Abstract: A community of collaborative software agents works together in a domain to provide functionality such as provision of communications services or control of a chemical process. A scheduler is built into each collaborative agent which schedules tasks allocated to that particular agent and tasks sub-allocated by the agent. The scheduler has a mechanism for over-booking tasks for any one agent. It can also make tentative booking which can be overwritten of timed out.

Abstract: A method of incorporating user reaction measurement software (30, 32, 34) into a particular web page (28) of a website (26) includes receiving an icon selection from a website owner (12) specifying a viewable icon (50) to appear on the particular page (28). The icon (50) has associated user reaction measurement software that includes a call to a directory containing an associated script. The icon (50) is incorporated into the particular page (28) and the directory containing the script is generated for communication together with the particular page (28). The call is also incorporated into software of the particular page (28) such that the user reaction measurement software is able to receive a subjective user reaction to the particular page (28), using the script, from a website user (16) that has accessed the particular page (28).

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 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: In accordance with the present invention, multiple e-mails are received at a network server intended for multiple clients served by the network server. The received e-mails are analyzed to determine patterns of similarity. A selection of similar e-mails are predicted and classified as potentially undesirable e-mail according to the analysis. Upon accessing e-mails from the network server at a data processing system in association with a particular client, the accessed e-mails classified as potentially undesirable e-mail are displayed in a distinct manner from a remainder of the accessed e-mails. Thereafter, in response to a single action by the particular client, the e-mails classified as potentially undesirable e-mail are removed from display, such that the particular client is enabled to efficiently manage removal of e-mails predicted as undesirable by a network server.

Abstract: The invention concerns the field of interconnected computer networks, consisting in a system for generating in a simple and automatic way filters, according to the internet protocol, designed to avoid the risk of breach in interconnected computer networks. A computer terminal and control means interact iteratively with a graphic interface so as to: generate and display the objects and classes requiring security; select and display the application protocols for which filters need to be generated; draw on the graphic interface, by means of arrow curves for each application protocol previously selected, the communication laws. The terminal comprises computing means for converting the graphic data representing the communication laws into programming data for the screening routers.

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: A system and method for receiving an electronic communication containing an identifier or indicia of an entity and, in response to a user's selection of the identifier, initiating communication between the user and the entity. Upon receipt of the electronic communication (e.g., document, electronic mail message, sound file), the system scans or parses it to locate one or more entity identifiers. An entity identifier may be a telephone number, electronic mail address, network address, name or virtually any other indicia that may serve to identify the entity. When a user selects an entity identifier, the system offers one or more methods of communicating with the associated entity, which methods may depend on the form of the entity identifier (e.g., a telephone number) and/or a preference specified by the user. The system initiates the selected form of communication in response to the user's selection.

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 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: A method for fetching sparsely indexed MIB tables for a managed network device using an approximation operation, such as a GetNext SNMP operation, comprises sending a plurality of operations in a first data packet at least one of the plurality of approximation operations specifying a speculative approximation. By using speculative approximations of index values of data to be fetched, it is possible to retrieve MIB table data more quickly and efficiently.

Abstract: A global resource manager is provided for each node of a plurality of nodes of a distributed data processing system. Each node can be a coordinator node, an intermediate node, and a leaf node depending on the node at which a session arrives for global processing. In response to the arriving sessions, the global resource managers implement ripple scheduling by conducting a global QoS negotiation and adaptation, and preemption if necessary, in order to determine if the arriving session is supportable by the distributed data processing system. More specifically, the resource managers of all nodes determine whether their corresponding nodes can support the arriving session. The resource managers of the coordinator node and all intermediate nodes request their child nodes to indicate whether the child nodes can support the arriving session. The resource managers of all intermediate nodes and all leaf nodes respond to their coordinating or intermediate nodes with an indication of supportability.

Abstract: An interface allows for the transfer of real time control data with guaranteed delivery times between devices on a general purpose network and an industrial control system. A proxy server takes the role of a TCP/IP router and is configured to control the rate at which messages are forwarded from the non-real time to the real time portion of the network, keeping the loading of the real time portion stable regardless of the external non-real-time communication demand. Real time data is preconfigured and exchanged in a regular sequence, with the cyclic update period known. The length of any communication message necessary to transmit this information, plus any sequencing and acknowledgment overhead, is calculated in advance and aggregated. Each device with authority to transmit on the shared medium is given a time budget, calculated so that the total transmission quantity in unit time is deliberately limited to some fraction of the maximum transmission capability of the network.

Abstract: An E-mail can be sent easily with an animated representation as if a pet were going in and out on a GUI picture simulating the inside of a room for dispatching or delivering a mail. In addition, the user can send an E-mail with a friendly feeling for an agent. By sending agent data updated responsive to experiences of an electronic pet as annexed papers to the E-mail, the animation as if an electronic pet were going in and out on a GUI picture simulating the inside of a room for dispatching or delivering a mail is displayed. The behaviour of the pet displayed by animation is varied depending on the keeping environment. The electronic pet selects an illustrative sentence in keeping with the agent data from pre-set illustrative sentences for voluntarily sending the sentence as an E-mail to a user who is a keeper or to a counterpart of past mailing of the user.

Abstract: Autonomous retransmission of data packets onto a network from a Network Interface Card level upon command from a host processor is support. Efficient FIFO buffering in an ASIC is retained. Uses for autonomous retransmission include hardware and software testing and in network management.

Abstract: A proxy computer of a network can receive incoming telephony messages from one or more computers outside of the network and proxy them to computers within the network. Similarly, the proxy computer can receive outgoing telephony messages from within the network and proxy them to computers outside of the network. To set up inbound calls, a proxy program on the proxy computer looks for the presence of an alias in the call signaling messages, references a data structure to determine which computer on the network is associated with the alias, and proxies the call signaling and control messages between the callee computer and the calling computer based on the association, thereby creating a logical connection between the calling computer and the callee computer.

Abstract: A method and system for delivering a datagram across multiple inter-network servers. The datagram is delivered from a source device having a first network level protocol to a destination device having a second network level protocol. The inter-network servers transport the datagram in accordance with a transport level protocol while the datagram has a transport priority defined by the first and second network level protocols. The source device delivers the datagram from a source port that designates the transport priority and the destination device receives the datagram at a destination port that also designates the transport priority. In accordance with the method of the present invention, either the source port or said destination port is first identified. The transport priority of said datagram is identified utilizing the transport priority designation of the identified source port or destination port. A current server capacity of each of the inter-network servers is determined.

Abstract: The state of an apparatus is reported to a remote computer using an embedded device in the apparatus. The embedded device detects the state, generates an electronic mail message that reports the state using a self-describing computer language, and sends the electronic mail message to the remote computer. The remote computer receives the electronic mail message and extracts the state of the embedded device from the message.

Abstract: The invention provides a system for data access in a packet-switched network, including a sender/computer including an operating unit, a first memory, a permanent storage memory and a processor and a remote receiver/computer including an operating unit, a first memory, a permanent storage memory and a processor, the sender/computer and the receiver/computer communicating through the network; the sender/computer further including device for calculating digital digests on data; the receiver/computer further including a network cache memory and device for calculating digital digests on data in the network cache memory; and the receiver/computer and/or the sender/computer including device for comparison between digital digests. The invention also provides a method and apparatus for increased data access in a packet-switched network.

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.