional hardware (ad-hoc
mode), such network usually involves Wireless Access Point (a.k.a.
WAP or AP) as a mediation device. The WAP implements the Basic
Stations Set (BSS) and/or ad-hoc mode based on Independent BSS
(IBSS). STA, client, bridge and WAP will be collectively referred
to hereon as WLAN unit. Bandwidth allocation for IEEE 802.11g
wireless in the U.S. allows multiple communication sessions to take
place simultaneously, where eleven overlapping channels are defined
spaced 5 MHz apart, spanning from 2412 MHz as the center frequency
for channel number 1, via channel 2 centered at 2417 MHz and 2457
MHz as the center frequency for channel number 10, up to channel 11
centered at 2462 MHz. Each channel bandwidth is 22 MHz,
symmetrically (+/-11 MHz) located around the center frequency. In
the transmission path, first the baseband signal (IF) is generated
based on the data to be transmitted, using 256 QAM (Quadrature
Amplitude Modulation) based OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing) modulation technique, resulting a 22 MHz (single
channel wide) frequency band signal. The signal is then up
converted to the 2.4 GHz (RF) and placed in the center frequency of
required channel, and transmitted to the air via the antenna.
Similarly, the receiving path comprises a received channel in the
RF spectrum, down converted to the baseband (IF) wherein the data
is then extracted.
[0226] In order to support multiple devices and using a permanent
solution, a Wireless Access Point (WAP) is typically used. A
Wireless Access Point (WAP, or Access Point--AP) is a device that
allows wireless devices to connect to a wired network using Wi-Fi,
or related standards. The WAP usually connects to a router (via a
wired network) as a standalone device, but can also be an integral
component of the router itself. Using Wireless Access Point (AP)
allows users to add devices that access the network with little or
no cables. A WAP normally connects directly to a wired Ethernet
connection, and the AP then provides wireless connections using
radio frequency links for other devices to utilize that wired
connection. Most APs support the connection of multiple wireless
devices to one wired connection. Wireless access typically involves
special security considerations, since any device within a range of
the WAP can attach to the network. The most common solution is
wireless traffic encryption. Modern access points come with
built-in encryption such as Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), typically used with a password or a
passphrase. Authentication in general, and a WAP authentication in
particular, is used as the basis for authorization, which
determines whether a privilege may be granted to a particular user
or process, privacy, which keeps information from becoming known to
non-participants, and non-repudiation, which is the inability to
deny having done something that was authorized to be done based on
the authentication. An authentication in general, and a WAP
authentication in particular, may use an authentication server that
provides a network service that applications may use to
authenticate the credentials, usually account names and passwords
of their users. When a client submits a valid set of credentials,
it receives a cryptographic ticket that it can subsequently be used
to access various services. Authentication algorithms include
passwords, Kerberos, and public key encryption.
[0227] Prior art technologies for data networking may be based on
single carrier modulation techniques, such as AM (Amplitude
Modulation), FM (Frequency Modulation), and PM (Phase Modulation),
as well as bit encoding techniques such as QAM (Quadrature
Amplitude Modulation) and QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying).
Spread spectrum technologies, to include both DSSS (Direct Sequence
Spread Spectrum) and FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) are
known in the art. Spread spectrum commonly employs Multi-Carrier
Modulation (MCM) such as OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing). OFDM and other spread spectrum are commonly used in
wireless communication systems, particularly in WLAN networks.
[0228] BAN. A wireless network may be a Body Area Network (BAN)
according to, compatible with, or based on, IEEE 802.15.6 standard,
and communicating devices may comprise a BAN interface that may
include a BAN port and a BAN transceiver. The BAN may be a Wireless
BAN (WBAN), and the BAN port may be an antenna and the BAN
transceiver may be a WBAN modem.
[0229] Bluetooth. Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard for
exchanging data over short distances (using short-wavelength UHF
radio waves in the ISM band from 2.4 to 2.485 GHz) from fixed and
mobile devices, and building personal area networks (PANs). It can
connect several devices, overcoming problems of synchronization. A
Personal Area Network (PAN) may be according to, compatible with,
or based on, Bluetooth.TM. or IEEE 802.15.1-2005 standard. A
Bluetooth controlled electrical appliance is described in U.S.
Patent Application No. 2014/0159877 to Huang entitled: "Bluetooth
Controllable Electrical Appliance", and an electric power supply is
described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2014/0070613 to Garb et
al. entitled: "Electric Power Supply and Related Methods", which
are both incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if
fully set forth herein. Any Personal Area Network (PAN) may be
according to, compatible with, or based on, Bluetooth.TM. or IEEE
802.15.1-2005 standard. A Bluetooth controlled electrical appliance
is described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2014/0159877 to Huang
entitled: "Bluetooth Controllable Electrical Appliance", and an
electric power supply is described in U.S. Patent Application No.
2014/0070613 to Garb et al. entitled: "Electric Power Supply and
Related Methods", which are both incorporated in their entirety for
all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0230] Bluetooth operates at frequencies between 2402 and 2480 MHz,
or 2400 and 2483.5 MHz including guard bands 2 MHz wide at the
bottom end and 3.5 MHz wide at the top. This is in the globally
unlicensed (but not unregulated) Industrial, Scientific and Medical
(ISM) 2.4 GHz short-range radio frequency band. Bluetooth uses a
radio technology called frequency-hopping spread spectrum.
Bluetooth divides transmitted data into packets, and transmits each
packet on one of 79 designated Bluetooth channels. Each channel has
a bandwidth of 1 MHz. It usually performs 800 hops per second, with
Adaptive Frequency-Hopping (AFH) enabled. Bluetooth low energy uses
2 MHz spacing, which accommodates 40 channels. Bluetooth is a
packet-based protocol with a master-slave structure. One master may
communicate with up to seven slaves in a piconet. All devices share
the master's clock. Packet exchange is based on the basic clock,
defined by the master, which ticks at 312.5 .mu.s intervals. Two
clock ticks make up a slot of 625 .mu.s, and two slots make up a
slot pair of 1250 .mu.s. In the simple case of single-slot packets
the master transmits in even slots and receives in odd slots. The
slave, conversely, receives in even slots and transmits in odd
slots. Packets may be 1, 3 or 5 slots long, but in all cases the
master's transmission begins in even slots and the slave's in odd
slots.
[0231] A master Bluetooth device can communicate with a maximum of
seven devices in a piconet (an ad-hoc computer network using
Bluetooth technology), though not all devices reach this maximum.
The devices can switch roles, by agreement, and the slave can
become the master (for example, a headset initiating a connection
to a phone necessarily begins as master--as initiator of the
connection--but may subsequently operate as slave). The Bluetooth
Core Specification provides for the connection of two or more
piconets to form a scatternet, in which certain devices
simultaneously play the master role in one piconet and the slave
role in another. At any given time, data can be transferred between
the master and one other device (except for the little-used
broadcast mode). The master chooses which slave device to address;
typically, it switches rapidly from one device to another in a
round-robin fashion. Since it is the master that chooses which
slave to address, whereas a slave is supposed to listen in each
receive slot, being a master is a lighter burden than being a
slave. Being a master of seven slaves is possible; being a slave of
more than one master is difficult.
[0232] Bluetooth Low Energy. Bluetooth low energy (Bluetooth LE,
BLE, marketed as Bluetooth Smart) is a wireless personal area
network technology designed and marketed by the Bluetooth Special
Interest Group (SIG) aimed at novel applications in the healthcare,
fitness, beacons, security, and home entertainment industries.
Compared to Classic Bluetooth, Bluetooth Smart is intended to
provide considerably reduced power consumption and cost while
maintaining a similar communication range. Bluetooth low energy is
described in a Bluetooth SIG published Dec. 2, 2014 standard
Covered Core Package version: 4.2, entitled: "Master Table of
Contents & Compliance Requirements--Specification Volume 0",
and in an article published 2012 in Sensors [ISSN 1424-8220] by
Caries Gomez et al. [Sensors 2012, 12, 11734-11753;
doi:10.3390/s120211734] entitled: "Overview and Evaluation of
Bluetooth Low Energy: An Emerging Low-Power Wireless Technology",
which are both incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as
if fully set forth herein.
[0233] Bluetooth Smart technology operates in the same spectrum
range (the 2.400 GHz-2.4835 GHz ISM band) as Classic Bluetooth
technology, but uses a different set of channels. Instead of the
Classic Bluetooth 79 1-MHz channels, Bluetooth Smart has 40 2-MHz
channels. Within a channel, data is transmitted using Gaussian
frequency shift modulation, similar to Classic Bluetooth's Basic
Rate scheme. The bit rate is 1 Mbit/s, and the maximum transmit
power is 10 mW. Bluetooth Smart uses frequency hopping to
counteract narrowband interference problems. Classic Bluetooth also
uses frequency hopping but the details are different; as a result,
while both FCC and ETSI classify Bluetooth technology as an FHSS
scheme, Bluetooth Smart is classified as a system using digital
modulation techniques or a direct-sequence spread spectrum. All
Bluetooth Smart devices use the Generic Attribute Profile (GATT).
The application programming interface offered by a Bluetooth Smart
aware operating system will typically be based around GATT
concepts.
[0234] NFC. Any wireless communication herein may be partly or in
full in accordance with, compatible with, or based on, short-range
communication such as Near Field Communication (NFC), having a
theoretical working distance of 20 centimeters and a practical
working distance of about 4 centimeters, and commonly used with
mobile devices, such as smartphones. The NFC typically operates at
13.56 MHz as defined in ISO/IEC 18000-3 air interface, and at data
rates ranging from 106 Kbits to 424 Kbit/s. NFC commonly involves
an initiator and a target; the initiator actively generates an RF
field that may power a passive target. NFC peer-to-peer
communication is possible, provided both devices are powered.
[0235] The NFC typically supports passive and active modes of
operation. In passive communication mode, the initiator device
provides a carrier field and the target device answers by
modulating the existing field, and the target device may draw its
operating power from the initiator-provided electromagnetic field,
thus making the target device a transponder. In active
communication mode, both devices typically have power supplies, and
both initiator and target devices communicate by alternately
generating their own fields, where a device deactivates its RF
field while it is waiting for data. NFC typically uses
Amplitude-Shift Keying (ASK), and employs two different schemes to
transfer data. At the data transfer rate of 106 Kbit/s, a modified
Miller coding with 100% modulation is used, while in all other
cases, Manchester coding is used with a modulation ratio of
10%.
[0236] Cellular. Cellular telephone network may be according to,
compatible with, or may be based on, a Third Generation (3G)
network that uses UMTS W-CDMA, UMTS HSPA, UMTS TDD, CDMA2000
1.times.RTT, CDMA2000 EV-DO, or GSM EDGE-Evolution. The cellular
telephone network may be a Fourth Generation (4G) network that uses
HSPA+, Mobile WiMAX, LTE, LTE-Advanced, MBWA, or may be based on or
compatible with IEEE 802.20-2008.
[0237] Appliance. Home appliances are electrical and mechanical
devices using technology for household use, such as food handling,
cleaning, clothes handling, or environmental control. Appliances
are commonly used in household, institutional, commercial or
industrial setting, for accomplishing routine housekeeping tasks,
and are typically electrically powered. The appliance may be a
major appliance, also known as "White Goods", which is commonly
large, difficult to move, and generally to some extent fixed in
place (usually on the floor or mounted on a wall or ceiling), and
is electrically powered from the AC power (mains) grid.
Non-limiting examples of major appliances are washing machines,
clothes dryers, dehumidifiers, conventional ovens, stoves,
refrigerators, freezers, air-conditioners, trash compactors,
furnaces, dishwasher, water heaters, microwave ovens and induction
cookers. The appliance may be a small appliance, also known as
"Brown Goods", which is commonly a small home appliance that is
portable or semi-portable, and is typically a tabletop or a
coutertop type. Examples of small appliances are television sets,
CD and DVD players, HiFi and home cinema systems, telephone sets
and answering machines, and beverage making devices such as
coffee-makers and iced-tea makers.
[0238] Some appliances main function is food storage, commonly
refrigeration related appliances such as refrigerators and
freezers. Other appliances main function is food preparation, such
as conventional ovens (stoves) or microwave ovens, electric mixers,
food processors, and electric food blenders, as well as beverage
makers such as coffee-makers and iced-tea makers. Few food related
appliances, commonly found in a home kitchen, are illustrated in
FIG. 4, showing a dishwasher 41, a food processor 42, a
refrigerator 43, an oven 44, a mixer 45, and a microwave oven 46.
Some appliances main function relates to cleaning, such as clothes
cleaning. Clothes cleaning appliances examples are washing/laundry
machines and clothes dryers. A vacuum cleaner is an appliance used
to suck up dust and dirt, usually from floors and other surfaces.
Few cleaning-related appliances are illustrated in FIG. 4a, showing
a vacuum cleaner 47, a cloth dryer 48 and a washing machine 49, as
well as a still digital camera 51 and a digital video camera 52.
Some appliances main function relates to temperature control, such
as heating and cooling. Air conditioners and heaters, as well as
HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems, are
commonly used for climate control, usually for thermal comfort for
occupants of buildings or other enclosures. Similarly, water
heaters are used for heating water.
[0239] The system may be used for lighting control, moisture
control, freeze control, pet feeding, propane gauge, interior and
exterior cameras, security, smoke alarms, or health monitoring. In
one non-limiting example, a field unit may be integrated with a
smoke detector assembly, which is typically housed in a disk-shaped
plastic enclosure, which may be about 150 millimeters (6 inch) in
diameter and 25 millimeters (1 inch) thick, and is commonly mounted
on a ceiling or on a wall.
[0240] Wearables. As used herein, the term "wearable device" (or
"wearable") includes a body-borne device (or item) designed or
intended to be worn by a human. Such devices are typically
comfortably worn on, and are carried or transported by, the human
body, and are commonly used to create constant, convenient,
seamless, portable, and mostly hands-free access to electronics and
computers. The wearable devices may be in direct contact with the
human body (such as by touching, or attaching to, the body skin),
or may be releasably attachable to clothes or other items intended
or designed to be worn on the human body. In general, the goal of
wearable technologies is to smoothly incorporate functional,
portable electronics and computers into individuals' daily lives.
Wearable devices may be releasably attached to the human body using
attaching means such as straps, buckles, belts, or clasps.
Alternatively or in addition, wearable devices may be shaped,
structured, or having a form factor to be body releasably mountable
or attachable, such as using eye-glass frames or headphones.
Further, wearable devices may be worn under, with, or on top of,
clothing.
[0241] Wearable devices may interact as sensors or actuators with
an organ or part of the human body, such as a head mounted wearable
device may include a screen suspended in front of a user's eye,
without providing any aid to the user's vision. Examples of
wearable devices include watches, glasses, contact lenses,
pedometers, chest straps, wrist-bands, head bands, arm bands, belt,
head wear, hats, glasses, watches, sneakers, clothing, pads,
e-textiles and smart fabrics, headbands, beanies, and caps, as well
as jewelry such as rings, bracelets, and hearing aid-like devices
that are designed to look like earrings. A wearable device may be
structured, designed, or have a form factor that is identical to,
substantially similar to, or is at least in part substitute to, a
traditional wearable item.
[0242] A wearable device may be a headwear that may be structured,
designed, or have a form factor that is identical to, substantially
similar to, or is at least in part substitute to, any headwear
item. The headwear may be attached to, or be in contact with, a
head part, such as a face, nose, right nostril, left nostril, right
cheek, left cheek, right eye, left eye, right ear, or left ear,
nose, mouth, lip, forehead, or chin. A wearable device may be
structured, designed, or have a form factor that is identical to,
substantially similar to, or is at least in part substitute to, a
bonnet, a cap, a crown, a fillet, a hair cover, a hat, a helmet, a
hood, a mask, a turban, a veil, or a wig.
[0243] A headwear device may be an eyewear that may be structured,
designed, or have a form factor that is identical to, substantially
similar to, or is at least in part substitute to, any eyewear item,
such as glasses, sunglasses, a contact lens, a blindfold, or a
goggle. A headwear device may be an earpiece that may be
structured, designed, or have a form factor that is identical to,
substantially similar to, or is at least in part substitute to, any
earpiece item, such as a hearing aid, a headphone, a headset, or an
earplug.
[0244] A wearable device may be releasably or permanently attach
to, or be part of, a clothing article such as a tie, sweater,
jacket, or hat. The attachment may use taping, gluing, pinning,
enclosing, encapsulating, or any other method of attachment or
integration known in the art. Furthermore, in some embodiments,
there may be an attachment element such as a pin or a latch and
hook system, of portion thereof (with the complementary element on
the item to which it is to be affixed) or clip. In a non-limiting
example, the attachment element has a clip-like design to allow
attachment to pockets, belts, watches, bracelets, broaches, rings,
shoes, hats, bike handles, necklaces, ties, spectacles, collars,
socks, bags, purses, wallets, or cords.
[0245] A wearable device may be releasably or permanently attach
to, or be part of, a top underwear such as a bra, camisole, or
undershirt, a bottom underwear such as a diaper, panties, plastic
pants, slip, thong, underpants, boxer briefs, boxer shorts, or
briefs, or a full-body underwear such as bodysuit, long underwear,
playsuit, or teddy. Similarly, a wearable device may be releasably
or permanently attach to, or be part of, a headwear such as a
Baseball cap, Beret, Cap, Fedora, hat, helmet, hood, knit cap,
toque, turban, or veil. Similarly, a wearable device may be
releasably or permanently attach to, or be part of, a footwear such
as an athletic shoe, boot, court shoe, dress shoe, flip-flops,
hosiery, sandal, shoe, spats, slipper, sock, or stocking. Further,
a wearable device may be releasably or permanently attach to, or be
part of, an accessory such as a bandana, belt, bow tie, coin purse,
cufflink, cummerbund, gaiters, glasses, gloves, headband, handbag,
handkerchief, jewellery, muff, necktie, pocket protector,
pocketwatch, sash, scarf, sunglasses, suspenders, umbrella, wallet,
or wristwatch.
[0246] A wearable device may be releasably or permanently attach
to, or be part of, an outwear such as an apron, blazer, British
warm, cagoule, cape, chesterfield, coat, covert coat, cut-off,
duffle coat, flight jacket, gilet, goggle jacket, guards coat,
Harrington jacket, hoodie, jacket, leather jacket, mess jacket,
opera coat, overcoat, parka, paletot, pea coat, poncho, raincoat,
robe, safari jacket, shawl, shrug, ski suit, sleeved blanket,
smoking jacket, sport coat, trench coat, ulster coat, waistcoat, or
windbreaker. Similarly, a wearable device may be releasably or
permanently attach to, or be part of, a suit (or uniform) such as
an academic dress, ball dress, black tie, boilersuit, cleanroom
suit, clerical clothing, court dress, gymslip, jumpsuit, kasaya,
lab coat, military uniform, morning dress, onesie, pantsuit, red
sea rig, romper suit, school uniform, scrubs, stroller, tuxedo, or
white tie. Further, a wearable device may be releasably or
permanently attach to, or be part of, a dress such as a ball gown,
bouffant gown, coatdress, cocktail dress, debutante dress, formal
wear, frock, evening gown, gown, house dress, jumper, little black
dress, princess line, sheath dress, shirtdress, slip dress,
strapless dress, sundress, wedding dress, or wrap dress.
Furthermore, a wearable device may be releasably or permanently
attach to, or be part of, a skirt such as an A-line skirt,
ballerina skirt, denim skirt, men's skirts, miniskirt, pencil
skirt, prairie skirt, rah-rah skirt, sarong, Skort, tutu, or wrap.
In one example, a wearable device may be releasably or permanently
attach to, or be part of, a trousers (or shorts) such as
bell-bottoms, bermuda shorts, bondage pants, capri pants, cargo
pants, chaps, cycling shorts, dress pants, high water pants,
lowrise pants, Jeans, jodhpurs, leggings, overall, Palazzo pants,
parachute pants, pedal pushers, phat pants, shorts, slim-fit pants,
sweatpants, windpants, or yoga pants. In one example, a wearable
device may be releasably or permanently attach to, or be part of, a
top such as a blouse, crop top, dress shirt, guayabera, guernsey,
halterneck, henley shirt, hoodie, jersey, polo shirt, shirt,
sleeveless shirt, sweater, sweater vest, t-shirt, tube top,
turtleneck, or twinset.
[0247] A wearable device may be structured, designed, or have a
form factor that is identical to, substantially similar to, or is
at least in part substitute to, a fashion accessory. These
accessories may be purely decorative, or have a utility beyond
aesthetics. Examples of these accessories include, but are not
limited to, rings, bracelets, necklaces, watches, watch bands,
purses, wallets, earrings, body rings, headbands, glasses, belts,
ties, tie bars, tie tacks, wallets, shoes, pendants, charms and
bobbles. For example, wearable devices may also be incorporated
into pockets, steering wheels, keyboards, pens, and bicycle
handles.
[0248] In one example, the wearable device may be shaped as, or
integrated with, a device that includes an annular member defining
an aperture therethrough that is sized for receipt therein of a
human body part. The body part may be part of a human hand such as
upper arm, elbow, forearm, wrist (such as a wrist-band), or a
finger (such as a ring). Alternatively or in addition, the body
part may be part of a human head or neck, such as a forehead, ear,
skull, or face. Alternatively or in addition, the body part may be
part of a human thorax or abdomen, such as waist or hip.
Alternatively or in addition, the body part may be part of a human
leg or foot, such as thigh, calf, ankle, instep, knee, or toe.
[0249] In one example, the wearable device may be shaped as, or
integrated with, a ring. The ring may comprise, consist essentially
of or consist of a shank, which is the location that provides an
opening for a finger, and a head, which comprises, consists
essentially or consists of ornamental features of the ring and in
some embodiments houses the signaling assembly of the present
device. The head may be of any shape, e.g., a regular sphere,
truncated sphere, cube, rectangular prism, cylinder, triangular
prism, cone, pyramid, barrel, truncated cone, domed cylinder,
truncated cylinder, ellipsoid, regular polygon prism or truncated
three-dimensional polygon of e.g., 4-16 sides, such as a truncated
pyramid (trapezoid), or combination thereof or it may be an
irregular shape. Further, the head may comprise an upper face that
contains and is configured to show one or more jewels and/or
ornamental designs.
[0250] A mobile communication device configured to be worn on an
index finger of a user's hand is described in U.S. Patent
Application Publication No. 2015/0373443 to Carroll entitled:
"Finger-wearable mobile communication device", which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein. The device includes a case, a microphone, a switch, and a
power source. The microphone and the switch are strategically
located along a shape of the case so that as worn on the user's
index finger and when the switch is activated by the thumb of the
user's hand, the hand naturally cups about the microphone to form a
barrier to ambient noise. Further, the microphone can readily be
located near a corner of the user's mouth for optimal
speech-receiving conditions and to provide more private audio
input.
[0251] A user controls an external electronic device with a
finger-ring-mounted touchscreen is described in U.S. Patent
Application Publication No. 2015/0277559 to Vescovi et al.
entitled: "Devices and Methods for a Ring Computing Device", which
is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set
forth herein. The device includes a computer processor, wireless
transceiver, and rechargeable power source; the ring is worn on a
first finger receives an input from a second finger, selects one of
a plurality of touch events associated with the input, and
wirelessly transmits a command associated with the touch event to
the external electronic device.
[0252] A mobile communication device that comprises a fashion
accessory and a signaling assembly is described in U.S. Patent
Application Publication No. 2015/0349556 to Mercando et al.
entitled: "Mobile Communication Devices", which is incorporated in
its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The
signaling assembly may be configured to provide sensory stimuli
such as a flashing LED light and a vibration. These stimuli may
vary depending on the signal received from a remote communication
device or from gestures made by a user or from information stored
in the mobile communication device.
[0253] A wearable fitness-monitoring device is described in U.S.
Pat. No. 8,948,832 to Hong et al. entitled: "Wearable Heart Rate
Monitor", which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as
if fully set forth herein. The device including a motion sensor and
a photoplethysmographic (PPG) sensor. The PPG sensor includes (i) a
periodic light source, (ii) a photo detector, and (iii) circuitry
determining a user's heart rate from an output of the photo
detector. Some embodiments provide methods for operating a heart
rate monitor of a wearable fitness-monitoring device to measure one
or more characteristics of a heartbeat waveform. Some embodiments
provide methods for operating the wearable fitness monitoring
device in a low power state when the device determines that the
device is not worn by a user. Some embodiments provide methods for
operating the wearable fitness-monitoring device in a normal power
state when the device determines that the device is worn by a
user.
[0254] A wearable device and method for processing mages to prolong
battery life are described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,957,988 to Wexler et
al. entitled: "Apparatus for processing images to prolong battery
life", which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if
fully set forth herein. In one implementation, a wearable apparatus
may include a wearable image sensor configured to capture a
plurality of images from an environment of a user. The wearable
apparatus may also include at least one processing device
configured to, in a first processing-mode, process representations
of the plurality of images to determine a value of at least one
capturing parameter for use in capturing at least one subsequent
image, and in a second processing-mode, process the representations
of the plurality of images to extract information. In addition, the
at least one processing device may operate in the first
processing-mode when the wearable apparatus is powered by a mobile
power source included in the wearable apparatus and may operate in
the second processing-mode when the wearable apparatus is powered
by an external power source.
[0255] A wearable device may be used for notifying a person, such
as by using tactile, visual, or audible stimulus, as described for
example in U.S. Patent Application No. 2015/0341901 to RYU et al.
entitled: "Method and apparatus for providing notification", which
is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set
forth herein, describing an electronic device that includes: a
transceiver configured to communicate with at least one wearable
device and receive, from the at least one wearable device, status
information indicating whether the at least one wearable device is
currently being worn; and a processor configured to determine
whether to send a notification request to the at least one wearable
device based on the status information received by the
transceiver.
[0256] A communication device, system and method are described for
example in U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0052672 to Ritter et
al. entitled: "Communication device, system and method", which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein. It is discloses comprising a Virtual Retinal Display (VRD)
in form of glasses (1), at least one haptic sensor (12) mounted on
the frame of said glasses or connected by a short range
communication interface (13) to said glasses (1), wherein it is
possible to navigate by means of a cursor through an image
displayed by the Virtual Retinal Display (VRD) with the at least
one haptic sensor (12). A central control unit controls (11) the
Virtual Retinal Display (VRD) and the at least one haptic sensor
(12). When the Virtual Retinal Display (VRD) is connected to an
external device (2, 9) by a short range communication interface
(13), the user can navigate through the content of the external
device (2, 9) by easy use of the haptic sensor (12).
[0257] Wearable communication devices, e.g. implemented in a watch,
using short range communication to a cell phone, and facilitating
natural and intuitive user interface with low-power implementation
are described for example in U.S. Patent Application No.
2014/0045547 to Singamsetty et al. entitled: "Wearable
Communication Device and User Interface", which is incorporated in
its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The
devices allow a user to easily access all features of the phone,
all while a phone is nearby but not visible. Notification is
performed with vibration, an LED light and OLED text display of
incoming calls, texts, and calendar events. It allows communicating
hands-free. This allows using the communication device as "remote
control" for home devices, etc. via voice and buttons. The device
comprises interfaces motion sensors such as accelerometers,
magnetometer and gyroscope, infrared proximity sensors, vibrator
motor, and/or voice recognition. Low power consumption is achieved
by dynamical configuration of sensor parameters to support only the
necessary sensor functions at any given state of the device.
[0258] A wearable electronic device that is configured to control
and command a variety of wireless devices within its proximity is
described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,605,714 to Thompson et al. entitled:
"System and method for command and control of wireless devices
using a wearable device", which is incorporated in its entirety for
all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The wearable device
dynamically generates a user interface corresponding to the
services of a particular wireless device. Through the user
interface, the wireless device surface content to a user and allows
a user select interactions with the wireless devices using the
wearable device.
[0259] An apparatus and method for the remote control and/or
interaction-with electronic-devices such as computers;
home-entertainment-systems; media-centers; televisions;
DVD-players; VCR-players; music systems; appliances; security
systems; toys/games; and/or displays are described in U.S. Pat. No.
8,508,472 to Wieder entitled: "Wearable remote control with a
single control button", which is incorporated in its entirety for
all purposes as if fully set forth herein. A user may orient a
pointer (e.g., laser pointer) to place a pointer-spot on/near
object(s) on an active-display(s); and/or a fixed-display(s);
and/or on real-world object(s) within a display region or
pointer-spot detection-region. Detectors, imager(s) and/or
camera(s) may be connected/attached to the display region and/or a
structure that is connected/attached to display region. When the
user initiates a "select", the detectors/cameras may detect the
location of the pointer-spot within the display region.
Corresponding to the user's selection(s); control action(s) may be
performed on the device(s) being controlled/interacted-with and
additional selection-menus may be optionally presented on an
active-display.
[0260] A hand-worn controller consisting of a housing having a
central opening sized to permit the controller to be worn as ring
on the index finger of a human hand is described in U.S. Patent
Application Publication No. 2006/0164383 to Machin et al. entitled:
"Remote controller ring for user interaction", which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein. A joystick lever projects outwardly from said housing and
is positioned to be manipulated by the user's thumb. The joystick
operates on or more control devices, such as switches or
potentiometers, that produce control signals. A wireless
communications device, such as a Bluetooth module, mounted in said
housing transmits command signals to a remote utilization device,
which are indicative of the motion or position of said joystick
lever.
[0261] A wearable augmented reality computing apparatus with a
display screen, a reflective device, a computing device and a head
mounted harness to contain these components is described in U.S.
Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0050144 to Morlock
entitled: "Wearable augmented reality computing apparatus", which
is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set
forth herein. The display device and reflective device are
configured such that a user can see the reflection from the display
device superimposed on the view of reality. An embodiment uses a
switchable mirror as the reflective device. One usage of the
apparatus is for vehicle or pedestrian navigation. The portable
display and general purpose computing device can be combined in a
device such as a smartphone. Additional components consist of
orientation sensors and non-handheld input devices.
[0262] In one example, a wearable device may use, or may be based
on, a processor or a microcontroller that is designed for wearable
applications, such as the CC2650 SimpleLink.TM. Multistandard
Wireless MCU available from Texas Instruments Incorporated
(headquartered in Dallas, Tex., U.S.A.) and described in a Texas
Instrument 2015 publication #SWRT022 entitled: "SimpleLink.TM.
Ultra-Low Power--Wireless Microcontroller Platform", and in a Texas
Instrument 2015 datasheet #SWRS158A (published February 2015,
Revised October 2015) entitled: "CC2650 SimpleLink.TM.
Multistandard Wireless MCU", which are both incorporated in their
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0263] An example of a personal multimedia electronic device, and
more particularly to a head-worn device such as an eyeglass frame,
is described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2010/0110368 to Chaum
entitled: "System and apparatus for eyeglass appliance platform",
which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully
set forth herein. The device is having a plurality of interactive
electrical/optical components. In one embodiment, a personal
multimedia electronic device includes an eyeglass frame having a
side arm and an optic frame; an output device for delivering an
output to the wearer; an input device for obtaining an input; and a
processor comprising a set of programming instructions for
controlling the input device and the output device. The output
device is supported by the eyeglass frame and is selected from the
group consisting of a speaker, a bone conduction transmitter, an
image projector, and a tactile actuator. The input device is
supported by the eyeglass frame and is selected from the group
consisting of an audio sensor, a tactile sensor, a bone conduction
sensor, an image sensor, a body sensor, an environmental sensor, a
global positioning system receiver, and an eye tracker. In one
embodiment, the processor applies a user interface logic that
determines a state of the eyeglass device and determines the output
in response to the input and the state.
[0264] An example of an eyewear for a user is described in U.S.
Patent Application No. 2012/0050668 Howell et al. entitled:
"Eyewear with touch-sensitive input surface", which is incorporated
in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The
eyewear includes an eyewear frame, electrical circuitry at least
partially in the eyewear frame, and a touch sensitive input surface
on the eyewear frame configured to provide an input to the
electrical circuitry to perform a function via touching the touch
sensitive input surface. In another embodiment, the eyewear
includes a switch with at least two operational states. The
operational states of the switch can be configured to be changed by
sliding a finger across the touch sensitive input surface of the
frame.
[0265] An example of a wearable computing device is described in
U.S. Patent Application No. 2013/0169513 to Heinrich et al.
entitled: "Wearable computing device", which is incorporated in its
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The device
includes a bone conduction transducer, an extension arm, a light
pass hole, and a flexible touch pad input circuit. When a user
wears the device, the transducer contacts the user's head. A
display is attached to a free end of an extension arm. The
extension arm is pivotable such that a distance between the display
and the user's eye is adjustable to provide the display at an
optimum position. The light pass hole may include a light emitting
diode and a flash. The touch pad input circuit may be adhered to at
least one side arm such that parting lines are not provided between
edges of the circuit and the side arm.
[0266] Hash function. A hash function is any function that can be
used to map data of arbitrary size to data of fixed size, and the
values returned by a hash function are called hash values, hash
codes, digests, or simply hashes. One use is a data structure
called a hash table, widely used in computer software for rapid
data lookup, where hash functions accelerate table or database
lookup by detecting duplicated records in a large file. A
cryptographic hash function allows one to easily verify that some
input data maps to a given hash value, but if the input data is
unknown, it is deliberately difficult to reconstruct it (or
equivalent alternatives) by knowing the stored hash value. Hash
functions may include checksums, check digits, fingerprints, lossy
compression, randomization functions, error-correcting codes, and
ciphers. Hash functions are described in an article by Jun Wang,
Wei Liu, Sanjiv Kumar, and Shih-Fu Chang, Submitted on 17 Sep. 2015
to the PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE (http://arxiv.org/abs/1509.05472v1)
entitled: "Learning to Hash for Indexing Big Data--A Survey", and
in a book by Josef Pieprzyk and Babak Sadeghiyan, published 1993 by
Springer-Verlag [ISBN 3-540-57500-6] entitled: "Design of Hashing
Algorithms", which are both incorporated in their entirety for all
purposes as if fully set forth herein. The concept of a hash table
is a generalized idea of an array where key does not have to be an
integer. We can have a name as a key, or for that matter any object
as the key. Hash functions are used in hash tables, to quickly
locate a data record (e.g., a dictionary definition) given its
search key (the headword). Specifically, the hash function is used
to map the search key to a list; the index gives the place in the
hash table where the corresponding record should be stored. Hash
tables, also, are used to implement associative arrays and dynamic
sets. Typically, the domain of a hash function (the set of possible
keys) is larger than its range (the number of different table
indices), and so it will map several different keys to the same
index which could result in collisions. So then, each slot of a
hash table is associated with (implicitly or explicitly) a set of
records, rather than a single record. For this reason, each slot of
a hash table is often called a bucket, and hash values are also
called bucket listing or a bucket index.
[0267] Good hash functions are usually required to satisfy certain
properties listed below. The exact requirements are dependent on
the application. For example, a hash function well suited to
indexing data will probably be a poor choice for a cryptographic
hash function. A hash procedure must be deterministic--meaning that
for a given input value it must always generate the same hash
value. In other words, it must be a function of the data to be
hashed, in the mathematical sense of the term. This requirement
excludes hash functions that depend on external variable
parameters, such as pseudo-random number generators or the time of
day. It also excludes functions that depend on the memory address
of the object being hashed in cases that the address may change
during execution, although sometimes rehashing of the item is
possible. The determinism is in the context of the reuse of the
function. Further, a good hash function should map the expected
inputs as evenly as possible over its output range. That is, every
hash value in the output range should be generated with roughly the
same probability. The reason for this last requirement is that the
cost of hashing-based methods goes up sharply as the number of
collisions--pairs of inputs that are mapped to the same hash
value--increases. If some hash values are more likely to occur than
others, a larger fraction of the lookup operations will have to
search through a larger set of colliding table entries. Note that
this criterion only requires the value to be uniformly distributed,
not random in any sense. A good randomizing function is (barring
computational efficiency concerns) generally a good choice as a
hash function, but the converse need not be true. Hash tables often
contain only a small subset of the valid inputs. For instance, a
club membership list may contain only a hundred or so member names,
out of the very large set of all possible names. In these cases,
the uniformity criterion should hold for almost all typical subsets
of entries that may be found in the table, not just for the global
set of all possible entries. When testing a hash function, the
uniformity of the distribution of hash values can be evaluated by
the chi-squared test.
[0268] It is often desirable that the output of a hash function
have fixed size. If, for example, the output is constrained to
32-bit integer values, the hash values can be used to index into an
array. Such hashing is commonly used to accelerate data searches.
On the other hand, cryptographic hash functions produce much larger
hash values, in order to ensure the computational complexity of
brute-force inversion. For example, SHA-1, one of the most widely
used cryptographic hash functions, produces a 160-bit value.
Producing fixed-length output from variable length input can be
accomplished by breaking the input data into chunks of specific
size. Hash functions used for data searches use some arithmetic
expression which iteratively processes chunks of the input (such as
the characters in a string) to produce the hash value. In
cryptographic hash functions, these chunks are processed by a
one-way compression function, with the last chunk being padded if
necessary. In this case, their size, which is called block size, is
much bigger than the size of the hash value. For example, in SHA-1,
the hash value is 160 bits and the block size 512 bits.
[0269] Further, in many applications, the range of hash values may
be different for each run of the program, or may change along the
same run (for instance, when a hash table needs to be expanded). In
those situations, one needs a hash function which takes two
parameters--the input data z, and the number n of allowed hash
values. A common solution is to compute a fixed hash function with
a very large range (say, 0 to 232-1), divide the result by n, and
use the division's remainder. If n is itself a power of 2, this can
be done by bit masking and bit shifting. When this approach is
used, the hash function must be chosen so that the result has
fairly uniform distribution between 0 and n-1, for any value of n
that may occur in the application. Depending on the function, the
remainder may be uniform only for certain values of n, e.g., odd or
prime numbers.
[0270] IETF RFC 4634 (dated July 2006) entitled: "US Secure Hash
Algorithms (SHA and HMAC-SHA)", which is incorporated in its
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein, describes a
suite of Secure Hash Algorithms (SHAs), including four beyond
SHA-1, as part of a Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS),
specifically SHA-224 (RFC 3874), SHA-256, SHA-384, and SHA-512. The
purpose of this document is to make source code performing these
hash functions conveniently available to the Internet community.
The sample code supports input strings of arbitrary bit length.
SHA-1's sample code from RFC 3174 has also been updated to handle
input strings of arbitrary bit length. Most of the text herein was
adapted by the authors from FIPS 180-2. IETF RFC 3874 (dated
September 2004) entitled: "A 224-bit One-way Hash Function:
SHA-224", which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as
if fully set forth herein, describes a 224-bit one-way hash
function, called SHA-224. The SHA-224 is based on SHA-256, but it
uses a different initial value and the result is truncated to 224
bits.
[0271] A method for fetching a content from a web server to a
client device is disclosed, using tunnel devices serving as
intermediate devices is described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,241,044 to
Shribman et al. entitled: "System and method for improving internet
communication by using intermediate nodes", which is incorporated
in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein
(hereinafter--"the '044 Patent"). The client device accesses an
acceleration server to receive a list of available tunnel devices.
The requested content is partitioned into slices, and the client
device sends a request for the slices to the available tunnel
devices. The tunnel devices in turn fetch the slices from the data
server, and send the slices to the client device, where the content
is reconstructed from the received slices. A client device may also
serve as a tunnel device, serving as an intermediate device to
other client devices. Similarly, a tunnel device may also serve as
a client device for fetching content from a data server. The
selection of tunnel devices to be used by a client device may be in
the acceleration server, in the client device, or in both. The
partition into slices may be overlapping or non-overlapping, and
the same slice (or the whole content) may be fetched via multiple
tunnel devices.
[0272] In one example, the '044 patent describes an accessing to a
data server is improved by using an intermediate device referred to
as a `tunnel` device that is executing a `tunnel` flowchart. FIG. 5
shows a system 50 including two client devices, a client device #1
31a and a client device #2 31b, that may access the web servers
(data servers) 22a and 22b using one or more of a tunnel device #1
33a, a tunnel device #2 33b, and a tunnel device #3 33c, under the
management and control of an acceleration server 32. These network
elements communicate with each other using the Internet 113.
[0273] A schematic messaging flow diagram 60 according to the '044
patent describing the client device #1 31a related `content fetch`
flowchart and the tunnel device #1 33a related flowchart is shown
in FIG. 6. A `Content Request` message 61a is first sent from the
client device #1 31a to the selected tunnel device #1 33a, which
responds by forwarding the request to the data server #1 22a using
a `Content Request` message 61b. In turn the data server #1 22a
replies and sends the content in a `Send Content` message 61c to
the requesting tunnel device #1 33a, which in turn forward the
fetched content to the asking client device #1 31a using a `Send
Content` message 61d.
[0274] While accessing the data server #1 22a was exampled above
using the tunnel device #1 33a as an intermediary device, the
system and the client #1 31a may use multiple tunnel devices in
order to fetch the content from the same data server #1 22a. Two,
three, four, or any other number of tunnel devices, serving as
intermediary devices having the same or similar role as the tunnel
device #1 33a, may be equally used. In one example, three tunnel
devices may be used, such as adding the tunnel device #2 33b and
the tunnel device #3 33c, shown in system 50 in FIG. 5.
[0275] In one example, three distinct data paths may be involved in
the content fetching. In addition to the messaging data path 60, a
messaging flow 60a shown in FIG. 6a describes the usage of the
tunnel device #2 33b as an intermediary device, relating to the
client device #1 31a `content fetch` related flowchart and the
tunnel device #2 33b related flowchart. A `Content Request` message
62a is first sent from the client device #1 31a to the selected
tunnel device #2 33b, which responds by forwarding the request to
the data server #1 22a using a `Content Request` message 62b. In
turn the data server #1 22a replies and sends the content in a
`Send Content` message 62c to the requesting tunnel device #2 33b,
which in turn forward the fetched content to the asking client
device #1 31a using a `Send Content` message 62d. Similarly, a
messaging flow 60b shown in FIG. 6b describes the usage of the
tunnel device #3 33c as an intermediary device, relating to the
client device #1 31a associated with `content fetch` in the
respective flowchart and with the tunnel device #3 33c in the
flowchart. The `Content Request` message 65a is first sent from the
client device #1 31a to the selected tunnel device #3 33c, which
responds by forwarding the request to the data server #1 22a using
the `Content Request` message 65b. In turn the data server #1 22a
replies and sends the content in the `Send Content` message 65c to
the requesting tunnel device #3 33c, which in turn forward the
fetched content to the asking client device #1 31a using the `Send
Content` message 65d.
[0276] A system and a method for media streaming from multiple
sources are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.
2016/0337426 to Shribman et al. entitled: "System and Method for
Streaming Content from Multiple Servers", which is incorporated in
its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. A
content requesting client device accesses a server to receive a
list of available sources that may include multiple Content
Delivery Networks (CDNs) and independent servers. Based on a
pre-set criteria, such as the source delivery performance and cost,
the client device partitions the content into parts, allocates a
source to each part, and simultaneously receives media streams of
the content parts from the allocated sources. The server may be a
Video-on-Demand (VOD) server, and the content may be a single file
of a video data, such as a movie. The delivery performance of the
used sources is measured during the streaming for updating the
partition or the allocation. The updated measured performance may
be stored locally at the client device, or at a server for use by
other clients. The client actions may be implemented as a
client-side script.
[0277] An aggregation or combination of Content or Application
Delivery Networks is described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,378,473 to Wolfe
entitled: "Content and application delivery network aggregation",
which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully
set forth herein. The aggregation or combination is used to improve
quality of service, including the delivery of content and media on
a city, state, country and international basis. The aggregation is
formed by combining multiple CDNs or ADNs so that a larger server
and network footprint is created. The benefits of each CDN or ADN
are aggregated to produce a better CDN/ADN service to the customer
and end users.
[0278] Systems and techniques for transparently intercepting and
optimizing resource requests are described in U.S. Patent
Application Publication No. 2015/0163087 to Conner et al. entitled:
"Transparently intercepting and optimizing resource requests",
which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully
set forth herein. Some embodiments can send a request to a server.
In response to the request, the embodiments can receive a first
script and at least a second script from the server, wherein the
first script includes instructions for intercepting invocations to
a set of functions, and wherein the second script includes at least
one invocation to at least one function in the set of functions.
The first script can then be executed, thereby causing subsequent
invocations to each function in the set of functions to be
intercepted by a corresponding resource optimization handler. Next,
the second script can be executed. When the executing second script
invokes a function in the set of functions, the invocation of the
function can be intercepted, and a resource optimization handler
corresponding to the function can be invoked instead of invoking
the function.
[0279] Geolocation. IP-based geolocation (commonly known as
geolocation) is a mapping of an IP address (or MAC address) to the
real-world geographic location of a computing device or a mobile
device connected to the Internet. The IP address based location
data may include information such as country, region, city,
postal/zip code, latitude, longitude, or Timezone. Deeper data sets
can determine other parameters such as domain name, connection
speed, ISP, language, proxies, company name, US DMA/MSA, NAICS
codes, and home/business classification. The geolocation is further
described in the publication entitled: "Towards Street-Level
Client-Independent IP Geolocation" by Yong Wang et al., downloaded
from the Internet on July 2014, and in an Information Systems Audit
and Control Association (ISACA) 2011 white-paper entitled:
"Geolocation: Risk, Issues and Strategies", which are both
incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set
forth herein. There are a number of commercially available
geolocation databases, such as a web-site
http://www.ip2location.com operated by Ip2location.com
headquartered in Penang, Malaysia, offering IP geolocation software
applications, and geolocation databases may be obtained from
IpInfoDB operating web-site http://ipinfodb.com, and by Max Mind,
Inc., based in Waltham, Mass., U.S.A, operating the web-site
https://www.maxmind.com/en/home. Determining the geographic
location of Internet hosts is described in an article published
January 2007 by Doxa Chatzopoulou and Marios Kokkodis, both of
Computer Science and Engineering Department, UC Riverside,
entitled: "IP Geolocation", which is incorporated in its entirety
for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. Various techniques
of IP geolocation are described in an article (ISSN:0975-9646,
downloaded from the Internet August 2017) by Jayaprabha Bendale and
Prof. J. Ratanaraj Kumar, both of G.S. Moze College of Engineering,
Balewadi, Pune-45, University Of Pune, Pune, India, published in
(IJCSIT) International Journal of Computer Science and Information
Technologies, Vol. 5 (1), 2014, 436-440 and entitled: "Review of
Different IP Geolocation Methods and Concepts", which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein.
[0280] Further, the W3C Geolocation API is an effort by the World
Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to standardize an interface to retrieve
the geographical location information for a client-side device. It
defines a set of objects, ECMA Script standard compliant, that
executing in the client application give the client's device
location through the consulting of Location Information Servers,
which are transparent for the Application Programming Interface
(API). The most common sources of location information are IP
address, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth MAC address, radio-frequency
identification (RFID), Wi-Fi connection location, or device Global
Positioning System (GPS) and GSM/CDMA cell IDs. The location is
returned with a given accuracy depending on the best location
information source available. The W3C Recommendation for the
geolocation API specifications draft dated Oct. 24, 2013, is
available from the web-site
http://www.w3.org/TR/2013/REC-geolocation-API-20131024.
Geolocation-based addressing is described in U.S. Pat. No.
7,929,535 to Chen et al., entitled: "Geolocation-based Addressing
Method for IPv6 Addresses", and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,236,652 to
Preston et al., entitled: "Geo-spacial Internet Protocol
Addressing", and in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.
2005/0018645 to Mustonen et al., entitled: "Utilization of
Geographic Location Information in IP Addressing", which are all
incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set
forth herein.
[0281] Methods and systems for geolocation routing and simulation
of network conditions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,660,895
Bennett entitled: "Geolocation routing and simulation of network
conditions", which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes
as if fully set forth herein. A network traffic profile is
determined for a client device. A network access server selects an
endpoint server based on the location of the selected endpoint
server. The network access server routes traffic from the client
device to an external server through the selected endpoint server.
The network traffic from the client device to the external server
appears to originate from a network address of the selected
endpoint server. Network conditions for the network traffic are
simulated based on the network traffic profile.
[0282] Techniques for anonymous Internet access are presented in
U.S. Pat. No. 8,302,161 to Burch et al. entitled: "Techniques for
anonymous internet access", which is incorporated in its entirety
for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. Internet requests
are intercepted within a firewalled environment before being routed
over the Internet to destination sites. Each Internet requests is
evaluated in view of policy and one or more anonymizers are
selected in response to that evaluation. The Internet requests are
then routed through the appropriate anonymizers for processing to
the destination sites. A relationship between an Internet Protocol
(IP) address associated with the firewalled environment and IP
addresses of the destination sites is masked and hidden via the
anonymizers from Internet observers. Moreover, a secure
communication between the firewalled environment and the
anonymizers is maintained.
[0283] A method and apparatus for selectively using an anonymous
proxy are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,301,787 to Li entitled:
"Selective use of anonymous proxies", which is incorporated in its
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. A user
request for content is received. A determination is made as to
whether the user request satisfies context criteria. When the user
request satisfies the context criteria, the user request is
forwarded to an anonymous proxy. When the user request does not
satisfy the context criteria, the request is sent directly to a
content provider.
[0284] For use with a network having server sites capable of being
browsed by users based on identifiers received into the server
sites and personal to the users, alternative proxy systems for
providing substitute identifiers to the server sites that allow the
users to browse the server sites anonymously via the proxy system,
are presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,593 to Gabber et al. entitled:
"System and method for providing anonymous personalized browsing by
a proxy system in a network", which is incorporated in its entirety
for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. A central proxy
system includes computer-executable routines that process
site-specific substitute identifiers constructed from data specific
to the users, that transmits the substitute identifiers to the
server sites, that retransmits browsing commands received from the
users to the server sites, and that removes portions of the
browsing commands that would identify the users to the server
sites. The foregoing functionality is performed consistently by the
central proxy system during subsequent visits to a given server
site as the same site specific substitute identifiers are reused.
Consistent use of the site specific substitute identifiers enables
the server site to recognize a returning user and, possibly,
provide personalized service.
[0285] A device that receives, from a client device, a request for
a resource, where the request provides an identifier of the client
device, is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 8,504,723 to Kohli entitled:
"Routing proxy for resource requests and resources", which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein. The device selects a target device for the resource,
connects with the selected target device, and provides a proxy of
the request to the selected target device, where the proxy of the
request hides the identifier of the client device. The device
receives the resource from the selected target device, where the
resource provides an identifier of the target device. The device
provides a proxy of the resource to the client device, where the
proxy of the resource hides the identifier of the target
device.
[0286] Various information object repository selection procedures
for determining which of a number of information object
repositories should service a request for the information object
are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,565,450 to Garcia-Luna-Aceves et
al. entitled: "System and method for using a mapping between client
addresses and addresses of caches to support content delivery",
which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully
set forth herein. The selection procedures include a direct cache
selection process, a redirect cache selection process, a remote DNS
cache selection process, or a local DNS cache selection process.
Different combinations of these procedures may also be used. For
example different combination may be used depending on the type of
content being requested. The direct cache selection process may be
used for information objects that will be immediately loaded
without user action, while any of the redirect cache selection
process, the remote DNS cache selection process and/or the local
DNS cache selection process may be used for information objects
that will be loaded only after some user action.
[0287] An address of an information object repository that should
service a client request for an information object and is returned
in response to a request therefor is described in U.S. Pat. No.
7,162,539 to Garcia-Luna-Aceves et al. entitled: "System and method
for discovering information objects and information object
repositories in computer networks", which is incorporated in its
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The address
of the information object repository which is returned is selected
according to specified performance metrics regardless of whether or
not the information object repository maintains a local copy of the
information object that is the client request. In some cases, the
address of the information object repository is further selected
according to an address of a client making the client request.
Further, the address of the information object repository is
selected from a number of addresses of information object
repositories. The specified performance metrics may include one or
more of an average delay from the information object repository to
the client, average processing delays at the information object
repository, reliability of a path from the information object
repository to the client, available bandwidth in said path, and
loads on the information object repository. In some cases, the
information object repository may be instructed to obtain a copy of
the information object after the address of the information object
repository is returned in response to the request therefore.
[0288] A method and system for accelerating downloading and
displaying of content in web pages in a peer-to-peer network is
described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0212584
to Yu et al. entitled: "Method and system for accelerating
downloading of web page content by a peer-to-peer network", which
is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set
forth herein. A peer-to-peer network client captures a download
request from a web browser, and submits a query that includes an
identifier of the file to an indexing server. The peer-to-peer
network client receives a peer list including connectivity
information of a peer node that has stored at least a portion of
the file content. The peer-to-peer network client then connects
with the peer node, and downloads the portion from the peer node.
The peer-to-peer client conveys the downloaded portion to the web
browser.
[0289] Facilitating browser access to cached content available from
a peer to peer network is described in U.S. Patent Application
Publication No. 2013/0191456 to Ting et al. entitled: "Peer to peer
browser content caching", which is incorporated in its entirety for
all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The facilitating
comprises receiving a request for content from a content server,
receiving from the content server content metadata indicating that
the requested content is available from at least one alternative
user computing device via a peer to peer network, instantiating on
the user computing device a browser helper application which
facilitates access to the peer to peer network, and receiving from
the content server a lookup table comprising a list of alternative
user computing devices from which the requested content is
available. The lookup table can be parsed to select an alternative
user computing device from which the content, or portions thereof,
is requested. The received content can then be stored for later use
or presented to the user via the browser.
[0290] A method and apparatus for peer-to-peer services are
described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,440,994 to Harrow et al. entitled:
"Method and apparatus for peer-to-peer services to shift network
traffic to allow for an efficient transfer of information between
devices via prioritized list", which is incorporated in its
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0291] A method and apparatus for peer-to-peer services are
described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,562,112 to Harrow et al. entitled:
"Method and apparatus for peer-to-peer services for efficient
transfer of information between networks", which is incorporated in
its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. In one
embodiment, a request for data is received from a first local
device. A determination of a second local device having the data is
made. The first local device is directed to the second local device
to directly obtain the data from the second local device. A direct
transfer of the data from the second local device to the first
local device is performed.
[0292] In consideration of the foregoing, it would be an
advancement in the art to provide an improved functionality method
and system that is simple, secure, anonymous, cost-effective, load
balanced, redundant, reliable, provide lower CPU and/or memory
usage, enable pipelining of requests and responses, reduce network
congestion, easy to use, reduce latency, faster, has a minimum part
count, minimum hardware, and/or uses existing and available
components, protocols, programs and applications, for providing
better quality of service, overload avoidance, better or optimal
resources allocation, better communication and additional
functionalities, and provides a better user experience.
SUMMARY
[0293] A method may be used for fetching a content identified by a
content identifier to a client device from a web server by using
tunnel devices. The method may be used with a first and second
servers and a group of tunnel devices that are each connected to
the Internet and are each addressable in the Internet using a
respective IP address, and the first server may store a list of the
IP addresses associated with the tunnel devices in the group. The
method may comprise sending, by the client device to the second
server, a request message that comprises the content identifier;
receiving, by the second server from the client device, the request
message; sending, by the second server to the first server, a first
message; receiving, by the first server from the second server, the
first message; selecting, by the first server, an IP address
associated with a tunnel device from the list of tunnel devices, in
response to the received first message; sending, by the first
server to the selected tunnel device, a second message using an IP
address of the selected first tunnel device; receiving, by the
selected tunnel device from the first server, the second message;
sending, by the selected tunnel device to the web server, a content
request that comprises the content identifier; receiving, by the
selected tunnel device from the web server, the content, in
response to the content request; sending, by the selected tunnel
device to the second server, the content; receiving, by the second
server from the selected tunnel device, the content; sending, by
the second server to the client device, the content; and receiving,
by the client device from the second server, the content in
response to the request message.
[0294] Any list herein, such as the list of the IP addresses may
comprise, or may consist of, multiple distinct lists, and each of
the multiple distinct lists may comprise one or more of the IP
addresses that may be associated with the tunnel devices in the
group. Any list of IP addresses herein may comprise, or may consist
of, at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200,
300, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 30,000,
50,000, or 100,000 distinct lists. Alternatively or in addition,
any list of IP addresses herein may comprise, or may consist of,
less than 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 300,
500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, 50,000,
100,000 or 200,000 distinct lists. Any list of IP addresses herein,
such as at least one list of any multiple distinct lists herein may
include at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 20, 30, 50, 80,
100, 120, 150, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, or 10,000 IP
addresses, or may include less than 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20,
20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000,
10,000 or 20,000 IP addresses. Each of the multiple distinct lists
herein may include at least 1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 20, 30, 50,
80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, or 10,000 IP
addresses, or may include less than 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20,
20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000,
10,000 or 20,000 IP addresses.
[0295] Any two list herein, such as at least first and second lists
of the multiple distinct lists, may be mutually exclusive, whereby
each of the IP addresses included in the first list may not be part
of the second list. Further, part of, or all of, any lists of the
multiple distinct lists may be mutually exclusive, whereby each of
the IP addresses included in one of the lists may not be part of
any other list of the multiple distinct lists. Any two list herein,
such as at least first and second lists of the multiple distinct
lists, may be mutually non-exclusive, whereby at least one of the
IP addresses that may be included in the first list may be part of
the second list. Further, all of the lists of the multiple distinct
lists may be mutually non-exclusive, whereby at least one of the IP
addresses included in a list may be part of another list of the
multiple distinct lists.
[0296] Any list herein, such as any list of the multiple distinct
lists, may include a single IP address, further, at least two lists
of the multiple distinct lists may include a single IP address. At
least two lists of the multiple distinct lists may include the same
number of IP addresses. Further, at least 3, 5, 8, 10, 15, 20, 30,
50, 100, 200, 300, 500, 1,000, 5,000, or 10,000 lists of the
multiple distinct lists may include the same number of IP
addresses. Alternatively or in addition, at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 5%,
10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or
90% of the lists of the multiple distinct lists may include the
same number of IP addresses, or all of the lists of the multiple
distinct lists may include the same number of IP addresses. Any IP
addresses herein or any associated tunnel devices herein of any
list, such as of at least one list of the multiple distinct lists,
may be associated with a same value or a value range of an
attribute type. Further, any IP addresses or any associated tunnel
devices of each of the multiple distinct lists may be associated
with the same value or the value range of the attribute type.
Further, any value herein may comprise a numeric value or an
identifier of a feature, an attribute, a characteristic, or a
property of the attribute type, and any value range herein may
comprise a numeric value range or identifiers of a feature, an
attribute, a characteristic, or a property of the attribute
type.
[0297] Any attribute type herein may comprise a geographical
location, and any value herein may comprise a name or an identifier
of a continent, a country, a region, a city, a street, a ZIP code,
or a timezone. Alternatively or in addition, any attribute type
herein may comprise an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or
Autonomous System Number (ASN), and any value herein may
respectively comprise a name or an identifier of the ISP or the ASN
number. Alternatively or in addition, any attribute type herein may
correspond to a hardware or software of tunnel devices.
Alternatively or in addition, any attribute type herein may
correspond to a communication property, type, or feature of a
communication link of any device, such as any tunnel devices.
Alternatively or in addition, any attribute type herein may
correspond to an operating system of any device, such as the tunnel
devices. Alternatively or in addition, any attribute type herein
may correspond to a RTT of the tunnel devices. Alternatively or in
addition, any attribute type herein may correspond to a content
type, and any value of the content type may comprise a video data,
audio data, and no multimedia web-page. Any method herein may be
used with multiple web servers, and any attribute type may
correspond to a web server from the multiple web servers, and the
values comprise an identifier of the web server, and any identifier
herein may comprise an IP address of the web server, a domain name,
a website name, or a URL.
[0298] Any selecting herein of any IP address from any list may
comprise selecting a list from the multiple distinct lists; and
selecting an IP address from the selected list. Any selecting of
any IP address from any selected list may be based on load
balancing, and may be based on, or may be using, random,
quazi-random, or deterministic selection. Alternatively or in
addition, any selecting of any list from any multiple distinct
lists or any selecting of any IP address from any selected list,
may be based on, or may use, random selecting, that may use one or
more random numbers generated by a random number generator. Any
random number generator herein may be hardware based, and may be
using thermal noise, shot noise, nuclear decaying radiation,
photoelectric effect, or quantum phenomena. Alternatively or in
addition, any random number generator herein may be software based,
and may be based on executing an algorithm for generating
pseudo-random numbers.
[0299] Further, any selecting of any list from any multiple
distinct lists or any selecting of any IP address from any selected
list may be based on, or may use, Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) or
First-In-First-Out (FIFO) scheme. Alternatively or in addition, any
selecting herein of any IP address from any selected list may be
based on, or may be using, sequential or cyclic selection. Any
message herein, such as the first message, may comprise a
criterion, and any selecting herein of any list from any multiple
distinct lists may be based on, may be using, or may be in response
to, the criterion. Any selecting herein of any list from any
multiple distinct lists may be based on load balancing.
Alternatively or in addition, any selecting herein of any list from
any multiple distinct lists may be based on, or may be using,
random selection, sequential, or cyclic selection. Any message
herein, such as the first message, may comprise a criterion, and
any selecting herein of the list from any multiple distinct lists
may be based on, may be using, or may be in response to, the
criterion.
[0300] Any device herein, such as the client device, may be
associated with any list of any multiple distinct lists, and any
selecting herein of any list from any multiple distinct lists may
comprise selecting the list that may be associated with the client
device. Any method herein may be used with multiple client devices,
and each list of any multiple distinct lists may be associated with
a client device of the multiple client devices. Further, any client
device herein may be selected from the multiple client devices, and
any selecting herein of any list from any multiple distinct lists
may comprise selecting the list that may be associated with the
selected client device. Further, any client device of the multiple
client devices may be associated with a list of the multiple
distinct lists.
[0301] Any IP addresses herein, or any associated tunnel devices,
of at least two lists of, or all of, the multiple distinct lists,
may be respectively associated with a distinct value or a distinct
value range of an attribute type. Further, any message herein, such
as the first message, may comprise a value or a value range of the
attribute type, and any selecting herein of any list from any
multiple distinct lists may be based on, may be in response to, or
may use, the value or the value range in the first message, and any
selecting herein of any list from any multiple distinct lists may
comprise selecting the list that may be associated with the value
or the value range in the first message. Alternatively or in
addition, any message herein, such as the first message, may
comprise an identifier of the client device, and any selecting
herein of any list from any multiple distinct lists may be based
on, may be in response to, or may use, the identifier of the client
device, which may comprise, may use, or may be based on, the IP
address of the client device.
[0302] Any web server herein, any content herein, or any content
identifier herein may be associated with a list of the multiple
distinct lists, and any selecting herein of any list from any
multiple distinct lists may comprise selecting the list that may be
associated with the web server, the content, or the content
identifier. Any method herein may be used with multiple web
servers, or multiple contents each associated with a respective
content identifier, and any list of any multiple distinct lists may
be associated with a respective one of the multiple web servers or
the multiple contents. Further, any web server herein or any
content herein may be respectively selected from the multiple web
servers or the multiple contents, and any selecting herein of any
list from any multiple distinct lists may comprise selecting the
list that may be associated with the respectively selected web
server or content. Alternatively or in addition, each of the
multiple web servers or multiple contents may be associated with a
list of the multiple distinct lists.
[0303] Any method herein may further comprise defining, forming,
maintaining, or storing of at least one list of the multiple
distinct lists, or of all lists of the multiple distinct lists. Any
defining, forming, maintaining, or storing herein may be by any
device or apparatus herein, such as by the first server, the second
server, or the client device. Further, any method herein may
further comprise updating of any list, such as updating at least
one list of the multiple distinct lists. Any method herein may
further comprise updating of at least 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 15, 20, 30,
50, 100, 200, 300, 500, 1,000, 5,000, or 10,000 lists of the
multiple distinct lists, or updating of at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 5%,
10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or
90% of the lists of the multiple distinct lists.
[0304] Alternatively or in addition, any method herein may further
comprise forming, maintaining, or storing all lists of any multiple
distinct lists. Alternatively or in addition, any updating of any
list may comprise adding an IP address to, or removing an IP
address from, the list. Any updating herein may be at least 1
minute, 2, minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes,
1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days, 1 week,
2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 months, 2 months, or 6 months after any
forming, defining, forming, or storing. Further, Any updating
herein may be less than 1 minute, 2, minutes, 5 minutes, 10
minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10
hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 months, 2
months, or 6 months after any forming, defining, forming, or
storing. Alternatively or in addition, at least two lists or all
lists of the of the multiple distinct lists may not be updated or
changed for at least 1 minute, 2, minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes,
20 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 1 day,
2 days, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 months, 2 months, or 6
months after the last forming, defining, forming, or storing. Any
updating herein may comprise periodically updating, that may be
every at least 1 minute, 2, minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20
minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 1 day, 2
days, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 months, 2 months, or 6
months, or may be every less than 1 minute, 2, minutes, 5 minutes,
10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10
hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 months, 2
months, or 6 months.
[0305] Any selecting herein of any list from any multiple distinct
lists or any selecting herein of any IP address from any selected
list may be based on, or may be in response to, a time of an action
or an event. Any action herein may comprise an action by any device
or apparatus herein, such as any client device, any first server,
any second server, any web server, or any selected tunnel device.
Any event herein may be an event affecting, or sensed by, any
device or apparatus herein, such as any client device, any first
server, any second server, any web server, or any selected tunnel
device. Any time herein may comprise the time at the respective
location of the client device, the first server, the second server,
the web server, or the selected tunnel device. Any action herein
may comprise any receiving of, or any transmitting of, any message
over the Internet, such as sending or receiving by any device or
apparatus herein, such as any client device, any first server, any
second server, any web server, or any selected tunnel device.
Alternatively or in addition, any action herein may comprise any
selecting of any list from any multiple distinct lists, or any
selecting of any IP address from any selected list.
[0306] At least any one list from any multiple distinct lists may
be associated with a timing information, and any the selecting
herein of any list from any multiple distinct lists may be based
on, or may be according to, the time versus the associated timing
information of the at least one list. At least 3, 5, 8, 10, 15, 20,
30, 50, 100, 200, 300, 500, 1,000, 5,000, or 10,000 lists of any
multiple distinct lists may be associated with a distinct timing
information, or at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%,
35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of any lists of any
multiple distinct lists may be associated with a distinct timing
information. Any selecting herein of any list from any multiple
distinct lists may be based on, or may be according to, the time
versus the associated timing information of the lists. Any timing
information herein may comprise a month, a week, a day of the week,
an hour of a day, or a minute in an hour, and any multiple distinct
lists herein may comprise at least 7 distinct lists, each
associated with a different day of the week. Alternatively or in
addition, any multiple distinct lists herein may comprise at least
24 distinct lists, each associated with at least one different hour
of the day. Further, any time herein may comprise a month, a week,
a day of the week, an hour of a day, or a minute in an hour.
[0307] Any method herein may be used with a first device that may
be connected to the Internet and may be addressable in the Internet
using a first IP address. Any method herein may further comprise
sending, by the first device to the first server, a third message;
and receiving, by the first server from the first device, the third
message. Further, any method herein may further comprise adding the
IP address of the first device to a single list, two or more lists,
of any multiple distinct lists. Any method herein may be used with
a first device that may be connected to the Internet and
addressable in the Internet using a first IP address, and may
further comprise forming or adding an additional list to the
multiple distinct lists. Further, any method herein may further
comprise forming or adding an additional list to the multiple
distinct lists that includes the first IP address. Alternatively or
in addition, any method herein may further comprise sending, by the
first device to the first server, a third message; and receiving,
by the first server from the first device, the third message. Any
forming or adding herein of the additional list may be in repose to
the receiving of the third message.
[0308] Any selecting herein of any IP address from any list may
comprise selecting a list from the multiple distinct lists;
selecting an IP address from the selected list; checking the
availability of the device associated with the selected IP address
to serve as a tunnel device; and responsive to the selected device
unavailability to serve as a tunnel device, selecting and using
another IP address from the selected list. Alternatively or in
addition, any selecting herein of any IP address from any list may
comprise selecting a list from the multiple distinct lists;
checking the availability of all the devices associated with the IP
addresses in the selected list to serve as a tunnel device; and
responsive to a device availability to serve as a tunnel device,
selecting and using the IP address of the available device.
Alternatively or in addition, any selecting herein of any IP
address from any list may comprise selecting a list from the
multiple distinct lists; checking the availability of all the
devices associated with the IP addresses in the selected list to
serve as a tunnel device; and responsive to no a availability of
any device from the selected list to serve as a tunnel device,
adding and using an additional IP address of an available device.
At least 2 lists of any multiple distinct lists herein may each be
identified by a respective distinct identifier. Alternatively or in
addition, each list of any multiple distinct lists may be
identified by a respective distinct identifier. Any identifier
herein may comprise a characters set, an alphanumeric string, a
number, or an IP address.
[0309] Any list of the IP addresses herein may comprise, or may
consist of, multiple distinct collections, and each collection may
comprise one or more lists of any multiple distinct lists. For
example, two or more collections may comprise more than 1, 2, 5,
10, 12, 15, 20, 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 500, 1,000,
2,000, 5,000, or 10,000 lists, or two or more collections may
comprise less than 5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120,
150, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 or 20,000 lists.
Further, each one of the collections may comprise more than 1, 2,
5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 500, 1,000,
2,000, 5,000, or 10,000 lists, or less than 5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 20,
30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 or
20,000 lists.
[0310] Any method herein may be used with a mapping function, and
each list herein of any multiple distinct lists herein may be
associated with, or may be identified by, a distinct value that may
be the result of the mapping function on the IP addresses or on
distinct values associated with the corresponding tunnel devices.
Any distinct values herein may be numerical values that may
correspond with a feature, an attribute, a characteristic, or a
property of an attribute type, or any combination thereof.
Alternatively or in addition, any distinct values herein may be
numerical values that may be random values or that may be
sequentially allocated. Any mapping function herein may consist of,
may comprise, or may be based on, a hash function, and any distinct
values herein may be hash values. Any hash function herein may
consist of, may comprise, or may be based on, checksum, check
digit, fingerprint, lossy compression, randomization,
error-correcting code, or cipher. Further, any hash function herein
may consist of, may comprise, or may be based on, Secure Hash
Algorithm (SHA) or modulo N function or operation, and any hash
function herein may be according to, based on, or compatible with,
IEEE Standard 754-1985. The number N may be the number of lists in
the multiple distinct lists, and may be equal or higher than 1, 2,
5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 500, 1,000,
2,000, 5,000, or 10,000, or may be equal or less than 5, 10, 12,
15, 20, 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000,
5,000, 10,000 or 20,000.
[0311] Any method herein may be used with a first device that may
be connected to the Internet and may be addressable in the Internet
using a first IP address. The method may further comprise sending,
by the first device to the first server, a third message;
receiving, by the first server from the first device, the third
message; and storing, in the first server, the first IP address in
the list, and adding the first device to the group of tunnel
devices, so that the first device can be selected as a tunnel
device as part of the selecting by the first server. The third
message may comprise at least one value relating to at least one
attribute type associated with the first device. Any method herein
may further comprise storing, in the first server, the at least one
value, as associated with the first device or with the first IP
address, establishing a connection between the first server and the
first device, and the first server may initiate communication with
the first device using the established connection. Any connection
or any established connection herein may be a TCP connection using
`Active OPEN`, `Passive OPEN`, or TCP keepalive mechanism, or may
use, or may be based on, a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
[0312] Any method herein may further comprise, for each of the
tunnel devices in the group, sending, by the tunnel device to the
first server, a third message; receiving, by the first server from
the tunnel device, the third message; and storing, in the first
server, the IP address of the tunnel device in the list, and adding
the tunnel device to the group of tunnel devices, so that the
tunnel device may be selected as a tunnel device as part of the
selecting by the first server. The third message may comprise at
least one value relating to at least one attribute type associated
with the tunnel device. Any method herein may further comprise,
storing, in the first server, the at least one value, as associated
with the tunnel device or with the tunnel device IP address. Any
method herein may further comprise, establishing a connection
between the first server and the tunnel device, and the first
server may initiate communication with the tunnel device using the
established connection, and the established connection may be a TCP
connection using `Active OPEN`, `Passive OPEN`, or TCP keepalive
mechanism, or may use, or may be based on, a Virtual Private
Network (VPN).
[0313] Each of the messages herein, such as the first and second
messages, may comprise the content identifier, and the sending by
the selected tunnel device to the web server of the content request
that comprises the content identifier may be in response to the
received second message. The sending, by the selected tunnel device
to the second server of the content may comprises sending, by the
selected tunnel device to the first server, the content; receiving,
by the first server from the selected tunnel device, the content;
sending, by the first server to the second server, the content; and
receiving, by the second server from the first server, the
content.
[0314] Any message herein, such as the second message, may comprise
the IP address of the second server. In response to the receiving
of the second message, any method herein may comprise initiating a
communication, by the selected tunnel device with the second
server. The initiating of the communication by the selected tunnel
device may use, or may be based on, Network Address Translator
(NAT) traversal scheme, which may be according to, may be based on,
or may use, Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for
Comments (RFC) 2663, IETF RFC 3715, IETF RFC 3947, IETF RFC 5128,
IETF RFC 5245, IETF RFC 5389, or IETF RFC 7350. Alternatively or in
addition, any NAT traversal scheme herein may be according to, may
be based on, or may use, Traversal Using Relays around NAT (TURN),
Socket Secure (SOCKS), WebSocket (ws) or WebSocket Secure (wss),
NAT `hole punching`, Session Traversal Utilities for NAT (STUN),
Interactive Connectivity Establishment, (ICE), UPnP Internet
Gateway Device Protocol (IGDP), or Application-Level Gateway
(ALG).
[0315] In response to the communication initiated by the selected
tunnel device, any method herein may further comprise, sending, by
the second server to the selected tunnel device, the content
identifier, and the sending, by the selected tunnel device to the
web server of the content request, may be in response to receiving
the content identifier from the second server. Alternatively or in
addition, the sending, by the selected tunnel device to the second
server of the content may comprise sending, by the selected tunnel
device to the second server, the content using the initiated
communication.
[0316] Any communication over the Internet between the selected
tunnel device and the second server, may be based on, may use, or
may be compatible with, Transmission Control Protocol over Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol or connection. Any communication over
the Internet between the selected tunnel device and the second
server, may be based on, may use, or may be compatible with, HTTP
or HTTPS protocol or connection, and the second server may serve as
an HTTP or HTTPS server respectively and the selected tunnel device
may serve as an HTTP or HTTPS client respectively.
[0317] Any communication over the Internet between the selected
tunnel device and the second server, may be based on, may use, or
may be compatible with, Socket Secure (SOCKS) protocol or
connection, and the second server may serve as an SOCKS server and
the selected tunnel device may serve as an SOCKS client. Any SOCKS
protocol or connection herein may be according to, may be based on,
or may be compatible with, SOCKS4, SOCKS4a, or SOCKS5.
Alternatively or in addition, any SOCKS protocol or connection
herein may be according to, may be based on, or may be compatible
with, IETF RFC 1928, IETF RFC 1929, IETF RFC 1961, or IETF RFC
3089. Alternatively or in addition, any communication between any
two entities herein, such as over the Internet between the selected
tunnel device and the second server, may be based on, may use, or
may be compatible with, Socket Secure (SOCKS) or WebSocket (ws),
which may be WebSocket Secure (wss), protocol or connection, and
the second server may serve as an SOCKS or WebSocket server and the
selected tunnel device may serve as an WebSocket client. Any
WebSocket protocol or connection herein may be according to, may be
based on, or may be compatible with, IETF RFC 6455. Any
communication over the Internet between the selected tunnel device
and the second server, may be based on, may use, or may be
compatible with, HTTP Proxy protocol or connection, and the second
server may serve as an HTTP Proxy server and the selected tunnel
device may serve as an HTTP Proxy client. Any method herein may
further comprise establishing a connection between the second
server and the selected tunnel device, and the second server may
initiate communication with the selected tunnel device using the
established connection.
[0318] Any method herein may further comprise sending, by the
second server to the client device, the IP address of the selected
tunnel device; receiving, by the client device from the second
server, the IP address of the selected tunnel device; and storing,
by the client device, the received IP address of the selected
tunnel device. Any method herein may be used with a first IP
address stored in the client device, and the request message may
comprise the first IP address. The first message may comprise the
first IP address, and the selecting, by the first server of the
tunnel device from the list of tunnel devices may be based on, or
may be in response to, the received first IP address. Any selecting
herein by the first server of the tunnel device may comprise
selecting a tunnel device having the first IP address.
[0319] Any first tunnel device in the group may be operating in
multiple states that may include an idle state and non-idle states.
Any method herein may further comprise by the first tunnel device
responsive to being in one of the non-idle states, determining, if
an idling condition is met; responsive to the determination that
the idling condition is met, shifting to the idle state; responsive
to being in the idle state, determining if an idling condition is
met; and responsive to the determination that the idling condition
is not met, shifting to one of the non-idle states. The first
tunnel device may be selected by the first server in response to
the first tunnel device being in the idle state. Any method herein
may further comprise receiving, by the first server from the first
tunnel device, a message responsive to the first tunnel device
state; and the first tunnel device may be selected by the first
server in response to the first tunnel device state being the idle
state.
[0320] Any method herein may further comprise sending, by the first
tunnel device to the first server, a first status message in
response to shifting to the idle state; and sending, by the first
tunnel device to the first server, a second status message in
response to shifting to a non-idle state. The first tunnel device
may be selected by the first server in response to the first or
second status message. Any method herein may further comprise
receiving, by the first server from the first tunnel device, the
first status message; and adding, the IP address of the first
tunnel device to the list of IP addresses in response to received
first status message. Any method herein may further comprise
receiving, by the first server from the first tunnel device, the
second status message; and removing, the IP address of the first
tunnel device from the list of IP addresses in response to received
second status message. Any method herein may be used with an
additional idling condition, and any determining herein may
comprise determining if the idling condition and the additional
idling condition are met.
[0321] Any method herein may further comprise operating, by the
first tunnel device, an operating system or a program process or
thread, and any idling condition herein may be determined to be met
based on, or according to, activating or executing the process or
thread by the operating system or the program. The process or
thread may comprise a low-priority or background task, an idle
process, or a screensaver. Further, the process or thread may
comprise using the entire screen for displaying. Any method herein
may further comprise monitoring or metering, by the first tunnel
device, a resource utilization, and any idling condition herein may
be determined to be met based on, or according to, the monitored or
metered resource utilization being under a threshold, and the
resource utilization may comprise the utilization of a processor in
the first tunnel device. Any tunnel device herein, such as the
first tunnel device, may comprise an input device for obtaining an
input from a human user or operator, and any the method herein may
further comprise sensing the input, by the any tunnel device (or
the first tunnel device) using the input device, and any idling
condition herein may be determined to be met based on, or according
to, not receiving an input from the input device for a pre-set time
interval. Any input device herein may comprise a pointing device, a
keyboard, a touchscreen, or a microphone.
[0322] Any tunnel device herein, such as the first tunnel device,
may comprise a motion sensor for sensing motion, acceleration,
vibration, or location change of the first tunnel device, and any
method herein may further comprise sensing, by any tunnel device
(or the first tunnel device) using the motion sensor, the
respective first tunnel device motion, acceleration, vibration, or
location change, and any idling condition herein may be determined
to be met based on, or according to, respectively sensing the
motion, the vibration, the acceleration, or the location change
being under a threshold. Any the motion sensor herein may comprise
an accelerometer, gyroscope, vibration sensor, or a Global
Positioning System (GPS) receiver.
[0323] Any tunnel device herein, such as the first tunnel device,
may comprise a network interface or a network transceiver for
communication over a network (such as the Internet), and any method
herein may further comprise metering, by any tunnel device (or the
first tunnel device), an amount of data transmitted to, or received
from, the network during a time interval, and any idling condition
herein may be determined to be met based on, or according to, the
metered amount of data being under a threshold level. Any tunnel
device herein, such as the first tunnel device, may comprise a
battery, and any method herein may further comprise metering or
sensing, by any tunnel device (or the first tunnel device), a
battery charging level, and any idling condition herein may be
determined to be met based on, or according to, the metered or
sensed charge level being over a threshold level. The metering or
sensing may use a Battery Management System (BMS), and the
threshold level may be above 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of the
battery defined full charge capacity.
[0324] Any first tunnel device in the group herein may be
associated with multiple states that may include an idle state and
non-idle states. Any method herein may further comprise sending, by
the first tunnel device, a status message to the first server;
receiving, by the first server, the status message; responsive to
the status message, determining, if an idling condition is met by
the first tunnel device; responsive to the determination that the
idling condition is met, associating, by the first server, the
first tunnel device with the idle state; and responsive to the
determination that the idling condition is not met, associating, by
the first server, the first tunnel device a non-idle state. Any
sending herein by the first tunnel device of the status message may
comprise periodical sending, that may be every at least 1 second, 2
seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2
minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2
hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3
weeks, 1 months, 2 months, or 3 months, or may be less than 2
seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2
minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2
hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3
weeks, 1 months, 2 months, or 6 months. Any method herein may
further comprise sending, by the first server, a status request
message to the first tunnel device, and any sending herein by the
first tunnel device of the status message may be in response to
receiving, by the first tunnel device of the status request
message. Any sending herein by the first server of the status
request message may comprise periodical sending, that may be every
at least 1 second, 2 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30
seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30
minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days,
1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 months, 2 months, or 3 months, or may
be less than 2 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30
seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30
minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days,
1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 months, 2 months, or 6 months.
[0325] Any first tunnel device may be selected by the first server
in response to the first tunnel device being associated with the
idle state. Any method herein may further comprise adding, by the
first server, the IP address of the first tunnel device to the list
of IP addresses in response to the first tunnel device being
associated with the idle state. Alternatively or in addition, any
method herein may further comprise removing, by the first server,
the IP address of the first tunnel device from the list of IP
addresses in response to the first tunnel device not being
associated with the idle state. Alternatively or in addition, any
method herein may be used with an additional idling condition, and
any determining herein may comprise determining if the idling
condition and the additional idling condition are met.
[0326] Any method herein may further comprise operating, by the
first tunnel device, an operating system or a program process or
thread, and any idling condition herein may be determined to be met
based on, or according to, activating or executing the process or
thread by the operating system or the program, and any status
message herein may comprise information relating to the activating
or executing the process or thread by the operating system or the
program, and any sending herein by the first tunnel device of the
status message may be in response to activating or executing the
process or thread by the operating system or the program. Any
process or thread herein may comprise a low-priority or background
task, an idle process, or a screensaver, or using the entire screen
for displaying.
[0327] Any method herein may further comprise monitoring or
metering, by the first tunnel device, a resource utilization, and
any idling condition herein may be determined to be met based on,
or according to, the monitored or metered resource utilization
being under a threshold, any status message herein may comprise
information relating to the monitored or metered resource
utilization being under a threshold, or any sending herein by the
first tunnel device of the status message may be in response to the
monitored or metered resource utilization being under a threshold.
Any resource utilization herein may comprise the utilization of a
processor in the first tunnel device.
[0328] Any first tunnel device herein may comprise an input device
such as a pointing device, a keyboard, a touchscreen, or a
microphone, for obtaining an input from a human user or operator.
Any method herein may further comprise sensing, by the first tunnel
device using the input device, the input, and any condition herein
may be determined to be met based on, or according to, not
receiving an input from the input device for a pre-set time
interval, any status message herein may comprise information
relating to not receiving an input from the input device for a
pre-set time interval, and any sending herein by the first tunnel
device of the status message may be in response to not receiving an
input from the input device for a pre-set time interval.
[0329] Any first tunnel device herein may comprise a motion sensor
(such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, vibration sensor, or a Global
Positioning System (GPS) receiver) for sensing motion,
acceleration, vibration, or location change of the first tunnel
device. Any method herein may further comprise sensing, by the
first tunnel device using the motion sensor, the respective first
tunnel device motion, acceleration, vibration, or location change,
and any idling condition herein may be determined to be met based
on, or according to, respectively sensing the motion, the
vibration, the acceleration, or the location change being under a
threshold, any status message herein may comprise information
relating to respectively sensing the motion, the vibration, the
acceleration, or the location change being under a threshold, and
any sending herein by the first tunnel device of the status message
may be in response to respectively sensing the motion, the
vibration, the acceleration, or the location change being under a
threshold.
[0330] Any first tunnel device herein may comprise a network
interface or a network transceiver for communication over a
network. Any method herein may further comprise metering, by the
first tunnel device, an amount of data transmitted to, or received
from, the network during a time interval, and wherein the idling
condition is determined to be met based on, or according to, the
metered amount of data being under a threshold level. Any status
message herein may comprise information relating to the metered
amount of data being under a threshold level, and any sending
herein by the first tunnel device of the status message is in
response to the metered amount of data being under a threshold
level.
[0331] Any first tunnel device herein may comprise a battery. Any
method herein may further comprise metering or sensing, such as by
using a Battery Management System (BMS), by the first tunnel
device, a battery charging level, and any idling condition herein
may be determined to be met based on, or according to, the metered
or sensed charge level being over a threshold level, any status
message herein may comprise information relating to the metered or
sensed charge level being over a threshold level, and any sending
herein by the first tunnel device of the status message may be in
response to the metered or sensed charge level being over a
threshold level. Any threshold level herein may be above 40%, 50%,
60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of the battery defined full charge
capacity.
[0332] Any method herein may be used with a first attribute type,
any or each of the tunnel devices in the group may be associated
with a first value relating to the first attribute type, and any
method herein may further comprise, storing, by the first server,
the first value for associated each of the tunnel devices in the
group. Any first value herein may comprise a numeric value or an
identifier of a feature, a characteristic, or a property of the
first attribute type. Any selecting herein, of a tunnel device by
the first server, may be based on the first value associated with
the selected tunnel device, and any method herein may further
comprise sending, by each of the tunnel devices in the group to the
first server, the respective first value to the first server, and
receiving, by the first server, the sent first value.
[0333] Any message herein, such as the request message and the
first message, may comprise one or more values, and any selecting
herein, of the tunnel device by the first server, may be based on
comparing the one or more values to the first value associated with
the selected tunnel device. Alternatively or in addition, any
message herein, such as the request message and the first message,
may comprise a requested value, and the selecting, of the tunnel
device by the first server, may be based on the requested value
being equal to the first value associated with the selected tunnel
device. Alternatively or in addition, any message herein, such as
the request message and the first message, may comprise multiple
values, and any selecting herein, of the tunnel device by the first
server, may be based on the first value of the associated with the
selected tunnel device being equal to one of the multiple values.
Any value herein, such as of the first attribute type, may be
numerical value, and the request message and the first message may
comprise a minimum value, and any selecting, of the tunnel device
by the first server, may be based on the first value of the
associated with the selected tunnel device being higher than the
minimum value. Alternatively or in addition, values of the first
attribute type may be numerical values, and the request message and
the first message may comprise a maximum value, and any selecting
herein, of the tunnel device by the first server, may be based on
the first value of the associated with the selected tunnel device
being lower than the maximum value. Alternatively or in addition,
the request message and the first message may further comprise a
minimum value, and any selecting herein, of the tunnel device by
the first server, may be based on the first value of the associated
with the selected tunnel device being higher than the minimum
value.
[0334] Any method herein may be used with a second attribute type,
and each of the tunnel devices in the group may be associated with
a second value relating to the second attribute type, and any
method herein may further comprise, storing, by the first server,
the second value for associated each of the tunnel devices in the
group. Any selecting herein, of the tunnel device by the first
server, may be based on the first and second values associated with
the selected tunnel device. Any method herein may further comprise
sending, by each of the tunnel devices in the group to the first
server, the respective first and second values to the first server,
and receiving, by the first server, the sent first and second
values.
[0335] Any message herein, such as the request message and the
first message, may comprise a first set of one or more values and a
second set of one or more values, and any selecting herein, of the
tunnel device by the first server, may be based on respectively
comparing the first and second sets to the first and second values
associated with the selected tunnel device. Any selected tunnel
device herein may be selected by the first server so that the first
value may be included in the first set and the second value may be
included in the second set. Alternatively or in addition, any
selected tunnel device herein may be selected by the first server
so that the first value is included in the first set or the second
value is included in the second set. Alternatively or in addition,
any selected tunnel device herein may be selected by the first
server so that the first value is included in the first set and the
second value is not included in the second set.
[0336] Any first attribute type herein may comprise a geographical
location, and each of the first values may comprise a name or an
identifier of a continent, a country, a region, a city, a street, a
ZIP code, or a timezone. Any first value herein of each of the
tunnel devices in the group or each of the IP addresses may be
based on IP geolocation that may be based on W3C Geolocation API.
Any method herein may be used with a database associating IP
addresses to geographical locations, the database may be stored in
the first server, and any method herein may further comprise
receiving and storing, by the first server, the database, and any
method herein may further comprise estimating or associating the
first value to each of the tunnel devices in the group by the
database. Alternatively or in addition, any first attribute type
herein may comprise identification of an Internet Service Provider
(ISP) or an Autonomous System Number (ASN), and each of the first
values comprises respectively a name or an identifier of the ISP or
the ASN number.
[0337] Any first attribute type herein may correspond to a hardware
or software of tunnel devices. Any first attribute type herein may
comprise the hardware of tunnel devices, such as stationary or
portable values, respectively based on the tunnel device being
stationary or portable. Any first attribute type herein may
comprise a program or a software application the (such as an
operating system) installed, used, or operated, in tunnel devices,
such as he type, make, model, or version of the software.
[0338] Any first attribute type herein may corresponds to a
communication property, feature of a communication link of tunnel
devices, and the communication link may correspond to the
respective connection to the Internet of tunnel devices.
Alternatively or in addition, the communication link may correspond
to a communication link of a tunnel device with the web server, the
first server, the second server, or the client device. The first
attribute may correspond to a bandwidth (BW) or Round-Trip delay
Time (RTT) of the communication link, and any first value herein
may be the respective estimation or measurement of the BW or RTT.
Any method herein may further comprise estimating or measuring, by
the first server or by a tunnel device, the BW or RTT of the
communication link. Alternatively or in addition, any first
attribute type herein may correspond to the technology or scheme
used by the tunnel devices for connecting to the Internet, and any
first values herein may comprise wired or wireless values,
respectively based on the tunnel device being connected to the
Internet using wired or wireless connection.
[0339] Any method herein may be used with a plurality of servers
that includes the first server, each of the plurality of servers
may be connectable to the Internet, may be addressable in the
Internet using a respective IP address, and may store a respective
list of IP addresses of the tunnel devices that may be part of the
group. Any method herein may further comprise selecting, by the
second server, the first server from the plurality of servers; and
the selecting of the tunnel device by the first server may comprise
selecting a tunnel device from the respective list of IP addresses
of the respective selected first server. The first server may be
randomly selected by the second server from the plurality of
servers, such as by using one or more random numbers generated by a
random number generator.
[0340] Any selection herein may be a random selection by using one
or more random numbers generated by a random number generator. The
random number generator may be using thermal noise, shot noise,
nuclear decaying radiation, photoelectric effect, or quantum
phenomena. Alternatively or in addition, the random number
generator may be software based, and the random number generator
may be based on executing an algorithm for generating pseudo-random
numbers.
[0341] Any server herein, and each of the plurality of servers, may
be associated with a one of more attribute values relating to an
attribute type, and any server herein, such as the first server,
may be selected by the second server from the plurality of servers
based on, or according to, the respective one of more attribute
values. Any attribute type herein may be a geographical location,
and one of more attribute values herein may comprise a name or an
identifier of a continent, a country, a region, a city, a street, a
ZIP code, or a timezone. Any one of the one of more attribute
values may be based on actual geographical location or on IP
geolocation, which may be based on W3C Geolocation API, and any
request message herein may comprise the one of more attribute
values.
[0342] Any method herein may be used with a plurality of servers
that may include the first server, each of the plurality of servers
may be connectable to the Internet, may be addressable in the
Internet using a respective IP address, and may store a respective
list of IP addresses of the tunnel devices that may be part of the
group. Any method herein may further comprise for each of the
tunnel devices in the group, selecting, by the respective tunnel
device, the first server from the plurality of servers; sending, by
the tunnel device to the selected first server, a third message;
receiving, by the selected first server from the respective tunnel
device, the third message; and storing, in the selected first
server, the IP address of the respective tunnel device in the list,
and adding, by the selected first server, the respective tunnel
device to the group of tunnel devices, so that the respective
tunnel device can be selected as a tunnel device as part of the
selecting by the selected first server.
[0343] The first server may be randomly selected by the respective
tunnel device from the plurality of servers. Each of the plurality
of servers may be associated with a one of more attribute values
relating to an attribute type, and the first server may be selected
by the respective tunnel device from the plurality of servers based
on, or according to, the respective one of more attribute values.
Any attribute type herein may be a geographical location, and one
of more attribute values may comprise a name or an identifier of a
continent, a country, a region, a city, a street, a ZIP code, or a
timezone. Any one of the one of more attribute values may be based
on actual geographical location or on IP geolocation, which may be
based on W3C Geolocation API, and any request message herein may
comprise the one of more attribute values.
[0344] Any method herein may be used with a Domain Name System
(DNS) server, and any content identifier herein may comprise a
domain name. Any method herein may further comprise performing, by
the client device using the DNS server, a DNS resolution for
obtaining a numerical IP address, and the request message, the
first message, and the second message may comprise the obtained
numerical IP address. Alternatively or in addition, any method
herein may further comprise performing, by the second server using
the DNS server, a DNS resolution for obtaining a numerical IP
address, and any request message herein may comprise the domain
name, and the first message and the second message may comprise the
obtained numerical IP address. Alternatively or in addition, any
method herein may further comprise performing, by the selected
tunnel device using the DNS server, a DNS resolution for obtaining
a numerical IP address, and each of the request message, the first
message, and the second message may comprise the domain name.
[0345] Any content herein may comprise a web-page or a web-site.
Any content identifier herein may be, or may comprise, a Uniform
Resource Identifier (URI) or a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Any
or each of each of the IP addresses herein may be in IPv4 or IPv6
form. Any web server herein may use HyperText Transfer Protocol
(HTTP) or HTTP Secure (HTTPS) for responding to respective HTTP or
HTTPS requests via the Internet, and any content request herein may
be, or may comprise, an HTTP or an HTTPS request. Any communication
over the Internet herein, such as between the client device and the
second server, between the second server and the first server,
between the first server and the selected tunnel device, or between
the selected tunnel device and the web server, may be based on, may
use, or may be compatible with, Transmission Control Protocol over
Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol or connection. Alternatively or
in addition, the communication over the Internet between the client
device and the second server, between the second server and the
first server, between the first server and the selected tunnel
device, and between the selected tunnel device and the web server,
may be based on, may use, or may be compatible with, Transmission
Control Protocol over Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol or
connection.
[0346] Any method herein may further be used for redundancy or
resiliency, and may further comprise selecting, by any device, such
as the first server, an additional IP address associated with any
device, such as an additional tunnel device from the list of tunnel
devices, in response to the received first message; sending, by any
device, such as the additional tunnel device, to any device, such
as the web server, a content request that may comprise the content
identifier; receiving, by any device, such as the additional tunnel
device, from any device, such as the web server, the content, in
response to the content request; and receiving, by any device such
as the client device, from any device, such as the second server,
the content received by the additional tunnel device in response to
the request message. Any selecting herein of the additional IP
address may be performed after the sending of the content request
by the selected tunnel device, or alternatively before the sending
of the content request by the selected tunnel device.
[0347] Any method herein may further comprise sending, by any
device, such as the first server, to any device, such as the
additional tunnel device, an additional message using an IP address
of the additional tunnel device; receiving, by any device, such as
the additional tunnel device from any device, such as the first
server, the additional message; sending, by any device, such as the
additional tunnel device, to any device, such as the second server,
the content; receiving, by any device, such as the second server,
from any device, such as the additional tunnel device, the content;
and sending, by any device, such as the second server to any
device, such as the client device, the content.
[0348] Any selecting herein, such as by the first server, of an IP
address associated with a tunnel device may comprise selecting, by
any device, such as the first server, any multiple IP addresses
respectively associated with multiple tunnel devices from the list
of tunnel devices, in response to the received first message. At
least two of, or all of, the multiple IP addresses may be selected
in parallel. Alternatively or in addition, at least two of, or all
of, the multiple IP addresses may be sequentially selected. Any
method herein may further comprise, for each tunnel device from the
multiple tunnel devices, receiving, by any device, such as the
client device, the content from the tunnel device, in response to
the request message. The content from at least two of, or all of,
any multiple tunnel devices, may be sequentially received or in
parallel. Any method herein may further comprise selecting and
using, by any device, such as the client device, a content received
from one of any multiple tunnel devices, such as the content first
received from one of the multiple tunnel devices. Any method herein
may further comprise discarding, by any device, such as the client
device, the content received from non-selected ones of any multiple
tunnel devices, or comparing, by any device, such as the client
device, the content received from two or more of any multiple
tunnel devices.
[0349] Any method herein may further comprise, for each tunnel
device from any multiple tunnel devices, sending, by any device,
such as the tunnel device to any device, such as the web server, a
content request that may comprise the content identifier; and
receiving, by any device, such as the tunnel device from any
device, such as the web server, the content, in response to the
content request. Any sending of the content request, or any
receiving of the content from the web server, by at least two of,
or all of, the multiple tunnel devices, may be performed
sequentially or in parallel. Any protocols used by at least two of,
or all of, any multiple tunnel devices, for the receiving of the
content from the web server, may be identical, or may be different
from each other.
[0350] Any method herein may further comprise, for each tunnel
device from any multiple tunnel devices, sending, by any device,
such as the first server, to any device, such as the tunnel device,
any second message using an IP address of the tunnel device; and
receiving, by any device, such as the tunnel device, from any
device, such as the first server, the second message. Any sending
of the second message by any device, such as by the first server
to, or the receiving of the content from any device such as the
first server by, at least two of, or all of, the multiple tunnel
devices, may be performed sequentially or in parallel. Any
protocols used by at least two of, or all of, any multiple tunnel
devices, for the receiving of the content from any device such as
the first server, may be identical or may be different from each
other.
[0351] Any method herein may further comprise, for each tunnel
device from any multiple tunnel devices sending, by any device,
such as the tunnel device to the any device, such as the second
server, the content; receiving, by any device, such as the second
server from any device, such as the tunnel device, the content;
sending, by any device such as the second server, to any device,
such as the client device, the content; and receiving, by any
device such as the client device, from any device, such as the
second server, the content in response to the request message. Any
sending of the content to the second server, or any receiving of
the content from the second server, by at least two of, or all of,
the multiple tunnel devices, may be performed sequentially or in
parallel. Any protocols used by at least two of, or all of, the
multiple tunnel devices, for the sending of the content to the
second server, may be identical, or may be different from each
other.
[0352] The number of any selected multiple IP addresses herein may
be equal to, or more than, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 20,
30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 60, 70, or 100 IP addresses. Further, the
number of any selected multiple IP addresses herein may be less
than, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 60,
70, 100, or 150 IP addresses. Any list of the IP addresses herein
may comprise, or may consist of, multiple distinct lists, and each
of the multiple distinct lists may comprise one or more of the IP
addresses associated with the tunnel devices in the group, and any
multiple IP addresses herein may be part of the same list of the
multiple distinct lists.
[0353] Any method herein may further comprise sending, by any
device, such as the client device, to any device, such as the
second server, an additional request message that may comprise the
content identifier; and receiving, by any device, such as the
client device, the content in response to the additional request
message. Any method herein may further comprise receiving, by any
device, such as the second server, from any device, such as the
client device, the additional request message; sending, by any
device, such as the second server, to any device, such as the first
server, an additional first message; receiving, by any device, such
as the first server, from any device, such as the second server,
the additional first message; selecting, by any device, such as the
first server, an additional IP address associated with an
additional tunnel device from the list of tunnel devices, in
response to the received additional first message; sending, by any
device, such as the selected additional tunnel device, to any
device, such as the web server, a content request that comprises
the content identifier; and receiving, by any device, such as the
selected additional tunnel device, from any device, such as the web
server, the content, in response to the content request. Further,
any method herein may further comprise sending, by any device, such
as the first server to the selected additional tunnel device, an
additional second message using the additional IP address of the
selected first tunnel device; receiving, by any device, such as the
selected additional tunnel device, from any device, such as the
first server, the additional second message; sending, by any
device, such as the selected additional tunnel device, to any
device, such as the second server, the content; receiving, by any
device, such as the second server, from any device, such as the
selected additional tunnel device, the content; and sending, by any
device, such as the second server, to any device, such as the
client device, the content.
[0354] Any sending of any additional request message may be at
least in part in parallel to, or after, any sending of any other
request message. Any receiving, by any device, such as the client
device, the content in response to the additional request message
may be in parallel, or after, the receiving, by any device, such as
the client device, the content in response to any other request
message. Any method herein may further comprise selecting and
using, by any device, such as the client device, one of the content
received in response to any additional request message and the
content received in response to any other request message, such as
selecting and using, the first received content. Any method herein
may further comprise discarding, by any device, such as the client
device, the content received from non-selected one of the content
received in response to multiple request messages.
[0355] Any method herein may further comprise sending, by any
device, such as the client device, to any device such as the second
server, multiple request messages, and each of the multiple request
messages may comprise the content identifier; and receiving, by any
device, such as the client device, the content in response each of
to the multiple request messages. The number of sent multiple
request messages herein may be equal to, or may be more than, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 60, 70, or
100 messages. Alternatively or in addition, the number of sent
multiple request messages herein may be less than 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 60, 70, 100, or 150
messages. The content received in response to at least two of, or
all of, any multiple request messages, may be received sequentially
or in parallel. Any protocols used for the sending of at least two
of, or all of, the multiple request messages, or for the receiving
of the responses therefor, may be identical, or may be different
from each other. Any method herein may further comprise selecting
and using, by any device, such as the client device, a content
received in response for one of the sent multiple request messages,
such as the first received content. Any method herein may further
comprise discarding, by any device, such as the client device, the
content received in response to the non-selected ones of the sent
multiple request messages. Any method herein may further comprise
comparing, by any device, such as the client device, the content
received from in response to two or more sent multiple request
messages.
[0356] Any method herein may further comprise receiving, by any
device, such as the second server, from any device, such as the
client device, each of the of the multiple request messages;
sending, by any device, such as the second server, to any device,
such as the first server, messages in response to the received
multiple request messages; and receiving, by any device, such as
the first server, from any device, such as the second server, the
messages. Any method herein may further comprise selecting, by any
device, such as the first server, for each one of the multiple
request messages an IP address associated with a tunnel device from
any list of tunnel devices. Any list of the IP addresses herein may
comprise, or may consist of, multiple distinct lists, and each of
the multiple distinct lists may comprise one or more of the IP
addresses associated with the tunnel devices in the group, and any
selected multiple IP addresses herein may be part of the same list
of the multiple distinct lists.
[0357] Any method herein may further comprise selecting, by any
device, such as the first server, an IP address associated with a
tunnel device from the list of tunnel devices, in response to each
of the received first message; sending, by any device, such as the
first server, to any device, such as the selected tunnel device,
multiple messages each using an IP address of the selected tunnel
devices; receiving, by any device, such as each of the selected
tunnel devices from any device, such as the first server, the
messages; sending, by any device, such as by each of the selected
tunnel device, to any device, such as the web server, a content
request that may comprise the content identifier; receiving, by any
device, such as by each of the selected tunnel device, from any
device, such as the web server, the content, in response to the
content request; sending, by any device, such as by each of the
selected tunnel device, to any device, such as the second server,
the content; receiving, by any device such as the second server,
from any device, such as each of the selected tunnel device, the
content; and sending, by any device, such as the second server, to
any device, such as the client device, each of the received
content. The protocols used for at least two of, or all of, any
sending actions herein, or of the receiving actions herein, may be
identical, or may be different from each other. At least two of, or
all of, any sending actions herein, or any receiving actions
herein, may be performed in parallel or sequentially.
[0358] Any method herein may further comprise sending, by any
device, such as the first server, to any device, such as the second
server, a part of, or whole of, the list of the IP addresses. Any
method herein may further be preceded by sending a request message
by any device, such as the second server, to any device such as the
first server, and receiving the request message by any device, such
as the first server, from any device, such as the second server,
and the sending of the part of, or the whole of, the list, may be
in response to the received request message. The list of the IP
addresses may comprise, or may consist of, multiple distinct lists,
and each of the multiple distinct lists may comprise one or more of
the IP addresses associated with the tunnel devices in the group,
and the request message may comprise an identifier of at least one
list of the multiple distinct lists, and the part of, or the whole
of, the list may comprise the identified at least one list.
[0359] Any method herein may further comprise additional sending,
by any device, such as the first server, to any device, such as the
second server, the part of, or the whole of, an updated list, at
least after 1 second, 2 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds,
30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes,
30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4
days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 months, 2 months, or 3 months, or
less than 2 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds,
1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes,
1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days, 1 week,
2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 months, 2 months, or 6 months. Alternatively or
in addition, any sending herein may comprise periodical sending,
and the sending may be every at least 1 second, 2 seconds, 5
seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5
minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5
hours, 10 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1
months, 2 months, or 3 months, or any sending herein may be every
less than 2 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds,
1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes,
1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days, 1 week,
2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 months, 2 months, or 6 months.
[0360] Any list herein of the IP addresses may comprise, or may
consist of, multiple distinct lists, and each of any multiple
distinct lists herein may comprise one or more of the IP addresses
associated with the tunnel devices in the group, and any sending
herein, such as by the first server to the second server, may
comprise sending of at least one list from the multiple distinct
lists, and each of the at least one list may be associated with a
same value or a value range of an attribute type.
[0361] Any method herein may further comprise sending, such as by
the client device to the second server, an additional request
message that may comprise an additional content identifier that
identifies additional content; receiving, such as by the second
server from the client device, the additional request message; and
selecting, such as by the first server, an IP address associated
with a tunnel device from the received part of, or whole of, the
list of tunnel devices, in response to the received additional
request message. Any method herein may further comprise receiving,
such as by the client device from the second server, the additional
content in response to the additional request message. Any method
herein may further comprise sending, such as by the second server
to the selected tunnel device, an additional message using an IP
address of the selected first tunnel device; receiving, such as by
the selected tunnel device from the first server, the additional
message; sending, such as by the selected tunnel device to the web
server, a content request that comprises the additional content
identifier; receiving, such as by the selected tunnel device from
the web server, the additional content, in response to the
additional content request; sending, such as by the selected tunnel
device to the second server, the additional content; receiving,
such as by the second server from the selected tunnel device, the
additional content; and sending, such as by the second server to
the client device, the additional content.
[0362] Any communication over the Internet herein, such as between
the client device and the second server, between the second server
and the first server, between the first server and the selected
tunnel device, or between the selected tunnel device and the web
server, may be based on, may use, or may be compatible with, HTTP
or HTTPS protocol or connection, and one of the node may serve as
an HTTP or HTTPS server respectively and the other node may serve
as an HTTP or HTTPS client respectively. Alternatively or in
addition, the communication over the Internet between the client
device and the second server, between the second server and the
first server, between the first server and the selected tunnel
device, and between the selected tunnel device and the web server,
may be based on, may use, or may be compatible with, HTTP or HTTPS
protocol or connection, and one of the node may serve as an HTTP or
HTTPS server respectively and the other node may serve as an HTTP
or HTTPS client respectively. Any communication over the Internet
between the client device and the second server may be based on,
may use, or may be compatible with, HTTPS protocol or connection,
and any request message herein may be according to, may be based
on, or may use, HTTPS frame or packet form. Any method herein may
further comprise extracting, such as by the first or second server,
the content identifier using SSL sniffing. Any request message
herein may comprise an attribute value corresponding to an
attribute type, and any method herein may further comprise
extracting, by the first or second server, the attribute value
using SSL sniffing.
[0363] Any communication over the Internet herein, such as between
the client device and the second server, between the second server
and the first server, or between the first server and the selected
tunnel device, may be based on, uses, or may be compatible with,
Socket Secure (SOCKS) protocol or connection, and one of the node
may serve as an SOCKS server respectively and the other node may
serve as an SOCKS client respectively. Any communication over the
Internet herein between the client device and the second server,
may be based on, may use, or may be compatible with, Socket Secure
(SOCKS) protocol or connection. The second server may serve as an
SOCKS server and the client device may serve as an SOCKS client, or
the second server may serve as an SOCKS client and the client
device may serve as an SOCKS server. Any SOCKS protocol or
connection herein may be according to, may be based on, or may be
compatible with, SOCKS4, SOCKS4a, or SOCKS5. Alternatively or in
addition, any SOCKS protocol or connection herein may be according
to, may be based on, or may be compatible with, IETF RFC 1928, IETF
RFC 1929, IETF RFC 1961, or IETF RFC 3089.
[0364] Alternatively or in addition, any communication between any
two entities herein, such as over the Internet between the client
device and the second server, between the second server and the
first server, or between the first server and the selected tunnel
device, may be based on, uses, or may be compatible with, Socket
Secure (SOCKS) or WebSocket (ws), which may be WebSocket Secure
(wss), protocol or connection, and the second server may serve as
an SOCKS or WebSocket server and the selected tunnel device may
serve as an WebSocket client. Any WebSocket protocol or connection
herein may be according to, may be based on, or may be compatible
with, IETF RFC 6455.
[0365] Any communication over the Internet herein, such as between
the client device and the second server, between the second server
and the first server, or between the first server and the selected
tunnel device, may be based on, uses, or may be compatible with,
HTTP Proxy protocol or connection, and one of the node may serve as
an HTTP Proxy server respectively and the other node may serve as
an HTTP Proxy client respectively. Any communication over the
Internet herein between the client device and the second server,
may be based on, may use, or may be compatible with, HTTP Proxy
protocol or connection. The second server may serve as an HTTP
Proxy server and the client device may serve as an HTTP Proxy
client, or the second server may serve as an HTTP Proxy client and
the client device may serve as an HTTP Proxy server.
[0366] Any tunnel device, or any or each of the tunnel devices in
the group may be associated with a single IP address. One or more
of the tunnel devices in the group may be associated with multiple
IP addresses, such as with more than 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000,
20,000, 50,000 or 100,000 distinct IP addresses. A primary or sole
functionality of any or each of the one or more of the tunnel
devices may be to serve as a selected tunnel device.
[0367] Any method herein may further comprise storing, operating,
or using, by at least one of the tunnel devices in the group, or
the selected tunnel device, a server operating system. The server
operating system may consist or, may comprise, or may be based on,
Microsoft Windows Server.RTM., Linux, or UNIX. Alternatively or in
addition, the server operating system may consist or, may comprise,
or may be based on, one out of Microsoft Windows Server.RTM. 2003
R2, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, or 2012 R2 variant, Linux.TM. or GNU/Linux
based Debian GNU/Linux, Debian GNU/kFreeBSD, Debian GNU/Hurd,
Fedora.TM., Gentoo.TM., Linspire.TM., Mandriva, Red Hat.RTM. Linux,
SuSE, and Ubuntu.RTM., UNIX.RTM. variant Solaris.TM., AIX.RTM.,
Mac.TM. OS X, FreeBSD.RTM., OpenBSD, and NetBSD.RTM.. Any method
herein may further comprise storing, operating, or using, by at
least one of the tunnel devices in the group, or the selected
tunnel device, a client operating system. The client operating
system may consist or, may comprise, or may be based on, one out of
Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 8,
Microsoft Windows 8.1, Linux, and Google Chrome OS. Any Operating
System (OS) herein, such as any server or client operating system,
may consists of, include, or be based on a real-time operating
system (RTOS), such as FreeRTOS, SafeRTOS, QNX, VxWorks, or
Micro-Controller Operating Systems (.mu.C/OS).
[0368] Any method herein may further comprise storing, operating,
or using, by any client device, by at least one of the tunnel
devices in the group, or the selected tunnel device, a web browser.
The web browser may consist of, may comprise, or may be based on,
Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Opera.TM., or Mozilla
Firefox.RTM.. Alternatively or in addition, the web browser may be
a mobile web browser, which may consist of, may comprise of, or may
be based on, Safari, Opera Mini.TM., or Android web browser.
[0369] At least one of the tunnel devices in the group, or the
selected tunnel device, may be integrated in part or entirely in an
appliance. A primary functionality of the appliance may be
associated with food storage, handling, or preparation, such as
heating food, and the appliance may be a microwave oven, an
electric mixer, a stove, an oven, or an induction cooker.
Alternatively or in addition, the appliance may be a refrigerator,
a freezer, a food processor, a dishwasher, a food blender, a
beverage maker, a coffeemaker, or an iced-tea maker. Alternatively
or in addition, a primary function of the appliance may be
associated with environmental control, and the appliance may
consist of, or may be part of, an HVAC system. Alternatively or in
addition, a primary function of the appliance may be associated
with temperature control, and the appliance may be an air
conditioner or a heater. Alternatively or in addition, a primary
function of the appliance may be associated with cleaning such as
clothes cleaning, and the appliance may be a washing machine, a
clothes dryer, or a vacuum cleaner. Alternatively or in addition, a
primary function of the appliance may be associated with water
control or water heating. Alternatively or in addition, the
appliance may be an answering machine, a telephone set, a home
cinema method, a HiFi method, a CD or DVD player, an electric
furnace, a trash compactor, a smoke detector, a light fixture, or a
dehumidifier. Alternatively or in addition, the appliance may be a
battery-operated portable electronic device, such as a notebook, a
laptop computer, a media player, a cellular phone, a Personal
Digital Assistant (PDA), an image processing device, a digital
camera, a video recorder, or a handheld computing device.
[0370] Any integration herein may involve sharing a component,
housing in same enclosure, sharing same processor, mounting onto
same surface, or sharing a same connector, which may be a power
connector for connecting to a power source. Alternatively or in
addition, the integration may involve sharing the same connector
for being powered from same power source, or the integration may
involve sharing same power supply.
[0371] Any device herein, such as at least one of the tunnel
devices in the group, or the selected tunnel device, may be housed
in a single enclosure that may be a hand-held enclosure or a
portable enclosure. Any device herein, such as at least one of the
tunnel devices in the group, or the selected tunnel device, may be
integrated with at least one of a notebook computer, a laptop
computer, a media player, a Digital Still Camera (DSC), a Digital
video Camera (DVC or digital camcorder), a Personal Digital
Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a digital camera, a video
recorder, or a smartphone, which may comprise, or may be based on,
an Apple iPhone 6 or a Samsung Galaxy S6.
[0372] Any method herein may further comprise storing, operating,
or using an operating system, by at least one of the tunnel devices
in the group, or the selected tunnel device. The operating system
may be a mobile operating system that may comprise Android version
2.2 (Froyo), Android version 2.3 (Gingerbread), Android version 4.0
(Ice Cream Sandwich), Android Version 4.2 (Jelly Bean), Android
version 4.4 (KitKat), Apple iOS version 3, Apple iOS version 4,
Apple iOS version 5, Apple iOS version 6, Apple iOS version 7,
Microsoft Windows.RTM. Phone version 7, Microsoft Windows.RTM.
Phone version 8, Microsoft Windows.RTM. Phone version 9, or
Blackberry.RTM. operating system.
[0373] Any method herein may further comprise, or may be preceded
by, connecting to the Internet, by any device such as by at least
one of the tunnel devices in the group or by the selected tunnel
device, via a wireless network.
[0374] A non-transitory computer readable medium may contain
computer instructions that, when executed by a computer processor,
cause the processor to perform at least part of, or all of, the
steps of any method herein. At least part of, or all of, the steps
of any method herein may be included in a Software development kit
(SDK) that may be provided as a non-transitory computer readable
medium containing computer instructions, and any method herein may
further comprise installing the SDK in any device herein. Any steps
by any tunnel device herein may be included in a Software
development kit (SDK) that may be provided as a non-transitory
computer readable medium containing computer instructions, and any
method herein may further comprise installing the SDK on any or
each of the tunnel devices in the group. Any client device herein,
any server herein, such as the first server or the second server,
or the selected tunnel device, may comprise a non-transitory
computer readable medium containing computer instructions that,
when executed by a computer processor, cause the processor to
perform at least part of the steps of any method herein. Any list
herein may comprise at least 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000,
200,000, 500,000, 1,000,000, 2,000,000, 5,000,000, or 10,000,000 IP
addresses or tunnel devices.
[0375] The first and second servers may be owned, may be operated,
or may be controlled by an entity. Further, at least one of the
tunnel devices in the group may be owned, may be operated, or may
be controlled by the entity. A tunnel device may be randomly
selected by the first server.
[0376] Each identifier of any content herein or of any device
herein may be an IP address (in IPv4 or IPv6 form) or a URL. Each
of the servers may be a web server using HyperText Transfer
Protocol (HTTP) that responds to HTTP requests via the Internet,
and the first and second requests may be HTTP requests. Each
communication with a server may be based on, or using, HTTP
persistent connection.
[0377] Any communication with a network element, such as with the
first device, the second device, the first server, or the second
server, may be based on, or be according to, TCP/IP protocol or
connection, and may be preceded by the step of establishing a
connection. Further, communication between any two network
elements, such as between the first device and the second device,
may be over the established connection. Any communication between
any two network elements may use TCP, and the connection may be
established by performing `Active OPEN` or `Passive OPEN`, may use
a VPN, or may use a tunneling protocol. Any content herein, such as
the first content, may include, consist of, or comprise, a part or
whole of files, text, numbers, audio, voice, multimedia, video,
images, music, web-site page, or computer program.
[0378] Each of the network elements herein, such as any of the
servers, may store, operate, or use, a server operating system,
that may be based on, comprise, or use, Microsoft Windows
Server.RTM., Linux, or UNIX, such as Microsoft Windows Server.RTM.
2003 R2, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, or 2012 R2 variant, Linux.TM. or
GNU/Linux based Debian GNU/Linux, Debian GNU/kFreeBSD, Debian
GNU/Hurd, Fedora.TM., Gentoo.TM., Linspire.TM., Mandriva, Red
Hat.RTM. Linux, SuSE, and Ubuntu.RTM., UNIX.RTM. variant
Solaris.TM., AIX.RTM., Mac.TM. OS X, FreeBSD.RTM., OpenBSD, and
NetBSD.RTM.. Each of the network elements herein, such as the
client device or any of the tunnel devices, may store, operate, or
use, a client operating system, that may consist or, comprise of,
or may be based on, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows XP,
Microsoft Windows 8, Microsoft Windows 8.1, Linux, or Google Chrome
OS. The client operating system may be a mobile operating system,
such as Android version 2.2 (Froyo), Android version 2.3
(Gingerbread), Android version 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), Android
Version 4.2 (Jelly Bean), Android version 4.4 (KitKat), Apple iOS
version 3, Apple iOS version 4, Apple iOS version 5, Apple iOS
version 6, Apple iOS version 7, Microsoft Windows.RTM. Phone
version 7, Microsoft Windows.RTM. Phone version 8, Microsoft
Windows.RTM. Phone version 9, or Blackberry.RTM. operating system.
Any Operating System (OS) herein, such as any server or client
operating system, may consists of, include, or be based on a
real-time operating system (RTOS), such as FreeRTOS, SafeRTOS, QNX,
VxWorks, or Micro-Controller Operating Systems (.mu.C/OS).
[0379] Any apparatus or device herein, such as any one or more of
the client devices or of the tunnel devices, may consist of, may
comprise, may be integrated with, or may be part of, a wearable
device that may be wearable on a person. Any wearable device herein
may be wearable on an organ of the person head, such as an eye,
ear, face, cheek, nose, mouth, lip, forehead, or chin.
Alternatively or in addition, any wearable device herein may be
constructed to have a form substantially similar to, may be
constructed to have a shape allowing mounting or wearing identical
or similar to, or may be constructed to have a form to at least in
part substitute for, headwear, eyewear, or earpiece. Any headwear
herein may consist of, may be structured as, or may comprise, a
bonnet, a cap, a crown, a fillet, a hair cover, a hat, a helmet, a
hood, a mask, a turban, a veil, or a wig. Any eyewear herein may
consist of, may be structured as, or may comprise, glasses,
sunglasses, a contact lens, a blindfold, or a goggle. Any earpiece
herein may consist of, may be structured as, or may comprise, a
hearing aid, a headphone, a headset, or an earplug. Alternatively
or in addition, any wearable device herein may be shaped for
permanently or releseably being attachable to, or be part of, a
clothing piece of a person, and any attaching herein may use
taping, gluing, pinning, enclosing, encapsulating, a pin, or a
latch and hook clip. Any clothing piece herein may be a top,
bottom, or full-body underwear, or a headwear, a footwear, an
accessory, an outwear, a suit, a dress, a skirt, or a top.
Alternatively or in addition, any wearable device herein may
further comprises an annular member defining an aperture
therethrough that may be sized for receipt therein of a part of a
human body. Any the human body part herein may be part of a human
hand that consists of, or comprises, an upper arm, elbow, forearm,
wrist, or a finger. Further, any human body part herein may be part
of a human head or neck that may consist of, or may comprise, a
forehead, ear, skull, or face. Alternatively or in addition, any
human body part herein may be part of a human thorax or abdomen
that may consists of, or may comprise, a waist or hip. Further, any
human body part herein may be part of a human leg or foot that may
consist of, or may comprise, a thigh, calf, ankle, instep, knee, or
toe.
[0380] Any system or method herein may implement redundancy, where
the system or method may include one or more additional identical,
similar, or different element, such as using two or more identical
or similar slices or any other content parts, using two or more
identical or similar network elements performing identical or
similar functionalities, using two or more identical or similar
hardware pieces performing identical or similar functionalities, or
using two or more data-paths transporting identical or similar
information. The redundancy may be based on Dual Modular Redundancy
(DMR), Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR), Quadruple Modular
Redundancy (QMR), 1:N Redundancy, `Cold Standby`, or `Hot
Standby`.
[0381] The steps described herein may be sequential, and performed
in the described order. For example, in a case where a step may be
performed in response to another step, or upon completion of
another step, the steps may be executed one after the other.
However, in case where two or more steps may not be explicitly
described as being sequentially executed, these steps may be
executed in any order, or may be simultaneously performed. Two or
more steps may be executed by two different network elements, or in
the same network element, and may be executed in parallel using
multiprocessing or multitasking.
[0382] A tangible machine-readable medium (such as a storage) may
have a set of instructions detailing part (or all) of the methods
and steps described herein stored thereon, so that when executed by
one or more processors, may cause the one or more processors to
perform part of, or all of, the methods and steps described herein.
Any of the network elements may be a computing device that
comprises a processor and a computer-readable memory (or any other
tangible machine-readable medium), and the computer-readable memory
may comprise computer- readable instructions such that, when read
by the processor, the instructions causes the processor to perform
the one or more of the methods or steps described herein.
[0383] Any method herein may be used for fetching a content
identified by a content identifier to a client device from a web
server, and may be further used with a first and second servers and
a tunnel device that may be each connected to the Internet and may
each be addressable in the Internet using a respective IP address.
The method by the second server may comprise receiving, from the
client device, a request message that comprises the content
identifier; sending, to the first server, a first message;
receiving, from the tunnel device or from the first server, the
content; and sending, to the client device, the content, in
response to the request message. Any receiving of the content may
comprise receiving, from the tunnel device, the content. The method
may further comprise responding to a communication initiated by the
tunnel device, and the initiated communication by the tunnel device
may use, or may be based on, Network Address Translator (NAT)
traversal scheme. Any NAT traversal scheme herein may be according
to, may be based on, or may use, Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF) Request for Comments (RFC) 2663, IETF RFC 3715, IETF RFC
3947, IETF RFC 5128, IETF RFC 5245, IETF RFC 5389, or IETF RFC
7350. Any NAT traversal scheme herein may be according to, may be
based on, or may use, Traversal Using Relays around NAT (TURN),
Socket Secure (SOCKS), Socket Secure (SOCKS) or WebSocket (ws),
which may be WebSocket Secure (wss), NAT `hole punching`, Session
Traversal Utilities for NAT (STUN), Interactive Connectivity
Establishment, (ICE), UPnP Internet Gateway Device Protocol (IGDP),
or Application-Level Gateway (ALG). The method may further comprise
in response to the communication initiated by the tunnel device,
sending, to the tunnel device, the content identifier.
[0384] The communication over the Internet with the tunnel device,
with the first server, or with the client device, may be based on,
may use, or may be compatible with, Transmission Control Protocol
over Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol or connection. Further,
the communication over the Internet with the tunnel device, with
the first server, or with the client device, may be based on, may
use, or may be compatible with, HTTP or HTTPS protocol or
connection, and the second server may serve as an HTTP or HTTPS
server respectively and the tunnel device may serve as an HTTP or
HTTPS client respectively.
[0385] Furthermore, the communication over the Internet with the
tunnel device, with the first server, or with the client device,
may be based on, may use, or may be compatible with, Socket Secure
(SOCKS) protocol or connection, and the second server may serve as
an SOCKS server and respectively the tunnel device, the first
server, or the client device may serve as an SOCKS client. Any
SOCKS protocol or connection herein may be according to, may be
based on, or may be compatible with, SOCKS4, SOCKS4a, or SOCKS5.
Alternatively or in addition, any SOCKS protocol or connection may
be according to, may be based on, or may be compatible with, IETF
RFC 1928, IETF RFC 1929, IETF RFC 1961, or IETF RFC 3089.
Alternatively or in addition, any communication over the Internet
with the tunnel device, with the first server, or with the client
device, may be based on, may use, or may be compatible with, Socket
Secure (SOCKS) or WebSocket (ws), which may be WebSocket Secure
(wss), protocol or connection, and the second server may serve as
an SOCKS or WebSocket server and the selected tunnel device may
serve as an WebSocket client. Any WebSocket protocol or connection
herein may be according to, may be based on, or may be compatible
with, IETF RFC 6455.
[0386] Further, the communication over the Internet with the tunnel
device, with the first server, or with the client device, may be
based on, may use, or may be compatible with, HTTP Proxy protocol
or connection, and the second server may serve as an HTTP Proxy
server and respectively the tunnel device, the first server, or the
client device may serve as an HTTP Proxy client. The method may
further comprise establishing a connection with the tunnel device,
and the second server may initiate communication with the tunnel
device using the established connection. The established connection
may be a TCP connection using `Active OPEN`, `Passive OPEN`, or TCP
keepalive mechanism, or the established connection may use, or may
be based on, Virtual Private Network (VPN).
[0387] The method may further comprise sending, to the client
device, the IP address of the tunnel device, may be used with a
first IP address stored in the client device, and the request
message may comprises the first IP address. Further, the first
message may comprise the first IP address. The method may further
be used with a plurality of servers that includes the first server.
Each of the plurality of servers may be connectable to the
Internet, and may be addressable in the Internet using a respective
IP address. The method may further comprise selecting the first
server from the plurality of servers, such as where the first
server may be randomly selected from the plurality of servers. The
first server may be randomly selected using one or more random
numbers generated by a random number generator, and the random
number generator may be hardware or software based. The random
number generator may use thermal noise, shot noise, nuclear
decaying radiation, photoelectric effect, or quantum phenomena, or
may be based on executing an algorithm for generating pseudo-random
numbers.
[0388] Each of any plurality of servers herein may be associated
with a one of more attribute values relating to an attribute type,
and the first server may be selected from the plurality of servers
based on, or according to, the respective one of more attribute
values. Any message herein, such as the request message, may
comprise the one of more attribute values. The attribute type may
be a geographical location, and one of more attribute values may
comprise a name or an identifier of a continent, a country, a
region, a city, a street, a ZIP code, or a timezone. Further, one
of more attribute values may be based on actual geographical
location or on IP geolocation, which may be based on W3C
Geolocation API.
[0389] Any method herein may be used with a Domain Name System
(DNS) server, and any content identifier herein may comprise a
domain name. Any method herein may further comprise performing,
using the DNS server, a DNS resolution for obtaining a numerical IP
address, and any message herein, such as the request message, may
comprise the domain name, and any message herein, such as the
request message, such as the first message, may comprise the
obtained numerical IP address.
[0390] The communication over the Internet with the client device
may be based on, may use, or may be compatible with, HTTPS protocol
or connection, and any message herein, such as the request message,
may be according to, may be based on, or may use, HTTPS frame or
packet form. Any method herein may further comprising extracting,
by the first or second server, the content identifier using SSL
sniffing. Any message herein, such as the request message, may
comprise an attribute value corresponding to an attribute type, and
the method may further comprise extracting, the attribute value
using SSL sniffing.
[0391] A non-transitory computer readable medium containing
computer instructions that, when executed by a computer processor,
cause the processor to perform any part of, or all of, any of the
methods herein. A server may comprise a non-transitory computer
readable medium containing computer instructions that, when
executed by a computer processor, cause the processor to perform
part of, or all of, any method herein.
[0392] Any of the servers herein, such as the second server, may be
storing, operating, or using, a server operating system, which may
consist or, may comprise of, or may be based on, Microsoft Windows
Server.RTM., Linux, or UNIX. Alternatively or in addition, any
server operating system herein may consists of, may comprise of, or
may be based on, Microsoft Windows Server.RTM. 2003 R2, 2008, 2008
R2, 2012, or 2012 R2 variant, Linux.TM. or GNU/Linux based Debian
GNU/Linux, Debian GNU/kFreeBSD, Debian GNU/Hurd, Fedora.TM.,
Gentoo.TM., Linspire.TM., Mandriva, Red Hat.RTM. Linux, SuSE, and
Ubuntu.RTM., UNIX.RTM. variant Solaris.TM., AIX.RTM., Mac.TM. OS X,
FreeBSD.RTM., OpenBSD, or NetBSD.RTM.. Any of the servers herein,
such as the first and second servers may be owned, operated, or
controlled by an entity. Further, any tunnel device herein, may be
owned, operated, or controlled by the entity.
[0393] A method for fetching a content identified by a content
identifier by using tunnel devices may be uses with a first and
second servers and a group of tunnel devices that may each be
connected to the Internet and may each be addressable in the
Internet using a respective IP address. The first server may store
a list of the IP addresses associated with the tunnel devices in
the group. The method by the first server may comprise receiving,
from the second server, a first message that includes the content
identifier; selecting, an IP address associated with a tunnel
device from the list of tunnel devices, in response to the received
first message; and sending, to the selected tunnel device, a second
message using an IP address of the selected tunnel device. The
second message may comprise the content identifier. The method may
further comprise receiving, from the selected tunnel device, the
content; and sending, to the second server, the content. The second
message may comprise the IP address of the second server.
[0394] The method may be used with a first device that may be
connected to the Internet and addressable in the Internet using a
first IP address. The method may further comprise receiving, from
the first device, a third message; and storing, the first IP
address in the list, and adding the first device to the group of
tunnel devices, so that the first device can be selected as a
tunnel device as part of the selecting. The third message may
comprise at least one value relating to at least one attribute type
associated with the first device, and the method may further
comprise storing, the at least one value, as associated with the
first device or with the first IP address. The method may further
comprise establishing a connection with the first device, and the
initiated communication with the first device may use the
established connection. The established connection may be a TCP
connection using `Active OPEN`, `Passive OPEN`, or TCP keepalive
mechanism, or may use, or may be based on, Virtual Private Network
(VPN).
[0395] Alternatively or in addition, the method may further
comprise, for each of the tunnel devices in the group, receiving,
from each of the tunnel devices, a respective third message;
storing, the IP address of the tunnel device in the list, and
adding the tunnel device to the group of tunnel devices, so that
the tunnel device can be selected as a tunnel device as part of the
selecting by the first server. The third message may comprise at
least one value relating to at least one attribute type associated
with the tunnel device, and the method may further comprise
storing, the at least one value, as associated with the tunnel
device or with the tunnel device IP address. Further, the method
may further comprise establishing a connection with the tunnel
device, and the communication may be initiated with the tunnel
device using the established connection. The established connection
may be a TCP connection using `Active OPEN`, `Passive OPEN`, or TCP
keepalive mechanism, or the established connection may use, or may
be based on, Virtual Private Network (VPN).
[0396] The first message may comprises a first IP address, and the
selecting, by the first server of the tunnel device from the list
of tunnel devices may be based on, or may be in response to, the
received first IP address. Alternatively or in addition, the
selecting of the tunnel device may comprise selecting a tunnel
device having the first IP address.
[0397] The method may be used with a first tunnel device in the
group that may be operating in multiple states that may include an
idle state and non-idle states. The method may further comprise
selecting the first tunnel device in response to the first tunnel
device being in the idle state. The method may further comprise
receiving, from the first tunnel device, a message responsive to
the first tunnel device state; and the first tunnel device may be
selected in response to the first tunnel device state being the
idle state. Alternatively or in addition, the method may further
comprise receiving, from the first tunnel device, a first status
message; and adding, the IP address of the first tunnel device to
the list of IP addresses in response to received first status
message. Further, the method may further comprise receiving, from
the first tunnel device, the second status message; and removing,
the IP address of the first tunnel device from the list of IP
addresses in response to received second status message.
[0398] The method may be used with a first attribute type, and each
of the tunnel devices in the group may be associated with a first
value relating to the first attribute type. The method may further
comprise storing, the first value for associated each of the tunnel
devices in the group. The first value may comprise a numeric value
or an identifier of a feature, a characteristic, or a property of
the first attribute type.
[0399] Any selecting of any tunnel device herein may be based on
the first value associated with the selected tunnel device, and any
method herein may further comprise receiving, from each of the
tunnel devices in the group, the respective first value. The first
message may comprise one or more values, and the selecting of the
tunnel device, may be based on comparing the one or more values to
the first value associated with the selected tunnel device.
Alternatively or in addition, the first message may comprise a
requested value, and the selecting of the tunnel device, may be
based on the requested value being equal to the first value
associated with the selected tunnel device. Alternatively or in
addition, the first message may comprise multiple values, and the
selecting of the tunnel device may be based on the first value
associated with the selected tunnel device being equal to one of
the multiple values. Any values herein of the first attribute type
may be numerical values, and the first message may comprise a
minimum value, and the selecting, of the tunnel device, may be
based on the first value of the associated with the selected tunnel
device being higher than the minimum value. Alternatively or in
addition, the values of the first attribute type may be numerical
values, and the first message may comprise a maximum value, and the
selecting of the tunnel device, may be based on the first value
associated with the selected tunnel device being lower than the
maximum value. Alternatively or in addition, the first message may
comprise a maximum and a minimum values, and the selecting of the
tunnel device, may be based on the first value associated with the
selected tunnel device being lower than the maximum value and
higher than the minimum value.
[0400] Any method herein may further be used with a second
attribute type, and each of the tunnel devices in the group may be
associated with a second value relating to the second attribute
type, and the method may further comprise, storing the second value
for associated each of the tunnel devices in the group. The
selecting of the tunnel device may be based on the first and second
values associated with the selected tunnel device, and the method
may further comprise receiving, from each of the tunnel devices in
the group, the respective first and second values. Alternatively or
in addition, the first message may comprise a first set of one or
more values and a second set of one or more values, and the
selecting of the tunnel device, may be based on respectively
comparing the first and second sets to the first and second values
associated with the selected tunnel device. Alternatively or in
addition, the selected tunnel device may be selected so that the
first value may be included in the first set and the second value
may be included in the second set. Alternatively or in addition,
the selected tunnel device may be selected so that the first value
may be included in the first set or the second value may be
included in the second set. Further, the selected tunnel device may
be selected so that the first value may be included in the first
set and the second value may not be included in the second set.
[0401] Any attribute type herein, such as the first attribute type,
may comprise a geographical location, and each of the first values
may comprise a name or an identifier of a continent, a country, a
region, a city, a street, a ZIP code, or a timezone. Further, the
first value of each of the tunnel devices in the group or each of
the IP addresses may be based on IP geolocation, which may be based
on W3C Geolocation API. Any method herein may be used with a
database associating IP addresses to geographical locations, and
the database may be stored in the first or second server. The
method may further comprise receiving and storing, by the first or
second server, the database, and estimating or associating the
first value to each of the tunnel devices in the group by using the
database. Any attribute herein, such as the first attribute type,
may comprise Internet Service Provider (ISP) or Autonomous System
Number (ASN) identification, and each of the first values may
comprise respectively a name or an identifier of the ISP or the ASN
number.
[0402] Alternatively or in addition, the first attribute type may
correspond to a hardware of software of tunnel devices. The first
attribute type may comprise the hardware of tunnel devices, such as
stationary or portable values, respectively based on the tunnel
device being stationary or portable. Alternatively or in addition,
the first attribute type may comprises a software application (such
as an operating system) installed, used, or operated, in tunnel
devices, and the first values may comprise the type, make, model,
or version of the software.
[0403] Alternatively or in addition, the first attribute type may
correspond to a communication property, feature of a communication
link of tunnel devices, such as corresponding to the respective
connection to the Internet of tunnel devices or to the
communication link of a tunnel device with the first server or the
second server. The first attribute type may correspond to a
bandwidth (BW) or Round-Trip delay Time (RTT) of the communication
link, and the first value may be the respective estimation or
measurement of the BW or RTT. Any method herein may further
comprise estimating or measuring, by the first server or by a
tunnel device, the BW or RTT of the communication link.
Alternatively or in addition, the first attribute type may
correspond to the technology or scheme used by the tunnel devices
for connecting to the first server, and the first values may
comprise wired or wireless values, respectively based on the tunnel
device being connected to the Internet using wired or wireless
connection.
[0404] The method may be used with a Domain Name System (DNS)
server, and the content identifier comprises a domain name. Any
method herein may further comprise performing, using the DNS
server, a DNS resolution for obtaining a numerical IP address, and
any message herein, such as the second message, may comprise the
obtained numerical IP address.
[0405] Any communication herein, such as over the Internet with the
second server or with the selected tunnel device, may be based on,
may use, or may be compatible with, Transmission Control Protocol
over Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol or connection.
Alternatively or in addition, any communication over the Internet
herein, such as with the second server or with the selected tunnel
device, may be based on, may use, or may be compatible with, HTTP
or HTTPS protocol or connection, and one of the node may serve as
an HTTP or HTTPS server respectively and the other node may serve
as an HTTP or HTTPS client respectively. Further, the communication
over the Internet with the second server or with the selected
tunnel device may be based on, may use, or may be compatible with,
HTTP or HTTPS protocol or connection, and the first server may
serve as an HTTP or HTTPS server and respectively the second server
or the selected tunnel device may serve as an HTTP or HTTPS client.
Any communication over the Internet herein, such as with the second
server or with the selected tunnel device, may be based on, may
use, or may be compatible with, HTTPS protocol or connection, and
any message herein, such as the first or second message, may be
according to, may be based on, or may use, HTTPS frame or packet
form. Any method may further comprise extracting, the content
identifier using SSL sniffing. Any message herein, such as the
first or second message, may comprise an attribute value
corresponding to an attribute type, and any method herein may
further comprise extracting the attribute value using SSL
sniffing.
[0406] The communication over the Internet with the second server
or with the selected tunnel device, may be based on, may use, or
may be compatible with, Socket Secure (SOCKS) protocol or
connection, and the first server may serve as an SOCKS server
respectively and the second server or the selected tunnel device
may serve as an SOCKS client respectively. Any SOCKS protocol or
connection herein may be according to, may be based on, or may be
compatible with, SOCKS4, SOCKS4a, or SOCKS5. Alternatively or in
addition, the SOCKS protocol or connection may be according to, may
be based on, or may be compatible with, IETF RFC 1928, IETF RFC
1929, IETF RFC 1961, or IETF RFC 3089. Alternatively or in
addition, any communication over the Internet with the second
server or with the selected tunnel device, may be based on, may
use, or may be compatible with, Socket Secure (SOCKS) or WebSocket
(ws), which may be WebSocket Secure (wss), protocol or connection,
and the second server may serve as an SOCKS or WebSocket server and
the selected tunnel device may serve as an WebSocket client. Any
WebSocket protocol or connection herein may be according to, may be
based on, or may be compatible with, IETF RFC 6455.
[0407] Further, any communication herein over the Internet with the
second server or with the selected tunnel device, may be based on,
may use, or may be compatible with, HTTP Proxy protocol or
connection, and the first server may serve as an HTTP Proxy server
respectively and the second server or the selected tunnel device
may serve as an HTTP Proxy client respectively.
[0408] Each of the tunnel devices in the group may be associated
with a single IP address. Alternatively or in addition, one or more
of the tunnel devices in the group may be associated with multiple
IP addresses, such as with more than 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000,
20,000, 50,000 or 100,000 distinct IP addresses. A primary or sole
functionality of each of the one or more of the tunnel devices may
be to serve as a selected tunnel device.
[0409] In any device (client or server) selection herein, such as
when selecting a tunnel device, the device may be randomly
selected. The device (such as a tunnel device) may be randomly
selected using one or more random numbers generated by a random
number generator, and the random number generator may be hardware
based, and may be using thermal noise, shot noise, nuclear decaying
radiation, photoelectric effect, or quantum phenomena.
Alternatively or in addition, the random number generator may be
software based, and may be based on executing an algorithm for
generating pseudo-random numbers.
[0410] A method for fetching a content identified by a content
identifier to a client device from a web server by using tunnel
devices may use a group of tunnel devices that may each be
connected to the Internet and may each be addressable in the
Internet using a respective IP address. A second server may be
connected to the Internet and may be addressable in the Internet
using a respective IP address. The method may comprise sending, to
the second server, a request message that comprises the content
identifier; and receiving, from the second server, the content in
response to the request message. The method may be used with a
first attribute type and with a first value relating to the first
attribute type, each of the tunnel devices in the group may be
associated with a first value relating to the first attribute type,
and the request message may comprise one or more values associated
with the first attribute type. The first value may comprise a
numeric value or an identifier of a feature, a characteristic, or a
property of the first attribute type, and the request message may
comprise the one or more values, for selecting, of a tunnel device
from the group, based on comparing the one or more values to the
first value associated with the selected tunnel device.
[0411] The method may be used with a second attribute type, and
each of the tunnel devices in the group may be associated with a
second value relating to the second attribute type. The request
message may comprise a first set of one or more values and a second
set of one or more values for selecting of the tunnel device based
on respectively comparing the first and second sets to the first
and second values associated with the selected tunnel device. The
first attribute type may comprise a geographical location, and each
of the first values may comprise a name or an identifier of a
continent, a country, a region, a city, a street, a ZIP code, or a
timezone. Alternatively or in addition, the first value of each of
the tunnel devices in the group or each of the IP addresses may be
based on IP geolocation, which may be based on, or may use, W3C
Geolocation API. The method may be used with a database associating
IP addresses to geographical locations, and the database may be
stored in the first server. The method may further comprise
receiving and storing, by the first server, the database, and
estimating or associating the first value to each of the tunnel
devices in the group by the database. Alternatively or in addition,
the first attribute type may comprise Internet Service Provider
(ISP) or Autonomous System Number (ASN), and each of the first
values may comprise respectively a name or an identifier of the ISP
or the ASN number. Further, the first attribute type may correspond
to a hardware of tunnel devices, and the first values may comprise
stationary or portable values, respectively based on the tunnel
device being stationary or portable. Alternatively or in addition,
the first attribute type may comprises a software application (such
as an operating system) installed, used, or operated, in tunnel
devices, and the first values may comprise the type, make, model,
or version of the software.
[0412] Alternatively or in addition, the first attribute type may
correspond to a communication property, feature of a communication
link of tunnel devices, such as to the respective connection to the
Internet of tunnel devices, or to a communication link of a tunnel
device with the web server, the first server, the second server, or
the client device. The first attribute type may correspond to a
bandwidth (BW) or Round-Trip delay Time (RTT) of the communication
link, and the first value may be the respective estimation or
measurement of the BW or RTT. The method may further comprise
estimating or measuring, by the first server or by a tunnel device,
the BW or RTT of the communication link. Further, the first
attribute type may correspond to the technology or scheme used by
the tunnel devices for connecting to the Internet, and the first
values may comprise wired or wireless values, respectively based on
the tunnel device being connected to the Internet using wired or
wireless connection.
[0413] The method may use a Domain Name System (DNS) server, and
the content identifier may comprise a domain name, and the method
may further comprise performing, using the DNS server, a DNS
resolution for obtaining a numerical IP address, and the request
message may comprise the obtained numerical IP address.
[0414] The web server may use HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or
HTTP Secure (HTTPS) for responding to respective HTTP or HTTPS
requests via the Internet, and the content request may respectively
be an HTTP or an HTTPS request. Further, the communication over the
Internet between the client device and the second server, may be
based on, may use, or may be compatible with, Transmission Control
Protocol over Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol or connection.
Alternatively or in addition, the communication over the Internet
between the client device and the second server, may be based on,
may use, or may be compatible with, HTTP or HTTPS protocol or
connection, and one of the node may serve as an HTTP or HTTPS
server respectively and the other node may serve as an HTTP or
HTTPS client respectively, such as where the second server serves
as an HTTP or HTTPS server respectively and the client device
serves as an HTTP or HTTPS client respectively.
[0415] Alternatively or in addition, the communication over the
Internet between the client device and the second server may be
based on, may use, or may be compatible with, Socket Secure (SOCKS)
protocol or connection, and the second server may serve as an SOCKS
server and the client device may serve as an SOCKS client. The
SOCKS protocol or connection may be according to, may be based on,
or may be compatible with, SOCKS4, SOCKS4a, or SOCKS5, or may be
according to, may be based on, or may be compatible with, IETF RFC
1928, IETF RFC 1929, IETF RFC 1961, or IETF RFC 3089. Alternatively
or in addition, any communication over the Internet between the
client device and the second server may be based on, may use, or
may be compatible with, Socket Secure (SOCKS) or WebSocket (ws),
which may be WebSocket Secure (wss), protocol or connection, and
the second server may serve as an SOCKS or WebSocket server and the
selected tunnel device may serve as an WebSocket client. Any
WebSocket protocol or connection herein may be according to, may be
based on, or may be compatible with, IETF RFC 6455.
[0416] Further, the communication over the Internet between the
client device and the second server, may be based on, may use, or
may be compatible with, HTTP Proxy protocol or connection, and the
second server may serve as an HTTP Proxy server and the client
device may serve as an HTTP Proxy client.
[0417] At least part of steps of any method herein may be included
in a Software development kit (SDK) that may be provided as a
non-transitory computer readable medium containing computer
instructions, and any method herein may further comprise installing
the SDK. A method for fetching a content identified by a content
identifier from a web server by using a tunnel device may use first
and second servers and a tunnel device that may each be connected
to the Internet and may be each addressable in the Internet using a
respective IP address. The method by the tunnel device may comprise
receiving, from the first or second server, a first message that
comprises the content identifier; sending, to the web server, a
content request that comprises the content identifier; receiving,
from the web server, the content, in response to the content
request; and sending, to the first or second server, the content.
The first message may be received from the first server, and the
content may be sent to the second server in response to the first
message. Any sending, to the first or second server of the content
may comprise exclusively sending, to the first server, the content;
or sending, to the second server, the content. The first message
may comprise the IP address of the second server.
[0418] Any tunnel device herein may be addressable in the Internet
using a first IP address, and the method may further comprise
sending, to the first server, a second message that may comprise at
least one value relating to at least one attribute type associated
with the tunnel device. The method may further comprise
establishing a connection with the first server, and responding, to
a communication initiating by the first server using the
established connection. The established connection may be a TCP
connection using `Active OPEN`, `Passive OPEN`, or TCP keepalive
mechanism or may use, or may be based on, Virtual Private Network
(VPN).
[0419] The method may further comprise in response to the receiving
of the first message, initiating a communication, with the second
server. The initiating of the communication may use, or may be
based on, a Network Address Translator (NAT) traversal scheme,
which may be according to, may be based on, or may use, Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comments (RFC) 2663, IETF
RFC 3715, IETF RFC 3947, IETF RFC 5128, IETF RFC 5245, IETF RFC
5389, or IETF RFC 7350. Further, the NAT traversal scheme may be
according to, may be based on, or may use, Traversal Using Relays
around NAT (TURN), Socket Secure (SOCKS), NAT `hole punching`,
Session Traversal Utilities for NAT (STUN), Interactive
Connectivity Establishment, (ICE), UPnP Internet Gateway Device
Protocol (IGDP), or Application-Level Gateway (ALG).
[0420] The communication over the Internet with the first or second
server, may be based on, may use, or may be compatible with,
Transmission Control Protocol over Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
protocol or connection. Further, the communication over the
Internet with the first or second server, may be based on, may use,
or may be compatible with, HTTP or HTTPS protocol or connection,
and the first or second server may serve as an HTTP or HTTPS server
and the tunnel device may serve as an HTTP or HTTPS client.
Alternatively or in addition, the communication over the Internet
with the first or second server, may be based on, may use, or may
be compatible with, Socket Secure (SOCKS) protocol or connection,
and the first or second server may serve as an SOCKS server and the
tunnel device may serve as an SOCKS client. The SOCKS protocol or
connection may be according to, may be based on, or may be
compatible with, SOCKS4, SOCKS4a, SOCKS5, IETF RFC 1928, IETF RFC
1929, IETF RFC 1961, or IETF RFC 3089. Alternatively or in
addition, any communication over the Internet with the first or
second server, may be based on, may use, or may be compatible with,
Socket Secure (SOCKS) or WebSocket (ws), which may be WebSocket
Secure (wss), protocol or connection, and the second server may
serve as an WebSocket server and the selected tunnel device may
serve as an WebSocket client. Any WebSocket protocol or connection
herein may be according to, may be based on, or may be compatible
with, IETF RFC 6455. Alternatively or in addition, the
communication over the Internet with the first or second server,
may be based on, may use, or may be compatible with, HTTP Proxy
protocol or connection, and the first or second server may serve as
an HTTP Proxy server and the tunnel device may serve as an HTTP
Proxy client.
[0421] Any device herein, such as any tunnel device, may further be
operating in multiple states that includes at least an idle state
and non-idle states. The method may further comprise responsive to
being in one of the non-idle states, determining, if an idling
condition may be met; responsive to the determination that the
idling condition may be met, shifting to the idle state; responsive
to being in the idle state, determining if an idling condition is
met; and responsive to the determination that the idling condition
may not be met, shifting to one of the non-idle states. The method
may further comprise sending, to the first server, a message
responsive to the tunnel device state. Further, the method may
further comprise sending, to the first server, a first status
message in response to shifting to the idle state; and sending, to
the first server, a second status message in response to shifting
to a non-idle state.
[0422] The method may further comprise operating, an operating
system or a program process or thread, and the idling condition may
be determined to be met based on, or according to, activating or
executing the process or thread by the operating system or the
program. The process or thread may comprise any low-priority or
background task, an idle process, or a screensaver. Alternatively
or in addition, the process or thread may comprise using the entire
screen for displaying. The method may further comprise monitoring
or metering, a resource utilization, and the idling condition may
be determined to be met based on, or according to, the monitored or
metered resource utilization being under a threshold. The resource
utilization may comprise the utilization of a processor in the
tunnel device.
[0423] Alternatively or in addition, the tunnel device may comprise
an input device for obtaining an input from a human user or
operator, the method further comprise sensing, using the input
device, the input, and the idling condition may be determined to be
met based on, or according to, not receiving an input from the
input device for a pre-set time interval. Any input device herein
may comprise a pointing device, a keyboard, a touchscreen, or a
microphone. Alternatively or in addition, the tunnel device may
comprise a motion sensor for sensing motion, acceleration,
vibration, or location change of the tunnel device, the method may
further comprise sensing, using the motion sensor, the tunnel
device motion, acceleration, vibration, or location change, and the
idling condition may be determined to be met based on, or according
to, respectively sensing the motion, the vibration, the
acceleration, or the location change being under a threshold. Any
motion sensor herein may comprise an accelerometer, gyroscope,
vibration sensor, or a Global Positioning System (GPS)
receiver.
[0424] Alternatively or in addition, the tunnel device may comprise
a network interface or a network transceiver for communication over
a network, the method may further comprise metering, an amount of
data transmitted to, or received from, the network during a time
interval, and the idling condition may be determined to be met
based on, or according to, the metered amount of data being under a
threshold level. Further, the tunnel device may comprise a battery,
the method may further comprise metering or sensing, a battery
charging level, and the idling condition may be determined to be
met based on, or according to, the metered or sensed charge level
being over a threshold level. The metering or sensing may use a
Battery Management System (BMS), and the threshold level may be
above 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of the battery defined full
charge capacity.
[0425] Any tunnel device herein may be associated with a first
value relating to a first attribute type, and the first value may
comprise a numeric value or an identifier of a feature, a
characteristic, or a property of the first attribute type. The
method may further comprise sending, to the first server, the first
value to the first server. The method may use a second attribute
type, the tunnel device may be associated with a second value
relating to the second attribute type, and the method may further
comprise sending, to the first server, the second value. The first
attribute type may comprise a geographical location, and each of
the first values may comprise a name or an identifier of a
continent, a country, a region, a city, a street, a ZIP code, or a
timezone. The first value may be based on IP geolocation that may
be based on W3C Geolocation API. The method may use any database
associating IP addresses to geographical locations. Furthermore,
any first attribute type herein may comprise Internet Service
Provider (ISP) or Autonomous System Number (ASN), and the first
value may comprise a name or an identifier of the ISP or the ASN
number.
[0426] Any method herein may be used with a plurality of servers
that includes the first server, and each of the plurality of
servers may be connectable to the Internet and may be addressable
in the Internet using a respective IP address. Any method herein
may further comprise selecting, such as randomly selecting, the
first server from the plurality of servers. The first server may be
randomly selected using one or more random numbers generated by a
random number generator, which may be hardware based, such as using
thermal noise, shot noise, nuclear decaying radiation,
photoelectric effect, or quantum phenomena. Alternatively or in
addition, the random number generator may be software based, such
as based on executing an algorithm for generating pseudo-random
numbers. Alternatively or in addition, the method may be used with
a plurality of servers that may include the first server, and each
of the plurality of servers may be connectable to the Internet, and
may be addressable in the Internet using a respective IP address.
The method may further comprise selecting, the first server from
the plurality of servers; and sending, to the selected first
server, a second message. Any method herein may further comprise
selecting, such as randomly selecting, the first server from the
plurality of servers. The first server may be randomly selected
using one or more random numbers generated by a random number
generator, which may be hardware based, such as using thermal
noise, shot noise, nuclear decaying radiation, photoelectric
effect, or quantum phenomena. Alternatively or in addition, the
random number generator may be software based, such as based on
executing an algorithm for generating pseudo-random numbers.
[0427] Each of the plurality of servers may be associated with a
one of more attribute values relating to an attribute type, and the
first server may be selected from the plurality of servers based
on, or according to, the respective one of more attribute values.
The attribute type may be a geographical location, and one of more
attribute values may comprise a name or an identifier of a
continent, a country, a region, a city, a street, a ZIP code, or a
timezone. Further, each of the one of more attribute values may be
based on actual geographical location or on IP geolocation, such as
W3C Geolocation API. The first message may further comprise the one
of more attribute values.
[0428] The method may be used with a Domain Name System (DNS)
server, and the content identifier may comprise a domain name. The
method may further comprise performing, using the DNS server, a DNS
resolution for obtaining a numerical IP address, and the first
message or the content request may comprise the obtained numerical
IP address. Any tunnel device herein may be associated with a
single IP address or with multiple IP addresses. Any tunnel device
herein may be associated with more than 1,000, 2,000, 5,000,
10,000, 20,000, 50,000 or 100,000 distinct IP addresses. Further, a
primary or sole functionality of any tunnel device may be to serve
as a tunnel device executing any method herein. The method may
further comprising storing, operating, or using, a client operating
system, which may consist of, may comprise, or may be based on, one
out of Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows
8, Microsoft Windows 8.1, Linux, and Google Chrome OS.
Alternatively or in addition, the method may further comprise
storing, operating, or using, a web browser, which may consist of,
comprise, or may be based on, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google
Chrome, Opera.TM., or Mozilla Firefox.RTM.. Further, the web
browser may be a mobile web browser, such as Safari, Opera
Mini.TM., or Android web browser. Any Operating System (OS) herein,
such as any server or client operating system, may consists of,
include, or be based on a real-time operating system (RTOS), such
as FreeRTOS, SafeRTOS, QNX, VxWorks, or Micro-Controller Operating
Systems (.mu.C/OS).
[0429] Any tunnel device herein may be integrated in part or
entirely in an appliance, and a primary functionality of the
appliance may be associated with food storage, handling, or
preparation. The primary function of the appliance may be heating
food, and the appliance may be a microwave oven, an electric mixer,
a stove, an oven, or an induction cooker. Alternatively or in
addition, the appliance may be a refrigerator, a freezer, a food
processor, a dishwasher, a food blender, a beverage maker, a
coffeemaker, or an iced-tea maker. Further, the primary function of
said appliance may be associated with environmental control, and
the appliance may consist of, or may be part of, an HVAC system.
Alternatively or in addition, the primary function of the appliance
may be associated with temperature control, and the appliance may
be an air conditioner or a heater. Further, the primary function of
the appliance may be associated with cleaning, the primary function
may be associated with clothes cleaning, and the appliance may be a
washing machine or a clothes dryer, or the appliance may be a
vacuum cleaner. Alternatively or in addition, the primary function
of the appliance may be associated with water control or water
heating. Further, the appliance may be an answering machine, a
telephone set, a home cinema method, a HiFi method, a CD or DVD
player, an electric furnace, a trash compactor, a smoke detector, a
light fixture, or a dehumidifier. Alternatively or in addition, the
appliance may be a battery-operated portable electronic device,
such as a notebook, a laptop computer, a media player, a cellular
phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), an image processing
device, a digital camera, a video recorder, or a handheld computing
device.
[0430] Any integration herein, such as with any appliance, may
involve sharing a component, such as housing in same enclosure,
sharing same processor, or mounting onto same surface. Further, any
integration herein may involve sharing a same connector, such as a
power connector for connecting to a power source, and the
integration may involve sharing the same connector for being
powered from same power source, or the integration may involve
sharing same power supply.
[0431] Any device herein, such as any tunnel device herein, may be
housed in a single enclosure that may be a hand-held enclosure or a
portable enclosure, and may further be integrated with at least one
of a notebook computer, a laptop computer, a media player, a
Digital Still Camera (DSC), a Digital video Camera (DVC or digital
camcorder), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular
telephone, a digital camera, a video recorder, or a smartphone. Any
smartphone herein may comprise, or may be based on, an Apple iPhone
6 or a Samsung Galaxy S6. Any method herein, such as any method by
any tunnel device, may further comprise storing, operating, or
using an operating system, which may be a mobile operating system
such as Android version 2.2 (Froyo), Android version 2.3
(Gingerbread), Android version 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), Android
Version 4.2 (Jelly Bean), Android version 4.4 (KitKat), Apple iOS
version 3, Apple iOS version 4, Apple iOS version 5, Apple iOS
version 6, Apple iOS version 7, Microsoft Windows.RTM. Phone
version 7, Microsoft Windows.RTM. Phone version 8, Microsoft
Windows.RTM. Phone version 9, or Blackberry.RTM. operating
system.
[0432] Any device herein, such as any tunnel device herein, may
perform as part of any method herein, connecting to the Internet,
via a wireless network. The wireless network may comprise, or may
consist of, a Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN), which may be a
wireless broadband network, such as a WiMAX network that may be
according to, compatible with, or based on, IEEE 802.16-2009.
Further, any wireless network herein may comprise, or may consist
of, a cellular telephone network, such as a Third Generation (3G)
network that uses a protocol selected from the group consisting of
UMTS W-CDMA, UMTS HSPA, UMTS TDD, CDMA2000 1.times.RTT, CDMA2000
EV-DO, and GSM EDGE-Evolution, or the cellular telephone network
may use a protocol selected from the group consisting of a Fourth
Generation (4G) network that uses HSPA+, Mobile WiMAX, LTE,
LTE-Advanced, MBWA, or may be based on IEEE 802.20-2008.
Alternatively or in addition, the wireless network may comprise, or
may consist of, a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN), which may
be according to, may be compatible with, or may be based on,
Bluetooth.TM., Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), or IEEE 802.15.1-2005
standards, or the WPAN may be a wireless control network that may
be according to, or based on, Zigbee.TM., IEEE 802.15.4-2003, or
Z-Wave.TM. standards. Alternatively or in addition, any wireless
network herein may comprise, or may consist of, a Wireless Local
Area Network (WLAN), which may be according to, may be compatible
with, or may be based on, a standard selected from the group
consisting of IEEE 802.11-2012, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE
802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, and IEEE 802.11ac.
[0433] Any method herein may be used with a virtualization, where
at least one of the steps may be executed as part of a virtualized
application as part of a Virtual Machine (VM). Alternatively or in
addition, the client device or any part thereof, the web server or
any part thereof, at least one of the multiple tunnel devices or
any part thereof, the first server or any part thereof, or the
second server or any part thereof, may be implemented as virtual
hardware. Further, any method herein may be used with a host
computer that may implement the VM, and any method herein may
further comprise executing, by the host computer, a hypervisor or a
Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM), and any virtualized application
herein or any hardware herein may use or may interface virtual
hardware. Any virtualization herein may include, may be based on,
or may uses, full virtualization, para-virtualization, or hardware
assisted virtualization. At least two devices that may be selected
from a group consisting of the client device, the web server, at
least one of the multiple tunnel devices, the first server, and the
second server, may be implemented as virtual hardware, and the at
least two devices may be virtualized by the same host computer that
implements the VM.
[0434] Any method herein may be used with a virtualization, and any
communication between any two entities selected from a group
consisting of the client device, the web server, at least one of
the multiple tunnel devices, the first server, and the second
server, may be executed as a virtualized network as part of a
Virtual Machine (VM). Further, any method herein may be used with a
host computer that may implement the VM, and any method herein may
further comprise executing, by the host computer, a hypervisor or a
Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM), and the virtualized network may use
or may interface virtual hardware. Any such network or
communication virtualization may include, may be based on, or may
use, full virtualization, para-virtualization, or hardware assisted
virtualization.
[0435] Any method herein may further comprise storing, operating,
or using, an operating system, such as part of the client device,
the web server, at least one of the multiple tunnel devices, the
first server, the second server, or any combination thereof. The
operating system may be executed as a guest operating system as
part of a Virtual Machine (VM). Any method herein may be uses with
a host computer that implement the VM, and the method may further
comprise executing, by the host computer, a hypervisor or a Virtual
Machine Monitor (VMM), and the guest operating system may use or
may interface virtual hardware. Such virtualization may include,
may be based on, or may use, full virtualization,
para-virtualization, or hardware assisted virtualization.
[0436] In the above summary, specific details of various
embodiments are provided. However, some embodiments may be
practiced with less than all of these specific details. In other
instances, certain methods, procedures, components, structures,
and/or functions are described in no more detail than to enable the
various embodiments of the invention, for the sake of brevity and
clarity. Although the operations of the method(s) herein are shown
and described in a particular order, the order of the operations of
each method may be altered so that certain operations may be
performed in an inverse order or so that certain operations may be
performed, at least in part, concurrently with other operations. In
another embodiment, instructions or sub-operations of distinct
operations may be implemented in an intermittent and/or alternating
manner. It should also be noted that at least some of the
operations for the methods described herein may be implemented
using software instructions stored on a computer useable storage
medium for execution by a computer. As an example, an embodiment of
a computer program product includes a computer useable storage
medium to store a computer readable program. Any computer-useable
or computer-readable storage medium herein can be an electronic,
magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor
system (or apparatus or device). Examples of non-transitory
computer-useable and computer-readable storage media include a
semiconductor or solid state memory, magnetic tape, a removable
computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory
(ROM), a rigid magnetic disk, and an optical disk. Current examples
of optical disks include a compact disk with read only memory
(CD-ROM), a compact disk with read/write (CD-R/W), and a digital
video disk (DVD). Alternatively, embodiments of the invention may
be implemented entirely in hardware or in an implementation
containing both hardware and software elements. In embodiments
which use software, the software may include but is not limited to
firmware, resident software, microcode, etc. Although specific
embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated,
the invention is not to be limited to the specific forms or
arrangements of parts so described and illustrated. The scope of
the invention is to be defined by the claims appended hereto and
their equivalents.
[0437] The above summary is not an exhaustive list of all aspects
of the present invention. Indeed, it is contemplated that the
invention includes all systems and methods that can be practiced
from all suitable combinations and derivatives of the various
aspects summarized above, as well as those disclosed in the
detailed description below and particularly pointed out in the
claims filed with the application. Such combinations have
particular advantages not specifically recited in the above
summary.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0438] The invention is herein described, by way of non-limiting
examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein
like designations denote like elements. Understanding that these
drawings only provide information concerning typical embodiments of
the invention and are not therefore to be considered limiting in
scope:
[0439] FIG. 1 illustrates schematically a block diagram of a
computer connected to the Internet;
[0440] FIG. 2 depicts schematically the Internet and computers
connected to the Internet;
[0441] FIG. 2a illustrates schematically a structure of an IP-based
packet;
[0442] FIG. 3 illustrates schematically a simplified flowchart in a
WDM architecture;
[0443] FIG. 3a illustrates schematically a simplified flowchart in
a Linux architecture;
[0444] FIG. 3b illustrates schematically a prior-art arrangement of
virtualization;
[0445] FIG. 3c illustrates schematically a prior-art arrangement of
hosted architecture of virtualization;
[0446] FIG. 3d illustrates schematically a prior-art arrangement of
bare-metal (hypervisor) architecture of virtualization;
[0447] FIG. 4 depicts schematically a few food-related home
appliances;
[0448] FIG. 4a depicts schematically a few cleaning-related home
appliances and digital cameras;
[0449] FIG. 5 depicts schematically client devices, tunnel devices,
and servers connected to the Internet;
[0450] FIGS. 6, 6a, and 6b depict schematically messages exchanged
over the Internet between a client device and a data server, using
different tunnel devices, according to '044 patent;
[0451] FIGS. 7 and 7a depict schematically a client device, tunnel
devices, and servers connected to the Internet;
[0452] FIG. 8 illustrates schematically a simplified flowchart of a
method for selecting and using a tunnel device for fetching
content;
[0453] FIG. 9a illustrates schematically a simplified flowchart of
a method for selecting and using multiple tunnel devices for
fetching multiple content in parallel;
[0454] FIG. 9b illustrates schematically a simplified flowchart of
a method for selecting and using a multiple tunnel devices for
fetching multiple content in series;
[0455] FIG. 10 illustrates schematically a table of data relating
to available tunnel devices and their attributes stored in the TB
server;
[0456] FIG. 11 depicts schematically messages exchanged over the
Internet between tunnel devices and the TB server as part of the
registration phase;
[0457] FIG. 11a depicts schematically connections over the Internet
between tunnel devices and the TB server after the registration
phase;
[0458] FIG. 12 depicts schematically a message exchanged over the
Internet between a client device and the SP server;
[0459] FIG. 12a depicts schematically a message exchanged over the
Internet between the SP server and the TB server;
[0460] FIG. 12b depicts schematically messages exchanged over the
Internet between the TB server and the web server using a tunnel
device;
[0461] FIG. 13 depicts schematically messages exchanged over the
Internet for fetching content from the web server to the client
device via the tunnel device, the TB server, and the SP server;
[0462] FIG. 14 illustrates schematically a simplified flowchart
relating to a TB server;
[0463] FIG. 15 illustrates schematically a simplified flowchart
relating to a SP server;
[0464] FIGS. 16 and 16a illustrate schematically simplified
flowcharts relating to a client device;
[0465] FIG. 17 illustrates schematically a simplified flowchart
relating to a tunnel device;
[0466] FIGS. 18 and 18a depicts schematically messages exchanged
over the Internet for fetching content from the web server to the
client device via a dedicated tunnel device, the TB server, and the
SP server;
[0467] FIGS. 19, 19a, and 19b depicts schematically messages
exchanged over the Internet in an alternative scheme for fetching
content from the web server to the client device via a selected
tunnel device, the TB server, and the SP server;
[0468] FIG. 20 illustrates schematically another simplified
flowchart relating to a TB server;
[0469] FIG. 21 illustrates schematically another simplified
flowchart relating to a SP server;
[0470] FIG. 22 illustrates schematically another simplified
flowchart relating to a tunnel device;
[0471] FIGS. 23 and 23a depict schematically messages exchanged
over the Internet for fetching content from the web server to the
client device using multiple TB servers;
[0472] FIGS. 24 and 24a illustrate schematically simplified
flowcharts relating to a SP server using multiple TB servers;
[0473] FIGS. 24b and 24c illustrate schematically simplified
flowcharts relating to a tunnel device using multiple TB
servers;
[0474] FIGS. 25 and 25a depict schematically messages exchanged
over the Internet including a DNS resolution by the client
device;
[0475] FIG. 26 illustrates schematically a simplified flowchart
relating to a client device that includes a DNS resolution;
[0476] FIG. 27 depicts schematically messages exchanged over the
Internet including a DNS resolution by the SP server;
[0477] FIGS. 28 and 28a illustrate schematically simplified
flowcharts relating to the SP server that includes a DNS
resolution;
[0478] FIG. 29 depicts schematically messages exchanged over the
Internet including a DNS resolution by the selected tunnel
device;
[0479] FIGS. 30 and 30a illustrate schematically simplified
flowcharts relating to the selected tunnel device that includes a
DNS resolution;
[0480] FIG. 31 depicts schematically a state diagram of a tunnel
device as determined by the tunnel device itself;
[0481] FIG. 31a depicts schematically a state diagram of a tunnel
device as determined by the tunnel bank server;
[0482] FIGS. 32 and 32a illustrate schematically simplified
flowcharts relating to a tunnel device associated with an idle
state;
[0483] FIG. 32b illustrates schematically a simplified flowchart
relating to a tunnel device associated with an idle state
determined by the TB server;
[0484] FIG. 32c illustrates schematically a simplified flowchart
relating to a TB server that determines a tunnel device status;
[0485] FIG. 33 illustrates schematically a table of data relating
to available tunnel devices associated with an idle state and their
attributes stored in the TB server;
[0486] FIG. 34 depicts schematically a group and non-overlapping
sub-groups of IP addresses;
[0487] FIG. 34a depicts schematically a group and overlapping
sub-groups of IP addresses;
[0488] FIG. 34b depicts schematically a group and domain-based
non-overlapping sub-groups of IP addresses;
[0489] FIG. 34c depicts schematically a group and domain-based
non-overlapping sub-groups of IP addresses used by two client
devices;
[0490] FIG. 35 illustrates schematically a simplified flowchart
relating to sub-group based tunnel selecting;
[0491] FIG. 35a illustrates schematically a simplified flowcharts
relating to group based tunnel selecting;
[0492] FIGS. 36 and 36a illustrate schematically simplified
flowcharts relating to forming an IP group;
[0493] FIG. 37 depicts schematically an IP addresses group and
non-overlapping sub-groups of VIP labels;
[0494] FIG. 37a depicts schematically assigning a VIP label to
multiple IP addresses; and
[0495] FIG. 37b depicts schematically a group and non-overlapping
sub-groups of VIP labels;
[0496] FIG. 38 depicts schematically messages relating to tunnel
lists exchanged over the Internet between the TB server and the SP
server;
[0497] FIG. 39 illustrates schematically simplified flowchart
relating to a TB server that is involved in sending tunnels lists
to the SP server;
[0498] FIGS. 39a and 39b illustrate schematically simplified
flowcharts relating to a SP server that is involved in selecting
tunnels;
[0499] FIG. 40 depicts schematically messages exchanged over the
Internet for fetching content from the web server to the client
device via two tunnel devices, the TB server, and the SP
server;
[0500] FIG. 41 illustrates schematically a simplified flowchart
relating to a TB server that selects and employs three tunnel
devices in parallel;
[0501] FIG. 41a illustrates schematically a simplified flowchart
relating to a TB server that sequentially selects and employs three
tunnel devices;
[0502] FIG. 42 depicts schematically messages exchanged over the
Internet in an alternative scheme for fetching content from the web
server to the client device via two selected tunnel device, the TB
server, and the SP server;
[0503] FIG. 42a illustrates schematically another simplified
flowchart relating to a TB server that selects multiple tunnel
devices;
[0504] FIG. 42b illustrates schematically another simplified
flowchart relating to a SP server that uses three selected tunnel
devices in parallel;
[0505] FIG. 42c illustrates schematically another simplified
flowchart relating to a SP server that sequentially uses three
selected tunnel devices;
[0506] FIG. 43 depicts schematically messages exchanged over the
Internet for fetching content from the web server to the client
device using multiple tunnel devices, the TB server, and the SP
server;
[0507] FIG. 43a illustrates schematically another simplified
flowchart relating to a client device that uses three selected
tunnel devices in parallel; and
[0508] FIG. 43b illustrates schematically another simplified
flowchart relating to a client device that sequentially uses three
selected tunnel devices.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0509] The principles and operation of an apparatus or a method
according to the present invention may be understood with reference
to the figures and the accompanying description wherein identical
or similar components (either hardware or software) appearing in
different figures are denoted by identical reference numerals. The
drawings and descriptions are conceptual only. In actual practice,
a single component can implement one or more functions;
alternatively or in addition, each function can be implemented by a
plurality of components and devices. In the figures and
descriptions, identical reference numerals indicate those
components that are common to different embodiments or
configurations. Identical numerical references (in some cases, even
in the case of using different suffix, such as 5, 5a, 5b and 5c)
refer to functions or actual devices that are either identical,
substantially similar, similar, or having similar functionality. It
will be readily understood that the components of the present
invention, as generally described and illustrated in the figures
herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of
different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed
description of the embodiments of the apparatus, system, and method
of the present invention, as represented in the figures herein, is
not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but
is merely representative of embodiments of the invention. It is to
be understood that the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" herein
include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates
otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a component surface"
includes reference to one or more of such surfaces. By the term
"substantially" it is meant that the recited characteristic,
parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that
deviations or variations, including, for example, tolerances,
measurement error, measurement accuracy limitations and other
factors known to those of skill in the art, may occur in amounts
that do not preclude the effect the characteristic was intended to
provide.
[0510] Each of devices herein may consist of, include, be part of,
or be based on, a part of, or the whole of, the computer 11 or the
system 10 shown in FIG. 1. Each of the servers herein may consist
of, may include, or may be based on, a part or a whole of the
functionalities or structure (such as software) of any server
described in the '604 Patent, such as the web server, the proxy
server, or the acceleration server. Each of the clients or devices
herein may consist of, may include, or may be based on, a part or a
whole of the functionalities or structure (such as software) of any
client or device described in the '604 Patent, such as the peer,
client, or agent devices.
[0511] Each of the servers herein may consist of, may include, or
may be based on, a part or a whole of the functionalities or
structure (such as software) of any server described in the '044
Patent, such as the web server, the proxy server, or the
acceleration server. Each of the clients or devices herein may
consist of, may include, or may be based on, a part or a whole of
the functionalities or structure (such as software) of any client
or device described in the '044 Patent, such as the peer, client,
or agent devices. Each of the tunnel devices herein may consist of,
may include, or may be based on, a part or a whole of the
functionalities or structure (such as software) of any tunnel
device described in the '044 Patent, such as the peer, client, or
agent devices.
[0512] Any of the steps or the flow charts described herein may be
included as a Software Development Kit (SDK) that is provided as a
non-transitory computer readable medium containing computer
instructions. The SDK may be installed in a respective device,
either client or a server, to be executed by a processor in that
device.
[0513] An example of an arrangement 70 for retrieving content by
the requesting client device 31a from the web server 22b is shown
in FIG. 7. Multiple Internet-connected devices may serve as tunnel
devices, such as a tunnel #1 laptop device 33a, a tunnel #2
smartphone device 33b, a tunnel #3 laptop device 33c, a tunnel #4
desktop device 33d, and a tunnel #5 `Smart TV` device 33e. The
content fetching may be handled, managed, and aided by using a
Super-Proxy (SP) server 72 and a Tunnel Bank (TB) server 71.
[0514] The TB server 71 is used for storing a list of the available
tunnel devices, such as their IP addresses together with attribute
values that corresponds to one or more attribute types. The
available tunnels list is stored in a memory 73 that is part of,
integrated with, connected to, or in communication with, the TB
server 71. The SP server 72 receives the content request from the
requesting client 31a, and manages the content fetching using the
TB server 71. The TB server 71 and the SP server 72 may be
separated devices located at different geographic locations, as
shown in the arrangement 70, may be located in a single location,
or may be integrated into a single device or server that combines
the functionalities of both servers.
[0515] Any device that is available for communicating over the
Internet 113 may serve as a tunnel device. A tunnel device may
consist of, include, be part of, or be based on, a part of, or the
whole of, the computer 11 or the system 10 shown in FIG. 1. Any
tunnel device may be any computer system, either stationary (such
as the desktop 33d) or portable (such as the laptop 33c). Further,
any tunnel device may be a smartphone (such as the smartphone 33b),
or may be an appliance, such as the television set 33e. Further,
any tunnel device herein may comprise, consists of, or include a
Personal Computer (PC), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a
laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a server
computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, a Personal
Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a cellular handset, a handheld PDA
device, an on-board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device, a
vehicular device, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portable
device, a non-mobile or a non-portable device. Further, any device
or network element herein may comprise, consist of, or include a
major appliance (white goods) and may be an air conditioner,
dishwasher, clothes dryer, drying cabinet, freezer, refrigerator,
kitchen stove, water heater, washing machine, trash compactor,
microwave oven and induction cooker. The appliance may similarly be
a `small` appliance such as TV set, CD or DVD player, camcorder,
still camera, clock, alarm clock, video game console, HiFi or home
cinema, telephone or answering machine
[0516] Furthermore, a tunnel device may be integrated with an
appliance. The appliance primary function may be associated with
food storage, handling, or preparation, such as microwave oven, an
electric mixer, a stove, an oven, or an induction cooker for
heating food, or the appliance may be a refrigerator, a freezer, a
food processor, a dishwasher, a food blender, a beverage maker, a
coffeemaker, or an iced-tea maker. Further, the appliance primary
function may be associated with environmental control such as
temperature control, and the appliance may consist of, or may be
part of, an HVAC system, an air conditioner or a heater.
Furthermore, the appliance primary function may be associated with
cleaning, such as a washing machine, a clothes dryer for cleaning
clothes, or a vacuum cleaner. The appliance primary function may be
associated with water control or water heating. The appliance may
be an answering machine, a telephone set, a home cinema system, a
HiFi system, a CD or DVD player, an electric furnace, a trash
compactor, a smoke detector, a light fixture, or a dehumidifier.
The appliance may be a handheld computing device or a
battery-operated portable electronic device, such as a notebook or
laptop computer, a media player, a cellular phone, a Personal
Digital Assistant (PDA), an image processing device, a digital
camera, or a video recorder. The integration with the appliance may
involve sharing a component such as housing in the same enclosure,
sharing the same connector such as sharing a power connector for
connecting to a power source, where the integration involves
sharing the same connector for being powered from the same power
source. The integration with the appliance may involve sharing the
same power supply, sharing the same processor, or mounting onto the
same surface.
[0517] While 5 tunnel devices are shown in the example of the
arrangement 70, any number of tunnels may be equally used.
Preferably, the number of tunnel devices that are used may be above
5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, 200,000, 500,000,
1,000,000, 2,000,000, 5,000,000, or 10,000,000.
[0518] A tunnel device may connects to the Internet 113 directly,
such as the tunnel #1 33a and tunnel #2 33b shown to directly
connect to the Internet 113 as part of the arrangement 70 shown in
FIG. 7. Direct connection herein refers to the ability of any
Internet connected device or server, such as the TB server 71 and
the SP server 72, to communicate, or too initiate a communication
session, with the Internet-connected device. Alternatively, a
tunnel device may be connected to the Internet via a filtering
device, such as a router, gateway, or a firewall. For example, the
tunnel #3 33c is shown connected to the Internet 113 via a router
device (or functionality) 74, and the tunnel #4 33d is shown
connected to the Internet 113 via the a firewall device (or
functionality) 75. Such filtering devices are typically used for
data security, and may filter communication to, or from, the
Internet relating to a connected device. In one example, only
pre-approved IP addresses may initiate a communication session over
the Internet with a device connected via such filtering mechanism.
For example, the TB server 71 or the SP server 72 may not initiate
a communication the tunnel #3 33c or with the tunnel #4 33d, since
such communication may be blocked by the respective router device
74 or firewall device 75.
[0519] In one example, the two servers cooperatively used for
assisting in the content fetching, namely the SP server 72 and the
TB server 71, are owned, operated, managed, or controlled by a same
entity 76, as shown in an arrangement 70a shown in FIG. 7a. In such
a case, the entity 76 may provide the service of fetching content
from the web server 22b via the various tunnels as a service, which
may be a paid service.
[0520] Any content herein may consist of, or may comprise, data
such as files, text, numbers, audio, voice, multimedia, video,
images, music, computer programs or any other sequence of
instructions, as well as any other form of information represented
as a string of bits, bytes, or characters. In one example, the
content may include, be a part of, or a whole of, a URL or a
website page.
[0521] Each tunnel device may be associated with one or more
attribute values corresponding to one or more attribute types. A
table 100 shown in FIG. 10 describes an example of various
attributes types and values or various (available for use) tunnel
devices. A top row 101 names the attribute type of other tunnel
related information, and each of the other rows may correspond to a
single tunnel device. For example, a first content row 101a may
correspond to the tunnel #1 33a, a second row 101b may correspond
to the tunnel #2 33b, a third row 101c may correspond to the tunnel
#3 33c, a fourth row 101d may correspond to the tunnel #4 33d, a
fifth row 101e may correspond to the tunnel #5 33e, a sixth row
101f may correspond to a sixth tunnel, and a seventh row 101g may
correspond to a seventh tunnel.
[0522] An attribute type may relate to a timing of an operation or
activity by a tunnel device. A first column 102a, named
`Date-Time`, may correspond to timing of an event relating to the
respective tunnel operation, such as a last time when the tunnel
device connected to the Internet, or when the tunnel device
connected to a specific entity, such as to the TB server 71 or the
SP server 72. In the examples shown in the table 100, a relating
timing information relating the first tunnel corresponding to the
first row 101a is shown as a date 3/5 and a time 19:35, a relating
timing information relating the second tunnel corresponding to the
second row 101b is shown as a date 3/5 and a time 19:38, a relating
timing information relating the third tunnel corresponding to the
third row 101c is shown as a date 5/5 and a time 00:05, a relating
timing information relating the fourth tunnel corresponding to the
fourth row 101d is shown as a date 11/5 and a time 00:07, a
relating timing information relating the fifth tunnel corresponding
to the fifth row 101e is shown as a date 12/5 and a time 00:15, a
relating timing information relating the sixth tunnel corresponding
to the sixth row 101f is shown as a date 12/5 and a time 05:38, and
a relating timing information relating the seventh tunnel
corresponding to the seventh row 101g is shown as a date 12/5 and a
time 22:13.
[0523] Alternatively or in addition, the attribute type may be
associated with the communication link involving the connecting of
a tunnel device to the Internet 113. For example, the type of
connection of the device may be used as an attribute type, such as
being a wired or a wireless connection. Further, the related
attribute type may include the protocol or technology used for
connecting the respective tunnel to the Internet 113, as exampled
in a column `Connection Type` 102e in the table 100. In the
examples shown in the table 100, a relating communication protocol
information relating the first tunnel corresponding to the first
row 101a is shown as a value of Very High Speed Subscriber Line
(VDSL) technology, a relating communication protocol information
relating the second tunnel corresponding to the second row 101b is
shown as a value of Third Generation (3G), a relating communication
protocol information relating the third tunnel corresponding to the
third row 101c is shown as a value of Data Over Cable Service
Interface Specification (DOCSIS), a relating communication protocol
information relating the fourth tunnel corresponding to the fourth
row 101d is shown as a value of Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
(ADSL), a relating communication protocol information relating the
fifth tunnel corresponding to the fifth row 101e is shown as a
value of WiFi, a relating communication protocol information
relating the sixth tunnel corresponding to the sixth row 101f is
shown as a value of 4G.LTE, and a relating communication protocol
information relating the seventh tunnel corresponding to the
seventh row 101g is shown as a value of ADSL.
[0524] Alternatively or in addition, the attribute type may be
associated with the communication link involving the communication
of a tunnel device with another entity over the Internet 113, such
as communication with the TB server 71, the SP server 72, or the
web server 22b. For example, the bandwidth (BW) or the RTT of such
communication of the device may be used as an attribute type, as
exampled in columns `BW` 102g and `RTT` 102h in the table 100. In
the examples shown in the table 100, a relating communication
metrics information relating the first tunnel corresponding to the
first row 101a is shown as a BW value of 1000 (Kb/s) and a RTT
value of 30 (ms), a relating communication metrics information
relating the second tunnel corresponding to the second row 101b is
shown as a BW value of 350 (Kb/s) and a RTT value of 70 (ms), a
relating communication metrics information relating the third
tunnel corresponding to the third row 101c is shown as a BW value
of 2500 (Kb/s) and a RTT value of 540 (ms), a relating
communication metrics information relating the fourth tunnel
corresponding to the fourth row 101d is shown as a BW value of 1400
(Kb/s) and a RTT value of 170 (ms), a relating communication
metrics information relating the fifth tunnel corresponding to the
fifth row 101e is shown as a BW value of 1200 (Kb/s) and a RTT
value of 120 (ms), a relating communication metrics information
relating the sixth tunnel corresponding to the sixth row 101f is
shown as a BW value of 2100 (Kb/s) and a RTT value of 230 (ms), and
a relating communication metrics information relating the seventh
tunnel corresponding to the seventh row 101g is shown as a BW value
of 800 (Kb/s) and a RTT value of 310 (ms).
[0525] Alternatively or in addition, the attribute type may be
associated with the tunnel connection scheme to the Internet, such
as identification of the ISP or the associated ASN relating to the
ISP, to the tunnel device, or to the Internet connection scheme. In
the examples shown in the table 100, a column named `ASN` 102d may
be used, a value of the ASN corresponding to the first row 101a is
shown as 3215 (corresponding to Orange France), a value of the ASN
corresponding to the second row 101b is shown as 3209
(corresponding to Vodafone Germany), a value of the ASN
corresponding to the third row 101c is shown as 12079
(corresponding to Verizon Wireless USA), a value of the ASN
corresponding to the fourth row 101d is shown as 16345
(corresponding to Beeline Russia), a value of the ASN corresponding
to the fifth row 101e is shown as 30148 (corresponding to Zain
Saudi-Arabia), a value of the ASN corresponding to the sixth row
101f is shown as 9498 (corresponding to Bharti Airtel India), and a
value of the ASN corresponding to the seventh row 101g is shown as
11419 (corresponding to Telefonica Brazil).
[0526] Alternatively or in addition, the attribute type may be
associated with the tunnel device itself, such as its location. The
location may be based on an actual physical geographical location
or an IP geolocation. In the examples shown in the table 100, a
column named `Geographical Location` 102c may be used. A value of
the location corresponding to the first row 101a is shown as
`Paris, France`, a value of the location corresponding to the
second row 101b is shown as `Munich, Germany`, a value of the
location corresponding to the third row 101c is shown as `Boston,
Mass., USA`, a value of the location corresponding to the fourth
row 101d is shown as `Moskow, Russia`, a value of the location
corresponding to the fifth row 101e is shown as `Riad,
Saudi-Arabia`, a value of the location corresponding to the sixth
row 101f is shown as `Mumbai, India`, and a value of the location
corresponding to the seventh row 101g is shown as `San-Paulo,
Brazil`.
[0527] Alternatively or in addition, the attribute type may be
associated with the tunnel device itself, such as its structure,
functionalities, or features. The attribute type may relate to
hardware, software, or any combination thereof. For example, the
type of the tunnel device may be used, such as being stationary or
portable. Further, the processing power or the processor type may
be used. For example, the type, make, and version of the any
software may be used, such as the operating system, as exampled in
an `Operating System` column 102f in the table 100. In the examples
shown in the table 100, a relating operating system relating to the
first tunnel corresponding to the first row 101a is shown as
`Chrome 2.0`, a relating operating system relating to the second
tunnel corresponding to the second row 101b is shown as `iOS 3.0`,
a relating operating system relating to the third tunnel
corresponding to the third row 101c is shown as `Windows 10`, a
relating operating system relating the fourth tunnel corresponding
to the fourth row 101d is shown as `Windows 7`, a relating
operating system relating the fifth tunnel corresponding to the
fifth row 101e is shown as `Android 2.0`, a relating operating
system relating the sixth tunnel corresponding to the sixth row
101f is shown as `iOS 4.0`, and a relating operating system
relating the seventh tunnel corresponding to the seventh row 101g
is shown as `Chrome 3.0`.
[0528] The tunnels devices may primarily be identified by their
corresponding IP address, as exampled in a `Tunnel IP Address`
column 102b in the table 100. In the examples shown in the table
100, an IP address of the first tunnel corresponding to the first
row 101a is shown as 80.12.105.150, an IP address of the second
tunnel corresponding to the second row 101b is shown as
176.94.1.17, an IP address of the third tunnel corresponding to the
third row 101c is shown as 162.115.192.24, an IP address of
relating the fourth tunnel corresponding to the fourth row 101d is
shown as 83.220.232.67, an IP address of the fifth tunnel
corresponding to the fifth row 101e is shown as 185.93.228.98, an
IP address of the sixth tunnel corresponding to the sixth row 101f
is shown as 59.144.192.23, and an IP address of the seventh tunnel
corresponding to the seventh row 101g is shown as
200.196.224.89.
[0529] The general flow of the system operation for fetching
content (such as URL) to the requesting client 31a from the web
server 22b using tunnels based on the arrangement 70 shown in FIG.
7, is described in a flow chart 80 in FIG. 8. A "Registration and
Connection" step 81 is continuously executed, in which devices that
are available to serve as tunnels are initiating communication with
the TB server 71. During this initial communication session, the
tunnel device registers with the TB server 71, and provides one or
more attributes values associated with various attributes types.
Alternatively or in addition, the attributes values are estimated,
calculated, or otherwise obtained based on the communication link
with the tunnel device. As part of the registration process, a
record that includes the IP address of the registering tunnel
device is added to the tunnels list 73 stored with the TB server
71. In one example, the records are stored as the table 100 shown
in FIG. 10, where a row represents a record of a single tunnel
device. In addition to registration by adding a record to the
tunnels list 73, the tunnel device opens a lasting connection via
the Internet with the TB server 71. Such connection preferably
allows the TB server 71 to initiate communication with the
registering tunnel device even after the registration phase is over
and as long as the connection is sustained, such as by using TCP
keepalive mechanism. The open connection, preferably a TCP
connection, allows the TB server 71 to initiate communication with
the connected tunnel device even through any intermediary blocking
or filtering apparatus, such as the router 74 or the firewall
device 75. The connection may be terminated upon the tunnel device
closing the connection, such as when powering off or disconnecting
from the Internet. Upon disconnecting from a tunnel device, the
respective record in the tunnels list 73 in the TB server 71 is
erased, notifying that this tunnel device is no more available to
be used as a tunnel device.
[0530] The connection process may involve establishing a connection
(directly or via a server) between the registering tunnel device
and the TB server 71. The handshaking between the two devices
involves forming the connection by exchanging communication-related
information. The formed connection may be used later for
efficiently exchange data between the devices. In one example, the
communication between the devices uses TCP, and the pre-connection
is used for establishing a connection by forming `passive open`,
involving exchanging SYN, SYN-ACK, and ACK messages. In another
example, a VPN is formed between the devices, and the tunneling or
the VPN establishment is performed as part of the pre-connection
phase. The tunnel endpoints are authenticated before secure VPN
tunnels can be established. User-created remote-access VPNs may use
passwords, biometrics, two-factor authentication, or any other
cryptographic methods. Network-to-network tunnels often use
passwords or digital certificates, and permanently store the key in
order to allow a tunnel to establish automatically, without
intervention from a user.
[0531] In one example, the number of tunnel devices that have been
registered with the TB server 71 (or the number of IP addresses)
and are available to be used as tunnel device is above 10,000,
20,000, 50,000, 100,000, 200,000, 500,000, 1,000,000, 2,000,000,
5,000,000, or 10,000,000.
[0532] The content fetching scheme starts in a "Content Request"
step 82, where the requesting client sends a request message to the
SP server 72. The request message preferably includes the requested
content, such as a URL (and/or identification of the web server
22b). The client device 31a may also include (as part of, or
appended to, the request message) criteria for selecting tunnel
devices to be used for fetching the requested content from the web
server 22b, as part of a "Tunnel Selection" step 83. For example,
the request message may include identification of an attribute
type, and associated values for tunnels selection. The client
device 31a may use a single value, so that only tunnel devices
associated with this single value will be used. Alternatively or in
addition, the client device 31a may use multiple values, so that
only tunnel devices associated with one of these values will be
used. Alternatively or in addition, the client device 31a may use a
range of values, so that only tunnel devices associated with one of
the values in the range will be used. For example, the client
device 31a may define a minimum value (selecting only tunnel
devices associated with values at or above the minimum value), may
define a maximum value (selecting only tunnel devices associated
with values at or below the maximum value), or may define both
minimum and maximum values (selecting only tunnel devices
associated with values at or above the minimum value and at or
below the maximum value).
[0533] For example, in a case where the attribute value is a
location, the request message may define a location of Munich,
Germany. Assuming that the available tunnel devices are detailed in
the table 100 in FIG. 10, only the tunnel device (such as the
tunnel #2 33b) associated with the second row 101b may be selected.
Alternatively or in addition, the request message may define a
location of Europe. In such a case, the tunnel device (such as the
tunnel #2 33b) associated with the second row 101b, or the tunnel
device (such as the tunnel #1 33a) associated with the first row
101a, may be selected, since both location values are in Europe.
While the location values are exampled in table 100 as cities, any
location may be used as IP geolocation or physical geographical
location, such as country, state or province, city, street address,
or ZIP code). In one example, a tunnel device location may be
obtained using its built-in Global Positioning System (GPS), and
may include the latitude, longitude, and timezone of the device
location.
[0534] Similarly, in a case where the attribute value is an RTT,
the request message may define a RTT over 300 ms (300 ms minimum),
so that either the tunnel device (such as the tunnel #3 33c)
associated with the third row 101c (having 540 ms), or the tunnel
device associated with the seventh row 101g (having 310 ms), may be
selected. Similarly, in a case where the attribute value is an RTT,
the request message may define a RTT below 80 ms (maximum), so that
either the tunnel device (such as the tunnel #1 33a) that is
associated with the first row 101a (having 30 ms), or the tunnel
device (such as the tunnel #2 33b) that is associated with the
second row 101b (having 70 ms), may be selected. Similarly, in a
case where the attribute value is an BW, the request message may
define a BW below 2200 Kb/s and above 2000 Kb/s, the tunnel device
associated with the sixth row 101f (having 2100 Kb/s), may be
selected.
[0535] In the "Tunnel Selection" step 83, the TB server 71 selects
a tunnel device for use from the tunnel list stored in the storage
73, according to the criteria received from the requesting client
as part of the "Content Request" step 82. It is noted that some
requests may not include any criteria, and in such a case any
available tunnel device may be selected by the TB server 71.
[0536] Once a tunnel device is selected by the TB server 71, the
request for content is routed, by the TB server 71, the SP server
72, or any cooperation thereof, to the selected tunnel device. In
turn, the tunnel device forwards the request for content, using
tunneling or proxy scheme, to the web server 22b, as part of a
"Using Tunnel" step 84. It is noted that such tunneling provides
anonymity and untraceability, where the web server 22b is only
aware of the request from the selected tunnel device, and is
ignorant to the identity of the origin of the request, namely the
requesting client 31a, which is not exposed to the web server 22b.
For example, in case where the requesting client 31a is in a
location A, and the selected tunnel device that is used is in a
location B, the web server 22b may only be aware (such as by using
IP geolocation) to the request arrival from the location B.
[0537] The requested content is then sent to the selected tunnel
device, which in turn submits the fetched content to the requesting
client 31a as part of a "Content Fetching" step 85, thus completing
the cycle of request-response from the point-of-view of the client
device 31a, and ending in an "END" step 86. Hence, the `Content
Fetch` cycle, that may be a `URL Fetch` flow-chart 87 in the case
where the content is a single URL, may be defined, starting from
the requesting client device 31a issuing a content request to the
SP server 72, until the fetched content is received by the
requesting client device 31a as part of the "Content Fetching" step
85. The fetched content may be stored in the client device in any
volatile or non-volatile memory, or may be stored in a local cache
as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,135,912 to the Shribman et al.
entitled: "System and Method of Increasing Cache Size", which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein. The content is stored with its related metadata or any
other identifiers, so it can be easily detected and fetched when
later required.
[0538] While retrieving a single URL (or other content) is exampled
in the flow chart 80, any number of URLs may be equally retrieved
by the requesting client 31a. Each URL fetching may be according
to, or based on, the flow chart 87 shown as part of the flow chart
80 in FIG. 8. For example, the requesting client 31a may request
multiple web pages of the same web site. Assuming fetching of N web
pages (or any other N URLs), the first URL may be fetched by
executing "URL #1 Fetch" flow chart 87a, the second URL may be
fetched by executing a "URL #2 Fetch" flow chart 87b, the third URL
may be fetched by executing a "URL #3 Fetch" flow chart 87c, and so
on, until the N-th URL may be fetched by executing a "URL #N Fetch"
flow chart 87n, where each of the URL fetching scheme may be
according to, or based on, the flow chart 87 shown as part of the
flow chart 80 in FIG. 8. The various fetching schemes may be
executed in parallel, starting in a "START" step 91 and ending in
an "END" step 92, as shown in the flow chart 90a in FIG. 9a.
Alternatively or in addition, the various fetching schemes may be
executed in series, starting in the "START" step 91 and ending in
the "END" step 92, as shown in the flow chart 90b in FIG. 9b.
[0539] In one example, the same tunnel device is selected in two,
or in all, of fetching activities named "URL #1 Fetch" flow chart
87a to the "URL #N Fetch" flow chart 87n. Alternatively or in
addition, a different tunnel device is selected for each of
fetching activities named "URL #1 Fetch" flow chart 87a to the "URL
#N Fetch" flow chart 87n, which is preferred from anonymity point
of view.
[0540] A schematic messaging flow diagram 110 describing the
registration phase as part of the "Registration and Connection"
phase 81 is shown in FIG. 11. Each of the tunnel devices initiates
a communication session with the TB server 71, notifying its
availability to serve as a tunnel device. As part of the
communication, each of the tunnel devices may transmit one or
attribute values pertaining to one or more attribute types. As part
of the registration phase 81, the TB server 71 adds a record (row)
for each available tunnel device to the tunnels list or table in
memory 73, such as adding a row for each new available tunnel
device to table 100 shown in FIG. 10. In the example of the
arrangement 70, the tunnel #1 33a connects via a data path 111a,
the tunnel #2 33b connects via a data path 111b, the tunnel #3 33c
connects via a data path 111c, the tunnel #4 33d connects via a
data path 111d, and the tunnel #5 33e connects via a data path
111e.
[0541] As part of the "Registration and Connection" phase 81, a
sustained connection is established between the registered tunnel
devices and the TB server 71, such as by using TCP keepalive
mechanism. Shown pictorially in an arrangement 110a shown in FIG.
11a relating to the example of the arrangement 70, the tunnel #1
33a connection is shown as a dashed line 112a, the tunnel #2 33b
connection is shown as a dashed line 112b, the tunnel #3 33c
connection is shown as a dashed line 112c, the tunnel #4 33d
connection is shown as a dashed line 112d, and the tunnel #5 33e
connection is shown as a dashed line 112e. Such sustained
connection (such as by using TCP keepalive mechanism) allows the TB
server 71 to initiate connection with any of the registered and
available tunnel devices, even in the case when a filtering
apparatus, such as a router (for example the router 74) or a
gateway (for example the gateway 75), is connected between a tunnel
device and the Internet 113.
[0542] The connection process involves establishing a connection
(directly or via a server), where the handshaking between the TB
server 71 and each of tunnel devices involves forming the
connection by exchanging communication-related information. The
formed connection may be used later for efficiently exchange data
between the devices. In one example, the communication between the
devices uses TCP, and the pre-connection is used for establishing a
connection by forming `passive open`, involving exchanging SYN,
SYN-ACK, and ACK messages. In another example, a VPN is formed
between the devices, and the tunneling or the VPN establishment is
performed as part of the pre-connection phase. The tunnel endpoints
are authenticated before secure VPN tunnels can be established.
User-created remote-access VPNs may use passwords, biometrics,
two-factor authentication, or any other cryptographic methods.
Network-to-network tunnels often use passwords or digital
certificates, and permanently store the key in order to allow a
tunnel to establish automatically, without intervention from a
user.
[0543] The process of fetching content, corresponding to the
"Content Request" step 82 that is part of the `URL Fetch` flow
chart 87, starts with the requesting client 31a send a request for
content to the SP server 72, as shown in a message path 121a shown
as part of a messaging chart 120 shown in FIG. 12. In one example,
such request only comprises an identification (such as a URL) of
the requested content. Preferably, the request includes a guidance
regarding selection of a tunnel device that will be used for
fetching the requested content. In one example, the request
includes, either as integral part of the request, as an appended
message, or as a separate message, the attribute type and an
attribute value, to be used for selecting the tunnel device to be
used. In another example, multiple values, or a range of values are
defined for the attribute type that serves as a criterion. Further,
multiple attributes types may be used, each associated with a value
or with multiple values.
[0544] The content request message, as well as the attributes types
and values information, may be sent over the message path 121a
using a proprietary protocol, agreed upon between the two
communicating nodes. Preferably, the SOCKS, WebSocket (ws), which
may be WebSocket Secure (wss), or HTTP Proxy protocol may be used,
where the client device 31a executes a client side protocol, and
the SP server 72 executes a server side protocol.
[0545] In response to receiving the content request over the
message path 121a, the SP server 72 forward the content request,
along with the tunnel selection criteria, to the TB server 71,
shown as a message path 131a in the messaging chart 120a shown in
FIG. 12a. The message sent over the message path 131a may use a
proprietary protocol, agreed upon between the two communicating
nodes. Preferably, the HTTP, HTTPS, Socket Secure (SOCKS),
WebSocket (ws), which may be WebSocket Secure (wss), or HTTP Proxy
protocol may be used, where the SP server 72 executes a client side
protocol, and the TB server 71 executers a server side protocol.
Alternatively or in addition, the SP server 72 may execute the
server side protocol, and the TB server 71 may executer the client
side protocol.
[0546] As part of the "Tunnel Selection" phase 83, according to a
pre-set of criteria, according to the attributes type and values
that were received from the client device 31a as part of the
message path 121a, or according to any combination thereof, the TB
server 71 uses the tunnels list stored in the memory 73, which may
include the table 100, for selecting a tunnel device to be used. In
one example, the attribute type is location and the value is
Moskow, Russia, hence the tunnel #4 33d, which record is included
in the fourth row 101d of the table 100, is suitable to be
selected, and is selected by the TB server 71 to serve the specific
content request from the client device 31a.
[0547] In one example, the tunnel device to be used may be randomly
selected, allowing, for example, for load balancing. In one
example, by randomly selecting different tunnel devices for
multiple content pieces of content (such as multiple web pages of
the same web site) from the same content source, the web server 22b
senses a distributed requesting schemes, and further cannot
attribute the requests to the client device 31a, further providing
anonymity and untraceability. Randomness is commonly implemented by
using random numbers, defined as a sequence of numbers or symbols
that lack any pattern and thus appear random, are often generated
by a random number generator. Randomness is described, for example,
in IETF RFC 1750 "Randomness Recommendations for Security"
(12/1994), which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes
as if fully set forth herein. A random number generator (having
either analog or digital output) can be hardware based, using a
physical process such as thermal noise, shot noise, nuclear
decaying radiation, photoelectric effect or other quantum
phenomena. Alternatively, or in addition, the generation of the
random numbers can be software based, using a processor executing
an algorithm for generating pseudo-random numbers which
approximates the properties of random numbers.
[0548] In a case where no criteria for selecting is directed by the
requesting client 31a, the TB server 71 may randomly select a
tunnel device from the group or list of all currently available
tunnel devices. Similarly, in a case where there are multiple
tunnel devices that are available and all of them satisfy the
criteria set (such as all of them are associated with a defined
value, or are within the range of defined values, relating to a
specific attribute type), the TB server 71 may randomly select a
tunnel device from the group or list of all currently available
tunnel devices that also satisfy the defined criteria.
[0549] Upon completing the selection of the tunnel #4 33d, the TB
server 71 forwards the requested content identification to the
selected tunnel #4 33d, shown as a message path 131b in the
messaging chart 120b shown in FIG. 12b. Such communication uses the
established connection 111d (such as the TCP connection) that was
established during the "Registration and Connection" phase 81,
allowing for communication via the firewall 75. The message sent
over the message path 131b may use a proprietary protocol, agreed
upon between the two communicating nodes. Preferably, the HTTP,
HTTPS, Socket Secure (SOCKS), WebSocket (ws), which may be
WebSocket Secure (wss), or HTTP Proxy protocol may be used, where
the TB server 71 executes a server side protocol, and the tunnel #4
33d executes a client side protocol. Alternatively or in addition,
the TB server 71 may executes a client side protocol, and the
tunnel #4 33d may execute a server side protocol.
[0550] In response to the request message 131b, the selected
tunnel#4 33d sends a request for the identified content to the
appropriate server that stores the required content, exampled to be
the web server 22b, shown as a message path 131c in a messaging
chart 120b in FIG. 12b. Thus, the "Using Tunnel" phase 84 is
completed where the request arrives at the content source, namely
the web server 22b. The message sent over the message path 131c may
use a proprietary protocol, agreed upon between the two
communicating nodes. Preferably, the HTTP or HTTPS protocol may be
used, where the web server 22b executes a server side protocol, and
the tunnel #4 33d executes a client side protocol. Further, any
tunneling protocol or mechanism may be used where the selected
tunnel, which is the tunnel #4 33d in the example herein, serves as
a tunnel between the TB server 71 and the web server 22b.
[0551] The requested content is then fetched from the web server
22b to the requesting client 31a, as part of the "Content Fetching"
phase 85, along the `opposite` route of the request flow. As shown
in a messaging chart 130 shown in FIG. 13, the content is first
sent from the web server 22b to the selected tunnel #4 33d along a
message path 131d, which in turn sends it to the TB server 71 along
a message path 131e, which in turn sends it to the SP server 72
along a message path 131f, arriving at the requesting client 31a
along a message path 131g, completing the request/response cycle
from the client device 31a point of view. The same protocol or
protocols used for forwarding the request from the client device
31a to the web server 22b may be equally used for any portion of
the `return` path of the requested content from the web server 22b
to the client device 31a. Alternatively or in addition, the return
path may use different protocol or protocols than the ones used in
the requesting path.
[0552] The TB server 71 generally executes a flowchart 140 shown in
FIG. 14. The TB server 71 generally executes in parallel at least a
"Connection Handler" flow chart 140a and a "Request Handler" flow
chart 140b. The "Connection Handler" flow chart 140a involves
identifying a device that is available to server as a tunnel
device. For each such device, a record of the device and its
associated various attributes values is formed, stored and
maintained, together with establishing a continuous connection with
the tunnel device, corresponding to the "Registration and
Connection" phase 81 and the messaging charts 110 and 110a
respectively shown in FIGS. 11 and 11a. The TB server 71
continuously listen and wait for tunnel devices to initiate a
communication. Upon receiving a communication request from a
potential tunnel device, such as from the tunnel #2 33b shown as
message path 111b in the chart 110, the TB server 71 accepts the
communication from the tunnel device, as part of an "Accept and
Open Connection" step 141. In addition to the tunnel device IP
address, information regarding the connection timing, the tunnel
device type, connection functionalities, operating system,
processing power, and other values relating to various attribute
types are obtained (such as from the tunnel device itself, from the
connection, or otherwise), and stored as a record in the tunnels
list 73, which may be in a form of a row in the table 100, as part
of an "Add to Table" step 142. The tunnel device is then available
for being selected for use in a fetching content operation, and the
selection may be based on the respective information in the record
in the table 100. In order to allow for the TB server 71 to
initiate communication with this available tunnel device, a
continuous connection is established as part of an "Establish
Connection" step 143. For example, a TCP connection 112b (using TCP
keepalive mechanism) may be used as shown in the chart 110a. Upon
sensing that there is no response from this tunnel device as part
of a "Detect Disconnection" step 143a, such as not receiving a
keepalive message reply after a set interval, the TB server 71
assumes that this tunnel device is no longer available to be used
as a tunnel device for content fetching operation, and the
respective record is deleted from the table 100 as part of a
"Remove from table" step 144. The "Connection Handler" flow chart
140a is repeated for every tunnel device, so that a large number of
such instances are performed simultaneously and independently.
[0553] The "Request Handler" flow chart 140b involves selecting a
tunnel device from the available ones based on a request from the
SP server 72, and using the selected tunnel device for fetching the
requested content. The "Request Handler" flow chart 140b is
repeated for each content (such as URL) request from the client
device 31a conveyed to it from the SP server 72, so that a large
number of such instances of this operation are performed
simultaneously and independently. First, a content request is
received from the SP server 72 as part of a "Receive Request from
SP" step 145, corresponding to the message path 131a shown in the
messaging chart 120b. In general, the request includes a replica of
the content request received from the requesting client 31a. Based
on pre-set criteria and criteria that is part of the received
request, the TB server 71 selects a tunnel device from the
available ones, as part of a "Select Tunnel" step 146, which
correspond to the "Tunnel Selection" phase 83. As part of a "Send
Request to Tunnel" step 147, which corresponds to the message path
131b shown in the messaging chart 120b and performed as part of the
"Using Tunnel" phase 84, the identification of the requested
content of forwarded to the selected tunnel device, exampled as the
tunnel #4 33d in the example herein. After the content if fetched
by the selected tunnel device #4 33d from the web server 22b, it is
forwarded and received by the TB server 71 as part of a "Receive
Content from Tunnel" step 148, which corresponds to the message
path 131e shown in the messaging chart 130 and performed as part of
the "Content Fetching" phase 85. The handling of the content
requested is completed by sending the fetched content as a response
to the SP server 72 request as part of a "Send Content to SP" step
149, which corresponds to the message path 131f shown in the
messaging chart 130 and performed as part of the "Content Fetching"
phase 85.
[0554] The SP server 72 generally executes a flowchart 150 shown in
FIG. 15 for each piece of information or content (such as a single
URL) requested by the client device 31a. The operation starts when
a content request is received from the client device 31a as part of
a "Receive Request from Client" step 151, which corresponds to the
message path 121a shown in the messaging chart 120 and performed as
part of the "Content Request" phase 82. The request is forwarded by
the SP server 72 to the TB server 71 as part of a "Send Request to
TB" step 152, which corresponds to the message path 131a shown in
the messaging chart 120a, and received by the TB server 71 as part
of the "Receive Request from SP" step 145. Upon the content
arriving to the TB server 71, it is forwarded by the TB server 71
to the requesting SP server 72 as part of the "Send Content to SP"
step 149, and received as part of a "Receive Content from TB" step
153, which corresponds to the message path 131f shown in the
messaging chart 130 and performed as part of the "Content Fetching"
phase 85. The received content is then sent to the requesting
client 31a as part of a "Send Content to Client" step 154, which
corresponds to the message path 131g shown in the messaging chart
130 and performed as part of the "Content Fetching" phase 85.
[0555] SSL Sniffing. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates are
used to secure online communication and transactions with
encryption. The SSL encryption technology creates encrypted
connections between a user/web browser and website/web-server. SSL
certificate makes sure that all communication that gets transmitted
through a browser/website/server is encrypted and decrypted in such
a manner that only the sender and the recipient would be able to
see it in the decrypted form. SSL sniffing refers to the
intercepting and reading of SSL encrypted traffic using an MITM
(Man in the Middle) proxy.
[0556] SSL sniffing works in different ways. In some SSL
implementations, the MITM proxy is used to redirect the end user in
a communication to a non-HTTPS website and then sniff the
non-encrypted traffic in that site. At the same time, requests
would be relayed to and from the HTTPS site via a proxy. The man in
the middle can alternatively grab the HTTPS traffic and present a
valid HTTPS certificate to the end user. The certificate would need
to be trusted on the end user machine. This the end user machine
would need to be compromised or a trusted certificate has to be
obtained. The man in the middle would then relay traffic to the
actual HTTPS site and at the same time look at the unencrypted
traffic, sitting in the middle of it all. There is another option
too--grabbing the encrypted traffic and recording it, in the hope
that in future, technology would help decrypt the data. An
implementation example of SSL Sniffing, which extracts hostname
from SSL by parsing TLC/SNI record (sni.js), is described in a
web-page by `Marek's--totally not insane--idea of the day` (dated
Jun. 16, 2012) entitled: "Dissecting SSL handshake", which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein. SSL Sniffing is further described in Netronome Systems,
Inc. white-paper published 2010 (2-10) entitled: "Examining
SSL-encrypted Communications", which is incorporated in its
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0557] A system, method and computer program product for
guaranteeing a data transaction over a network using SSL sniffing
are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,853,795 to Dick et al. entitled:
"System, method and computer program product for guaranteeing
electronic transactions", which is incorporated in its entirety for
all purposes as if fully set forth herein. When a data transaction
between at least a server and a client is detected on a network,
data transmitted via the network between the server and client
during the data transaction is captured. At least one identifier is
associated with the captured data. A timestamp is also generated
for the captured data. The timestamp includes information therein
identifying at least a portion of the identifier(s). The captured
data, the identifier(s) and the timestamp are stored in one or more
data stores. The identifier(s) associated with the stored captured
data is also mapped to an entry in an index to permit retrieval of
the stored data from the data store via the index.
[0558] In one example, the message received by the SP server 72
from the client device 31a as part of the "Receive Request from
Client" step 151 is according to HTTPS protocol, where part or all
of the message is encrypted using TLS or SSL. In such a case, the
SP server 72 (or the TB server 71), may use SSL Sniffing for
extracting the content identifier (such as the requested URL), for
extracting any attribute values included in the message, for
extracting any other information that is included in the message
and is required for system operation. The SP server 72 may use SSL
Sniffing that includes parsing the SSL handshake, such as parsing
the ClientHello and ServerHello parts of the CONNECT request in the
TLS handshaking. In an example where the client device 31a sends an
HTTPS request that includes `CONNECT amazon.com`, the SP server 72
replies with a message consisting of: `HTTP/1.1 200 OK`, and
continues to apply pkg/util/tls.js Handshake:extract_sni to all
following messages from the client device 31a. If a message
contains SNI and it is amazon.com, or the message does not contain
SNI--the SP server 72 sends the ClientHello to Amazon web server
(which may be the web server 22b), and start listening for the
ServerHello while applying the Handshake:extract_cert_names to all
received messages therefrom, until the certificate part is being
received and parsed. If the received server certificate is for
amazon.com and not a different/blocked host, the SP server 72 sends
a response back to the client device 31a and begins tunneling data
without parsing.
[0559] For each piece of information or content (such as a single
URL) requested a client device, such as the exampled client device
31a, generally executes a flowchart 160 shown in FIG. 16. It is
noted that multiple content fetching operations may be performed in
parallel or in series, as described regarding the flow charts 90a
and 90b above. Any content fetching operation start sending a
content request to the SP server 72 as part of a "Send Request to
SP" step 161, and the request is received by the SP server 72 as
part of the "Receive Request from Client" step 151. This action
corresponds to the message path 121a shown in the messaging chart
120 and performed as part of the "Content Request" phase 82. Upon
availability of the requested content at the SP server 72, the
content is sent to the client device 31a as part of the "Send
Content to Client" step 154, and is received by the client device
31a as part of a "Receive Content from SP" step 162, which
corresponds to the message path 131g shown in the messaging chart
130 and performed as part of the "Content Fetching" phase 85. In
one example, the client device 31a need only to know the IP address
of the SP server 72, and need only to identify the requested
content and the criteria (if any) for selecting a tunnel for
fetching this content. The request message sent to the SP server 72
may include identification of the requested content, such as a
URL.
[0560] In one example, the client device 31a does not impose any
limitations or does not provide any criteria or limitations for
selecting a tunnel device for a specific requested content. In such
a case, the tunnel selection by the TB server 71 as part of the
"Select Tunnel" step 146 is not limited by the client, and any
internal selection rules or mechanisms may be used. Alternatively
or in addition, the client device 31a defines specific limitations
or criteria for selecting a tunnel device for a specific requested
content. Such criteria may involve defining attributes types, and a
value of values relating to each attribute values. In such a case,
the tunnel selection by the TB server 71 as part of the "Select
Tunnel" step 146 is limited by the client, and the client set
limitations will apply in addition to any internal selection rules
or mechanisms may be used. Alternatively or in addition, the client
device 31a may define a specific tunnel device, for example
identified by a specific IP address, to be used for a specific
requested content. For example, the web server 22b may differently
respond to a content requesting device, based on past interactions
with that device. In such a case, the client device 31a may execute
a flow chart 160a shown in FIG. 16a. In such a case, an
identification of the tunnel device that was selected as used for
fetching the specific content is also sent from SP server 72 to the
client device 31a, in addition to sending the fetched content from
the SP server 72 as part of the "Send Content to Client" step 154,
receiving it by the client device 31a as part of a "Receive Content
from SP" step 162. The tunnel identification is stored by the
client device 31a as part of a "Save Tunnel IP" step 162a. In a
next content fetching cycle initiated by the client device 31a,
such as when the content is to be fetched from the same web server
22b, the content request as part of the "Send Request to SP" step
161 is appended to further include the specific tunnel device IP
address to be used, retrieved after being stored in prior operation
as part of the "Save Tunnel IP" step 162a, as part of a "Send
Tunnel IP to SP" step 161a. The request for a specific tunnel
device is then forwarded by the SP server 72 to the TB server 71 as
part of the message path 131a, and then the TB server 71 selects
the requested tunnel device for fetching the content, as part of
the "Select Tunnel" step 146.
[0561] Each of the tunnel devices, such as the tunnel #1 33a, the
tunnel #2 33b, the tunnel #3 33c, the tunnel #4 33d, and the tunnel
#5 33e, generally executes a flowchart 170 shown in FIG. 17. Upon
connecting to the Internet, upon deciding to serve as a tunnel
server, or upon having the ability to serve as a tunnel device, the
tunnel device initiates connection to the TB server 71, as part of
an "Initiate TB Connection" step 171, respectively corresponding to
the message paths 111a, 111b, 111c, 111d, and 111e. The connection
initiation as part of the "Initiate TB Connection" step 171 is
responded by the TB server 71 as part of the "Accept and Open
Connection" step 141 in the flow chart 140a, and is performed as
part of the "Registration and Connection" phase 81. In an
arrangement where a tunnel selection is based on attribute values,
the tunnel device send the corresponding values, such as the
operating system type and version (corresponding to the column 102f
in the table 100), and any other value relating to any other
attribute type, as part of a "Send Attribute Value" step 172, so
the value (associated with the tunnel device IP address, for
example) may be added to the tunnel registry as part of the tunnels
list memory 73, such as adding a row to the table 100 by the TB
server 71 as part of the "Add to Table" step 142. After
initializing the communication, the tunnel device and the TB server
71 sustain a connection, such as a TCP connection using the TCP
keepalive mechanism, as part of an "Establish Connection" step 173
and the "Establish Connection" step 143, respectively illustrated
in the messaging chart 110a as message dashed lines 112a, 112b,
112c, 112d, and 112e. The establishing of the sustained connection
between the tunnel device and the TB server 71 completes the
"Registration and Connection" phase 81 in the flow chart 80.
[0562] In a case where a tunnel device is selected by the TB server
71 as part of the "Select Tunnel" step 146, the TB server 71 send
to the selected tunnel device as part of the "Send Request to
Tunnel" step 147 the content request, which is received as part of
a "Receive Request from TB" step 174, corresponding to the message
path 131b shown in the example of selecting the tunnel #4 33d in
the messaging chart 120b. In response, the selected tunnel device
forward the request to the relevant web server, such as the web
server 22b, as part of a "Send Request to Web Server" step 175,
corresponding to the message path 131c shown in the example of
selecting the tunnel #4 33d in the messaging chart 120b, thus
completing the "Using Tunnel" phase 84 in the flow chart 80 shown
in FIG. 8.
[0563] As part of the "Content fetching" phase 85, the content
retrieved from the web server 22b (as a response to the request) is
received by the selected tunnel device as part of a "Receive
Content from Web Server" step 176 (corresponding to message path
131d in the messaging chart 130), and is then forwarded (or
`tunneled`) to the TB server 71 as part of a "Send Content to TB"
step 177, to be received by the TB server 71 as part of the
"Receive Content from Tunnel" step 148, corresponding to message
path 131e in the messaging chart 130.
[0564] The operation from "Receive Request from TB" step 174 to the
"Send Content to TB" step 177 may be repeated each time the tunnel
is selected. The connection established in the "Establish
Connection" step 173 is sustained after each such content tunneling
operation, allowing for additional tunneling operation to be
performed using the same tunnel. The same tunnel may be selected
for the same web server 22b, such as for different URLs of the same
web page stored in the web server 22b. Alternatively or in
addition, the same tunnel may be used for different web servers,
such as for retrieving different web pages or web sites associated
with different web servers.
[0565] In one example, one or more of the tunnel devices are used
primarily for purposes other than serving as tunnel devices. In
such a case, the tunnel functionality or operation, such as
executing the flow chart 170 shown in FIG. 17, is executed in the
background or when the device is idling from other activities,
preferably with the knowledge of the tunnel device owner and user,
and preferably with minimum interference or interaction with other
processes, operations, or activities of the tunnel device.
[0566] In one example, a tunnel device may be a dedicated device,
primarily installed, used, or operated for serving as a tunnel
device, such as primarily (or solely) for executing the
tunnel-related flow chart 170 shown in FIG. 17. In one example, the
tunnel #1 33a is such a dedicated tunnel device, shown used as a
tunnel in a messaging chart 180 shown in FIG. 18. In one example,
the dedicated tunnel device #1 33a may be owned, operated, or used
by an entity 76a which also owns, operates, or uses the TB server
71 and the SP server 72, as pictorially illustrated in the
arrangement 180a shown in FIG. 18a. While a single dedicated device
in exampled in the arrangement 180, multiple such devices may
equally be used, and these dedicated tunnel devices may also be
owned, operated, or used by the same entity 76a. The using of
dedicated tunnel devices allows to provide more available tunnel
anytime, and reduces the need of relying of availability third
party devices. Further, such dedicated devices may be optimized for
their primary tunneling functionality.
[0567] While the system operation was exampled above where each
tunnel device is associated with a single IP address, multiple IP
addresses may be equally associated with any tunnel device. In one
example, the dedicated tunnel device 33a shown in the arrangement
180 may be addressed using multiple IP addresses, such as by using
multihoming. The dedicated tunnel device 33a (or any tunnel device)
may execute the tunnel process 170 for each of the IP addresses,
either in parallel or sequentially (or a combination thereof), thus
allowing the savings resulting by using a single hardware device
with a single Internet connection executing multiple tunnel
functionalities. Alternatively, multiple Internet connection may be
used, where one or more IP addresses are associated with each
Internet connection. Dedicated tunnels may be implemented as client
devices, or preferably as server, such as located as part of data
centers. Preferably, the dedicated tunnels, either as client
devices or as servers in data centers, are installed in many
location around the world, allowing for better load balancing due
to the widespread distribution, as well as providing large variety
of potential locations or IP geolocations that may be selected as
location attribute values by client devices. A dedicated tunnel
device may be associated with more than 1,000, 2,000, 5,000,
10,000, 20,000, 50,000 or 100,000 distinct IP addresses.
[0568] Further, tunnel devices may be owned, used, or operated by
consumers. In such a case, their availability is only controlled by
the user. For example, by turning off the device, such as at night,
or by being located at no Internet connection locations, the tunnel
devices become not available to be used for tunneling
functionality. In contrast, dedicated tunnel devices may be
available to be selected and used at any time, all year round
(usually spoken "twenty-four seven"), and as such may allow the
service provider 76a to provide stable and consistent tunneling
service to client devices. In addition, dedicated tunnel devices
that are owned, operated, or controlled by the service provider
76a, obviate the need for distributing the tunnel functionality,
such as a software code that implements the tunnel flow chart 170,
to various devices.
[0569] In general, the tasks performed by the TB server 71, as part
of the operation of the flow chart 140 shown in FIG. 14, may be
partitioned into two main objectives: Selecting a tunnel device,
such as the "Select Tunnel" step 146, and being in the `tunneling`
path of fetching the content, such as the "Receive Content from
Tunnel" step 148 and the "Send Content to SP" step 149. In one
examplary arrangement, the TB server 71 is focused only on the
tunnel selecting operation and is not taking part in the "Content
Fetching" phase 85.
[0570] A messaging chart arrangement 190 that supports the
obviating of the TB server from being part of the content fetching
path is shown in FIG. 19. In response to the tunnel #4 33d exampled
as being selected and communicated by the TB server 71 over the
message path 131b described above, the selected tunnel #4 33d
initiates a communication with the SP server 72 over a message path
191. Any technique or technology may be used for directing the
selected tunnel #4 33d to connect to the SP server 72, preferably a
NAT traversal-based technique. Preferably, after the initial
communication between the selected tunnel #4 33d and the SP server
72 is made, the connection (shown as a dashed line 192) is
sustained, such as by using TCP keepalive and part of a TCP Connect
scheme, similar to, or different from, the connection 111d that is
established between the tunnel #4 33d and the TB server 71. Once
the connection 192 is established and sustained, the SP server 72
may initiate communication with the selected tunnel #4 33d. In one
example, the SP server 72 sends the identification of the requested
content (such as a URL) to the selected tunnel #4 33d, shown as a
message path 193 in a messaging chart 190a in FIG. 19a. Similar to
the example shown in FIG. 13 above and the related description, the
selected tunnel #4 33d performs the tunneling functionality by
forwarding the content request to the web server 22b over the
message path 131c, and receiving the requested content over the
message path 131d. However, the requested content is then forwarded
to the requesting device, namely the SP server 72, over a message
path 194 illustrated as part of a messaging chart 190b in FIG. 19b,
rather than being forwarded to the TB server 71 over the message
path 131e as described above. In turn, the received content from
the selected tunnel #4 33d is forwarded by the SP server 72 to the
requesting client 31a over the message path 131g as described
above.
[0571] The mechanism of the "Content Fetching" phase 85 that is
described in the messaging chart 190b involves the selected tunnel
#4 33d receiving the content from the web server 22b over the
message path 131d, forwarding the content from the selected tunnel
#4 33d over the message path 194 to the SP server 72, which in turn
send the fetched content as a response to the requesting client 31a
over the message path 131g. Such content path is preferred since
the `tunneling` via the TB server 71 using the message paths 131e
and 131f is obviated, providing one less hop of carrying
information from the web server 22b to the client device 31a, thus
providing less latency, higher reliability, and less costs
associated with the additional traffic, hardware and processing
power required for handling the unnecessary tunneling via the TB
server 71. Further, such scheme allows to optimize the structure
and functionalities of the TB server 71 for tunnel selection
activities.
[0572] In the alternative arrangement described in FIGS. 19-19b,
the TB server 71 generally executes a flowchart 200 shown in FIG.
20, which is based on the flowchart 140 shown in FIG. 14. The TB
server 71 generally executes in parallel at least the unchanged
"Connection Handler" flow chart 140a and a "Selection Handler" flow
chart 201, which may replace the "Request Handler" flow chart 140b,
which is direct to selecting a tunnel device according to a
criteria.
[0573] As part of processing a content request from the client
device 31a, the TB server 71 receives from the SP server 72, over
the message path 131a shown in the messaging chart 190, criteria
(or a criterion) for selecting a tunnel device to be used for
delivering the requested content, as part of a "Receive Criteria
from SP" step 202. While as part of the "Receive Request from SP"
step 145 that is part of the flow chart 140b the TB server 71 was
also notified of the identification of the requested content, such
identification is not required in this alternative scheme, since
the TB server 71 is no longer part of the actual content request
and fetching data paths. In one example, the same message,
including also the content identification is sent from the SP
server 72 to the TB server 71 over the message path 131a, so that
the "Receive Criteria from SP" step 202 may be rendered to be the
same as the "Receive Request from SP" step 145 described above.
After a tunnel device is selected as part of the "Select Tunnel"
step 146, the TB server 71 sends a message to the selected tunnel
#4 33d over the message path 131b, directing it to initiate
communication (such as by using NAT traversal) with the SP server
72, as part of the "Connect and Direct Tunnel" step 203. In the
scheme shown in FIG. 19, the tunnel selection phase 83 is
completed, and the involvement of the TB server 71 in the fetching
process ends after directing the selected tunnel #4 33d in the
"Connect and Direct Tunnel" step 203.
[0574] In the alternative arrangement described in FIGS. 19-19b,
the SP server 72 generally executes a flowchart 210 shown in FIG.
21, which is based on the flowchart 150 shown in FIG. 15. The SP
server 72 generally executes the flowchart 210 shown in FIG. 21 for
each piece of information or content (such as a single URL)
requested by the client device 31a. The operation starts when a
content request is received from the client device 31a as part of
the "Receive Request from Client" step 151, which corresponds to
the message path 121a shown in the messaging chart 120 and
performed as part of the "Content Request" phase 82. A request from
the client device 31a may include both identification of the
requested content and criteria for selecting a tunnel device, such
as the attribute type to use and the associated attribute value or
values. As part of a "Send Criteria to TB" step 212, the criteria
set by the client device 31a for selection of a tunnel device, as
part of the request, is sent to the TB server 71, without the
content identification part, over the message path 131a, to be
received by the TB server 71 as part of the "Receive Criteria from
SP" step 202. Alternatively, the message sent includes the whole
content request information, similar to, or identical to, the "Send
Request to TB" step 152 in the flow chart 150, which corresponds to
the message path 131a shown in the messaging chart 120a, and
received by the TB server 71 as part of the "Receive Request from
SP" step 145. As part of an "Accept and Open Connection" step 213,
the SP server 72 receives a communication initiated by the selected
tunnel #4 33d, shown as a message path 191, and the connection
between the SP server 72 and the selected tunnel #4 33d is
sustained as part of an "Establish Connection" step 214. The
sustained connection is illustrated as a message path 192, and may
be based on TCP connection that uses the TCP keepalive mechanism,
similar to the connection 111d between the selected tunnel #4 33d
and the TB server 71. The sustained connection allows the SP server
72 to initiate communication with the tunnel #4 33d, even in the
presence of a filtering device such as a router or the firewall
75.
[0575] Using the established connection 192, the SP server 72
forwards the content identification to the selected tunnel #4 33d
as part of a "Send Request to Tunnel" step 215, illustrated as
message path 193 in a messaging chart 190a shown in FIG. 19a, and
in response the selected tunnel #4 33d provides `tunneling` by
forwarding the request to the web server 22b over the message path
131c, as part of the "Using Tunnel" phase 84. The content fetched
by the selected tunnel #4 33d is in turn sent to the SP server 72,
and received over the message path 194 illustrated in a messaging
chart 190b shown in FIG. 19b, as part of a "Receive Content from
Tunnel" step 216. Similar to the flow chart 150 above, the SP
server 72 then forward the fetched content as a response to the
client device 31a request over the message path 131g as part of the
"Send Content to Client" step 154, completing the "Content
Fetching" phase 85.
[0576] In the alternative arrangement described in FIGS. 19-19b,
the selected tunnel device, such as the exampled tunnel device #4
33d, generally executes a flowchart 220 shown in FIG. 22, which is
based on the flowchart 170 shown in FIG. 17. The selected tunnel
device generally executes the flowchart 220 shown in FIG. 22 each
time it is selected as a tunnel device by the TB server 71. Using
the established connection 111d, the tunnel #4 33d receives an
instruction from the TB server 71 (that is sent as part of the
"Connect and Direct Tunnel" step 203 of the flow chart 201) to
connect to the SP server 72, as part of a "Receive Direct from TB"
step 221 over the message path 131b. In response, as part of a
"Initiate SP Connection" step 222, the tunnel device #4 33d
connects to the SP server 72, and then a sustained connection,
shown as the message path 192, is formed as part of a "Establish
Connection" step 223, corresponding to the "Establish Connection"
step 214 in the flow chart 210. A content request sent by the SP
server 72 as part of the "Send Request to Tunnel" step 215 (in the
flow chart 210) is received by the selected tunnel #4 33d as part
of a "Receive Request from SP" step 224, illustrated as the message
path 193 in the messaging chart 190a shown in FIG. 19a. Similar to
the flow chart 170 above, the selected tunnel device forward the
request to the relevant web server, such as the web server 22b, as
part of the "Send Request to Web Server" step 175, corresponding to
the message path 131c shown in the example of selecting the tunnel
#4 33d in the messaging chart 190a, thus completing the "Using
Tunnel" phase 84 in the flow chart 80 shown in FIG. 8.
[0577] As part of the "Content fetching" phase 85, the content
retrieved from the web server 22b (as a response to the request) is
received by the selected tunnel device as part of the "Receive
Content from Web Server" step 176 (corresponding to the message
path 131d in the messaging chart 130), and is then forwarded (or
`tunneled`) to the SP server 71 as part of a "Send Content to SP"
step 225, and received by the SP server 72 as part of the "Receive
Content from Tunnel" step 216, corresponding to message path 194 in
the messaging chart 190b.
[0578] Any of the steps or the flow charts to be executed by a
tunnel device, may be included as a Software development kit (SDK)
that is provided as a non-transitory computer readable medium
containing computer instructions. The SDK may be installed in a
respective tunnel device, to be executed by a processor in that
device, appended to another software program or application
installed on the tunnel device.
[0579] An attribute type is used herein to include any
characteristic, feature, aspect, property, or any other piece of
information where one tunnel device is different from another
tunnel device. The attribute type may be associated with the tunnel
device itself, such as its hardware, software, or any combination
thereof, the tunnel device environment, such as its location, or a
connectivity related feature or capability, such as relating to
Internet connectivity. Each available tunnel device may be
associated with a value (or multiple value, such as a range) for
each attribute type. The attribute values may be stored in the
tunnels list memory 73 that is part of, or connected to, the TB
server 71, that may be, for example, in the form of the table 100
shown in FIG. 10.
[0580] The table 100 examples in the "Geographic Location" column
102c an attribute type relating to the location of tunnel devices,
which may be actual geographical location or may be based on IP
Geolocation. In the example of the "Geographic Location" column
102c, the attributes values are in the form of cities, such as the
city of Munich, Germany in the second row 101b that corresponds to
a tunnel device having an IP address of 176.94.1.17, and the city
of Mumbai, India in the sixth row 101f that corresponds to a tunnel
device having an IP address of 59.144.192.23. While city is
exampled as values, any other physical geographical location or
region may be used, such as country, state or province, city,
street address, ZIP code, or any combination thereof. Similarly, an
attribute type may correspond to the Internet connection of a
tunnel device, as the table 100 examples in the "ASN" column 102d
relating to the ASN (or ISP name or any other identification). In
the example of the "ASN" column 102d, the attributes values are in
the form of digits that represent the ASN (or ISP), such as the ASN
3215 in the first row 101a that corresponds to a tunnel device
having an IP address of 80.12.105.150, and the ASN 11419 in the
seventh row 101g that corresponds to a tunnel device having an IP
address of 200.196.224.89. Any other identification of ASN, ISP, or
any other Internet connection relating mechanism or identity may be
equally used.
[0581] Another attribute type that may correspond to the technology
used for interconnecting a tunnel device to the Internet, as the
table 100 examples in the "Connection Type" column 102e relating to
the technology or connection scheme. Similarly, the attribute type
may correspond to a tunnel device hardware or software, type,
version, or any combination thereof, such as the table 100 examples
in the "Operating System" column 102f. Alternatively or in
addition, an attribute type may correspond to estimated or measured
communication related features, such as the bandwidth as exampled
in the "BW" column 102g or the "RTT" column 102h. The BW or RTT may
relate to the tunnel estimated or measured communication properties
(such as parameters measured in previous transactions) with the web
server 22b (such as over the message paths 131c or 131d), with the
TB server 71 (such as over the message paths 131b and 131e), or
with the SP server 72 (such as over the message paths 191 and
194).
[0582] In one example, a single attribute type is used for
distinguishing between the various available tunnel devices. In
this case, the client device 31a, as part of the "Send Request to
SP" step 161, sends to the SP server 72 over the message path 121a
a value (or multiple values, such as a range) requested for the
selected tunnel that is to be used in fetching the requested
content. The value (or multiple values, such as a range) is
received by the SP server 72 as part of the "Receive Request from
Client" step 151, and forwarded to the TB server 71 over the
message path 131a as part of "Send request to TB" step 152. The
value (or multiple values, such as a range) is received by the TB
server 71 as part of the "Receive Request from SP" 145, and is used
as a criteria for selecting a tunnel device for this content
fetching transaction as part of the "Select Tunnel" step 146. In
one example, a single value is requested, and the TB server 71 thus
selects a tunnel device having a value that is identical to the
requested value from the client device 31a.
[0583] For example, assuming an attribute type of operating system
and a value of "Window 7", since there is only a single tunnel,
being the tunnel represented in the fourth row 101d having an IP
address of 83.220.232.67, this tunnel is selected. In a case where
multiple available tunnel devices in the table 100 are associated
with the requested value, one of these available tunnel is
selected, such as using random selection. In another example, few
values are requested. For example, assuming an attribute type of
`connection type` and values of "ADSL or VDSL", there are three
tunnel devices that may be selected, namely the first row 101a (a
tunnel device having an IP address of 80.12.105.150), the fourth
row 101d (a tunnel device having an IP address of 83.220.232.67),
and the seventh row 101g (a tunnel device having an IP address of
200.196.224.89). Any one of these tunnel devices may be selected,
such as using random selection. Similarly, the client device 31a
may define a range of values, typically where numeral values are
involved, such as in the attribute type relating to column "BW"
102g or the "RTT" column 102h. For example, the client device 31a
may define a "RTT" attribute type having a range between 200 ms
(minimum value) and 400 ms (maximum value), directing the selection
of the tunnel device represented in the six row 101f (a tunnel
device having an IP address of 59.144.192.23) or the tunnel device
represented in the seventh row 101g (a tunnel device having an IP
address of 200.196.224.89), in the example of the table 100.
Similarly, the client device 31a may define only a minimum value,
or only a maximum value. For example, a maximum RTT value of 100 ms
results in the first row 101a and second row 101b.
[0584] Alternatively or in addition, the selection of the tunnel
device to be used (as part of the "Select Tunnel" step 146), or the
priorities assigned to them, may be based on the available
communication attributes or their history. For example, based on
the costs associated with the usage of a network, the higher cost
network may have lower priority and less used than lower cost or
free network. In another example, a high quality network, such as
having a higher available bandwidth or throughput, lower
communication errors or packet loss, lower hops to destination, or
lower transfer delay time, is having higher priority that a lower
quality network. The system may use Bit Error Rate (BER), Received
Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), Packet Loss Ratio (PLR), Cyclic
Redundancy Check (CRC) and other indicators or measures associated
with the communication channel associated with a network interface,
and may be based on, use, or include the methodology and schemes
described in RFC 2544 entitled: "Benchmarking Methodology for
Network Interconnect Devices", and ITU-T Y.1564 entitled: "Ethernet
Service Activation Test Methodology", which are both incorporated
in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
The network quality grade may be affected by the history of using
such a network, for example during a pre-set period before the
process of selection of a network interface. In one example, the
network interface where the last proper packet was received from
may be selected as the interface to be used for the next packet to
be transmitted. The system may further use, or be based on, the
schemes and technologies described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,027,418 to
Gan et al. entitled: "Approach for Selecting Communications
Channels Based on Performance", which is incorporated in its
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0585] Hence, for any value or range of value defined, a tunnel
device to be used may be selected from a set of available tunnel
devices, which is a subset of all available tunnel devices that
match the requested value or range of values. In one example, the
client device 31a may use two attributes types, and a value (or a
group of values) associated with each attribute type. In such a
case, two subsets are formed, one for each attribute, which each
subset includes of all available tunnel devices that match the
respective requested value (or range of values) for each attribute
types. The client device 31a may further define a subset that is
resulted by an operation on the two subsets. For example, the
client device 31a may define to select a tunnel from a set that is
a union of the two subsets (an `or` operation), where the union
(denoted by .orgate.) of a collection of sets is the set of all
elements in the collection, an intersection of the two sets (an
`and` operation), where the intersection A .andgate. B of two sets
A and B is the set that contains all elements of A that also belong
to B (or equivalently, all elements of B that also belong to A),
but no other elements, a set difference or complement operation
(where the complement of a set A refers to elements not in A), or
asymmetric difference operation the symmetric difference, also
known as the disjunctive union, which is the set of elements which
are in either of the sets and not in their intersection. For
example, in a case of defining a value of BW equal or above 1500
Kb/s `and` an RTT below 300 ms, the resulted intersection subset
includes only the tunnel device represented in the sixth row 101f,
while in a case of a value of BW equal or above 1500 Kb/s `or` an
RTT below 300 ms, the resulted union subset includes all rows
except the seventh row 101g. Similarly, three or more attributes
values may be defined relating to three of more attribute
types.
[0586] In one example, the entity 76 or 76a forms a system that may
be used to provide a service to client devices. The service allows
the client device (such as the client device 31a) to quickly and
anonymously fetch content from a web server, such as the web server
22b. The service level may be measured, or the service may be
billed for, if applicable, for example, using the following
parameters (individually or combined):
[0587] Content amount. In this example, the amount of data relating
to the content fetched from a data server (such as the web server
22b) is measured and logged, by the SP server 72 or the TB server
71. Alternatively or in addition, the client device 31a may log or
send the amount of content fetched. Number of tunnels: The number
of tunnel devices that were available to a client device, or the
number of tunnel devices that were actually used, may be used as an
indication to the service level. Location: The service level may be
measured or billed based on the country of the data server, from
which the content is fetched, is located. Similarly, the service
level may be measured or billed based the country the client
device, to which the content is fetched, is located.
[0588] In the messaging chart 190b shown in FIG. 19b, and in the
messaging chart 130 shown in FIG. 13, a single TB server 71 is
used. However, multiple TB servers may equally be used, such as for
load balancing or for performance optimization. In one example, the
tunnel list 73, such as in the form of a table 100, is split among
multiple databases stored in, or connected to, multiple servers
using database sharding. Such an arrangement is shown in a
messaging chart 230 shown in FIG. 23, which is based on the
corresponding messaging chart 130. In addition to the TB server 71,
a TB server 71a and a TB server 71b are connected to the Internet
and may be used. While three TB servers are exampled in FIG. 23,
two, four, five, or any other number of TB servers may equally be
used. The messaging chart 230 examples the SP server 72 selecting
the TB server 71a, rather than using the TB server 71 as shown in
the messaging chart 130. Similar to the former described operation,
the SP server 72 forward a request to the TB server 71a over a
message path 131a1, and the TB server 71a may in turn select the
tunnel device #4 33d, and send a message to it over a message path
131b1, followed by establishing of the connection 111d1. Similarly,
an arrangement employing multiple TB servers is shown in a
messaging chart 230a shown in FIG. 23a, which is based on the
corresponding messaging chart 190b, where the TB server 71a is used
instead of the TB server 71.
[0589] Each of the TB servers may execute the flow chart 140 shown
in FIG. 14 or the flow chart 200 shown in FIG. 20, and may store a
table including tunnel devices, in the form, of the table 100.
Preferably, load balancing is achieved where the total available
tunnel devices (or IP addresses) are split, such as evenly, between
the available TB servers. For example, one third of the available
tunnel devices may be associated with the TB server 71, another
third with the TB server 71a, and the rest third with the TB server
71b. Preferably, the allocation of tunnel devices (or IP addresses)
between the available TB servers may be based on an attribute type,
such as the attribute types described associated with the different
tunnel devices. In one example, a geographical location may be
used. The various TB servers may be located geographically
distributed around the world, and tunnel devices are allocated
based on their perspective geographical location, either actual
location or IP location. For example, tunnel devices may be
allocated to respective TB servers based on their continent,
country, region or state, or city. For example, one TB server, such
as the TB server 71, may be located in Europe, handling all tunnel
devices having an actual geographical location, or IP geolocation,
within Europe, such as in Germany or France, a second TB server,
such as the TB server 71a, may be located in North America,
handling all tunnel devices having an actual geographical location,
or IP geolocation, within North America, such as in U.S.A. or
Canada, and a third TB server, such as the TB server 71b, may be
located in Asia, handling all tunnel devices having an actual
geographical location, or IP geolocation, within Asia such as in
China or Russia. In such a case, the SP server 72 may select the
appropriate TB server to use based on the attribute value received
from the requesting client 31a over the message path 121a, as part
of the "Receive Request from Client" step 151.
[0590] An SP server 72 operation in the case of multiple TB servers
arrangement is described in a flow chart 240 shown in FIG. 24,
which is based on the corresponding flow chart 150 shown in FIG.
15. As part of a "Select TB" step 241, a specific TB server, such
as the TB server 71a in the example of the messaging chart 230, is
selected, and the operation continues with working with this
selected TB server, such as in a "Send Request to Selected TB" step
242. Similarly, an SP server 72 operation in the case of multiple
TB servers arrangement is described in a flow chart 240a shown in
FIG. 24a, which is based on the corresponding flow chart 210 shown
in FIG. 21. As part of the "Select TB" step 241, a specific TB
server, such as the TB server 71a in the example of the messaging
chart 230, is selected, and the operation continues with working
with this selected TB server, such as in the "Send Request to
Selected TB" step 242. The TB server may be randomly selected, as
part of the "Select TB" step 241, or may be based on an attribute
value received from the client device 31a, such as geographical
location.
[0591] A tunnel device operation, such as the elected tunnel device
#4 33d, in the case of multiple TB servers arrangement is described
in a flow chart 240b shown in FIG. 24b, which is based on the
corresponding flow chart 170 shown in FIG. 17. As part of a "Select
TB" step 241, a specific TB server, such as the TB server 71a in
the example of the messaging chart 230, is selected, and the
operation continues with working with this selected TB server, such
as in an "Initiate TB Connection" step 171. Similarly, a tunnel
device operation in the case of multiple TB servers arrangement is
described in a flow chart 240c shown in FIG. 24c, which is based on
the corresponding flow chart 220 shown in FIG. 22. As part of the
"Select TB" step 241, a specific TB server, such as the TB server
71a in the example of the messaging chart 230, is selected, and the
operation continues with working with this selected TB server, such
as in the "Initiate TB Connection" step 171. The TB server may be
randomly selected, as part of the "Select TB" step 241, or may be
based on an attribute value received from the client device 31a,
such as geographical location.
[0592] In one example, a DNS resolution is required for fetching
the content from the web server 22b. In one example, the DNS
resolution is performed by the requesting client 31a, as
illustrated in a messaging chart 250 shown in FIG. 25. Before
requesting the content from the SP server 72, the client device 31a
uses a DNS server 251 for a DNS resolution, shown as a message path
252a. Then, the request sent to the SP server 72 over the message
path 121a includes the resolution result, so there is no need for
any DNS activity afterwards. Any DNS server may be used as the DNS
server 251 by the client device 31a. In one example, a specific DNS
server 251 is used, which is operated, controlled, or managed by an
entity 76b as illustrated in a messaging chart 250a shown in FIG.
25a, which also operates, controls, or manage the TB server 71 and
the SP server 72. This entity 76b may be the same entity as the
entity 76a (or 76) described above. The client device 31a
operation, including a "DNS Resolution" step 261 is described in a
flow chart 260 shown in FIG. 26, which is based on the
corresponding flow chart 160 shown in FIG. 16.
[0593] Alternatively or in addition, the DNS resolution may be
performed by the SP server 72, as illustrated in a messaging chart
270 shown in FIG. 27. Before requesting for a tunnel device
allocation or the content from the TB server 71, the SP server 72
use a DNS server 251 for a DNS resolution, shown as a message path
252b. Then, the request that is sent to the selected tunnel device
includes the resolution result, so there is no need for any DNS
activity afterwards. The SP server 72 operation, including a "DNS
Resolution" step 261 is described in a flow chart 280 shown in FIG.
28, which is based on the corresponding flow chart 150 shown in
FIG. 15. Alternatively or in addition, the SP server 72 operation,
including a "DNS Resolution" step 261 may be as described in a flow
chart 280a shown in FIG. 28a, which is based on the corresponding
flow chart 240 shown in FIG. 24.
[0594] Alternatively or in addition, the DNS resolution may be
performed by the selected tunnel device, such as the tunnel device
#4 33d, as illustrated in a messaging chart 290 shown in FIG. 29.
Before requesting the content from the web server 22b, the tunnel
device #4 33d use a DNS server 251 for a DNS resolution, shown as a
message path 252c. Then, the request that is sent to the web server
22b includes the resolution result. The tunnel device #4 33d
operation, including a "DNS Resolution" step 261 is described in a
flow chart 300 shown in FIG. 30, which is based on the
corresponding flow chart 170 shown in FIG. 17. Alternatively or in
addition, the tunnel device #4 33d operation, including a "DNS
Resolution" step 261 may be as described in a flow chart 300a shown
in FIG. 30a, which is based on the corresponding flow chart 220
shown in FIG. 22.
[0595] In the example of the messaging chart 180 shown in FIG. 18
above, the tunnel #1 33a was described as a dedicated device, which
is primarily installed and used to serve as a tunnel device, or as
concurrent multiple tunnel devices, each associated with a
different IP address. However, one or more of the tunnel devices
may be non-dedicated ones, where their primary functionality or use
is other than serving as a tunnel device. For example, the device
may be intended to be owned, controlled, or used by a human
operator, for various functionalities. In one example, the main
functionality may be to serve as a smartphone, such as for making
telephone call over a cellular network, as exampled in the tunnel
#2 33b. In such a case, the tunnel functionality is associated with
lower priority compared to other tasks or functionalities performed
by the device. Furthermore, it is preferred that the tunnel
functionality does not affect in any way, the primary functions of
the device, and will not interfere or degrade any other task of
functionality provided by the device. Preferably, the tunnel
related functionality will be operated only when the device is
idling, such as not providing any current service or performing any
task of interaction with the human user, preferably so the effect
of performing any tunnel functionality is hardly or not noticed in
any way by the human operator.
[0596] As used herein, the term "idle state" is used to refer to a
state in which a device and/or one or more resources of the device
are not being used to perform operations considered to be of a
sufficiently high priority, or device resources are not being used
at a level of intensity, that the operations should not be
interrupted or competed with by, or such resources should not be
diverted to any extent to, one or more relatively lower priority
operations. In one example, `idle state` refers to a state where
the human user is not interacting with the device, and hence is not
aware of any interfering with any process or task performed. The
term "idle condition" is used in connection with some embodiments
to refer to a condition that indicates whether and/or an extent to
which the device has entered and/or exited such an idle state.
Preferably, a tunnel device performs its tunnel related tasks only
when in the idle state, so that the human user or operator is not
affected by, or aware of, the tunnel related activity.
[0597] An example of a state diagram 310 of a tunnel device, such
as the tunnel #2 33b, the tunnel #3 33c, the tunnel #4 33d, or the
tunnel #5 33e, is shown in FIG. 31. Upon powering the device, a
POWER-UP state 311 is established, during which the computerized
system is initialized, such as by booting the operating system and
connecting to the Internet. Upon completing the POWER-UP 311
sequence, when normal, operative, runtime environment is attained,
and the device may provide its primary functions or
functionalities, the device shifts (shown as a line 315a) to an
`ACTIVE` state 312, and stays in this state as long as the
primarily functions or tasks are used. During the `ACTIVE` state
312, an idle condition is continuously monitored, and when such
idle condition is detected (shown as an `IDLE` Detect line 315b),
the device sends a message to the TB server 71 regarding entering
an `IDLE` state 313 in the "Notify TB" step 314a, such as by using
the established connection 111d, which is followed (shown as a line
315c) by entering the `IDLE` state 313. Preferably, the tunnel
device is selected by the TB server 71 (as part of the "Select
Tunnel" step 146) during the `IDLE` state 313, allowing for minimum
intervention or interfering with the primary tasks and
functionalities of the tunnel device.
[0598] In one example, the tunnel device connects to the TB server
71 as part of the "Initiate TB Connection" step 171, sends the
attribute value as part of the "Send Attribute Value" step 172, and
establishes the TCP connection as part of the "Establish
Connection" step 173 immediately after completing the POWER UP
state 311, as part of the shift to the ACTIVE state 312 shown as
the shift line 315a. However, in such a case, the tunnel device may
not be selected by the TB server 71 as part of the "Select Tunnel"
step 146 as long as the tunnel device has not notified the TB
server 71 in the "Notify TB" step 314a that is in the IDLE state
313. In such a case, the status of the available tunnel devices is
stored in the TB server 71, in a form of table 330 shown in FIG.
33, which is based on the table 100 shown in FIG. 10. An `IDLE`
column 102i id added, denoting by `Y" if the respective tunnel
device is in the `IDLE` state 313, and `N` if the respective tunnel
device is not in the `IDLE` state 313, such as in the `ACTIVE`
state 312. Upon receiving a message of shifting to IDLE state 313
by the "Notify TB" step 314a, the TB server 71 changes the
respective value in the IDLE column 102i to `Y`. Preferably, the TB
server 71 selects a tunnel that is in the `IDLE` state 313, as
noted by the respective value `Y` in the IDLE column 102i, such as
from the tunnel devices associated with the first row 101a, the
fourth row 101d, the fifth row 101e, and the seventh row 101g in
the example of the modified table 330.
[0599] During the `IDLE` state 313, an idle condition is
continuously monitored, and when such idle condition is not met
(shown as an `ACTIVE` Detect line 315d), the device sends a message
to the TB server 71 regarding entering an `ACTIVE` state 312 in the
"Notify TB" step 314b, such as by using the established connection
111d, which is followed (shown as a line 315e) by re-entering the
`ACTIVE` state 312. Upon receiving a message of shifting to ACTIVE
state 312 by the "Notify TB" step 314b, the TB server 71 changes
the respective value in the IDLE column 102i to `N`. Preferably,
the TB server 71 does not selects a tunnel that is in the `IDLE`
state 313, as noted by the respective value `N` in the IDLE column
102i, such as from the tunnel devices associated with the second
row 101b, the third row 101c, and the sixth row 101f in the example
of the modified table 330.
[0600] A flow chart 320 of a tunnel device that may be used only
when idling is shown in FIG. 32, corresponding to the flow chart
170 shown in FIG. 17. After establishing a connection as part of
the "Establish Connection" step 173, the tunnel device checks, as
part of the "IDLE?" step 321 if it is in the IDLE state 313. In a
case where the tunnel device is not in the IDLE state 313, such as
if it is in the ACTIVE state 312, a message notifying the
unavailability of the tunnel device to serve as a tunnel is sent to
the TB server 71 as part of a "Send Status to TB" step 322b, which
may corresponds to the "Notify TB" step 314b. In a case where the
tunnel device is in, or entering, the IDLE state 313, a message
notifying the availability of the tunnel device to serve as a
tunnel is sent to the TB server 71 as part of a "Send Status to TB"
step 322a, which may corresponds to the "Notify TB" step 314a. Upon
receiving such a notification, the TB server 71 may select the
tunnel device as part of the "Select Tunnel" step 146, and the
selected tunnel is contacted as part of the "Receive Request from
TB" step 174. Similarly, a flow chart 320a of a tunnel device that
may be used only when idling is shown in FIG. 32a, corresponding to
the flow chart 220 shown in FIG. 22.
[0601] Alternatively or in addition, the tunnel device connects to
the TB server 71, as part the "Initiate TB Connection" step 171,
when entering the IDLE state 313. For example, the "Notify TB" step
314a may correspond to the "Initiate TB Connection" step 171, so
the TB server 71 may be aware of the tunnel device availability
only when such a device is in the IDLE state 313. In such a case,
upon the sensing of the `ACTIVE` detect 315d, as part of the
"Notify TB" step 314b, the established connection 111d with the
selected tunnel device is disconnected, such as by stopping the TCP
keepalive mechanism, so that the TB server 71 is notified that the
selected tunnel device is no long available to serve as a tunnel
device.
[0602] Idle detection techniques are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.
9,244,682 to Rowles et al. entitled: "Idle detection", which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein. A set of idle conditions that includes one or more
conditions not comprising or triggered by an absence of user input
is monitored. The device is determined to be idle based at least in
part on results of the monitoring. The device may be determined not
to be idle even in the absence of recent user input. Any of the
idle detection techniques that are disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No.
9,244,682 to Rowles et al. may equally be used herein. Further, in
some embodiments, a user or administrator configurable set of idle
detection conditions applicable to the particular device and/or
desired by the user or administrator are used.
[0603] In one example, the idle condition will be based on, or use,
services or tasks provided by the operating system or other
software applications that are concurrently executed in the tunnel
device with the tunnel related flow chart or functionalities. For
example, most operating systems will display an idle task, which is
a special task loaded by the OS scheduler only when there is
nothing for the computer to do. The idle task can be hard-coded
into the scheduler, or it can be implemented as a separate task
with the lowest possible priority. An advantage of the latter
approach is that programs monitoring the system status can see the
idle task along with all other tasks; an example is Windows NT's
System Idle Process.
[0604] A screensaver (or screen saver) is a computer program that
blanks the screen or fills it with moving images or patterns when
the computer is not in use, and is typically a computer program
that displays aesthetic patterns or images when the computer is not
being used, originally intended to prevent screenburn. While the
original purpose of screensavers was to prevent phosphor burn-in on
CRT and plasma computer monitors (hence the name), though modern
monitors are not susceptible to this issue, screensavers are still
used for other purposes. Screensavers are often set up to offer a
basic layer of security, by requiring a password to re-access the
device. Some screensavers use the otherwise unused computer
resources to do useful work, such as processing for distributed
computing projects. The screensaver typically terminates after
receiving a message from the operating system that a key has been
pressed or the mouse has been moved. In one example, upon executing
an idle process or thread (by the operating system or any other
software application), or when a screensaver application is
operated, the idle condition is considered to be met, and
respectively upon terminating an idle process or the screensaver
operation, the idle condition is considered not to be met.
[0605] In one example, the idle condition is met when any
application other than a screen saver is running in "full screen"
mode (e.g., movies or video games often run in this mode), relating
to a display which covers the full screen without the operating
system's typical window-framing interface, or a window occupying
all the available display surface of a screen. Conversely, a screen
may not be powered or may be blanked, suggesting that is not
visualized by a human user. In one example, upon displaying a full
screen by a software application the idle condition is considered
not to be met, since it is assumed that the human user is watching
that screen. However, upon a blanked display or a closed (such as
non-powered) displaying, the idle condition is considered to be
met, since it is assumed that the human user is not watching in
front of the screen.
[0606] An input device, such as the input device 18 as part of the
computer system 10 shown in FIG. 1, is a piece of computer hardware
equipment used to provide data and control signals to an
information processing system such as a computer or information
appliance. Such input device may be an integrated or a peripheral
input device (e.g., hard/soft keyboard, mouse, resistive or
capacitive touch display, etc.). Examples of input devices include
keyboards, mouse, scanners, digital cameras and joysticks. Input
devices can be categorized based on the modality of input (e.g.,
mechanical motion, audio, visual, etc.), whether the input is
discrete (e.g. pressing of key) or continuous (e.g., a mouse's
position, though digitized into a discrete quantity, is fast enough
to be considered continuous), the number of degrees of freedom
involved (e.g., two-dimensional traditional mice, or
three-dimensional navigators designed for CAD applications).
Pointing devices (such as `computer mouse`), which are input
devices used to specify a position in space, can further be
classified according to whether the input is direct or indirect.
With direct input, the input space coincides with the display
space, i.e. pointing is done in the space where visual feedback or
the pointer appears. Touchscreens and light pens involve direct
input. Examples involving indirect input include the mouse and
trackball, and whether the positional information is absolute
(e.g., on a touch screen) or relative (e.g., with a mouse that can
be lifted and repositioned). Direct input is almost necessarily
absolute, but indirect input may be either absolute or relative.
For example, digitizing graphics tablets that do not have an
embedded screen involve indirect input and sense absolute positions
and are often run in an absolute input mode, but they may also be
set up to simulate a relative input mode like that of a touchpad,
where the stylus or puck can be lifted and repositioned.
[0607] In one example, the idle detection is based on receiving any
input (or change of an input) from an input device. For example, a
pre-defined time interval may be used, measured by a dedicated
timer or counter or used as a service of the operating system. In
case of no input sensed from one or more input devices during the
pre-defined time interval, the idle condition is considered to be
met. Further, the idle condition is considered not to be met upon
receiving any input from one or more of the input devices. Examples
include, without limitation, detecting receipt of a user input,
e.g., via mouse movement, touch screen interaction, button clicks,
or keyboard keystrokes. Such idle-detection methods can detect if a
human-interaction device such as a mouse, keyboard, or touch-screen
has not been used for a certain amount of time.
[0608] When portable or handheld devices are involved, the idle
condition may be considered to be met when no motion or
acceleration (or a motion or an acceleration below a set threshold)
is sensed for a pre-defined time interval, using an accelerometer,
a motion sensor, or a GPS. The motion sensor may be based on a
piezoelectric accelerometer that utilizes the piezoelectric effect
of certain materials to measure dynamic changes in mechanical
variables (e.g., acceleration, vibration, and mechanical shock).
Piezoelectric accelerometers commonly rely on piezoceramics (e.g.,
lead zirconate titanate) or single crystals (e.g., quartz,
tourmaline). Piezoelectric quartz accelerometer is disclosed in
U.S. Pat. No. 7,716,985 to Zhang et al. entitled: "Piezoelectric
Quartz Accelerometer", U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,755 to Offenberg
entitled: "Accelerometer Sensor of Crystalline Material and Method
for Manufacturing the Same" and U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,786 to Le Traon
et al. entitled: "Monolithic Accelerometric Transducer", which are
all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set
forth herein. Alternatively or in addition, the motion sensor may
be based on the Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS, a.k.a.
Micro-mechanical Electrical Systems) technology. A MEMS based
motion sensor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,617,729 to Axelrod et
al. entitled: "Accelerometer", U.S. Pat. No. 6,670,212 to McNie et
al. entitled: "Micro-Machining" and in U.S. Pat. No. 7,892,876 to
Mehregany entitled: "Three-axis Accelerometers and Fabrication
Methods", which are all incorporated in their entirety for all
purposes as if fully set forth herein. An example of MEMS motion
sensor is LIS302DL manufactured by STMicroelectronics NV and
described in Data-sheet LIS302DL STMicroelectronics NV, `MEMS
motion sensor 3-axis--.+-.2 g/.+-.8 g smart digital output
"piccolo" accelerometer`, Rev. 4, October 2008, which is
incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth
herein.
[0609] Alternatively or in addition, the motion sensor may be based
on electrical tilt and vibration switch or any other
electromechanical switch, such as the sensor described in U.S. Pat.
No. 7,326,866 to Whitmore et al. entitled: "Omnidirectional Tilt
and vibration sensor", which is incorporated in its entirety for
all purposes as if fully set forth herein. An example of an
electromechanical switch is SQ-SEN-200 available from SignalQuest,
Inc. of Lebanon, N.H., USA, described in the data-sheet `DATASHEET
SQ-SEN-200 Omnidirectional Tilt and Vibration Sensor` Updated Aug.
3, 2009, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as
if fully set forth herein. Other types of motion sensors may be
equally used, such as devices based on piezoelectric,
piezoresistive and capacitive components to convert the mechanical
motion into an electrical signal. Using an accelerometer to control
is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,774,155 to Sato et al. entitled:
"Accelerometer-Based Controller", which is incorporated in its
entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
[0610] The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based radio
navigation system owned by the United States government and
operated by the United States Air Force. It is a global navigation
satellite system that provides geolocation and time information to
a GPS receiver anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an
unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. The GPS
system does not require the user to transmit any data, and it
operates independently of any telephonic or internet reception,
though these technologies can enhance the usefulness of the GPS
positioning information. The GPS system provides critical
positioning capabilities to military, civil, and commercial users
around the world. The United States government created the system,
maintains it, and makes it freely accessible to anyone with a GPS
receiver. In addition to GPS, other systems are in use or under
development, mainly because of a potential denial of access by the
US government. The Russian Global Navigation Satellite System
(GLONASS) was developed contemporaneously with GPS, but suffered
from incomplete coverage of the globe until the mid-2000s. GLONASS
can be added to GPS devices, making more satellites available and
enabling positions to be fixed more quickly and accurately, to
within two meters. There are also the European Union Galileo
positioning system, China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System and
India's NAVIC.
[0611] The GPS concept is based on time and the known position of
specialized satellites, which carry very stable atomic clocks that
are synchronized with one another and to ground clocks, and any
drift from true time maintained on the ground is corrected daily.
The satellite locations are known with great precision. GPS
receivers have clocks as well; however, they are usually not
synchronized with true time, and are less stable. GPS satellites
continuously transmit their current time and position, and a GPS
receiver monitors multiple satellites and solves equations to
determine the precise position of the receiver and its deviation
from true time. At a minimum, four satellites must be in view of
the receiver for it to compute four unknown quantities (three
position coordinates and clock deviation from satellite time).
[0612] Each GPS satellite continually broadcasts a signal (carrier
wave with modulation) that includes: (a) A pseudorandom code
(sequence of ones and zeros) that is known to the receiver. By
time-aligning a receiver-generated version and the
receiver-measured version of the code, the Time-of-Arrival (TOA) of
a defined point in the code sequence, called an epoch, can be found
in the receiver clock time scale. (b) A message that includes the
Time-of-Transmission (TOT) of the code epoch (in GPS system time
scale) and the satellite position at that time. Conceptually, the
receiver measures the TOAs (according to its own clock) of four
satellite signals. From the TOAs and the TOTs, the receiver forms
four Time-Of-Flight (TOF) values, which are (given the speed of
light) approximately equivalent to receiver-satellite range
differences. The receiver then computes its three-dimensional
position and clock deviation from the four TOFs. In practice, the
receiver position (in three dimensional Cartesian coordinates with
origin at the Earth's center) and the offset of the receiver clock
relative to the GPS time are computed simultaneously, using the
navigation equations to process the TOFs. The receiver's
Earth-centered solution location is usually converted to latitude,
longitude and height relative to an ellipsoidal Earth model. The
height may then be further converted to height relative to the
geoid (e.g., EGM96) (essentially, mean sea level). These
coordinates may be displayed, e.g., on a moving map display, and/or
recorded and/or used by some other system (e.g., a vehicle guidance
system).
[0613] In one example, the idle condition may be considered to be
met when the communication traffic through a network interface,
such as over a PAN, LAN, WLAN, WAN or WWAN, is below a
threshold.
[0614] Portable or handheld devices, such as tablets, laptops, and
smartphones, typically use a rechargeable smart battery. A smart
battery or a smart battery pack is a rechargeable battery pack with
a built-in Battery Management System (BMS), usually designed for
use in a portable computer such as a laptop. Besides the usual plus
and minus terminals, it also has two or more terminals to connect
to the BMS; typically minus is also used as BMS "ground". BMS
interface examples are SMBus, PMBus, EIA-232, EIA-485, MIPI BIF and
Local Interconnect Network. The smarter battery can internally
measure voltage and current, and deduce charge level and SoH (State
of Health) parameters, indicating the state of the cells.
Externally the smart battery can communicate with a smart battery
charger and a "smart energy user" via the bus interface. The smart
battery can demand that the charging stops, ask for charging, or
demand that the smart energy user stop using power from this
battery. There are standard specifications for smart batteries:
Smart Battery System and many ad-hoc specifications.
[0615] A Battery Management System (BMS) is any electronic system
that manages a rechargeable battery (cell or battery pack), such as
by protecting the battery from operating outside its Safe Operating
Area, monitoring its state, calculating secondary data, reporting
that data, controlling its environment, authenticating it and/or
balancing it. A battery pack built together with a battery
management system with an external communication data bus is a
smart battery pack. A smart battery pack must be charged by a smart
battery charger. A BMS may monitor the state of the battery as
represented by various items, such as: Voltage: total voltage,
voltages of individual cells, minimum and maximum cell voltage or
voltage of periodic taps; Temperature: average temperature, coolant
intake temperature, coolant output temperature, or temperatures of
individual cells; State of Charge (SOC) or Depth of Discharge
(DOD), to indicate the charge level of the battery; State of Health
(SOH), a variously-defined measurement of the overall condition of
the battery; Coolant flow: for air or fluid cooled batteries; and
Current: current in or out of the battery.
[0616] In one example, the idle condition may be considered to be
met when, based on the BMS output, the battery capacity is above a
minimum threshold. For example, the idle condition may be
considered to be met when the current capacity of the battery is
above 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90%. In the case where the
capacity is estimated or measured to be below the set threshold,
the idle condition may be considered not to be met. Such threshold
provides for not draining the battery by using the tunnel
functionalities, rendering the device useless or powerless when the
human user may want to use it after being used for tunneling.
[0617] In the example of the state diagram 310 shown in FIG. 31,
being in an `IDLE` state 313 or in `ACTIVE` state 312 is determined
by the tunnel device itself, such as based on detecting or sensing
physical phenomenon or events, and notifying the TB server 71, such
as over the established connection, of the tunnel device determined
state. For example, a tunnel device such as tunnel device #5 33e,
may check the battery capacity and may use an associated threshold,
and then the tunnel device itself may decide that the battery
capacity is below the set threshold (e.g. 35%), and in response
shift from the `IDLE` state 313 to the `ACTIVE` 312 state, and may
notify the change over the established connection 112e described as
part of the messaging chart 110a shown in FIG. 11a. As a result,
the TB server 71 may update the tunnel device #5 33e status, such
as by updating the associated idling status as part of the related
idling column 102i in the status table 330 shown in FIG. 33.
[0618] Alternatively or in addition, while the tunnel device may
still detect, sense, or measure various parameters or phenomena
regarding its operation or the environment, the decision regarding
the tunnel device state is performed by the TB server 71. In such a
scheme, the sensing or detecting information or value is sent to
the TB server 71, such as over the established connection. For
example, the connection 112e may be used by the tunnel device #5
33e. Upon receiving the value or status information from the tunnel
device, the tunnel device state is determined by the TB server 71
itself. For example, the value of the battery capacity may be sent
by the tunnel device to the TB server 71, which apply the
comparison to a pre-set threshold for determining the state of the
tunnel device. Such mechanism allows a centralized control of the
criteria used for deciding on the tunnel devices status. For
example, in case where a criterion for idling is changed, it is
required to be updated only at a single location, at the TB server
71, and not at each of the tunnel devices. Further, the threshold,
criterion, or rules for idling may be changed in time according to
various system requirement. For example, assuming that battery
capacity of at least 50% is used as an idling criterion. In case of
having a large quantity of available tunnel devices, the threshold
may be relaxed to 55% or 60%. In contrast, in case of low quantity
of available tunnel devices (such as in a specific location), the
threshold may be reduced to 40%, rendering many tunnel devices
having battery capacity between 40% and 50% available as tunnel
devices. A tunnel device may notify the TB server 71 of the
measured or sensed value regarding a criterion for idling
periodically, upon sensing an event, as a response to a request
from the TB server 71, or any combination thereof.
[0619] A state diagram 310a shown in FIG. 31a illustrates the
idling determination by the TB server 71. A tunnel device may be in
an `IDLE` state 313a (corresponding to the `IDLE` state 313), and
generally available to server as a tunnel and to fetch a content
from a web server, such as web server 22b, or may be non-available
for tunnel functionality in an `ACTIVE` state 312a (corresponding
to the `ACTIVE` state 312). However, the determining regarding the
tunnel devices is by the TB server 71, rather than by the tunnel
device itself as exampled above.
[0620] After completing the `POWER-UP` phase 311 by the tunnel
device, a connection is established as part of a "Connection
Established" state 316, which corresponds to "Registration and
Connection" step 81 shown in FIG. 8, and further described as part
of the "Connection Handler" flow chart 140a and the tunnel flow
chart 170. As part of a "Value to TB" step 317, the tunnel device
sends a value to the TB server 71, to be used by the TB server 71
for determining the tunnel device status or state, such as `IDLE`
state 313a or `ACTIVE` state 312a. The value may correspond to a
measured physical phenomenon, such as battery capacity or available
bandwidth. Alternatively or in addition, the value may notify a
state or an event, such as a screen saver status, being in "full
screen" mode or not. The tunnel device may send multiple values
(continuous values or discrete values), that may correspond to
multiple phenomena, events, parameters, and criteria.
[0621] In one example, the value (or values) is periodically sent
from the tunnel device to the TB server 71, allowing for periodical
refreshing of the tunnel device status. In such a scheme, when the
tunnel device is in the `IDLE` state 313a (as determined by the TB
server 71), the value is measured or otherwise determined by the
tunnel device, and after a time period from the former sending, an
updated value is sent to the TB server 71 as shown in a dashed line
319b in the state diagram 310a. Similarly, when the tunnel device
is in the `ACTIVE` state 312a (as determined by the TB server 71),
the value is measured or otherwise determined by the tunnel device,
and after a time period from the former sending, an updated value
is sent to the TB server 71 as shown in a dashed line 319a in the
state diagram 310a. The time period may be at least 1 second, 2
seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2
minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2
hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3
weeks, 1 months, 2 months, or 3 months, or may be less than 2
seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2
minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2
hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3
weeks, 1 months, 2 months, or 6 months.
[0622] Alternatively or in addition, as shown in the dashed lines
319a and 319b, a value is sent to the TB server 71 as part of the
"Value to TB" step 317 upon sensing an event. Any event or
occurrence, such as relating to the tunnel device operation or
interaction with a user may be used to trigger the value sending.
For example, any event that was described to trigger an `ACTIVE
Detect` 315d or `IDLE` Detect 315b as part of the state diagram 310
may trigger a sending of an updated value.
[0623] As an alternative, or in addition to, the periodic update
and event triggered update, a tunnel device may send a value as
part of the "Value to TB" step 317 in response to a request from
the TB server 71 as part of a "Request from TB" step 318, for
example over the connection established as part of the "Connection
Established" state 316. After such request is received by the
tunnel device, a value is sent as part of the "Value to TB" step
317 as shown in a dashed line 319c. After the sent value is
received by the TB server 71, the TB server 71 determines the
tunnel device status. A criteria, such as a threshold may be used,
and the TB server 71 may decide that the value received from the
tunnel device justifies considering it as in the `IDLE` state 313a
as described by the line 319d, or justifies considering it as in
the `ACTIVE` state 312a as described by the line 319a.
[0624] A flow chart 320b of a tunnel device operation where the
idling status is determined by the TB server 71 is shown in FIG.
32b, corresponding to the flow chart 170 shown in FIG. 17 and to
the flow chart 320 shown in FIG. 32. After establishing a
connection as part of the "Establish Connection" step 173, the
tunnel device enters a "Normal Operation" state 323, where
activities that are not related to fetching content for a client
device may be performed. In case of using periodic updating of the
TB server 71 with the status of the tunnel device, corresponding to
the periodic sending value to the TB server 71 as part of the
"Value to TB" step 317 shown in the state diagram 310a, the tunnel
device periodically update the TB server 71 by sending a value as
part of a "Periodically Send value To TB" step 328. In a case where
an event based triggering is used (as an alternative or in addition
to the periodical updating), the tunnel device continuously or
periodically checks for an event or occurrence as part of an "Event
?" step 327a, and resumes normal operation state 323 if no event
has been identified. Upon identifying an event as part of the
"Event ?" step 327a, a value is sent to the TB server 71 as part of
a "Send Value To TB" step 329, which corresponds to the "Value to
TB" step 317. In a case where TB server 71 initiated update is used
(as an alternative to, or in addition to, the periodical or
event-based updating), when a request is received by the tunnel
device as part of a "Receive Value Request" step 324a, which
corresponds to the "Request from TB" step 318, the tunnel device
responds by sending a value as part of the "send Value to TB" step
324b, and afterwards resumes the normal operation 323. Upon
receiving a request for content as part of the "Receive Request
from TB" step 174, the tunnel device responds by sending the
required content as part of the "Send Content to TB" step 177,
similar to the activity as part of the flow chart 170 shown in FIG.
17.
[0625] A flow chart 320c described the operation of the TB server
71 where the idling status is determined by the TB server 71 is
shown in FIG. 32c, corresponding to the flow chart 140a shown in
FIG. 14. A value is received from a tunnel device as part of a
"Receive value" step 325b, as a response to the tunnel device
sending the value periodically as part of the "Periodically Send
Value To TB" step 328, or as a response to event-based sending as
part of the "Send Value To TB" step 329 as part of the flow chart
320b shown in FIG. 32b. The TB server 71 applies a rule or a
criterion, such as a threshold for the value received, or based on
the value itself in case of a discrete value as part of a "Change
State ?" step 326. If the result provides that the status of the
tunnel device is to be sustained, such as by staying in the `IDLE`
state 313a or in the `ACTIVE` state 312a, no change is implied and
the TB server 71 waits for another update from the tunnel device as
part of the "Receive value" step 325b. However, in case where the
TB server 71 decides, according to the rules or criteria as part of
the "Change State ?" step 326 that the tunnel device status needs
to be updated, such as from the `IDLE` state 313a to the `ACTIVE`
state 312b or vice versa, such status change is executed as part of
an "Table Update" step 329, and only afterwards the TB server 71
waits for another update from the tunnel device as part of the
"Receive Value" step 325b. In one example, the "Table Update" step
329 involves changing status associated with the tunnel device as
part of the column `IDLE` 102i in the table 330 shown in FIG. 33,
such as when changing the state to IDLE is marked as `Y`. In a case
where the value is received from the tunnel device in response to a
request initiated by the TB server 71, such request id sent to the
tunnel device as part of a "Request Value" step 325a.
[0626] As part of the "Tunnel Selection" step 83 shown as part of
the flow chart 80, or as part of the "Select Tunnel" step 146 shown
as part of the flow chart 140b, a tunnel device is selected for
fetching the requesting client device #1 31a with the requested
content from the web server 22b. In one example, the tunnel device
is selected from all available tunnels, such as from all the
tunnels that are marked as idling `Y` in the IDLE column 102i in
the table 330 (that meets the criteria, if used), that is stored in
the database 73 that is part of the Tunnel Bank Server 71. In such
a case, the all pool of available tunnel devices shares the task of
serving as tunnels, and the requested content from the web server
22b is being accessed by a diversified tunnel devices. In another
example, a single tunnel device (uniquely identified as a single IP
address) is used by the requesting client device #1 31a, so that
the web server 22b is always accessed by the same selected tunnel
device, allowing the client device #1 31a to anonymously simulate a
consistent accessing device to the web server 22b, for example for
experiencing and testing the web server 22b performance,
responsiveness, or operation over time when accessed by the same
device. For the sake of load balancing, a different tunnel device
may be selected for use with the client device #1 31a when
accessing different web servers. For example, the tunnel device #1
33a may always be used when fetching content from the web server
22b, and the tunnel device #4 33d may always be used when fetching
content from another web server, such as from the data server #1
22a.
[0627] Alternatively or in addition, a client device, such as the
client device #1 31a, may be associated with a defined group of IP
addresses, each identifying a different tunnel device. Such a
scheme allows for better manageability and control of resources. In
such a case, a tunnel device is selected from the defined group as
part of the "Tunnel Selection" step 83 shown as part of the flow
chart 80, or as part of the "Select Tunnel" step 146 shown as part
of the flow chart 140b. An example of an IP group 341 is shown as
part of a view 340 shown in FIG. 34. The IP group (designated as
GIP) includes 16 IP addresses, ranging from IP #1 341a to IP #16
341p, and includes IP #2 341b, IP #3 341c, IP #4 341d, IP #5 341e,
IP #6 341f, IP #7 341g, IP #8 341h, IP #9 341i, IP #10 341j, IP #11
341k, IP #12 341l, IP #13 341m, IP #14 341n, IP #15 341o, and IP
#16 341p. Each of the IP addresses in the group 341 may be
associated with the attributes shown in the table 330 in FIG. 33.
For example, IP #5 341e may be the IP associated with the third row
101c of the table 330, and the IP #14 341n may be the IP associated
with the seventh row 101g of the table 330. When a content request
is received from the client device #1 31a, an IP address
(designating a tunnel device) is selected only from the IP
addresses of the table 341. Preferably, when a criterion (or
multiple criteria) are associated with the client device #1 31a,
the IP addresses in the associated IP addresses group 341 are all
satisfying that criterion (or criteria), thus obviating the need to
scan and select from all the available tunnel devices in the TB
server 71.
[0628] While the IP group 341 is examples as having 16 IP
addresses, any number of addresses may be used. Further, a
different number of IP addresses may be used in different IP
groups, associated with different client devices. For example, the
IP group that is used for the client device #1 31a may include 16
IP addresses as shown in the IP group 341, while the IP group that
is used for another client device, such as client device #2 31b may
include 5 or 50 IP addresses. An IP group may include a number that
is equal or higher than 1, 2, 5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 20, 30, 50, 80,
100, 120, 150, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, or 10,000 IP
addresses. Alternatively or in addition, an IP group may include
less than 5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200,
500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 or 20,000 IP addresses. Further, a
group may be formed and defined only for a limited time for a
client device. For example, an IP group may be defined and used by
a client device for at least 1 minute, 2, minutes, 5 minutes, 10
minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10
hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 months, 2
months, or 6 months. Alternatively or in addition, an IP group may
be defined and used by a client device for less than 2 minutes, 5
minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5
hours, 10 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1
months, 2 months, 6 months, or 1 year.
[0629] As part of the "Tunnel Selection" step 83 shown as part of
the flow chart 80, or as part of the "Select Tunnel" step 146 shown
as part of the flow chart 140b, a single IP address (associated
with a specific tunnel device) is selected from the IP group 341.
In one example, the selected IP address is checked among the tunnel
devices that are idling, such as those that are marked as idling
`Y` in the IDLE column 102i in the table 330. Alternatively or in
addition, the single IP address is randomly selected from the
available and idling tunnel devices. Alternatively or in addition,
a load balancing scheme may be used, where the tunnel devices are
sequentially selected, or where the available tunnel device that
was last used earlier than all others is selected to be used.
[0630] While the tunnel device to be used is exampled to be
selected from the single group 341 that is associated with a single
client device #1 31a, further partitions of the IP group may be
used, providing for further manageability and control. In the
example shown in the view 340, the IP group 341 is further
partitioned into 3 sub-groups, designated as GIP #1 342a, GIP #2
342b, and GIP #3 342c. The sub-group GIP #1 342a includes 6 IP
addresses, namely from IP #1 341a to IP #6 341f, the sub-group GIP
#2 342b includes 5 IP addresses, namely from IP #7 341g to IP #11
341k, and the sub-group GIP #3 342c includes 5 IP addresses, namely
from IP #12 341l to IP #16 341p. The sub-groups may have equal or
different number of elements. The number of subgroups (such as GIP
#1 342a, GIP #2 342b, or GIP #3 342c) for a single group (such as
IP group 341) may be equal or more than 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12,
15, 20, 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 500, or 1,000
sub-groups. Alternatively or in addition, the number of subgroups
(such as GIP #1 342a, GIP #2 342b, or GIP #3 342c) for a single
group (such as IP group 341) may be less than 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10,
12, 15, 20, 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 500, 1,000, or
2,000 sub-groups. Each sub-group (such as GIP #1 342a, GIP #2 342b,
or GIP #3 342c) may include equal or more than 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8,
10, 12, 15, 20, 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 500, 1,000,
2,000, 5,000, or 10,000 IP addresses. Alternatively or in addition,
each sub-group may include less than 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20,
20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000,
10,000 or 20,000 IP addresses.
[0631] In the example shown in the view 340, the IP group 341 is
partitioned into mutually exclusive sub-groups, where each of the
IP addresses in the IP group 341 is included in only one of the
sub-groups. For example, each of the IP addresses in the range from
IP #1 341a to IP #6 341f is exclusively part of the sub group GIP
#1 342a, each of the IP addresses in the range from IP #7 341g to
IP #11 341k is exclusively part of the sub group GIP #2 342b, and
each of the IP addresses in the range from IP #12 341l to IP #16
341p is exclusively part of the sub group GIP #3 342c.
Alternatively or in addition, an IP address may be shared by two or
more sub-groups, as exampled in a view 340a shown in FIG. 34a. In
the example shown in the view 340a, the IP group 341 is partitioned
into 3 sub-groups, designated as GIP #4 342d, GIP #5 342e, and GIP
#6 342f. The sub-group GIP #4 342d includes 8 IP addresses, namely
from IP #1 341a to IP #8 341h, the sub-group GIP #5 342e includes 5
IP addresses, namely from IP #7 341g to IP #11 341k, and the
sub-group GIP #6 342f includes 7 IP addresses, namely from IP #10
341j to IP #16 341p. Some IP addresses are included in only a
single sub-group, such as the IP #3 341c that is exclusively part
of the sub-group GIP #4 342d and the IP #9 341i that is exclusively
part of the sub-group GIP #5 342e. In addition, one or more IP
addresses may be shared by more than one sub-group. For example,
the IP #7 341g is part of both the sub-groups GIP #4 342d and the
GIP #5 342e, and the IP #10 341j is part of both the sub-groups GIP
#6 342f and the GIP #5 342e. Such overlapping partition may provide
better utilization of the tunnel devices, while providing the
benefits of using sub-groups.
[0632] In one example, the partitioning of the IP addresses that
are part of an IP group (such as the IP group 341) into sub-groups
may be random, where the IP addresses are randomly assigned to the
various sub-groups. Alternatively or in addition, the partition may
be based on the any criteria. For example, any of the criteria
described with regard to selecting a tunnel, such as the criteria
described in the table 100 shown in FIG. 10 may be used, and in
such a scheme, the each sub-group may include all the IP addresses
relating to tunnel devices that share a specific feature,
attribute, or characteristic. In one example, each such-group may
be associated with a geographical location (relating to the column
102c in the table 100) and as such includes all the tunnel devices
in the same city, country, or continent. For example, a sub-group
GIP #1 342a may be assigned a city (such as Boston, Mass., USA
relating to the tunnel device in the row 101c) or a country (such
as France relating to the tunnel device in the row 101a), and
includes all the IP addresses associated with that city or country.
Alternatively or in addition, each such-group may be associated
with an ASN (relating to the column 102d in the table 100) and as
such includes all the tunnel devices having the same ASN.
Similarly, each such-group may be associated with a connection type
(relating to the column 102e in the table 100), may be associated
with an operating system (relating to the column 102f in the table
100), may be associated with a bandwidth (BW) (relating to the
column 102g in the table 100), or may be associated with a RTT
(relating to the column 102h in the table 100).
[0633] When sub-groups are used, the selection of a tunnel device
(as part of the "Tunnel Selection" step 83 shown as part of the
flow chart 80, or as part of the "Select Tunnel" step 146 shown as
part of the flow chart 140b) to be used for a specific request of
the client device (such as the client device #1 31a) involves two
steps: selecting the sub-group, and then selecting a tunnel device
(typically identified by its IP address) within the selected
sub-group, shown as part of a "Select Tunnel" step 146a in FIG. 35,
which corresponds to the "Tunnel Selection" step 83 shown as part
of the flow chart 80, or to the "Select Tunnel" step 146 shown as
part of the flow chart 140b. In a "Select Sub-Group" step 351 the
sub-group is first selected, and a specific single tunnel device is
selected from the selected sub-group as part of a "Select Tunnel in
Sub-Group" step 352. The sub-group selection may be random, or may
use one or more criterions as shown by a "Selection Criteria" step
353. For example, when the IP group 341 is used, in the "Select
Sub-Group" step 351 the sub-group GIP #2 342b may be selected,
followed by selecting the IP #10 341j as part of the "Select Tunnel
in Sub-Group" step 352. The selection of a tunnel device from a
sub-group as part of the "Select Tunnel in Sub-Group" step 352 may
use any selection scheme described herein, such as random
selection, or alternatively a sequential selection, preferably
based on any load balancing scheme.
[0634] In one example, as a request of the client device 31a or as
part of the TB server 71 without any specific request, a new tunnel
device may be selected. For example, a tunnel device that has never
been selected or used with the client device 31a may be used.
Similarly, a tunnel device that has never been selected and used
with the web server 22b associated with the request from the client
device 31a. Similarly, a tunnel device that has never been selected
regarding the attributes or criteria described herein may be newly
introduced and used as a response to a request. Alternatively or in
addition, a tunnel device may be selected from available tunnel
devices that have not been used with the client device 31a, with
the web server 22b, with any other attribute or criterial, or any
combination thereof, for more than a defined time period. The time
period may be at least 1 second, 2 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds,
20 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes,
20 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 1 day,
2 days, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 months, 2 months, or 3
months, or may be less than 2 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20
seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20
minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 1 day, 2
days, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 months, 2 months, or 6
months. Such a mechanism allows for refreshing the tunnels used
with a specific client device, a specific web server, any other
attribute or criteria, or any combination thereof.
[0635] Various criterions may be used for selecting a sub-group
associated with the "Selection Criteria" step 353. In the case
where each sub-group is associated with a specific feature,
attribute, or characteristic of the tunnel devices, and include IP
addresses that comply with a specific criterion or the specific
feature, attribute, or characteristic, then the request from the
client device #1 31a may include the identification of the specific
feature, attribute, or characteristic, and the sub-group is
selected to comply with the identification included in the request.
For example, in a case where the sub-group are associated with
different countries (or different ASNs), the sub-group that is
relevant to the request criterion of a specific country (or an ASN)
is selected. In an example where partitioning of the IP group 341
is country base, the GIP #1 342a may include IP addresses relating
to tunnel devices assumed to be geographically located in France,
the GIP #2 342b may include IP addresses relating to tunnel devices
assumed to be geographically located USA, and the GIP #3 342c may
include IP addresses relating to tunnel devices assumed to be
geographically located China. If the client device request includes
the criterion of tunnel devices in France, then the sub-group UPC
342a, while when the client device request includes the criterion
of tunnel devices in China, then the sub-group GIP #3 342c is
selected.
[0636] Similarly, a sequential selecting mechanism may be used,
where the sub-group are selected sequentially and in cycle. For
example, assuming only three sub-groups as described in the view
340, first the sub-group GIP #1 342a is selected, followed by
selecting the sub-group GIP #2 342b, then followed by selecting the
sub-group GIP #3 342c, and then cyclic repeating the sequence by
selecting the sub-group GIP #1 342a, and so forth. Such mechanism
provides a load balancing and a substantial probability for the
same sub-group (or the same tunnel device) to be selected.
[0637] In one example, a sub-group may be selected as part of the
"Select Sub-Group" step 351 based on timing information, such as
based on the time the client device #1 31a makes the request for
content, for example as part of the "Content Request" step 82 or
the "Send Request to SP" step 161. Similarly, the timing associated
with any action or any other step of any flow chart here may
equally be used. The time periods involved may be a month, a week,
a day of the week, an hour of a day, or a minute in an hour. In the
example of a day of a week, the partitioning may involve 7
sub-groups, each associated with a day of the week. If the request
is received on Monday, then the sub-group associated with Monday
will be selected. Similarly, when hours of the day are used, each
sub-group may be associated with one or more hours. In one example,
there may be 24 sub-groups, each associated with a specific hour of
the day. In such a case, when a request is received at 13:25, the
sub-group that is associated with the hour of 13:00-14:00 is
selected. Similarly, fewer sub-groups may be defines, each
associated with few hours. In the example shown in the view 340 in
FIG. 34, the sub-group GIP #1 342a may be assigned to a `day time`,
ranging from 07:00 to 18:00 (and selected when a request is
received in this time period), the sub-group GIP #2 342b may be
assigned to a `evening time`, ranging from 18:00 to 22:00 (and
selected when a request is received in this time period), and the
sub-group GIP #3 342c may be assigned to a `night time`, ranging
from 22:00 to 07:00 (and selected when a request is received in
this time period).
[0638] Alternatively or in addition, the criterion used as the
"Selection Criteria" 353 for selecting a sub-group relates to the
content that is requested by the client device #1 31a, for example
as part of the "Content Request" step 82 or the "Send Request to
SP" step 161. In one example, each sub-group is associated with a
specific content type, such as including a video data, an audio
data, or a web-page without any multimedia. In the example shown in
the view 340 in FIG. 34, the sub-group GIP #1 342a may be assigned
to a video data content, the sub-group GIP #2 342b may be assigned
to an audio data content, and the sub-group GIP #3 342c may be
assigned to non-multimedia content, such as simple web-pages that
only contains images and text. In the case where the requested
content is believed to include video data, the relevant sub-group
GIP #1 342a is selected as part of the "Select Sub-Group" step 351,
in the case where the requested content is believed to include
audio data, the relevant sub-group GIP #2 342b is selected as part
of the "Select Sub-Group" step 351, while in all other cases the
sub-group GIP #3 342c is selected as part of the "Select Sub-Group"
step 351.
[0639] Alternatively or in addition, the criterion used as the
"Selection Criteria" 353 for selecting a sub-group relates to the
server from which the content is requested by the client device #1
31a, for example as part of the "Content Request" step 82 or the
"Send Request to SP" step 161. Such server may be identified by an
IP address, domain name, web-site name, or an URL. Such an example
is described in a view 340b shown in FIG. 34b. The GIP #1 342a is
selected when the content requested is associated with the web-site
having a domain name www.xxx.com 342g, and is selected upon
accessing content from this domain, the GIP #2 342b is selected
when the content requested is associated with the web-site having a
domain name www.yyy.com 342h, and is selected upon accessing
content from this domain, and the GIP #3 342c is selected when the
content requested is associated with the web-site having a domain
name www.zzz.com 342i, and is selected upon accessing content from
this domain. Similarly, other identifications of the server that
stores that content may be used. For example, the GIP #1 342a is
selected when the content is requested from the data server #1 22a
identified by a first IP address, the GIP #2 342b is selected when
the content is requested from the data server #2 22b, and the GIP
#3 342c is selected when the content requested from a third data
server using its IP address. Similarly, other identifications of
the server that stores that content may be used.
[0640] While the IP group 341 is exampled in the view 340 shown in
FIG. 34 as exclusively used by a single client device (such as the
client device #1 31a), an IP group (such as the IP group 341) may
equally be shared by two or more client devices, offering better
utilization of the available tunnel devices. In such a case, the
partitioning to sub-groups may be identical for two or more client
devices, or may be different. An example of different partitioning
is described in a view 340c shown in FIG. 34c, illustrating two
client devices sharing the IP group 341. The first client device,
designated as `Customer #1` and may correspond to the client device
#1 31a described above, use the partitioning into 3 sub-groups, the
GIP #1 342a that is associated with the web-site having a domain
name www.xxx.com 342g, the GIP #2 342b that is associated with the
web-site having a domain name www.yyy.com 342h, and the GIP #3 342c
that is associated with the web-site having a domain name
www.zzz.com 342i. However, a second client device (such as client
device #2 31b) use a different partitioning into 3 sub-groups,
where one GIP (including the IP #1 341a to the IP #5 341e) is
associated with the web-site having a domain name www.zzz.com 342j,
another GIP (including the IP #6 341f to the IP #9 341i) is
associated with the web-site having a domain name www.mmm.com 342k,
and another GIP (including the IP #10 341j to the IP #16 341p) is
associated with the web-site having a domain name www.ppp.com 342l.
Preferably, there is no overlapping of IP addresses associated with
the same domain name between the two client devices. While the view
340c describes the example of sub-groups that are based on domain
names, any other partition may equally be applied.
[0641] In one example, an IP group, such as the IP group 341 shown
as part of the view 340 in FIG. 34, is defined once, and is static
and unchanged during the system operation. In such a case, the
number of, and the identity of, the IP addresses that are included
in the group, are fixed and unchanged over time. Alternatively or
in addition, an IP group may be dynamically changed over time, by
adding of, or by deleting of, IP addresses from the group.
Similarly, the partitioning into sub-groups of an IP group may be
defined once, and is static and unchanged during the system
operation. In such a case, the number of, and the identity of, the
IP addresses that are included in teach of the sub-groups, are
fixed and unchanged over time. Alternatively or in addition, the
sub-groups may be dynamically changed over time, by adding of, or
by deleting of, IP addresses from the sub-group. An allocation of
IP addresses to an IP group may be performed as part of a "Group
Allocation" step 354 illustrated in a flow chart 350a shown in FIG.
35a. When a request for content is received from a client device
that is associated with an IP group, the tunnel to be used is
selected from the IP group as part of a "Select Tunnel From Group"
step 146a, which corresponds to the "Tunnel Selection" step 83
shown as part of the flow chart 80, or to the "Select Tunnel" step
146 shown as part of the flow chart 140b.
[0642] An example of dynamically forming an IP group, such as the
IP group 341 is illustrated in a flow chart 360 shown in FIG. 36.
For a start, a single IP address, such as the IP #1 341a, is
assigned to the IP group as part of a "Assign IP #1 to GIP" step
361. Upon receiving a request for content from the client device,
as part of a "Request Received" step 366 (such as the client device
#1 31a), which is associated with the IP group, for example as part
of the "Content Request" step 82 or the "Send Request to SP" step
161. The idling status of this single tunnel device (identified by
the IP #1 341a) is checked as part of a "Check Tunnel Status" step
362, which may correspond to the idling status described relating
to the "IDLE?" step 321 in the flow chart 320. In the case as part
of a "IDLE?" step 363 the tunnel device is idling and is available
to serve as a tunnel device, this single tunnel device (identified
by the IP #1 341a) is selected as part of a "Use IP #1" step
364.
[0643] However, in the case where this single tunnel device is not
available (such as not idling), another tunnel device is suggested,
such as the one associated with the IP #2 341b. In case a criterion
is defined for the content request, the suggested tunnel device is
selected so that it satisfies the criteria. As part of a "Check
Next Tunnel Status" step 362a, the idling status of this suggested
tunnel device (identified for example by the IP #2 341b) is
checked. If it is decided as part of an "IDLE?" step 363a that the
suggested tunnel device is available for operation as a tunnel
device (such as being in an idling state), the suggested tunnel
device is added to the IP group 341 as part of an "Add Next Tunnel
to GIP" step 365, followed by using the tunnel for retrieving the
required content as part of an "Use Added Tunnel" step 364a. At
this point, the IP group 341 includes two tunnel devices, namely
the original IP #1 341a and the newly added IP #2 341b. However, in
the case where it is determined in the "IDLE?" step 363a that the
suggested tunnel device is not available as a tunnel device,
another tunnel device is suggested, and is available, the another
tunnel device is used and added to the IP group 341.
[0644] In steady state, each time a request is received as part of
the "Request Received" step 366, the process is repeated, and the
availability of a tunnel device that is already part of the IP
group is checked as part of a "Check Tunnels Status" step 362b,
which may correspond to the idling status described relating to the
"IDLE?" step 321 in the flow chart 320. In the case as part of a
"One IDLE?" step 363b one of the tunnel devices already in the
group is idling and is available to serve as a tunnel device, this
tunnel device is selected as part of a "Use Idle One" step 364a.
However, if no tunnel device in the group is found to be available,
another tunnel device is suggested, and its availability is checked
as part of the "Check Next Tunnel Status" step 362a. If it is
decided as part of an "IDLE?" step 363a that the newly suggested
tunnel device is available for operation as a tunnel device (such
as being in an idling state), the suggested tunnel device is added
to the IP group 341 as part of an "Add Next Tunnel to GIP" step
365, followed by using the tunnel for retrieving the required
content as part of an "Use Added Tunnel" step 364a. However, in the
case where it is determined in the "IDLE?" step 363a that the
suggested tunnel device is not available as a tunnel device, other
tunnel device is suggested, and if available, the other tunnel
device is used and added to the IP group 341 and will be used for
the content retrieving. Over time, after multiple iterations, the
IP group 341 will include a suitable number of IP addresses of
tunnel devices where at least one is generally expected to be
available when required.
[0645] The number of tunnel devices that may be handled by the
system may be very high, and may reach hundreds of thousands. In
order to better manage and control such large number of entities,
it may be preferable to aggregate few tunnel devices into a group
or collection, and to handle the group as a single unit, offering
better manageability. In one example, a number of IP addresses,
that identify corresponding tunnel devices in the system, are
collectively identified by a single label. The label may be any
characters set, any alphanumeric string, any number, or any other
identification. Any two labels may identify the identical same
number of IP addresses, similar number of IP addresses, or
different number of IP addresses. In one example, a label may
identify a collection of at least 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 50,
80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 300, 500, or 1,000 IP addresses.
Alternatively or in addition, a label may identify a collection of
less than 2, 3, 5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 300,
500, 1,000, or 2,000 IP addresses. Further, the format of the label
may be similar or identical to an IP address, referred herein as
Virtual IP (VIP). Preferably, each label identifies multiple IP
addresses that are associated with the same attribute, feature, or
characteristic, such as the same geographical location (relating to
the column 102c in the table 100), the same ASN (relating to the
column 102d in the table 100), the same connection type (relating
to the column 102e in the table 100), the same operating system
(relating to the column 102f in the table 100), the same bandwidth
(BW) (relating to the column 102g in the table 100), or the same
RTT (relating to the column 102h in the table 100).
[0646] An example of such a labelling scheme is illustrated in a
view 370 shown in FIG. 37, exampling the IP addresses collection
341 of 16 IP addresses. A first label VIP #1 371a identifies IP #1
341a, IP #3 341c, IP #8 341h, and IP #11 341k, a second label VIP
#12 371b identifies IP #2 341b, IP #6 341f, and IP #14 341n, a
third label VIP #3 371c identifies IP #4 341d, IP #7 341g, IP #12
341l, and IP #15 341o, and a fourth label VIP #4 371d identifies IP
#5 341e, IP #9 341i, IP #10 341j, IP #13 341m, and IP #16 341p. The
labeling may makes use of mapping table that associate a label with
its members. In some cases, such a table may be too big to handle,
and may consume substantial computing resources. Alternatively or
in addition, a function may be defined, which map each of the IP
addresses to a single label, such as a single VIP. Such a function
operation is illustrated in a view 370a shown in FIG. 37a. A
defined function map the IP #1 341a via a function operation 373a
to the VIP #1 371a, the IP #3 341c is mapped via the same function
operation 373b to the VIP #1 371a, the IP #8 341h is mapped via the
same function operation 373c to the VIP #1 371a, and similarly the
IP #11 341k is mapped via the same function operation 373d to the
VIP #1 371a.
[0647] While the IP group 341 and the sub-groups (such as GIP #1
342a or GIP #2 342b) were described in the views 340-340c (in FIGS.
34-34c) as containing IP addresses, such as IP #1 341a and IP #2
341b, which represent available tunnel devices, a group (or a
sub-group) may include labels as a substitute for, or in addition
to, specific IP addresses. An example of such a VIP group 374 is
illustrated in a view 370b shown in FIG. 37b. The VIP group is
exampled to include 14 VIP labels, ranging from a VIP #1 371a to
VIP #14 371n, and includes the labels VIP #2 371b, VIP #3 371c, VIP
#4 371d, VIP #5 371e, VIP #6 371f, VIP #7 371g, VIP #8 371h, VIP #9
371i, VIP #10 371j, V1P#11 371k, VIP #12 371l, VIP #13 371m, and
VIP #14 371n. All of, or part of, the VIP labels in the VIP group
371 may be associated with one or more of the attributes shown in
the table 330 in FIG. 33 Similarly, sub-groups may be defined to
include a collection of VIP labels, such as a GVIP #1 372a that is
shown to include the VIP #1 371a, VIP #2 371b, VIP #3 371c, VIP #4
371d, VIP #5 371e, and the label VIP #6 371f. Similarly, a second
sub-group GVIP #2 372b may be defined and may include the labels
VIP #7 371g, VIP #8 371h, and the VIP #9 371i, and a third
sub-group GVIP #3 372c may be defined and may include the labels
VIP #10 371j, VIP #11 371k, VIP #12 371l, VIP #13 371m, and the VIP
#14 371n. A VIP group (such as the VIP group 374), or a sub-group
such as the GVIP #1 372a, may include a number that is equal or
higher than 1, 2, 5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150,
200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, or 10,000 VIP labels. Alternatively
or in addition, a VIP group (such as VIP group 374), or a sub-group
such as GVIP #1 372a, may include less than 5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 20,
30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 or
20,000 VIP labels.
[0648] In one example, the mapping function (such as the function
operating as 373a, 373b, 373c and 373d) may be a hash function,
where the labels are the resulting hash values. The hash function
may include checksum, check digit, fingerprint, lossy compression,
randomization function, error-correcting code, or cipher. In one
example, the hash function (such as the function operating as 373a,
373b, 373c and 373d) may be based on, or comprises, a Secure Hash
Algorithms (SHA). In another example, the mapping function is
using, includes, or is based on, a modulo function or operation,
which assigns a remainder after division of one number by a number
N (sometimes called modulus), for example according to IEEE
standard 754-1985. In such a configuration, N is the number of
required labels for the group, a number is assigned to each tunnel
device, and the associated label is the assigned number modulo N. N
may be a number that is equal or higher than 1, 2, 5, 10, 12, 15,
20, 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000,
or 10,000 labels. Alternatively or in addition, N may be less than
5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 500, 1,000,
2,000, 5,000, 10,000 or 20,000 labels. The number assigned to each
of the tunnel device may correspond, may be based on, or may
include, any identifier of the specific tunnel device, such as the
associated tunnel device IP address, a random number, or a
sequential number according to the order of registering in the
system or the order upon which the tunnel device was first listed
as part of the database 73 of the TB server 71, or based on the
order of establishing connection with the TB server 71, such as
part of the "Establish Connection" step 173. Alternatively or in
addition, the assigned number may be based on any other attribute
of the tunnel devices as shown in the table 100, such as according
to a feature, attribute, or a characteristic, using their
associated numerical value (e.g., IP address value), or according
to their alphanumeric identifier (e.g., host name or location name
in ASCII value).
[0649] Any selecting of an element (or multiple elements) from a
collection or a group of elements herein, such as the selecting of
a tunnel device (for example, by selecting its associated IP
address) as part of the "Tunnel Selection" step 83 shown as part of
the flow chart 80 or the "Select Tunnel" step 146 shown as part of
the flow chart 140b, as well as part of a "Select Tunnel From
Group" step 146a, may be based on random, quazi-random, or
deterministic selection. Similarly, the selection of a sub-group or
a label (such as VIP label) may be based on random, quazi-random,
or deterministic selection.
[0650] Using random selection allows for load balancing, preferably
by equally distributing the workload across the elements, which may
optimize resource use, maximize throughput, minimize response time,
and avoid overload of any single resource. The randomness may be
based on using a random signal generator. The random signal
generator may be based on a digital random signal generator having
a digital output. Alternatively, the random signal generator may be
based on analog random signal generator having an analog output.
Analog random signal generator may use a digital random signal
generator whose output is converted to analog using analog to
digital converter, or can use a repetitive analog signal generator
(substantially not synchronized to any other timing in the system)
whose output is randomly time sampled by a sample and hold. A
random signal generator (having either analog or digital output)
can be hardware based, using a physical process such as thermal
noise, shot noise, nuclear decaying radiation, photoelectric effect
or other quantum phenomena, or can be software based, using a
processor executing an algorithm for generating pseudo-random
numbers which approximates the properties of random numbers.
[0651] Alternatively or in addition, the selection may be
deterministic based. In one example, the elements to select from
are listed in an orderly fashion, such as according to a feature,
attribute, or a characteristic, using their associated numerical
value (e.g., IP address value), according to their alphanumeric
identifier (e.g., host name or location name in ASCII value),
according to the order that joined the collection or group, or
according to the order they were formerly selected from the group
or collection. In such a case, the elements are sequentially
selected according to the list order. In one example, a LIFO (last
in first out) like scheme may be used, where the lastly selected
entity is re-selected, and upon its unavailability, the one entity
that was selected before the last is selected. Alternatively or in
addition, a FIFO (first in first out) like scheme is used, where
the oldest formerly selected entity selected.
[0652] In order to better control or manage the large number of
potential tunnel devices, tunnel groups may be defined. A tunnel
group may include more than 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000,
5000, or 10,000 different tunnel devices (or different IP
addresses) that may be used for tunneling as described herein.
Alternatively or in addition, a group may include less than 20, 50,
100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 or 20,000 different tunnel
devices or different IP addresses. A tunnel group may be identified
by a tunnel group identifier, so that the tunnel list memory 73
associate a tunnel group identifier to all the members in that
group. In one example, the data base storing the tunnel device
identifiers, such as the table 330, further includes a column
associating each potential tunnel device to its tunnel group, such
as by the tunnel group identifier. In one example, the tunnel
groups are non-overlapping, where a tunnel device may be included
only in a single tunnel group. Alternatively or in addition, a
tunnel device may be included in multiple groups. Preferably, the
tunnel devices in a tunnel group share the same value (or values or
a value range). For example, a tunnel group may include only
potential tunnel devices that are associated with the same ASN, as
defined in the Column ASN 102d in the table 330. In another
example, a tunnel group may include only potential tunnel devices
that are associated with the same geographical location, such as
being in the same country or city, as defined in the Geographical
Location column 102c in the table 330.
[0653] As described herein, as part of the "Send Request to SP"
step 161, the client device 31a may influence the selected tunnel
by defining an attribute type and an attribute value (or values or
a value range). Further, as part of the "Send Tunnel IP to SP" step
161a, the client device 31a may select a specific tunnel device
that will be used for the specific content fetching. In a case
where tunnel groups are defined, the client device 31a may, as part
of the "Send Request to SP" step 161, select a tunnel group by
using its tunnel group identifier. In such a case, the SP server 72
forwards the received tunnel group identifier to the TB server 71,
which in turn selects as part of the "Select Tunnel" step 146 (such
as by random selection or by any orderly selection) a tunnel device
from the defined group. For example, the TB server 71 may identify
the available tunnel devices from the group, such as by identifying
those devices (or IP addresses) having a respective `Y` value in
the "IDLE" column 102i, and select from these available to be used
tunnel devices (such as by random selection or by any orderly
selection). In such a way, the client device 31a may repeatedly
select from the same tunnel group, allowing for better control and
management of the selected tunnel devices. Such mechanism may
further be used to emulate to the web server 22b a consistency of
content fetched from a group of tunnel devices that share an
attribute vale (such as an ASN or a geographical location). An
example of using tunnel groups is attached in vipdb.js,
customer.js, and vipdb_make.js files. Further, IP allocation of
data center IPs is described in the attached code ip_alloc.js, IP
allocation for customer of data center IPs is described in the
attached code vip_alloc.js, and IP/vIP allocation for customers is
described in the attached code using ip_alloc.js and
vip_alloc.js.
[0654] In one example, the database that include the IP list 341,
the sub-group lists (such as VIP #1 371a and the VIP #2 371b), the
labels list 374, the label groups (such as the GVIP #1 372a and the
GVIP #2 372b), or any combination thereof, that is associated with
a one of, multiple of, or each one of all of, the client devices
(such as the client device #1 31a), is stored in the TB server 71,
for example as part of the database 73. In such a case, the
selecting a tunnel device from the group, the selecting a
sub-group, or the selecting a tunnel device from the sub-group, is
also performed by the TB server 71, as part of the "Select Tunnel"
step 146 as part of the flow chart 140b that is performed by the TB
server 71, and may include part of, or all of, the "Select Tunnel"
step 146a shown in the FIG. 35, or the flow chart 350a shown in
FIG. 35a.
[0655] Alternatively or in addition, the selecting a tunnel device
from the group, the selecting a sub-group, or the selecting a
tunnel device from the sub-group, as well as the storing of the
database that include the IP list 341, the sub-group lists (such as
VIP #1 371a and the VIP #2 371b), the labels list 374, or the label
groups (such as the GVIP #1 372a and the GVIP #2 372b), or any
combination thereof, that is associated with a one of, multiple of,
or each one of all of, the client devices (such as the client
device #1 31a), is performed by the SP server 72.
[0656] The examples above illustrated a TB server 71 that is
involved in the tunnel registration and connection, such as part of
the "Registration and Connection" step 81, as well as in the tunnel
selection, such as part of the "Tunnel Selection" step 83. For
example, the flow chart 140 shown in FIG. 14 describes the
Connection handler flow chart 140a, dealing with the registration
and tracking, such as by updating a tunnels table, and the
selecting of a tunnel for serving a client request as part of the
Request Handler flow chart 140b. Alternatively or in addition, the
selecting of a tunnel to serve a content request from the client
device 31a may be handled, in whole or in part, by the SP server
72. In such a scheme, the full list, or part thereof, of the
available tunnels that may be used, is made available to the SP
server by the TB server 71. The tunnel selecting, such as part of
the "Select Tunnel" step 146 shown in FIG. 14, as part of the
"Select Tunnel" step 146 shown as part of the Selection Handler 201
in FIG. 20, or as part of the "Select Tunnel" flow chart 146a shown
in FIG. 35, is performed by the SP server 72, as a substitute for,
or in addition to, the TB server 71.
[0657] In one example, the full list, or a part thereof, of the
available tunnels, is periodically sent to update the SP server 72,
shown as a data path 382 in a messaging chart 380 shown in FIG. 38.
Such updating may take place at least any 1 second, 2 seconds, 5
seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5
minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5
hours, 10 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1
months, 2 months, or 3 months, or less than 2 seconds, 5 seconds,
10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes,
10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10
hours, 1 day, 2 days, 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 months, 2
months, or 6 months. Alternatively or in addition, the list update
may be provided by a request from the SP server 72, shown as a data
path 382 in the messaging chart 380. For example, such request may
be initiated by the SP server 72 upon receiving one or more
requests (such as above pre-set threshold) from the client devices,
or upon using many tunnel devices (such as above pre-set
threshold).
[0658] In case where the tunnels list stored by the TB server 71 is
composed of groups, as described above, the TB server 71 may only
send to the SP server 72 selected groups of the list. For example,
only frequently used groups may be updated or sent to the SP server
72. Further, the SP server 72 may request, such as by using the
request data path 381, one or more groups according to a specific
criteria or attributes, similar or identical to the criteria or
attributes as described above regarding the selection by the client
device 31a.
[0659] A flow chart 140'a shown in FIG. 39, which corresponds to
the flow chart 140a shown in FIG. 14, describes the operation of
the TB server 71 in a scenario where the tunnel selection is
performed by the SP server 72. A part of, or whole of, the tunnels
table is sent to the SP server 72 as part of a "Send Table to SP"
step 391, which may correspond to the data path 382. Such updating
may be performed periodically, or as a response to a request from
the SP server 72 as part of a "Table Request from SP" step 392
(which may correspond to the request path 381). Further, the
available tunnels updating of the SP server 72 as part of the "Send
Table to SP" step 391 may be initiated by the TB server 71 itself,
such as based on number of changes in the table, for example after
exceeding a pre-set threshold number of changes in tunnel devices
status, such as number of tunnel devices added to the table, number
of tunnel devices removed from the table, or any combination
thereof.
[0660] A flow chart 390a shown in FIG. 39a, which corresponds to
the flow chart 210 shown in FIG. 21, describes the operation of the
SP server 72 in a scenario where the tunnel selection is performed
by the SP server 72. The full list of available tunnel devices, or
a part thereof, is received as part of a "Receive Group from TB
Server" step 394, which may correspond to the data path 382 shown
in the messaging chart 380. After receiving a request from the
client device 31a (that may include criteria or attribute for the
tunnel selecting) as part of the "Receive Request from Client" step
151, the SP server 72 select a tunnel for fetching the requested
content as part of the "Select Tunnel" step 146'. The receipt of
the list of available tunnels may be initiated by the SP server 72
as part of a "Send Request to TB Server" step 393, which may
correspond to the data path 381 shown in the messaging chart 380.
While the TB server 71 is exampled above to perform the opening of
connection with the selected tunnel, such connection opening and
establishing may be performed (as an alternative for, or in
addition to the TB server 71) by the SP server 72 itself, as shown
in the flow chart 390b shown in FIG. 39b.
[0661] The examplary arrangement 130 shown in FIG. 13 above, as
well as other examples herein, involves selecting of a single
tunnel device, such as the tunnel device #4 33d, for fetching the
required content from the web server 22b to the requesting client
31a. Alternatively or in addition, multiple tunnel devices may be
selected for fetching the same content from the same web server
22b. The selecting of redundant multiple tunnel devices may be used
for increasing the fetching resiliency and reliability, since in
case where one of the selected tunnel devices is unable to fetch
the required content, still the requested content may be fetched by
another selected tunnel device. For example, a selected tunnel
device may become unavailable by transferring, such as by detecting
non-idling activity 315d, to the ACTIVE state 312 active from the
IDLE state 313, as described in the state diagram 310 shown in FIG.
31. Alternatively or in addition, the selected tunnel device may be
switched off by a user, or become faulty. Similarly, the connection
links or the message transfers involved in the fetching of the
content, such as the each of message path 131b to the selected
tunnel device #4 33d, the content request 131c to the web server
22b, the web server reply 131d, or the content transfer 131e to the
TB server 71, may become faulty or otherwise unavailable, rendering
the selected tunnel device #4 33d unavailable for such content
fetching. Further, the web server 22b may block the tunnel device
#4 33d from accessing any content in general, or the requested
content in particular, thus again rendering the selected tunnel
device #4 33d unavailable for the required content fetching.
Further, using selecting multiple tunnel devices and using them in
parallel may accelerate the fetching operation by using the first
content that is fetched, and discarding the others that may be
received later. Such mechanism allows for using the quickest
tunnel, and thus improved the total responsiveness for the content
request. When using multiple tunnel devices, the "Tunnel Selection"
step 83 shown as part of the flow chart 87 in FIG. 8 includes
selecting multiple tunnel devices for the same "Content Request"
step 82, and each of the selected tunnel devices is used as part of
"Using Tunnel" step 84 shown as part of the flow chart 87 in FIG.
8.
[0662] The number of tunnel devices that may be selected for a
specific single content request may me equal to, or more than, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 60, 70, or
100. Alternatively or in addition, the number of tunnel devices
that may be selected for a specific single content request may be
less than 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50,
60, 70, 100, or 150. Preferably, the selected tunnels may be
selected based on the same criterions, be part of the same group,
or associated with the same label. Further, the selection or the
using of the multiple tunnel devices may be partly or fully in
parallel. Alternatively or in addition, the selection or the using
of the multiple tunnel devices may be sequential. Further, the
selection or the using of the multiple tunnel devices may be a
combination of parallel and sequential steps. For example, the
selection mechanism may be sequential, where a first tunnel device
is selected, and only afterwards a second one is selected, followed
by a third one to be selected. Alternatively, the multiple tunnels
are selected together. Further, the process of selecting a second
tunnel may be initiated only after the first tunnel was selected
and the content request was sent thereto, to be followed by
selecting a third tunnel only after the second tunnel was selected
and the content request was sent thereto. Each of the selected
tunnel devices may execute part of, or whole of, the tunnel device
related functionalities, steps, or methods, such as the flow chart
170 shown in FIG. 17, the flow chart 220 shown in FIG. 22, the flow
chart 240b shown in FIG. 24b, the flow chart 240c shown in FIG.
24c, the flow chart 300 shown in FIG. 30, the flow charts 300-320a
shown in FIGS. 30-32a, or any combination thereof. The execution of
such related functionalities, steps, or methods, may be executed in
parallel, or sequentially, with the other selected tunnels.
[0663] An example of using two tunnel devices for fetching the same
content from the same web server 22b is shown in a messaging chart
400 shown in FIG. 40, which corresponds to the messaging chart 130
shown in FIG. 13. In addition to fetching the content by using the
selected tunnel device #4 33d, the TB server 71 further selects the
tunnel device #1 33a, as an example, as another tunnel device to be
used. In parallel to, or after, the tunnel device #4 33d is
selected and accessed for the content. Upon completing the
selection of the tunnel #1 33a, the TB server 71 forwards the
requested content identification to the selected tunnel #1 33a,
shown as a message path 411a in the messaging chart 400 shown in
FIG. 40. Such communication uses the established connection (such
as the TCP connection) that was established during the
"Registration and Connection" phase 81. The message sent over the
message path 411a may use a proprietary protocol, agreed upon
between the two communicating nodes. Preferably, the HTTP, HTTPS,
Socket Secure (SOCKS), WebSocket (ws), which may be WebSocket
Secure (wss), or HTTP Proxy protocol may be used, where the TB
server 71 executes a server side protocol, and the tunnel #1 31a
executes a client side protocol. Alternatively or in addition, the
TB server 71 may executes a client side protocol, and the tunnel #1
31a may execute a server side protocol.
[0664] In response to the request message 411a, the selected tunnel
#1 33a sends a request for the identified content to the
appropriate server that stores the required content, exampled to be
the web server 22b, shown as a message path 411b in the messaging
chart 400b in FIG. 40. Thus, the "Using Tunnel" phase 84 is
completed where the request arrives at the content source, namely
the web server 22b. The message sent over the message path 411b may
use a proprietary protocol, agreed upon between the two
communicating nodes. Preferably, the HTTP or HTTPS protocol may be
used, where the web server 22b executes a server side protocol, and
the tunnel #1 33a may execute a client side protocol. Further, any
tunneling protocol or mechanism may be used where the selected
tunnel, which is the tunnel #1 33a in the example herein, serves as
a tunnel between the TB server 71 and the web server 22b.
[0665] The requested content is then fetched from the web server
22b to the requesting client 31a, as part of the "Content Fetching"
phase 85, along the `opposite` route of the request flow. As shown
in a messaging chart 400 shown in FIG. 40, the content is first
sent from the web server 22b to the selected tunnel #1 33a along a
message path 411c, which in turn sends it to the TB server 71 along
a message path 411d, which in turn sends it to the SP server 72
along a message path 131f, arriving at the requesting client 31a
along a message path 131g, completing the second request/response
cycle from the client device 31a point of view. The protocol or
protocols, as well as the messages format, or any other attribute
or functionality involved with the using of the tunnel device #1
33a may be identical, similar, or different, from the corresponding
protocols or message formats used as part of employing the tunnel
device #4 33d. For example, the content request path 411a relating
to employing the tunnel device #1 33a may be identical, similar, or
different, from the corresponding request path 131b relating to the
employing the tunnel device #4 33d. In one example, the content
request path 411a may use Socket Secure (SOCKS) based protocol,
while the corresponding request path 131b may use, or may be based
on, HTTP Proxy protocol. In case of selecting and using more than
two tunnel devices as exampled in the messaging chart 400, each the
process of fetching content from each such selected device may be
identical, similar, or different from any other.
[0666] A "Request Handler" flow chart 140'b shown in FIG. 41 is
based on the "Request Handler" flow chart 140b, where multiple
tunnel devices are selected and used. In this example, three tunnel
devices, designated as #a, #b, and #c, are selected and used. For
example, the tunnel device #a may correspond to the tunnel device
#4 33d, and the tunnel device #b may correspond to the tunnel
device #1 33a, as illustrated in the messaging scheme 400 in FIG.
40. Instead of selecting a single tunnel device as illustrated by
the "Select Tunnel" step 146 shown in the flowchart 140b in FIG.
14, three different or distinct tunnel devices are selected as part
of a "Select Tunnel #a" step 146a, a "Select Tunnel #b" step 146b,
and a "Select Tunnel #c" step 146c. Each of these selecting steps
may be identical, similar, or different from, the "Select Tunnel"
step 146 shown in the flowchart 140b in FIG. 14, or any other
selecting step described herein. After the selecting, instead of
employing a single tunnel device as illustrated by the "Send
Request to Tunnel" step 147 shown in the flowchart 140b in FIG. 14,
three distinct or different requests are sent to the three selected
tunnel devices, as part of a "Send Request to Tunnel #a" step 147a,
a "Send Request to Tunnel #b" step 147b, and a "Send Request to
Tunnel #c" step 147c. Each of these request sending steps may be
identical, similar, or different from, the "Send Request to Tunnel"
step 147 shown in the flowchart 140b in FIG. 14, or any other
request sending step described herein.
[0667] While in the flow chart 140b shown in FIG. 14 the TB server
71 waits for a single response from the single selected tunnel
device, the "Request Handler" flow chart 140'b shown in FIG. 41
waits for three responses, one from each of the three selected
tunnel devices, in response to the "Send Request to Tunnel #a" step
147a, the "Send Request to Tunnel #b" step 147b, and the "Send
Request to Tunnel #c" step 147c, as part of a "Receive Content from
Tunnels" step 148a. In case where the three selected tunnel devices
are operative and available to serve as tunnel devices, three
(typically identical) responses are expected, one from each of the
selected tunnel device. However, in case of a failure or
unavailability of one (or more) of the tunnel devices, no response
is expected within a pre-defined time period. A handling of the
responses is performed as part of a "Select Tunnel Response" step
411. For example, for sake of speedy response, the first received
response, via the quickest fetching path, is used for sending to
requesting client device 31a, such as via the SP server 72, as part
of the "Send Content to SP" step 149. In such a case, the two later
received responses may be discarded.
[0668] In one example, the "Select Tunnel #a" step 146a, the
"Select Tunnel #b" step 146b, and the "Select Tunnel #c" step 146c,
may be performed, in whole or in part, in parallel. Alternatively
or in addition, these selecting steps may be performed
sequentially. Similarly, the "Send Request to Tunnel #a" step 147a,
the "Send Request to Tunnel #b" step 147b, and the "Send Request to
Tunnel #c" step 147c, may be performed, in whole or in part, in
parallel. Alternatively or in addition, these request sending steps
may be performed sequentially. An example of a sequential operation
is illustrated in a flow chart 140''b shown in FIG. 41a. In such a
scheme, only after the completion of the selection of all of the
tunnel devices they are used for fetching the content. As shown,
after the first tunnel device is selected as part of the "Select
Tunnel #a" step 146a, the second one is selected as part of the
"Select Tunnel #b" step 146b, followed by selecting the third
tunnel device as part of the "Select Tunnel #c" step 146c. After
the selection is completed, the first selected tunnel device is
used as part of the "Send Request to Tunnel #a" step 147a, followed
by using the second selected one as part of the "Send Request to
Tunnel #b" step 147b, and then followed by fetching using the third
selected tunnel device as part of the "Send Request to Tunnel #c"
step 147c.
[0669] While the messaging chart 400 shown in FIG. 40 illustrated
the scenario where the fetched content is routed via the TB server
71 based on the messaging chart 130 shown in FIG. 13, the NAT
traversal scheme may be equally used for a scenario of multiple
tunnel devices. Such a messaging chart 420 is shown in FIG. 42,
based on the chart 190b shown in FIG. 19b. In addition to fetching
the content by using the selected tunnel device #4 33d, the TB
server 71 further selects the tunnel device #2 33b, as an example,
as another tunnel device to be used. In parallel to, or after, the
tunnel device #4 33d is selected and accessed for the content. Upon
completing the selection of the tunnel #2 33b, the TB server 71
forwards the requested content identification to the selected
tunnel #2 33b, shown as a message path 421a in the messaging chart
420 shown in FIG. 42.
[0670] In response to the request message 421a, the selected tunnel
#2 33b sends a request for the identified content to the
appropriate server that stores the required content, exampled to be
the web server 22b, shown as a message path 421b in the messaging
chart 420 in FIG. 42. Thus, the "Using Tunnel" phase 84 is
completed where the request arrives at the content source, namely
the web server 22b. The message sent over the message path 421b may
use a proprietary protocol, agreed upon between the two
communicating nodes. Preferably, the HTTP or HTTPS protocol may be
used, where the web server 22b executes a server side protocol, and
the tunnel #2 33b may execute a client side protocol. Further, any
tunneling protocol or mechanism may be used where the selected
tunnel, which is the tunnel #2 33b in the example herein, serves as
a tunnel between the TB server 71 and the web server 22b.
[0671] The requested content is then fetched from the web server
22b to the requesting client 31a, as part of the "Content Fetching"
phase 85, along the `opposite` route of the request flow. As shown
in a messaging chart 420 shown in FIG. 42, the content is first
sent from the web server 22b to the selected tunnel #2 33b along a
message path 421c, which in turn sends it to the SP server 72 along
a message path 421d, which in turn sends it to the requesting
client 31a along a message path 131g, completing the second
request/response cycle from the client device 31a point of view.
The protocol or protocols, as well as the messages format, or any
other attribute or functionality involved with the using of the
tunnel device #2 33b may be identical, similar, or different, from
the corresponding protocols or message formats used as part of
employing the tunnel device #4 33d. For example, the content
request path 421a relating to employing the tunnel device #2 33b
may be identical, similar, or different, from the corresponding
request path 131b relating to the employing the tunnel device #4
33d. In one example, the content request path 421a may use Socket
Secure (SOCKS) based protocol, while the corresponding request path
131b may use, or may be based on, HTTP Proxy protocol. In case of
selecting and using more than two tunnel devices as exampled in the
messaging chart 420, each the process of fetching content from each
such selected device may be identical, similar, or different from
any other.
[0672] The TB server 71 operation in a NAT transversal scheme is
shown in a flow chart 420a shown in FIG. 42a, based on the
corresponding flow chart 201 shown in FIG. 20. As part of
processing a content request from the client device 31a, the TB
server 71 receives from the SP server 72, over the message path
131'a shown in the messaging chart 420, criteria (or a criterion)
for selecting a tunnel device to be used for delivering the
requested content, as part of a "Receive Criteria from SP" step
202. While as part of the "Receive Request from SP" step 145 that
is part of the flow chart 140b the TB server 71 was also notified
of the identification of the requested content, such identification
is not required in this alternative scheme, since the TB server 71
is no longer part of the actual content request and fetching data
paths. In one example, the same message, including also the content
identification is sent from the SP server 72 to the TB server 71
over the message path 131'a, so that the "Receive Criteria from SP"
step 202 may be rendered to be the same as the "Receive Request
from SP" step 145 described above. Instead of selecting a single
tunnel device as part of the step 146 in the flow chart 201, the TB
server 71 select multiple tunnels (such as two in the example of
the messaging chart 420) as part of a "Select Multiple Tunnels"
step 146', followed by connecting and directing the selected tunnel
devices as part of the "Connect and Direct Tunnels" step 203', in
which each tunnel is handled according to the "Connect and Direct
Tunnel" step 203.
[0673] The operation of the SP server 72 in a NAT traversal scheme
using three tunnel devices for fetching the same content from the
same web server 22b is described in a flow chart 420b shown in FIG.
42, which corresponds to the flow chart 210 shown in FIG. 21. The
three tunnel devices are designated #a, #b, and #c. While exampled
using three tunnel devices, any number of tunnel devices may
equally be used. Instead of sending the request to a single
selected tunnel device as described regarding the "Send Request to
Tunnel" step 215 in the flow chart 210, the three selected tunnel
devices are used as part of a "Send Request to Tunnel #a" step
215a, a "Send Request to Tunnel #b" step 215b, and a "Send Request
to Tunnel #c" step 215c. The content fetched from the three tunnels
is received as part of a "Receive Content from Tunnels" step 216a
(corresponding to the "Receive Content from Tunnel" step 216 in the
flow chart 210), and one of the responses, such as the first one
received, is selected as part of the "Select Tunnel Response" step
411. In one example, the using of two (or three) multiple tunnel
devices as part of the "Send Request to Tunnel #a" step 215a, the
"Send Request to Tunnel #b" step 215b, and the "Send Request to
Tunnel #c" step 215c, may be partly or fully in parallel.
Alternatively or in addition, the using of the multiple tunnel
devices may be sequential. An example of sequential operation is
illustrated in a flow chart 420c shown in FIG. 42c. In this scheme,
the "Send Request to Tunnel #b" step 215b is initiated only after
the "Send Request to Tunnel #a" step 215a is completed, and the
"Send Request to Tunnel #c" step 215c is initiated only after the
"Send Request to Tunnel #b" step 215b is completed.
[0674] As exampled above, the requesting client 31a sends a request
for content, and the SP server 72, the TB server 71, or any
combination thereof, select and use multiple tunnel devices for
fetching the requesting client device 31a the required content.
Alternatively or in addition, the requesting client itself may
initiate the using of multiple tunnels for the same requested
content, as an alternative or in addition to the SP server 72, the
TB server 71, or the combination thereof. In such a configuration,
the client device 31a may initiate multiple requests for the same
content, and the system (such as the SP server 72, the TB server
71, or any combination thereof) treats each such request as a
separate and independent request, and as such selects and uses a
different single tunnel device for each request. Thus, the system
executes multiple times the URL fetch flow chart 87 shown in FIG.
8, where the same content request is involved in the "Content
Request" step 82. Alternatively or in addition, the system (such as
the SP server 72, the TB server 71, or any combination thereof) may
select and use multiple different tunnel devices for each request,
according to, or based on, any multiple tunnel selection or using
scheme described herein, or any combination thereof. Such repeating
mechanism for the same content requested may be used by the client
device 31a to ensure that indeed the proper content is received,
and there are no errors or mistakes in the system operation. For
example, if the same content is indeed fetched as response to the
multiple identical requests, it may be used as an indication that
the proper content was received in response to the request.
[0675] The number of requests for the same content by a client
device may me equal to, or more than, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
12, 15, 20, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 60, 70, or 100. Alternatively or in
addition, the number of requests for the same content by a client
device may be less than 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30,
35, 40, 45, 50, 60, 70, 100, or 150. Preferably, the requests may
use the same tunnel selection criterions, be part of the same
group, or associated with the same label. Alternatively or in
addition, the requests may use the different tunnel selection
criterions, be part of different groups, or be associated with
different labels. Further, the requests for the same content by a
client device may be partly or fully in parallel. Alternatively or
in addition, the requests for the same content by a client device
may be sequential. Further, the requests for the same content by a
client device may be a combination of parallel and sequential
steps. For example, the requesting mechanism may be sequential,
where a first request is performed, and only afterwards a second
one is performed, followed by a third one to be performed.
Alternatively, the requests are processed together. Further, the
second request may be initiated only after the first request was
completed, to be followed by a third request after the second one
is completed. Each of the requests may execute part of, or whole
of, the client device request related functionalities, steps, or
methods, such as the flow chart 160 shown in FIG. 16, the flow
chart 160a shown in FIG. 16a, the flow chart 260 shown in FIG. 26,
the flow chart 390b shown in FIG. 39b, or any combination thereof.
The execution of such related functionalities, steps, or methods,
may be executed in parallel, or sequentially, with the other
selected tunnels.
[0676] An example of using two requests for the same content by the
requesting client 31a is illustrated in a messaging chart 430 shown
in FIG. 43. As exampled herein, a first request over the path 121a
is directed to the tunnel device #4 33d that relays the request to
the web server 22b over the path 131c, and the path 131d describes
the content path as a response of the web server 22b to the tunnel
device #4 33d. The fetched content is then relayed (such as by
using the SP proxy 72, the TB server 71, or any combination
thereof) to the requesting client 31a over the data path 131g.
Sequentially or in parallel, the client 31a may submit to the SP
server 72 (over a data path 121'a) another request to the same
content. The second request shown as the data path 121'a may be
identical to the first one sent over the data path 121a, or may be
different, such as providing different rules or criterions for
selecting a tunnel device for serving the request. The second
request over the path 121'a may be directed to the same, or to a
different tunnel device, such as the tunnel device #2 33b that
relays the request to the web server 22b over a data path 421d, and
a data path 421c describes the content path as a response of the
web server 22b to the tunnel device #2 33b. The fetched content is
then relayed (such as by using the SP proxy 72, the TB server 71,
or any combination thereof) to the requesting client 31a over a
data path 131'g.
[0677] An example of sending three content requests for the same
content by the client device 31a is illustrated in a flow chart
430a shown in FIG. 43a. As part of a "Define Request" step 431, the
content request, intended to be used with multiple requests for the
same content, is defined and prepared. Then three different
requests are sent designated as #1, #2, and #3, where a first
request is sent as part of a "Send Request #1" step 161a, a second
request (for the same content as request #1) is sent as part of a
"Send Request #2" step 161b, in parallel or sequential to the first
request, and a third request (for the same content as request #1)
is sent as part of a "Send Request #3" step 161c, in parallel or
sequential to the first or second request. The three instances of
the same content are fetched and received as part of a "Receive
Content from SP" step 162a, and the content to be actually used by
the client device 31a is selected in a "Select Response" step 411a.
For example, the first received content may be used, while the
other received later are discarded. In another example, the first
two content instances received are checked to include the same
content, and only then the content is used. Alternatively or in
addition, the client device 31a may use sequential operation, where
the requests for the same content are sequentially submitted, where
a request is sent only after a content of a former request is
obtained, as exampled in a flow chart 430b shown in FIG. 43b. A
first request is sent as part of the "Send Request #1" step 161a,
and the client device 31a waits until the content is received in
response to the first request #1 as part of a "Receive Content #1"
step 162b. At this stage, the client device 31a may use this
fetched content as part of the "Select response" step 411a, as
shown by the dashed line 432a. Alternatively or in addition, in
response to receiving the response as part of the "Receive Content
#1" step 162b, the client device 31a may initiate another request
for the same content as part of a "Send Request #2" step 161b, and
waits for a response as part of a "Receive Content #2" step 162c.
At this stage, the client device 31a may use this second fetched
content as part of the "Select response" step 411a, as shown by the
dashed line 432b, or may select between the first and second
responses. In one example, the received content may be used only if
both fetched content are the same. Alternatively or in addition, in
response to receiving the response as part of the "Receive Content
#2" step 162c, the client device 31a may initiate a third request
for the same content as part of a "Receive Content #3" step 162d.
Alternatively or in addition, in response to receiving the response
as part of the "Receive Content #2" step 162c, the client device
31a may initiate a third request for the same content as part of a
"Send Request #3" step 161c, and waits for a response as part of a
"Receive Content #3" step 162d. At this stage, the client device
31a may use this third fetched content as part of the "Select
response" step 411a, as shown by the dashed line 432c, or may
select between the first, second, and third responses (if
different, for example).
[0678] A redundancy scheme is exampled herein in the messaging
chart 400 where two tunnels (tunnel #1 33a and tunnel #4 33d) are
used for fetching the same content from the same web server 22b.
Similarly, a redundancy scheme is exampled herein in the flow chart
410 where three tunnels (designated #a, #b, and #c) are used for
fetching the same content from the same web server 22b. Further, a
redundancy may employ multiple requests from the client device 31a,
wherein each request may use a different tunnel, a different data
path, or both, as described in the flow chart 430a. Further, a
redundancy may be used by employing multiple data paths or multiple
components. Such a redundancy may be used in order to improve the
accuracy, reliability, or availability. The redundancy may be
further implemented where two or more components may be used for
the same functionality. The components may be similar,
substantially or fully the same, identical, different,
substantially different, or distinct from each other, or any
combination thereof. The redundant components may be concurrently
operated, allowing for improved robustness and allowing for
overcoming a single point of failure (SPOF), or alternatively one
or more of the components serves as a backup. The redundancy may be
a standby redundancy, which may be `Cold Standby` and `Hot
Standby`. In the case three redundant components are used, Triple
Modular Redundancy (TMR) may be used, and Quadruple Modular
Redundancy (QMR) may be used in the case of four components. A 1:N
Redundancy logic may be used for three or more components.
[0679] Deciding which unit is correct, such as by the TB server 71
receiving multiple content responses from selected multiple tunnel
devices, or by the client device 31a when using multiple content
requests, may be challenging if only two units are used. If more
than two units are used, the problem is simpler, usually the
majority wins or the two that agree win. In N Modular Redundancy,
there are three main typologies: Dual Modular Redundancy, Triple
Modular Redundancy, and Quadruple Redundancy. Quadruple Modular
Redundancy (QMR) is fundamentally similar to TMR but using four
units instead of three to increase the reliability. The obvious
drawback is the 4.times. increase in system cost.
[0680] Dual Modular Redundancy (DMR) uses two functional equivalent
units, thus either can control or support the system operation. The
most challenging aspect of DMR is determining when to switch over
to the secondary unit. Because both units are monitoring the
application, a mechanism is needed to decide what to do if they
disagree. Either a tiebreaker vote or simply the secondary unit may
be designated as the default winner, assuming it is more
trustworthy than the primary unit. Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR)
uses three functionally equivalent units to provide a redundant
backup. This approach is very common in aerospace applications
where the cost of failure is extremely high. TMR is more reliable
than DMR due to two main aspects. The most obvious reason is that
two "standby" units are used instead of just one. The other reason
is that in a technique called diversity platforms or diversity
programming may be applied. In this technique, different software
or hardware platforms are used on the redundant systems to prevent
common mode failure. The voter decides which unit will actively
control the application. With TMR, the decision of which system to
trust is made democratically and the majority rules. If three
different answers are obtained, the voter must decide which system
to trust or shut down the entire system, thus the switchover
decision is straightforward and fast.
[0681] Another redundancy topology is 1:N Redundancy, where a
single backup is used for multiple systems, and this backup is able
to function in the place of any single one of the active systems.
This technique offers redundancy at a much lower cost than the
other models by using one standby unit for several primary units.
This approach only works well when the primary units all have very
similar functions, thus allowing the standby to back up any of the
primary units if one of them fails. While the redundant data paths,
content requests, or selected tunnel devices, have been exampled
with regard to the added reliability and availability, redundant
data paths may as well be used in order to provide higher
aggregated data rate, allowing for faster response and faster
transfer of data over the multiple data paths.
[0682] Each of the devices denoted herein as servers, such as the
SP server 72, the TB server 71, the web server 22b, or the
dedicated tunnel 33a (when implemented as a server), may function
as a server in the meaning of client/server architecture, providing
services, functionalities, and resources, to other devices
(clients), commonly in response to the clients' request. Each of
the server devices may further employ, store, integrate, or operate
a server-oriented operating system, such as the Microsoft Windows
Server.RTM. (2003 R2, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, or 2012 R2 variant),
Linux.TM. (or GNU/Linux) variants (such as Debian based: Debian
GNU/Linux, Debian GNU/kFreeBSD, or Debian GNU/Hurd, Fedora.TM.,
Gentoo.TM., Linspire.TM., Mandriva, Red Hat.RTM. Linux available
from Red Hat, Inc. headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., U.S.A.,
Slackware.RTM., SuSE, or Ubuntu.RTM.), or UNIX.RTM., including
commercial UNIX.RTM. variants such as Solaris.TM. (available from
Oracle Corporation headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., U.S.A.),
AIX.RTM. (available from IBM Corporation headquartered in Armonk,
N.Y., U.S.A.), or Mac.TM. OS X (available from Apple Inc.
headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., U.S.A.), or free variants such
as FreeBSD.RTM., OpenBSD, and NetBSD.RTM.. Alternatively or in
addition, each of the devices denoted herein as servers, may
equally function as a client in the meaning of client/server
architecture.
[0683] Devices that are not denoted herein as servers, such as
client devices (such as the client device 31a) or any of the tunnel
devices (including the dedicated tunnel 33a when implemented as a
server), may typically function as a client in the meaning of
client/server architecture, commonly initiating requests for
receiving services, functionalities, and resources, from other
devices (servers or clients). Each of the these devices may further
employ, store, integrate, or operate a client-oriented (or
end-point dedicated) operating system, such as Microsoft
Windows.RTM. (including the variants: Windows 7, Windows XP,
Windows 8, and Windows 8.1, available from Microsoft Corporation,
headquartered in Redmond, Wash., U.S.A.), Linux, and Google Chrome
OS available from Google Inc. headquartered in Mountain View,
Calif., U.S.A. Further, each of the these devices may further
employ, store, integrate, or operate a mobile operating system such
as Android (available from Google Inc. and includes variants such
as version 2.2 (Froyo), version 2.3 (Gingerbread), version 4.0 (Ice
Cream Sandwich), Version 4.2 (Jelly Bean), and version 4.4
(KitKat), iOS (available from Apple Inc., and includes variants
such as versions 3-7), Windows.RTM. Phone (available from Microsoft
Corporation and includes variants such as version 7, version 8, or
version 9), or Blackberry.RTM. operating system (available from
BlackBerry Ltd., headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada).
Alternatively or in addition, each of the devices that are not
denoted herein as servers, may equally function as a server in the
meaning of client/server architecture.
[0684] The method and system described herein allows for a client
device (such as the client device 31a operation described in the
flow chart 160 in FIG. 16 or the flow chart 160a in FIG. 16a) to
effectively fetch content from a data server (such as the web
server 22b). The method and system may be used by the client device
for supporting an application, such as a web browser application,
when the application is requesting a content from the Internet in
general, and from a data server in particular. The request for
Internet-related content may be intercepted by the `client`
application and process, initiating the client flowchart 160 shown
in FIG. 16, or the flowchart 160a shown in FIG. 16a. In one
example, the client device uses a communication-related application
to be used by the application when no `client` application is
present, such as HTTP stack handling application. The request from
the requesting application to the communication-related application
is intercepted and routed to be handled as part of the `client`
application or process. Such interception may be in the form of a
filter driver (or any other intermediate driver), enabling the
interception as part of the OS kernel. Alternatively or in
addition, the interception may be in the form of extension or a
plug-in of the requesting application, such as a browser plug-in or
a browser extension in the case where the application is a web
browser. Alternatively or in addition, the interception of the
request may use hooking of the requesting application or of the
communication-related application. Alternatively or in addition,
the application and the steps described herein may communicate
using an Inter-Process Communication (IPC), such as a file sharing,
a signal, a socket, a pipe, a message queue, a shared memory, a
semaphore, or memory mapped file. In Windows environment, the IPC
may be based on a clipboard, a Component Object Model (COM), a data
copy, a DDE protocol, or mailslots.
[0685] Examples of web browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer
(available from Microsoft Corporation, headquartered in Redmond,
Wash., U.S.A.), Google Chrome which is a freeware web browser
(developed by Google, headquartered in Googleplex, Mountain View,
Calif., U.S.A.), Opera.TM. (developed by Opera Software ASA,
headquartered in Oslo, Norway), and Mozilla Firefox.RTM. (developed
by Mozilla Corporation headquartered in Mountain View, Calif.,
U.S.A.). The web-browser may be a mobile browser, such as Safari
(developed by Apple Inc. headquartered in Apple Campus, Cupertino,
Calif., U.S.A), Opera Mini.TM. (developed by Opera Software ASA,
headquartered in Oslo, Norway), and Android web browser.
[0686] Any communication between any two nodes may use the Socket
Secure (SOCKS), WebSocket (ws), which may be WebSocket Secure
(wss), or HTTP Proxy protocol. Further, any communication between
any two nodes may use the HTTP or HTTPS protocol. In one example, a
communication between the client device 31a or any tunnel device
(such as the tunnel #1 33a, the tunnel #2 33b, the tunnel #3 33c,
the tunnel #4 33d, or the tunnel #5 33e) and any server, such as
the TB server 71, the SP server 72, or the Web Server 22b, may use
the SOCKS, WebSocket or HTTP Proxy protocol, wherein the respective
device, such as the client device 31a or the tunnel device,
executes the respective SOCKS, WebSocket or HTTP Proxy client side
protocol, and the respective server executes the respective SOCKS,
WebSocket or HTTP Proxy server side protocol. Alternatively or in
addition, the respective device, such as the client device 31a or
the tunnel device, executes the respective SOCKS, WebSocket or HTTP
Proxy server side protocol, and the respective server executes the
respective SOCKS, WebSocket or HTTP Proxy client side protocol.
Further, a communication between the client device 31a or any
tunnel device (such as the tunnel #1 33a, the tunnel #2 33b, the
tunnel #3 33c, the tunnel #4 33d, or the tunnel #5 33e) and any
server, such as the TB server 71, the SP server 72, or the Web
Server 22b, may use the HTTP (or HTTPS) protocol, wherein the
respective device, such as the client device 31a or the tunnel
device, executes the HTTP (or HTTPS) client side protocol, and the
respective server executes the HTTP (or HTTPS) server side
protocol. Alternatively or in addition, the respective device, such
as the client device 31a or the tunnel device, executes the HTTP
(or HTTPS) server side protocol, and the respective server executes
the HTTP (or HTTPS) client side protocol.
[0687] The term `network element` (or `element`) or `network node`
(or `node`) is used herein to include, but not limited to, the
client device 31a, a tunnel device (such as the tunnel device #1
33a), the SP server 72, the TB server 71, or a web server (such as
the web server #1 22a). Any memory, storage, database, or cache
mentioned herein may consist of, comprise, use, or be included in,
the local cache as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,135,912 to the
Shribman et al., entitled: "System and Method of Increasing Cache
Size".
[0688] Any device, component, or apparatus herein, may be
structured as, may be shaped or configured to serve as, or may be
integrated with, a wearable device. In one example, any one or more
of the tunnel devices herein, such as the tunnel device #1 33a, the
tunnel device #2 33b, or the tunnel device #3 33c, may consists of,
may comprise, may be integrated with, or may be part of, a wearable
device. Similarly, any one or more of the client devices herein,
such as the client device #1 31a, or the client device #2 31b, may
consist of, may comprise, may be integrated with, or may be part
of, a wearable device. Any wearable device or any apparatus or
device herein may be wearable on an organ such as on the person
head, and the organ may be eye, ear, face, cheek, nose, mouth, lip,
forehead, or chin. Alternatively or in addition, wearable device or
any apparatus or device herein may be constructed to have a form
substantially similar to, may be constructed to have a shape
allowing mounting or wearing identical or similar to, or may be
constructed to have a form to at least in part substitute for,
headwear, eyewear, or earpiece. Any headwear herein may consist of,
may be structured as, or may comprise, a bonnet, a headband, a cap,
a crown, a fillet, a hair cover, a hat, a helmet, a hood, a mask, a
turban, a veil, or a wig. Any eyewear herein may consist of, may be
structured as, or may comprise, glasses, sunglasses, a contact
lens, a blindfold, or a goggle. Any earpiece herein may consist of,
may be structured as, or may comprise, a hearing aid, a headphone,
a headset, or an earplug. Alternatively or in addition, any
enclosure herein may be permanently or releaseably attachable to,
or may be part of, a clothing piece of a person. The attaching may
use taping, gluing, pinning, enclosing, encapsulating, a pin, or a
latch and hook clip, and the clothing piece may be a top, bottom,
or full-body underwear, or a headwear, a footwear, an accessory, an
outwear, a suit, a dress, a skirt, or a top.
[0689] Any system or device herein may use a virtualization. Any
system or device herein may further comprise a Virtual Machine (VM)
executing a virtualized application. Any device herein, or any part
thereof, such as the client device, the web server, at least one of
the tunnel devices, the first server, or the second server, may be
implemented as virtual hardware as part of the VM. At least one of
any action or step herein by any device may be executed as part of
the virtualized application.
[0690] Any network herein may be used with a virtualization, and
any network herein may be executed as a virtualized network as part
of a Virtual Machine (VM). The virtualization may be implemented by
a host computer that may implement the VM, and any method herein
may further comprise executing, by the host computer, a hypervisor
or a Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM), and the virtualized may use or
interface virtual hardware. Any virtualization herein may include,
may be based on, or may use, full virtualization,
para-virtualization, or hardware assisted virtualization. For
example, any communication between two entities selected from a
group consisting of the client device, the web server, at least one
of the multiple tunnel devices, the first server, and the second
server, may be executed as a virtualized network as part of a
Virtual Machine (VM).
[0691] Any method herein, any step herein, any flow-chart herein,
or any part thereof, may be used with a virtualization, and at
least one of the steps or methods herein may be executed as part of
a virtualized application as part of a Virtual Machine (VM). Any
device herein, such as the analyzer device, the first device, or
any part thereof, may be implemented as virtual hardware. Any
virtualization herein may be used with an host computer that
implement the VM, and may further comprising executing, by the host
computer, a hypervisor or a Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM). Any
virtualized application herein or any or hardware virtualization
herein may use or may interface virtual hardware. Any
virtualization herein may include, may be based on, or may use,
full virtualization, para-virtualization, or hardware assisted
virtualization.
[0692] Any operating system herein may be used with a
virtualization, and any operating system herein may be executed as
a guest operating system as part of a Virtual Machine (VM). The
virtualization may be implemented by a host computer that may
implement the VM, and any method herein may further comprise
executing, by the host computer, a hypervisor or a Virtual Machine
Monitor (VMM), and the guest operating system may use or interface
virtual hardware. Any such virtualization herein may include, may
be based on, or may use, full virtualization, para-virtualization,
or hardware assisted virtualization.
[0693] Any element or entity herein, such as the client device, the
web server, at least one of the multiple tunnel devices, the first
server, and the second server, may be implemented as virtualized
entity. Any virtualization may include, may be based on, or may
use, desktop virtualization, network virtualization, storage
virtualization, application virtualization, server virtualization,
or any combination thereof. Further, any virtualization herein may
include, may be based on, or may use, full virtualization,
para-virtualization, or hardware assisted virtualization. Further,
any virtualization herein may include, may be based on, or may use,
a virtual machine (VM) on a host computer that executes a
hypervisor or Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM), and the operating
system may be a guest operating system that may use or interface a
virtual hardware.
[0694] Any method herein may be used with a virtualization, where
at least one of the steps may be executed as part of a virtualized
application as part of a Virtual Machine (VM). Alternatively or in
addition, the client device or any part thereof, the web server or
any part thereof, at least one of the multiple tunnel devices or
any part thereof, the first server or any part thereof, or the
second server or any part thereof, may be implemented as virtual
hardware. Further, any method herein may be used with a host
computer that may implement the VM, and any method herein may
further comprise executing, by the host computer, a hypervisor or a
Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM), and any virtualized application
herein or any hardware herein may use or may interface virtual
hardware. Any virtualization herein may include, may be based on,
or may uses, full virtualization, para-virtualization, or hardware
assisted virtualization. At least two devices that may be selected
from a group consisting of the client device, the web server, at
least one of the multiple tunnel devices, the first server, and the
second server, may be implemented as virtual hardware, and the at
least two devices may be virtualized by the same host computer that
implements the VM.
[0695] The steps described herein may be sequential, and performed
in the described order. For example, in a case where a step is
performed in response to another step, or upon completion of
another step, the steps are executed one after the other. However,
in case where two or more steps are not explicitly described as
being sequentially executed, these steps may be executed in any
order, or may be simultaneously performed. Two or more steps may be
executed by two different network elements, or in the same network
element, and may be executed in parallel using multiprocessing or
multitasking.
[0696] For example, any two actions or steps of sending, any two
actions or steps of receiving, any two actions or steps of
selecting, any two actions or steps of processing, or any
combination thereof, may be performed in full or in part in
parallel by the same entity (e.g., server, client, or tunnel) or
separated entities, using multitasking or multiprocessing.
Similarly, any steps of sending and receiving, sending and
selecting, sending and processing, receiving and selecting,
receiving and processing, or any combination thereof, may be
performed in full or in part in parallel by the same entity (e.g.,
server, client, or tunnel) or separated entities, using
multitasking or multiprocessing.
[0697] A tangible machine-readable medium (such as a storage) may
have a set of instructions detailing part (or all) of the methods
and steps described herein stored thereon, so that when executed by
one or more processors, may cause the one or more processors to
perform part of, or all of, the methods and steps described herein.
Any of the network elements may be a computing device that
comprises a processor and a computer-readable memory (or any other
tangible machine-readable medium), and the computer-readable memory
may comprise computer-readable instructions such that, when read by
the processor, the instructions causes the processor to perform the
one or more of the methods or steps described herein.
[0698] Any part of, or the whole of, any of the methods described
herein may be provided as part of, or used as, an Application
Programming Interface (API), defined as an intermediary software
serving as the interface allowing the interaction and data sharing
between an application software and the application platform,
across which few or all services are provided, and commonly used to
expose or use a specific software functionality, while protecting
the rest of the application. The API may be based on, or according
to, Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) standard, defining
the API along with command line shells and utility interfaces for a
software compatibility with variants of Unix and other operating
systems, such as POSIX.1-2008 that is simultaneously IEEE STD.
1003.1.TM.--2008 entitled: "Standard for Information
Technology--Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX.RTM.)
Description", and The Open Group Technical Standard Base
Specifications, Issue 7, IEEE STD. 1003.1.TM., 2013 Edition.
[0699] Any server, client, tunnel, or other device herein, such as
the SP server 72, the TB server 71, the client device 31a, the
tunnel device #1 33a, the tunnel device #2 33b, the tunnel device
#3 33c, the tunnel device #4 33d, the tunnel device #5 33e, or any
combination thereof, may execute any part of, or whole of, any one
or more of the JavaScript program code of the modules, subroutines,
programs, or functions included in any of the U.S. Provisional
Application Ser. No. 62/550,834, which was filed on Aug. 28, 2017,
U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/563,157, which was filed
on Sep. 26, 2017, U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/624,208,
which was filed on Jan. 31, 2018, U.S. Provisional Application Ser.
No. 62/684,211, which was filed on Jun. 13, 2018, or any
combination thereof.
[0700] Any server, client, tunnel, or other device herein, such as
the SP server 72, the TB server 71, the client device 31a, the
tunnel device #1 33a, the tunnel device #2 33b, the tunnel device
#3 33c, the tunnel device #4 33d, the tunnel device #5 33e, or any
combination thereof, may comprise any element or functionality, or
may execute any step, method, or action, described in the
"BACKGROUND" section above, including in any of the documents
incorporated therein.
[0701] Any device or network element herein may comprise, consists
of, or include a Personal Computer (PC), a desktop computer, a
mobile computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet
computer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld
device, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a cellular
handset, a handheld PDA device, an on-board device, an off-board
device, a hybrid device, a vehicular device, a non-vehicular
device, a mobile or portable device, a non-mobile or a non-portable
device. Further, any device or network element herein may comprise,
consist of, or include a major appliance (white goods) and may be
an air conditioner, dishwasher, clothes dryer, drying cabinet,
freezer, refrigerator, kitchen stove, water heater, washing
machine, trash compactor, microwave oven and induction cooker. The
appliance may similarly be a `small` appliance such as TV set, CD
or DVD player, camcorder, still camera, clock, alarm clock, video
game console, HiFi or home cinema, telephone or answering
machine.
[0702] Any system or apparatus herein may further be operative for
storing, operating, or using, an operating system. Any system
herein may comprise a Virtual Machine (VM) for virtualization, and
the operating system may be executed as a guest operating system.
Any system herein may further comprise a host computer that
implements the VM, and the host computer may be operative for
executing a hypervisor or a Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM), and the
guest operating system may use or may interface virtual hardware.
Any virtualization herein, such as any operating system
virtualization, may include, may be based on, or may use, full
virtualization, para-virtualization, or hardware assisted
virtualization.
[0703] The term `host` or `network host` is used herein to include,
but not limited to, a computer or other device connected to a
computer network, such as the Internet. A network host may offer
information resources, services, and applications to users or other
nodes on the network, and is typically assigned a network layer
host address. Computers participating in networks that use the
Internet Protocol Suite may also be called IP hosts, and computers
participating in the Internet are called Internet hosts, or
Internet nodes. Internet hosts and other IP hosts have one or more
IP addresses assigned to their network interfaces. The addresses
are configured either manually by an administrator, automatically
at start-up by means of the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(DHCP), or by stateless address autoconfiguration methods. Network
hosts that participate in applications that use the client-server
model of computing, are classified as server or client systems.
Network hosts may also function as nodes in peer-to-peer
applications, in which all nodes share and consume resources in an
equipotent manner.
[0704] The arrangements and methods described herein may be
implemented using hardware, software or a combination of both. The
term "software integration" or any other reference to the
integration of two programs or processes herein, is used herein to
include, but not limited to, software components (e.g., programs,
modules, functions, processes, etc.) that are (directly or via
another component) combined, working or functioning together or
form a whole, commonly for sharing a common purpose or set of
objectives. Such software integration can take the form of sharing
the same program code, exchanging data, being managed by the same
manager program, executed by the same processor, stored on the same
medium, sharing the same GUI or other user interface, sharing
peripheral hardware (such as a monitor, printer, keyboard and
memory), sharing data or a database, or being part of a single
package. The term "hardware integration" or integration of hardware
components is used herein to include, but not limited to, hardware
components that are (directly or via another component) combined,
working or functioning together or form a whole, commonly for
sharing a common purpose or set of objectives. Such hardware
integration can take the form of sharing the same power source (or
power supply) or sharing other resources, exchanging data or
control (e.g., by communicating), being managed by the same
manager, physically connected or attached, sharing peripheral
hardware connection (such as a monitor, printer, keyboard and
memory), being part of a single package or mounted in a single
enclosure (or any other physical collocating), sharing a
communication port, or used or controlled with the same software or
hardware. The term "integration" herein is used herein to include
as applicable, but not limited to, a software integration, a
hardware integration, or any combination thereof.
[0705] Any networking protocol may be utilized for exchanging
information between the network elements (e.g., clients, tunnels,
peers, servers) within the network (such as the Internet). For
example, it is contemplated that communications can be performed
using TCP/IP. Generally, HTTP and HTTPS are utilized on top of
TCP/IP as the message transport envelope. These two protocols are
able to deal with firewall technology better than other message
management techniques. However, partners may choose to use a
message-queuing system instead of HTTP and HTTPS if greater
communications reliability is needed. A non-limiting example of a
message queuing system is IBM's MQ-Series or the Microsoft Message
Queue (MSMQ). The system described hereinafter is suited for both
HTTP/HTTPS, message-queuing systems, and other communications
transport protocol technologies. Furthermore, depending on the
differing business and technical requirements of the various
partners within the network, the physical network may embrace and
utilize multiple communication protocol technologies. Any network
herein, such as the first network or the second network, may be
implemented as a virtualized network as part of a Virtual Machine
(VM). Any system herein may comprise a host computer that
implements the VM. The host computer may further be operative for
executing a hypervisor or a Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM). Any
virtualized network herein may use or may interface virtual
hardware. Any virtualization herein may include, may be based on,
or may use, full virtualization, para-virtualization, or hardware
assisted virtualization.
[0706] The term "port" refers to a place of access to a device,
electrical circuit or network, where energy or signal may be
supplied or withdrawn. The term "interface" of a networked device
refers to a physical interface, a logical interface (e.g., a
portion of a physical interface or sometimes referred to in the
industry as a sub-interface--for example, such as, but not limited
to a particular VLAN associated with a network interface), and/or a
virtual interface (e.g., traffic grouped together based on some
characteristic--for example, such as, but not limited to, a tunnel
interface). As used herein, the term "independent" relating to two
(or more) elements, processes, or functionalities, refers to a
scenario where one does not affect nor preclude the other. For
example, independent communication such as over a pair of
independent data routes means that communication over one data
route does not affect nor preclude the communication over the other
data routes.
[0707] Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with various
devices, network elements, and systems, for example, a Personal
Computer (PC), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop
computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a server
computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, a Personal
Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a cellular handset, a handheld PDA
device, an on-board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device, a
vehicular device, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portable
device, a non-mobile or non-portable device, a wireless
communication station, a wireless communication device, a wireless
Access Point (AP), a wired or wireless router, a wired or wireless
modem, a wired or wireless network, a Local Area Network (LAN), a
Wireless LAN (WLAN), a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), a Wireless
MAN (WMAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Wireless WAN (WWAN), a
Personal Area Network (PAN), a Wireless PAN (WPAN), devices and/or
networks operating substantially in accordance with existing IEEE
802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11k, 802.11n, 802.11r,
802.16, 802.16d, 802.16e, 802.20, 802.21 standards and/or future
versions and/or derivatives of the above standards, units and/or
devices which are part of the above networks, one way and/or
two-way radio communication systems, cellular radio-telephone
communication systems, a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone,
a Personal Communication Systems (PCS) device, a PDA device which
incorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portable
Global Positioning System (GPS) device, a device which incorporates
a GPS receiver or transceiver or chip, a device which incorporates
an RFID element or chip, a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO)
transceiver or device, a Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO)
transceiver or device, a Multiple Input Single Output (MISO)
transceiver or device, a device having one or more internal
antennas and/or external antennas, Digital Video Broadcast (DVB)
devices or systems, multi-standard radio devices or systems, a
wired or wireless handheld device (e.g., BlackBerry, Palm Treo), a
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) device, or the like.
[0708] While the communication sessions between the elements
herein, such as between servers and clients, are exampled to be
over the Internet 113 using Internet Protocol (IP) or TCP/IP, any
other communication protocols may be equally used, such as a Local
Area Network (LAN), a Wireless LAN (WLAN), a Metropolitan Area
Network (MAN), a Wireless MAN (WMAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a
Wireless WAN (WWAN), a Personal Area Network (PAN), a Wireless PAN
(WPAN), devices and/or networks operating substantially in
accordance with existing IEEE 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g,
802.11k, 802.11n, 802.11r, 802.16, 802.16d, 802.16e, 802.20, 802.21
standards. For example, each of, or all of, the communication path
111a between the tunnel device #1 33a and the TB server 71, the
communication path 111b between the tunnel device #2 33b and the TB
server 71, the communication path 111c between the tunnel device #3
33c and the TB server 71, the communication path 111d between the
tunnel device #4 33d and the TB server 71, and the communication
path 111e between the tunnel device #5 33e and the TB server 71,
may use any one of the protocols associated with a Local Area
Network (LAN), a Wireless LAN (WLAN), a Metropolitan Area Network
(MAN), a Wireless MAN (WMAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Wireless
WAN (WWAN), a Personal Area Network (PAN), a Wireless PAN (WPAN),
devices and/or networks operating substantially in accordance with
existing IEEE 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11k, 802.11n,
802.11r, 802.16, 802.16d, 802.16e, 802.20, 802.21 standards.
Similarly, each of, or all of, the communication path 121a between
the client device 31a and the SP server 72, the communication path
131a between the SP server 72 and the TB server 71, the
communication path 131c or 131d between the tunnel device #4 33d
and the web server 22b, and the communication path 191 or 192
between the SP server 72 and the tunnel device #4 33d, may use a
Local Area Network (LAN), a Wireless LAN (WLAN), a Metropolitan
Area Network (MAN), a Wireless MAN (WMAN), a Wide Area Network
(WAN), a Wireless WAN (WWAN), a Personal Area Network (PAN), a
Wireless PAN (WPAN), devices and/or networks operating
substantially in accordance with existing IEEE 802.11, 802.11a,
802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11k, 802.11n, 802.11r, 802.16, 802.16d,
802.16e, 802.20, 802.21 standards.
[0709] As used herein, the terms "program", "programmable", and
"computer program" are meant to include any sequence or human or
machine cognizable steps which perform a function. Such programs
are not inherently related to any particular computer or other
apparatus, and may be rendered in virtually any programming
language or environment including, for example, C/C++, Fortran,
COBOL, PASCAL, assembly language, markup languages (e.g., HTML,
SGML, XML, VoXML), and the likes, as well as object-oriented
environments such as the Common Object Request Broker Architecture
(CORBA), Java.TM. (including J2ME, Java Beans, etc.) and the likes,
as well as in firmware or other implementations. Generally, program
modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data
structures, etc., that performs particular tasks or implement
particular abstract data types. The term "application program"
(also referred to as `application`, `software application`, or
`application software`) is used herein to include, but not limited
to, a computer program designed to perform a specific function
directly for a user, or for another application program.
Application software is typically a set of one or more programs
designed to carry out operations for a specific application.
Commonly, an application software is dependent on system software
that manages and integrates computer capabilities, but does not
directly perform tasks that benefit the user, such as an operating
system, to execute. Examples of types of application software may
include accounting software, media players, and office suites.
Applications may be bundled with the computer and its system
software, or may be published separately, and further may be
developed and coded as a proprietary, or as an open-source,
software. Most applications are designed to help people perform an
activity.
[0710] The terms "task" and "process" are used generically herein
to describe any type of running programs, including, but not
limited to a computer process, task, thread, executing application,
operating system, user process, device driver, native code, machine
or other language, etc., and can be interactive and/or
non-interactive, executing locally and/or remotely, executing in
foreground and/or background, executing in the user and/or
operating system address spaces, a routine of a library and/or
standalone application, and is not limited to any particular memory
partitioning technique. The steps, connections, and processing of
signals and information illustrated in the figures, including, but
not limited to any block and flow diagrams and message sequence
charts, may typically be performed in the same or in a different
serial or parallel ordering and/or by different components and/or
processes, threads, etc., and/or over different connections and be
combined with other functions in other embodiments, unless this
disables the embodiment or a sequence is explicitly or implicitly
required (e.g., for a sequence of reading the value, processing the
value--the value must be obtained prior to processing it, although
some of the associated processing may be performed prior to,
concurrently with, and/or after the read operation). Where certain
process steps are described in a particular order or where
alphabetic and/or alphanumeric labels are used to identify certain
steps, the embodiments are not limited to any particular order of
carrying out such steps. In particular, the labels are used merely
for convenient identification of steps, and are not intended to
imply, specify or require a particular order for carrying out such
steps. Furthermore, other embodiments may use more or less steps
than those discussed herein. They may also be practiced in
distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by
remote processing devices that are linked through a communications
network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules
may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
[0711] The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and
equivalents of all means plus function elements in the claims below
are intended to include any structure, or material, for performing
the function in combination with other claimed elements as
specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has
been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is
not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the
form disclosed. The present invention should not be considered
limited to the particular embodiments described above, but rather
should be understood to cover all aspects of the invention as
fairly set out in the attached claims. Various modifications,
equivalent processes, as well as numerous structures to which the
present invention may be applicable, will be readily apparent to
those skilled in the art to which the present invention is directed
upon review of the present disclosure.
[0712] All publications, standards, patents, and patent
applications cited in this specification are incorporated herein by
reference as if each individual publication, patent, or patent
application were specifically and individually indicated to be
incorporated by reference and set forth in its entirety herein.
[0713] Any of the arrangements or actions described herein (or any
part thereof) may be implemented as a system, a method, and/or a
computer program product. The computer program product may include
a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer
readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to
carry out aspects of the present invention. The computer readable
storage medium may be a tangible device that can retain and store
instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The
computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not
limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage
device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage
device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination
of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples
of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a
portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory
(RAM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), an Erasable Programmable Read-Only
Memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a Static Random Access Memory
(SRAM), a portable Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), a
Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a
mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised
structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and
any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable
storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being
transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely
propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves
propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g.,
light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical
signals transmitted through a wire.
[0714] Any computer readable program instructions described herein
may be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a
computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or
external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a
local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network.
Any network herein may comprise copper transmission cables, optical
transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls,
switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter
card or network interface in each computing/processing device
receives computer readable program instructions from the network
and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage
in a computer readable storage medium within the respective
computing/processing device.
[0715] Computer readable program instructions for carrying out
operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions,
Instruction-Set-Architecture (ISA) instructions, machine
instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware
instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object
code written in any combination of one or more programming
languages, including an object oriented programming language such
as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural
programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or
similar programming languages. The computer readable program
instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on
the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on
the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on
the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote
computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type
of network mentioned herein. In some embodiments, electronic
circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry,
Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), or Programmable Logic Arrays
(PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by
utilizing state information of the computer readable program
instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to
perform aspects of the present invention.
[0716] Aspects of the various arrangements described herein with
reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of
methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products
according to embodiments of the invention. Further, each block of
the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations
of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, may
be implemented by computer readable program instructions.
[0717] Any computer readable program instructions or steps herein
may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer,
special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing
apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which
execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable
data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the
functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram
block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may
also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can
direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or
other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the
computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein
comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which
implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart
and/or block diagram block or blocks. The computer readable program
instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable
data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of
operational steps to be performed on the computer, other
programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer
implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on
the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device
implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or
block diagram block or blocks.
[0718] The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate
the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible
implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products
according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this
regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent
a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one
or more executable instructions for implementing the specified
logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the
functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in
the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in
fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may
sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the
functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of
the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations
of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can
be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that
perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations
of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
[0719] Any program described herein may be identified based upon
the application for which they are implemented in a specific
embodiment of the invention. However, it should be appreciated that
any particular program nomenclature herein is used merely for
convenience, and thus the invention should not be limited to use
solely in any specific application identified and/or implied by
such nomenclature.
* * * * *
References