Abstract: A method that rapidly reconfigures a computer network having a plurality of devices executing the spanning tree algorithm. First, one or more devices are configured and arranged so that one port, providing connectivity to the root, is in the forwarding state and the remaining ports, providing connectivity to the root, are in the blocked state. Next, one or more of the blocked ports are designated as back-up ports. Upon detection of a failure at the active forwarding port, one of the back-up ports immediately transitions from blocked to forwarding, thereby becoming the new active port for the device. Following the transition to a new active port, dummy multicast messages are transmitted, each containing the source address of an entity directly coupled to the affected device or downstream thereof. By examining the dummy multicast messages, other devices in the network learn to use to the new forwarding port of the affected device.

Abstract: A system and method for distributing multi-program audio over a network includes the use of a Local Area Network, Wide Area Network, an Intranet and the Internet. The system includes a network audio source, a network distribution system and end devices. The method, for distributing multi-program audio over a network includes creating a network audio frame from a plurality of blocks of data from at least one audio program, placing each network audio frame within a transport structure for transport across the network and assigning an address to the transport structure prior to delivering the transport structure to a physical media.

Abstract: A server system provides a client system with access to a number of services. For each service, if a given service provider is overloaded or if the client is unable to contact that provider, the client can contact another service provider capable of providing the requested service. The server system provides information to the client system identifying a list of services that the server system provides. For each service in the list of services, the information may include a service name identifying the service, and a unique port identifying each service provider for that service, so that one service name can be used in accessing multiple service providers of a desired service. A request from the client may include a service name identifying the desired service, and a port selected from ports provided by the server system that corresponds to a service provider for the desired service.

Abstract: An automated system for experimentation includes an experiment engine which can define an experiment relating to various treatments for a set of content elements. The experiment engine conducts the experiment over a data network. An observation module collects observation data relating to user behavior for each treatment. A scripting/scheduling engine coordinates the operation of the experiment engine and the observation module.

Abstract: A method of multicast routing includes receiving link state advertisements from routers in a network, constructing a short path tree multicast routing table from the received link state packets.

Abstract: Computers, particularly personal computers, have become everyday communications devices, nearly as common as telephones and televisions. A big reason for this is the expansion of computer networks, such as the Internet, which allow sending and receiving information, including audio and video information, from one computer to one or more other computers. Communicating audio and video information between computers can be problematic because users have to wait for the information to be fully downloaded before viewing or hearing it and because different computers sometimes communicate using incompatible communications protocols, which prevents comprehension. Accordingly, the inventors devised new methods, software, and computer systems that support interactive data streaming (real-time exchange of multimedia data) and full-duplex communications, for example, network conferencing, using more than one communications protocol.

Abstract: A computer system capable of system management from a terminal having a wireless communication function is provided with an IrDA-IF having an IrDA port capable of infrared wireless communication between the terminal and the computer system itself and a system management controller connected to the IrDA-IF, the system management controller performing the system management instructed by the terminal through infrared wireless communication with the terminal through the IrDA-IF.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for accessing and using services and applications from a number of sources into a customized application. The present invention accomplishes this through an entity referred to as a web service. The web services architecture maintains a directory of services available to provide processing or services, along with the location of the services and the input/output schemas required by the services. When a request for data or services is received, appropriate services are invoked by a web services engine using service drivers associated with each service. A web services application is then generated from a runtime model and is invoked to satisfy the request, by communicating as necessary with services in proper I/O formats. In one embodiment, the web services application provides responses in the form of HTML that can be used to generate pages to a browser.

Abstract: A system and method determines a data transfer rate from a server to a client as follows. A server transfers a test program or a reference to the test program to the client and the client executes the test program. The test program requests test data from the server, measures the elapsed time to obtain the test data, and calculates a transfer rate based on the length of the test data and the elapsed time. Either the client or the server selects data corresponding to the client request, to send to the client based on the calculated transfer rate. The system and method can be used in a WWW environment where the data is a web page and the test program is an applet.