Abstract: A user may merely need to specify various states of transactions and actions to be performed upon reaching a state for the corresponding transaction, and a front end block may automatically perform an action when the corresponding state is reached. Each action may indicate any necessary movement of data to a new storage portion. As a result, a programmer can be shielded from various details (e.g., which database to store the data in, data format conversions) in (developing the code for) processing the transactions.

Abstract: A networking environment in which a sequence of proxy forwarders are used to forward network management requests from a network management station (NMS) to a network element containing a managed object. The NMS sends a request according to a network management protocol. The sequence of proxy forwarders forward the request to the network element. The response generated by the network element is forwarded back to the NMS by the same sequence of proxy forwarders, but in the reverse direction.

Abstract: A server system which stores data indicating the identifiers of web pages associated with which each portion has been previously rendered. The data facilitates identification of the entire web pages even if interest is expressed based on content of the portions. For example, a search engine may search the contents of the portions, and then send as search results the identifiers of the web pages which have previously included the portions. As a result, a user may be displayed the entire web pages (as opposed to just the content of the portion), which could be more meaningful.

Abstract: Information representing the RPC servers on which each RPC service is currently being provided, is maintained on a directory server. A client may query the directory server and determine a specific one of the RPC servers on which to cause execution of a desired RPC service. Each RPC server may also register the service interface using which the corresponding RPC services can be accessed. As a result, the same RPC service may potentially be accessed with a different service interface on different RPC servers. Another aspect of the present invention provides a schema using which procedure interface definition (i.e., the name of the procedure, the parameters and their attributes) can be represented. Such a feature is used to store the procedure definitions on the directory server, thereby enabling a client system to determine the procedure definition prior to sending an RPC request to execute the procedure.

Abstract: A meta MIB may be implemented in an agent, which enables a network management station (NMS) to specify various information elements of interest in potentially multiple MIBs. The NMS may further specify the specific instances (rows) of interest in the information elements. The information of interest may then be retrieved using potentially a single get command. The received information may further contain a sparse index indicating the invalid entries in the received data such than an NMS can easily parse the received data.

Abstract: An edge router receives datagrams to be forwarded an SVC. If the SVC is not already set up, the edge router buffers the datagrams until the SVC set up is complete. The buffered datagrams are forwarded once the SVC set up is complete. According to another aspect of the present invention, different buffering requirements are supported for different user applications. A policy table may be configured by a service provider specifying the requirements associated with potentially each flow (e.g., combination of source/destination IP addresses, source/destination port number), and the datagram on each flow may be buffered accordingly.

Abstract: An image-based technique that measures the orientation of fibers in a moving web of nonwoven material. At least four light spots on one side of the web are illuminated essentially simultaneously with at least four plane-polarized incident substantially perpendicular light beams having different polarization characteristics. Dispersion of the excident light spots is measured on the opposite side of the web along at least one linear section which is at a known angle relative to the plane of polarization of the corresponding plane-polarized incident light beam, wherein at least one such linear section lies substantially across the center of the transmitted excident light spot and extends substantially across the width of the transmitted excident light spot. Variations in the dispersion of the transmitted excident light spot for the at least four plane-polarized light beams are calculated, and the fiber orientation is estimated from the variations.

Abstract: An edge router which associates multiple virtual circuits (e.g., PVCs) with an internet protocol (IP) route. The data transfer load on the IP route is distributed on the virtual circuits. As a result, high aggregate effective bandwidth can be provided between edge routers, potentially without having to use a correspondingly high bandwidth physical connections.

Abstract: Tracing the layer-2 devices present between any two systems in a network implemented using broadcast medium A device (receiving device) receives a command including a source and destination system identifiers. If the receiving device is not connected directly to the source system, the receiving device determines a connecting device connecting directly to the source system. The receiving system sends a request packet to the connecting device and receives a response packet. The response packet either indicates that the sending device is directly connected to the destination system or indicates a next device in the connecting path. The request and response sequence is continued until a sending device indicates that the destination system is connected directly.

Abstract: An evacuation system, which provides enhanced operational control to an operator. In an embodiment, each voice point module capable of playing evacuation messages is implemented as an addressable unit, and an operator can cause different messages to be played on different voice point modules using a central station. The central station enables the operator to play live messages by capturing the voice of the operator and forwarding the voice in the form of voice data. Protocols such as H.323 may be supported on both voice point modules and the central station such that control data can be sent from the central station to the voice point modules. The control data can be used as a basis to provide features such as changing the volume level, storing messages locally in the voice point modules, specifying specific stored message to be played, etc.

Abstract: A router providing differentiated services while transporting Internet Protocol (IP) packets on an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) backbone. A network administrator may specify multiple precedence values (in the type of service (TOS) portion of an IP header) associated with each SVC (set up with desired QOS). IP packets with the specified precedence values are transported on the associated SVC. By associating different precedence values with different SVC and configuring different SVCs with different QOS, differentiated services may be provided to IP packets.

Abstract: A service selection gateway (SSG) which receives data indicating tariff switching points, and sends accounting records enabling accurate computation of traffic volumes in each switching duration is described. In one embodiment, a counter value indicating the traffic volume for each tariff duration is sent. In an alternative embodiment, at least one accounting record containing two counters is sent in each duration, with one counter indicating an aggregate count of traffic volume (e.g., since the subscriber started a session) and another counter containing a marginal (or incremental) value since a switching point. Such an accounting record can be sent at any time point in a tariff duration, and the traffic volume in each tariff duration can be computed accurately.

Abstract: A gateway using multiple NAT tables to translate network addresses (e.g., Internet Protocol Addresses). The gateway may comprise a service selection gateway connecting remote systems to service domains. The gateway translates local addresses of remote systems to external addresses, and vice versa. The external addresses (bound to the respective local addresses) may be provided by the service domains. The NAT information is partitioned according to service domains such that the external addresses related to the same service domain are stored in the same NAT table. If there is no overlap of external addresses provided by two service domains, the two service domains may share the same NAT table. Due to the partitioning of the NAT information, each table may be limited to be of small size, and the accesses to individual tables may be fast. As a result, a gateway may be able to process and forward packets quickly.

Abstract: Maintaining session connectivity without termination when a mobile node is assigned a new layer-3 address upon moving from a old location to a new location. Routers between the mobile node and correspondent node are configured to perform network address translation (NAT) such that both the nodes can potentially use the old IP address in communicating with each other, and yet the packets are routed accurately using the new layer-3 address. As a result, the session may not be terminated at either of the nodes when the mobile node moves.