Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention is a system and method for measuring round trip times in a network, such as the Internet, by utilizing a packet, such as a transmission control protocol (TCP) packet. The TCP packet may be a packet which is typically utilized during establishment of a reliable connection, such as a SYN or a SYN ACK. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a mirrored service is selected for a client by sending the TCP packet from an approximate location of each of the mirrored service to an approximate location of the client. A response is then received by each mirrored service from the approximate location of the client, and a round trip time for each mirrored service is measured from the time the TCP packet was sent to the time the response was received. The various round trip times of each mirrored service are compared with each other and a best round trip time, such as the shortest time, is selected.

Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention is a system and method for measuring round trip times in a network, such as the Internet, by utilizing a packet, such as a transmission control protocol (TCP) packet. The TCP packet may be a packet which is typically utilized during establishment of a reliable connection, such as a SYN or a SYN ACK. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a mirrored service is selected for a client by sending the TCP packet from an approximate location of each of the mirrored service to an approximate location of the client. A response is then received by each mirrored service from the approximate location of the client, and a round trip time for each mirrored service is measured from the time the TCP packet was sent to the time the response was received. The various round trip times of each mirrored service are compared with each other and a best round trip time, such as the shortest time, is selected.

Abstract: A method and system for distributing a service request among a plurality of servers is disclosed. A portion metric is assigned to each one of the plurality of servers, the portion metric designating a portion of total server requests to be allocated to the one of the plurality of servers. A server request may then be received. A total number of server requests processed by the plurality of servers is incremented and a number of server requests distributed to each one of the plurality of servers is maintained. The server request is then distributed to one of the plurality of servers using the portion metric assigned to each one of the plurality of servers, the number of server requests distributed to each one of the plurality of servers, and the total number of server requests.

Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention is a system and method for measuring round trip times in a network, such as the Internet, by utilizing a packet, such as a transmission control protocol (TCP) packet. The TCP packet may be a packet which is typically utilized during establishment of a reliable connection, such as a SYN or a SYN ACK. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a mirrored service is selected for a client by sending the TCP packet from an approximate location of each of the mirrored service to an approximate location of the client. A response is then received by each mirrored service from the approximate location of the client, and a round trip time for each mirrored service is measured from the time the TCP packet was sent to the time the response was received. The various round trip times of each mirrored service are compared with each other and a best round trip time, such as the shortest time, is selected.

Abstract: A method and system for distributing a service request among a plurality of servers is disclosed. A portion metric is assigned to each one of the plurality of servers, the portion metric designating a portion of total server requests to be allocated to the one of the plurality of servers. A server request may then be received. A total number of server requests processed by the plurality of servers is incremented and a number of server requests distributed to each one of the plurality of servers is maintained. The server request is then distributed to one of the plurality of servers using the portion metric assigned to each one of the plurality of servers, the number of server requests distributed to each one of the plurality of servers, and the total number of server requests.