Abstract: A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for managing keepalive transmissions. A keepalive packet is received from a remote data processing over a particular connection within a set of connections to the remote data processing system. Timers for each of the set of connections are reset in response to receiving a response to a keepalive packet from the remote data processing system such that only a single keepalive packet is required to maintain all of the plurality of connections with the remote data processing system. In this manner, the number of requests and responses with respect to whether a connection is active is minimized, reducing congestion in a network data processing system.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program code to determine whether an acknowledgment packet from an end point acknowledges receipt of unsent data in response to receiving the acknowledgement packet over a connection with the end point. A determination is made as to whether acknowledgement packets for unsent data have been received sequentially a selected number of times over the connection in response to the acknowledgement packet being for unsent data. The acknowledgment packet is dropped if acknowledgement packets have been received sequentially the selected number of times over the connection.

Abstract: The present invention provides a computer implemented method, data processing system and computer program product for limiting instances of a client-server program within a plurality of platforms in a restricted distributed network. The data processing system receives an invocation of the client-server program. The data processing system assigns a write file to the client-server program wherein the write file has a write file name and the write file is on a distributed file system accessible to the plurality of platforms. The data processing system determines whether the write file is available. Responsive to a determination that the write file is available, the data processing system opens the write file for writing wherein the write file is associated with the client-server program. The data processing system, responsive to a determination that the write file is available, forms an addressing file having addressing information of a first instance of the client-server program.

Abstract: A communication system which facilitates distribution of electronic communications for a user account includes an emergency auto-reply agent that scans each received communication addressed to the user account for a particular communication sent from at least one emergency address specified for the user account separate from the address of the user account. Responsive to the communication system detecting the particular communication sent from one of the emergency addresses, the emergency auto-reply agent parses the content of the particular communication to detect whether the particular communication comprises a required password. Responsive to detecting the required password within the content of the particular communication, the emergency auto-reply agent directs the communication system to compose and send auto-reply communications from the user account in reply to received communications addressed to the user account.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product in a computer-readable medium for delivering data, received from a network, to a storage buffer assigned to an application is proposed. An application designates a communication buffer within a local data processing system for buffering data communicated with an application. The local data processing system reports to a network interface of the local data processing system a memory address of the designated communication buffer, and the data processing system creates a cookie containing the memory address. The data processing system then sends the cookie form the local data processing system to a remote data processing system, such that the remote data processing system may address data directly to the designated communication buffer.

Abstract: A graphic user interface of a network client (106) includes a stock ticker from a stock server (110) and a news sidebar from a news server (112) over the IP addresses advertised to the client (106) in its list of multi-homed addresses from the video server (104) specified under Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP). The client accepts real-time data from the stock exchange server and the news agency server on the multi-homed IP addresses designated in the association with the video server (104) without knowing that the data is coming from a different source than the video server (104). The real-time data feeds from the video, stock and news servers are aggregated on the client (106) with enhanced speed because the feeds come directly to the client and not via the video server.

Abstract: A technique for facilitating identification of a matching search term in one or more images includes selecting at least a portion of an image and creating search enriched metadata for a document that includes the image. The search enriched metadata includes a text portion that provides one or more search terms that are associated with the selected portion of the image and a location portion that provides a location of the selected portion of the image.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for multicast tunneling for mobile devices. The method comprises receiving a multicast packet directed to a plurality of mobile nodes, the mobile nodes being associated with a home subnet and identifying if any of the plurality of the mobile nodes are coupled to a subnet other than the home subnet, wherein each of the identified mobile nodes has an associated transmission path through which that mobile node can be reached. The method further provides that in response to determining that at least some of the mobile nodes are coupled to the subnet other than the home subnet, determining which of the identified mobile nodes has a common next hop in their associated transmission path and generating a packet including at least a portion of the multicast packet and including in the packet a list of mobile nodes that have the common next hop. The method further provides for transmitting the generated packet to the common next hop.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product for optimizing a message size for communication in a communication network are disclosed. The method comprises identifying a connection to a target, sending to a path maximum transmission unit value server (which is not the target) a request for a path maximum transmission unit value for the connection to the target, and, in response to receiving the path maximum transmission unit value for the connection to the target from the server, optimizing a communication by sending to the target a packet having a size in accordance with the value.

Abstract: The present invention provides receiving and transmitting devices for providing fragmentation at a transport level along a transmission path. The transmitting device comprises an interface and a control unit coupled to the interface. The control unit is adapted to negotiate a packet size with a remote device. The control unit is also adapted to transmit a data packet of up to the negotiated size. The control unit is further adapted to receive acknowledgments from the remote device associated with one or more fragments, fragmented at the transport-level, of the transmitted data packet. The receiving device comprises an interface and a control unit coupled to the interface. The control unit is adapted to receive two or more fragments of a data packet transmitted by a remote device. The control unit is also adapted to transmit one or more acknowledgments to the remote device based on the received fragments.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for an improved bulk read socket call are provided. With the apparatus and method, a new field, so_rcvlen, is added to the socket structure that identifies the bulk read size requested by the user. The kernel of the prior art recv( ) function is also modified so that it sets the so_rcvlen to the size requested by the user prior to the recv( ) function going to sleep and waiting for the full data size requested by the user. A new flag, SP_MSGWAITALL, is also provided in the socket structure. In the TCP input processing, when data is received for a particular socket, the current setting of the SP_MSGWAITALL is checked. If the SP_MSGWAITALL flag is set, it is determined whether the amount of data stored in the socket receive buffer is less than the value of so_rcvlen. If not, the TCP input processing does not wake up the recv( ) thread. However, for every alternate segment, the TCP input processing sends back an acknowledgment (ACK).

Abstract: A method, network receiver and TCP network that enables a receiver-side triggering of the fast retransmit mechanism when a TCP packet/segment is lost or received out-of sequencing order. The receiver is enhanced with a Fast Retransmit Support (FRS) utility that monitors when a next received packet is out-of-order and responds by transmitting a duplicate acknowledgment (ACK) response that includes therein the same window value as the previous ACK. By including the previous clock time, even when the current window value has advanced, the fast retransmit algorithm at the transmitter is triggering before the timeout period.

Abstract: A system, method, and program product is provided that requests, by a first computer system, a new network session with a second computer system. The new network session request occurs after a previous network session between the two systems and the new network session request includes a new sequence number that is different from a previous sequence number that was used during the previous network session. The first computer system receives an acknowledgement from the second computer system that references the previous sequence number instead of the new sequence number. In response to receiving the acknowledgement at the first computer system that references the previous sequence number, the first computer system modifies the new sequence number by setting it to a value that is higher than the previous sequence number, and the first computer system re-requests the new network session using the modified new sequence number.

Abstract: The server side Transfer Control Protocol is modified so that the server returns a SYNACK message with the window size equal to zero if the server is busy. When a client sends a TCP connection request and receives a synchronization acknowledgement message with the window size equal to zero, the client knows that the server received the connection request and that the server is busy. The client may then send an acknowledgement message to complete the three-way synchronization handshake, thus successfully completing the connection. Thereafter, the client side TCP may probe the server side TCP until a window update message is received from the server. When the server sends a window update message to set the window size to a non-zero size, the client knows that the server is no longer busy and the client application may then use the TCP connection.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for discovering a path maximum transmission unit. The method comprises receiving a data packet from a first remote device for transmission to a second remote device and determining if a size of the received data packet is greater than a maximum transmission unit (MTU) value. In response to determining that the size of the received data packet is greater than the MTU value, the method further comprises transmitting a portion of the received data packet to the second remote device and transmitting a message to the first remote device indicating that the size of the received data packet exceeds the MTU value.

Abstract: A TCP/IP retransmission frame contains multiple TCP segments containing non-contiguous missing packets from a data communication. A TCP option in the first segment in the frame indicates the presence of multiple TCP payloads in the frame. Each TCP payload has a corresponding prepended TCP header. An offset address specified in each TCP header within the frame identifies the location of the next TCP header in the frame. Network throughput performance is enhanced by permitting multiple non-contiguous packets to be retransmitted in a single IP packet.

Abstract: The present invention, in one embodiment, aids the user during composition of emails/letters/documents with assistance for correct gender usage. In one example application, first an automated user information look-up process is initiated over centralized databases using the proper names mentioned in the composition. Once matches are found, gender-related information is retrieved and the composer is assisted with gender recognition tools while composing gender-sensitive statements. When mismatches between proper nouns and the corresponding adjectives/pronouns are found, this method proceeds with highlighting or otherwise flagging the mismatching words. Upon right-clicking the highlighted words, the user is given suggestions for the most probably correct options. Examples of the idea explained in this invention can be incorporated in existing software/systems of email/document editor/composers.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for providing fragmentation at a transport level along a transmission path. The method comprises receiving a data packet from a first remote device for transmission to a second remote device, wherein the data packet includes a transport-level protocol packet encapsulated in a network-level protocol packet and determining if a size of the received data packet is greater than a maximum transmission unit (MTU) value. The method further comprises performing fragmentation of the data packet at a transport-level protocol into two or more fragments in response to determining that the size of the received data packet is greater than the MTU value and transmitting one or more of the fragments to the second remote device.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method, system, and computer program product for splicing proxied web requests with callback for subsequent requests. The method comprises: initiating by a proxy a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) splice between first and second socket connections in order to service a request; and returning control of the first and second socket connections to the proxy in response to a completion event associated with the TCP splice.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for an improved bulk read socket call are provided. With the apparatus and method, a new field, so_rcvlen, is added to the socket structure that identifies the bulk read size requested by the user. The kernel of the prior art recv( ) function is also modified so that it sets the so_rcvlen to the size requested by the user prior to the recv( ) function going to sleep and waiting for the full data size requested by the user. A new flag, SP_MSGWAITALL, is also provided in the socket structure. In the TCP input processing, when data is received for a particular socket, the current setting of the SP_MSGWAITALL is checked. If the SP_MSGWAITALL flag is set, it is determined whether the amount of data stored in the socket receive buffer is less than the value of so_rcvlen. If not, the TCP input processing does not wake up the recv( ) thread. However, for every alternate segment, the TCP input processing sends back an acknowledgment (ACK).