Abstract: Techniques are provided for determining a reputation of a message sender by obtaining two or more lists from two or more list providers; determining which lists of the two or more lists indicate the message sender; and determining a reputation score for the message sender based on which lists of the two or more lists indicate the message sender. Techniques are also provided for indicating that a message is unsolicited based on a reputation score.

Abstract: A server is disclosed that presents content to a client. The server receives a request for particular content. In response to the request, the server accesses data and/or code that describes the particular content. The server compiles that code and/or data to create executable code, and transmits the executable code to the client for execution on the client. In one embodiment, the code describing the particular content is a mark-up language description. In various implementations, the executable code includes a user interface that provides access to the requested content.

Abstract: A network latency estimation apparatus for estimating latency in a network communication between a server and a client. The apparatus includes an event observer to observe occurrences of pre-selected events occurring at the server. A logging device associated with the event observer logs into a data store the occurrence of the events together with corresponding time information. A latency estimator associated with the logging device uses the logged occurrences with the corresponding time information to arrive at an estimation of the latency for the communication.

Abstract: In one embodiment, techniques for sending a conference invite that provides access to a list of participants in an existing conference are provided. A participant in a conference may decide to send an invite for the existing conference to the user. A request for inviting the user into the existing conference is received. A list of participants in the existing conference is determined. An invite message for the conference is then generated where the invite message includes information for the list of participants. The invite message is then sent to the user where the information for the list of participants is accessible to the user. For example, the list of participants may be displayed as caller ID information when the invite message is received by the user.

Abstract: A host router is logically partitioned into virtual router domains that manage independent processes and routing application copies but share a common operating system. Each v-net manages an independent set of sockets and host router interfaces, each associated with only one v-net at one time, but interchangeably repartitionable Traffic is removed from an interface during repartitioning. Duplicate arrays of global variables copied to each v-net are accessed by macro references. A v-net facility can separate route tables used internally from the externally visible route tables and can avoid conflicts between internal and external IP addresses that share the same identifier. For example a common FreeBSD operating system supports a dynamic routing protocol (DRP) application. Each v-net runs an independent copy of the DRP software and is logically independent. A failure in one DRP copy does not adversely affect other copies.

Abstract: A DSL customer premises equipment modem (DCPE) avoids the requirement of a flash or other static memory for storing an application image or configuration on the modem. The modem instead stores microcode used to boot its chipset and obtain the application image and/or configuration from a remote site, such as the central office (CO). In one possible startup procedure, this microcode initializes the modem's chipset, starts the DSL driver, establishes a data link with the service provider's CO equipment, and downloads the application image and/or the configuration from the CO. Other types of communications devices, such as cellular phones or other portable devices, can perform a similar procedure to obtain an application image from remote source, such as a base station.

Abstract: In methods and apparatus for acquiring VPN reachability information at a node of a data network, a VPN reachability information request is transmitted from a requesting node. The VPN reachability information request comprises a VPN identifier. Other nodes of the data network receive the VPN reachability information request and, if they have reachability information relevant to that VPN, they transmit such information to the requesting node where it is received and stored. The invention can be used in MPLS VPN architectures.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided to restore the configuration of a network device. A configuration manager in a network device saves a version of the configuration of the network device by storing the configuration data in an format that conforms to a standard markup language such as the extended markup language (XML). The format includes a sequence of corresponding tags and values that represent the content of the internal data structures in the memory of the router that comprise the saved version of the configuration. At the time of restoration, an parser is used to parse the values from the tags and the configuration manager restores the contents of the internal data structures in the memory of the router to the parsed values in accordance with the corresponding tags.

Abstract: Markers are established in a data object to provide a means to refer to specified parts of the object. Each marker is established within the object by giving the location and length of the part of the object that is to be marked. The marker continues to mark that part of the object as changes are made elsewhere in the object. As data is received into the cache computer it is stored in a sequence of buffers. A plurality of filters, all executing concurrently, search for different interesting string in the object. Each filter finds its interesting strings and marks them using the markers. The result of filtering data of the object is a marker attribute table identifying each of the markers by the offset and length of the interesting strings located by the filters. Vend time is the time at which the object is streamed out of the cache to a client computer. Before the data is vended, a User Data Filter (UDF) executes a call function which sets up a string substitution table.

Abstract: A network latency estimation apparatus for estimating latency in network communications between a server and a client. The apparatus comprises an event observer for observing occurrences of pre-selected events. The events associated with the communication occurring at the server. A logging device associated with the event observer for logging into a data store the occurrence of the events together with respective time information. A latency estimator associated with the logging device for using the logged occurrences with the respective time information to arrive at an estimation of a client's latency for the communication.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for allowing routers in an autonomous system to implement LDP and RSVP at the same time. RSVP can be used in the network core with LDP being used in network regions surrounding the core. LDP LSPs are tunneled through the RSVP network core using RSVP LSPs and label stacking techniques. During route selection LDP LSPs which use an RSVP LSP tunnel are preferred over alternative LDP LSPs having an equal cost associated with them to create a preference for traffic engineered routes.

Abstract: An apparatus for selecting digital material objects containing MPEG-7 content descriptions in response to MPEG-7 content description queries. The apparatus comprises an MPEG-7 content description query generation tool coupled with a search engine configured for searching and comparing embedded MPEG-7 META tag information within file headers, or database information thereof, to the MPEG-7 content description query. The query tool and search engine may be implemented separately or in combination. By way of example, the MPEG-7 query generation tool is implemented within an application program such as a browser, or web site, to allow the user to readily and accurately define the content being sought. The content query being sent to a search engine configured for performing MPEG-7 content searches that return hits based on content related matches.

Abstract: An approach for provisioning network devices generally involves supplying boot data to network devices over a network so that the network devices can be booted up in an imaging mode or an application mode, depending upon the particular boot data supplied to the network device. When booted up in the imaging mode, imaging data can be downloaded and stored on network devices. When booted up in the application mode, the network devices execute one or more programs contained in the image data stored on the network devices. The first and second boot data may be in the form of boot loader scripts. Furthermore, the first and second boot data may be provided to the network device in the payload of a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) reply. The DHCP reply may be generated and provided by a DHCP server to the network device in response to receiving a DHCP request from the network device. The approach may be implemented using a secure network environment.

Abstract: A network access arrangement for connecting an end user's computer to the Internet includes a network access server and a proxy server. When an end user requests to be connected to the Internet, the network access server forwards the access request to the proxy server. The proxy server authenticates some requests itself but forwards other requests to authentication servers for authentication. After receiving a response from one of the servers, the proxy server forwards the response to the network access server. If the proxy server does not receive a response from one of the authentication servers, it follows a default procedure. This can be to authenticate the request in the proxy server or simply to accept the request. The proxy server has a counter associated with each of the servers. Each time the proxy server receives a response from one of the servers, it decrements the appropriate counter. Each time it does not receive a response, it increments the appropriate counter.

Abstract: A communications network comprises a plurality of ports modelled according to a layer protocol, and a network management system adapted to store information describing the physical and logical resources within the network, wherein the network management system is responsive to information describing connectivity in a first one of the layers to derive further information concerning connectivity in another of the layers. The first layer is preferably the closest known layer connectivity to the physical layer and the derived connectivity information applies to successive ones of the upper layers.

Abstract: Objects in a master database and objects in a replicated database are synchronized using identifiers and version stamps of the objects. Each object has a unique identifier and a version stamp that is incremented when the object is updated at the master database. A synchronization server uses the identifiers and version stamps of objects to perform out-of-date detection and conflict detection. The synchronization server resolves update conflicts according to rules.

Abstract: A method provides for output caching of a portion of a web page, and thereby allows the cached portion to be used in web pages for a predetermined period of time without the need to regenerate that portion of the web page. A server computing system receives a request for information from a client computer system. The server computing system creates, in response to the received request, a page having portions. When an output cache contains a portion of the page, the portion of the page contained in the output cache is retrieved from the output cache and when the output cache does not contain a portion of the page, the portion of the page not contained in the output cache is retrieved from another source. The contents of the page are then sent to the client computing system.

Abstract: A method and device to expedite port release. The method includes receiving a call setup request for a port and then determining the current state of the port. If the current state of the port is active, a release message is transmitted to an entity occupying the port. In an embodiment, the call setup request is granted. In another embodiment, an active port cache is updated to reflect the new entity occupying the port.

Abstract: Binary executables are distributed in a distributed manner by equipping a server with a bootstrap program. The server provides the bootstrap program to a client computer in response to the client's request for the binary executables. The bootstrap program is designed to enable the client computer to obtain the binary executables in one or more portions from one or more peer locations that have already downloaded the said binary executables. In one embodiment, the bootstrap program also monitors the performance associated with obtaining the portions of the binary executables, and reports the performance data to a resource naming service that tracks peer locations that cache the binary executables. In one embodiment, the binary executables also includes a component that registers the client computer as a peer location that caches the binary executables, and provides the binary executables to other client computers responsive to their requests. In various embodiments, content is distributed in like manner.

Abstract: A plurality of virtual client processes for accessing a server are simultaneously operated on test execution terminal, when accessing the server by each virtual client process, respectively unique virtual network addresses are set, a source network address in a transmission packet is rewritten into the set virtual network address from an actual network address, a destination network address in a reception packet from the server is rewritten into the actual network address from the virtual network address, and this packet is transferred to the client with this virtual network address set therein. Load tests of accesses to the server from a multiplicity of client terminals can be executed by a small number of test terminals without depending on network protocols.