Abstract: An information service providing method for providing an information service is provided, wherein the method includes the steps of: receiving a customer's request for the information service to be provided with; deciding the customer's utilization qualification with respect to the contents of the information service; determining the contents that is available to the customer according to the customer's utilization qualification among the contents of the information service that the customer requests to be provided with; and providing the customer with the determined contents of the information service.

Abstract: A method and system for servicing a request using a server is disclosed. The server is capable of communicating with a client. The client provides a plurality of functions. The method and system include providing a thin client for providing the request. The thin client is compatible with at least one client platform. The method and system also include providing a listening program. The listening program is for listening for the request from the thin client and invoking the client. A portion of the plurality of functions may be provided on the at least one client platform. In another aspect, the thin client is further compatible with a plurality of client platforms. The request may be from one of the plurality of client platforms.

Abstract: In a point-to-multipoint system (SYS), particularly a video-on-demand system, comprising a send unit (SERVER) in the form of a server and a plurality of receive units (DEC) in the form of decoders, a new version of the system software for the decoders is to be transferred to the latter. This is done by taking the following steps: 1. An announce signal containing the information that the new system software or part thereof will subsequently be transferred is transmitted from the server to all decoders simultaneously. 2. The system software or part thereof is transferred in the form of data packets from the server to all decoders simultaneously. By the advance information in the form of an announce signal which is transmitted to all decoders by the broadcast method, the decoders are notified of the forthcoming transmission of the current version of the system software, whereupon they can prepare for the reception of the new version.

Abstract: A system, method, and article of manufacture for caching a pre-processed version of an interpreted application at the time the interpreted application is first interpreted and executed by a computer, thereby improving response time for subsequent executions of the interpreted application. The pre-processed version of the interpreted application captures all execution paths through the interpreted application, despite the fact that the first execution of the interpreted application may only exercise a subset of the possible execution paths therein. Modifications to the interpreted application are dynamically detected, so that the pre-processed version can be replaced in the cache as needed.

Abstract: A method of automatically determining a number of an IPX network without user intervention. Initially, the client locates on a network an IPX packet containing a predetermined destination Ethernet address. Thereafter, the client determines whether said IPX packet is broadcast with a specific type of protocol. For a service advertising protocol or a routing information protocol, the client extracts the network number from said IPX packet if an IPX header source network number equals an IPX header destination number and the network number is not zero.

Abstract: An apparatus and method of mediating data flow across a network from a network switching system to a server utilizes a control message that limits repeated attempts to access a busy server port. To that end, it first is determined if the server port is available so that a control message can be generated reflecting the determined availability of the server port. If the server port is determined to be not available, then the control message is generated to include command data commanding the network switching system to not transmit data to the server port until receipt of another control message having control data indicating that the server is available. In contrast, if the server port is determined to be available, then the control message is generated to include control data indicating that the server port is available. Once generated, the control message is forwarded to the network switching system.

Abstract: A traffic control application programming interface for abstracting the use of traffic control components to client applications to provide quality of service. The traffic control interface accepts input from a client application and based on that input, communicates with the operating system to control kernel level traffic control components. The client can register with the traffic control interface, and it can open and close interfaces, add, modify, and delete flows on those interfaces, and attach or delete filters on the flows. The client can also obtain data on any currently active interface, flow, or filter. The traffic control interface will send the appropriate message to the operating system, directing that the necessary tasks be performed by either a packet scheduler or a packet classifier. Those kernel level components then return through the operating system the results of the operations requested, and that return data will be passed back to the client application.

Abstract: The invention includes a system and method for logging network server data such as data relating to client requests. In accordance with the invention, end users of a server program can create one or more logging modules, each having a predefined interface that is defined by the server program. In response to client requests, the server program calls logging modules that have been designated by a system administrator, and passes potential log data to the logging modules. In response to receiving the potential log data, each logging module makes its own decision regarding (a) whether to make a log entry, (b) which data should be included in the log entry, and (c) the format that is used for recording the log data. In this way, end users are not constrained to any given logging format or set of logging criteria.

Abstract: A network interface device includes a random access memory used as a transmit and receive buffer for transmission and reception of data between a host computer bus and a packet switched network. The network interface device includes a memory controller that determines whether a complete frame is stored in the random access memory and also determines an amount of data available to be read from the oldest received frame. A host CPU is able to access this information and determine whether to read the data or read the data at a later time.

Abstract: A method of providing a set of desired application functions to a plurality of network-coupled computing appliances. A set of code resident on a network-connected application management server is identified that when executed in a network appliance provide the desired application functions. A first application management agent in a first of the network-coupled computing appliances and a second application management agent in a second of the network-coupled computing appliances are executed. The first application management agent repetitively checks for updates of the identified code. Updates of the identified code are downloaded from the application management server into the first network-coupled computing appliance as the updates become available. Updates of the identified code are downloaded from the first network-coupled computing device into the second network-coupled computing appliance.

Abstract: A system and method for dynamically determining whether a client computer or a web site server computer is to process web site database data to render a data structure, such as a web page, in response to a request from the client computer. The request from the client computer implicitly or explicitly indicates the processing capability of the client computer, and if the client's processing capability is sufficient to render the web site data into a web page in fulfillment of the request, and the web server usage is high and server policy permits it, the unprocessed data and necessary classes of processing code are downloaded to the client computer, which then processes the data to render the requested web page. Otherwise, the server computer processes the data and returns the web page to the client computer.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method and apparatus includes displaying a plurality of network devices on a display screen, and enabling selection of one of the network devices for configuration. A configuration script for the selected one of the network devices is identified from a plurality of configuration scripts, where each of the configuration scripts is associated with a particular one of the network devices. The identified configuration script is executed to obtain configuration information, identify connection rules associated with the identified configuration script, and produce a configuration file for configuring the network device based on the connection rules and the configuration information.

Abstract: A multicast processor minimizes the software resource needed to process multicast protocol and broadcast protocol for bridges and routers in a network processor based environment. The multicast forwarding processor receives multicast and broadcast Layer 2/Layer 3/Layer 4 (L2/L3/L4) frames from a network processor. During reception, a frame layer flag, a unicast/multicast flag, and a frame position flag are set. A multitask forwarding table is accessed, and the frame, unicast/multicast, and frame position flags are stored and updated. The frame, unicast/multicast, and frame position flags are then sent to a frame forwarding processor. The L2/L3/L4 frames are routed to an L2 learning processor. The L2/L3/L4 frames are received from the frame forwarding processor, and the L2/L3/L4 frames are sent to an L3/L4 processor for frame header modification. The modified L2/L3/L4 frames are received from said L3/L4 processor, and the modified L2/L3/L4 frames are sent to an L2 filter processor.

Abstract: Augmenting processing of information objects transferred among processors within a network. Processing is performed by a process, or processor, (called a “robot”) at any point in the network where an information object is transferred, or where the object resides. By allowing processing at source, destination and at “interim” points between the source and destination, the ability to add functionality, services, control and management of objects and object transfers is greatly enhanced. The robots, can reside at any point in the system. A robot can be local to an end-user's computer, can reside on a content source server, or can be on another computer, processor, storage location or device on the network. Any type of processing can be performed by the robots. For example, access rights can be maintained so that certain attributes and values of information objects are restricted on a per user, per machine, chronological or other basis.

Abstract: A Mail Facility Layer providing a general, semantics-free mail paradigm for asynchronous communication between distributed objects. It provides a level of abstraction in terms of mail, virtual mailbox, post office, and mail queue. It hides the details of implementation and transport and provides location transparency. A mail is asynchronously communicated between distributed objects by associating a destination with a name, wherein the destination is located on a remote system; associating the name with a first virtual mailbox representing the destination, wherein the first virtual mailbox is located on a local system; creating the mail; opening the first virtual mailbox; putting the mail in the first virtual mailbox; sending the mail from the first virtual mailbox to a second virtual mailbox, wherein the second virtual mailbox is located on the remote system; opening the second virtual mailbox; and getting the mail from the second virtual mailbox.

Abstract: Disclosed is an information network system which comprises a plurality of functional appliances, a plurality of relaying appliances each provided with respect to its corresponding functional appliance, a data transfer path for enabling the relaying appliances to be communicated with each other, an operation part for selecting a desired one from among the functional appliances so as to select a desired function from among a plurality of functions of the selected functional appliance, and a command conversion part provided between a predetermined one of the functional appliances and the relaying appliance corresponding thereto and having a command conversion table having stored therein function commands corresponding to the functions of the functional appliances.

Abstract: The invention concerns a method and apparatus that provides predetermined and user determined areas on an electronic whiteboard which provides the user with various computer-related functions. In particular, a communication server would monitor the hot zones for detection of the users electronic pen. If the communication server detects the users electronic pen in the hot zone area for longer than a predetermined time, for example two seconds, then the communication server would perform the function defined by that particular hot zone. A plurality of hot zones may be defined and fixed as part of either the electronic whiteboard environment, or they may be relative so that a user can define particular hot zone areas, including their location, content and function. These hot zone areas may be moved anywhere in the electronic whiteboard area.

Abstract: A method for dynamically placing objects in slots on a web page in response to a current client request for the web page comprises the steps of classifying users into user groups based one or more user-characteristics, accumulating self-learning data based on user click behavior for each user group, matching the current client request with a corresponding user group and scheduling real-time selection of the slots for the objects on the web page based on the self-learning data of the corresponding user group.

Abstract: A method and apparatus retrieves and stores configuration information for network endpoint devices from other devices in the network, such as a switch adjacent to the endpoint device. When the endpoint device establishes a connection with the network, it generates a sequence of SNMP getnext commands using the ILMI interface to obtain the configuration information from the network device. If the network device sends a trap to the endpoint device indicating a change has been made to the configuration parameters stored in the network device for a PVC, a series of SNMP getrequest commands are made using the ILMI interface to retrieve the configuration information for that PVC from the network device. If the endpoint device detects an interruption in communication with the network device, the endpoint device discards the information retrieved previously.

Abstract: Information returned by a server to a client includes instructions, executable by either a proxy server or the client, for converting the returned information from a first representation to a second representation. The representation conversion may be made by a proxy server, for example, to make transmission of the returned information to the client more efficient, and/or to render the returned information in a format suitable for display by the client. By having the server embed representation conversion information in the query response, the representation conversion can take into account the type and other characteristics of information being returned, as well as the computational and display characteristics of the client.