(19) United States
`(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2002/0059274A1
`(43) Pub. Date:
`May 16, 2002
`Hartsell et al.
`
`US 20020059274A1
`
`(54) SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR
`CONFIGURATION OF INFORMATION
`MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
`(76) Inventors: Neal D. Hartsell, Austin, TX (US);
`Robert B. Fernander, Austin, TX
`(US); Gregory J. Jackson, Dripping
`Springs, TX (US); Scott C. Johnson,
`Round Rock, TX (US); Chaoxin C.
`Qiu, Austin, TX (US); Roger K.
`Richter, Leander, TX (US)
`Correspondence Address:
`O'KEEFE, EGAN & PETERMAN, L.L.P.
`Building C, Suite 200
`1101 Capital of Texas Highway South
`Austin, TX 78746 (US)
`(21) Appl. No.:
`09/879,836
`(22) Filed:
`Jun. 12, 2001
`Related U.S. Application Data
`(63) Continuation-in-part of application No. 09/797,200,
`filed on Mar. 1, 2001, which is a non-provisional of
`provisional application No. 60/246,401, filed on Nov.
`7, 2000 and which is a non-provisional of provisional
`
`application No. 60/187,211, filed on Mar. 3, 2000.
`Non-provisional of provisional application No.
`60/285,211, filed on Apr. 20, 2001. Non-provisional
`of provisional application No. 60/291,073, filed on
`May 15, 2001.
`
`Publication Classification
`
`(51) Int. Cl. ................................................... G06F 7700
`(52) U.S. Cl. .............................................................. 707/100
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`Methods and systems for providing differentiated service
`that may be employed, for example, to deliver content or
`Services in a network environment. Differentiated Services
`that may be so delivered include both differentiated infor
`mation Service that may be implemented, for example, at the
`System and/or processing level, as well as differentiated
`busineSS Service that may be implemented, for example, to
`differentiate information eXchange between different net
`work entities Such as different network provider entities,
`different network user entities, etc. The methods and Sys
`tems may include or facilitate provisioning of System Service
`parameters Such as Service level agreement ("SLA) policies
`and may be employed in network computing System envi
`ronments to enable differentiated Service provisioning, for
`example, in accordance with busineSS objectives.
`
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`Ex. 1005
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 1 of 72
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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 1 of 25
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`US 2002/0059274 A1
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`Ex. 1005
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 2 of 72
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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 2 of 25
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`US 2002/0059274 A1
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`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 3 of 72
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`

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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 3 of 25
`
`US 2002/0059274 A1
`
`FIG.IC
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`FIG. C.
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`FIG. Ic"
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`Ex. 1005
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 4 of 72
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`

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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002. Sheet 4 of 25
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`US 2002/0059274 A1
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`Ex. 1005
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 5 of 72
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002. Sheet 5 of 25
`
`US 2002/0059274 A1
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`FIG.ID | FIG. ID | FIG. I.D'
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`Ex. 1005
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 6 of 72
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 6 of 25
`
`US 2002/0059274 A1
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`Ex. 1005
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 7 of 72
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002. Sheet 7 of 25
`
`US 2002/0059274 A1
`
`FIG, IE | FIG. IE | FIG. El
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`Ex. 1005
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 8 of 72
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002. Sheet 8 of 25
`
`US 2002/0059274 A1
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`IOGO
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`Ex. 1005
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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 9 of 25
`
`US 2002/0059274 A1
`
`F. G.F F. G. F.
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`Ex. 1005
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 10 of 72
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`

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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 10 of 25 US 2002/0059274 A1
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`Ex. 1005
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 11 of 72
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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 11 of 25
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`US 2002/0059274 A1
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`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 12 of 72
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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 12 of 25 US 2002/0059274A1
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`Ex. 1005
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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 13 of 25 US 2002/0059274 A1
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`Ex. 1005
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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 14 of 25 US 2002/0059274 A1
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`Patent Application Publication
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`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 16 of 72
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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 16 of 25
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`Ex. 1005
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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 17 of 25 US 2002/0059274 A1
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`GENERAL PURPOSE
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`Ex. 1005
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`

`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 18 of 25 US 2002/0059274A1
`
`
`
`Await Request
`For Content
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`O 5
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`Ex. 1005
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 19 of 72
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`

`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 19 of 25 US 2002/0059274 A1
`
`35
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`Ex. 1005
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 20 of 72
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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 20 of 25
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`US 2002/0059274 A1
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`Ex. 1005
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 21 of 72
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`

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`Patent Application Publication May 16,2002 Sheet 21 of 25
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`US 2002/0059274 Al
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`Ex. 1005
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`Ex. 1005
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 22 of 72
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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 22 of 25 US 2002/0059274 A1
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`
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`Ex. 1005
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 23 of 72
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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 23 of 25 US 2002/0059274 A1
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`
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`Ex. 1005
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 24 of 72
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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 24 of 25 US 2002/0059274 A1
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`
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`Ex. 1005
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`Patent Application Publication May 16, 2002 Sheet 25 of 25
`
`US 2002/0059274 A1
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`Ex. 1005
`CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. / Page 26 of 72
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`

`

`US 2002/0059274 A1
`
`May 16, 2002
`
`SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONFIGURATION
`OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
`0001. This application is a continuation-in-part of co
`pending application Ser. No. 09/797,200 filed on Mar. 1,
`2001 which is entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR
`THE DETERMINISTIC MANAGEMENT OF INFORMA
`TION,” which claims priority to Provisional Application
`Ser. No. 60/246,401 filed on Nov. 7, 2000 which is entitled
`“SYSTEMAND METHOD FOR THE DETERMINISTIC
`DELIVERY OF DATA AND SERVICES, and which also
`claims priority to Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/187,
`211 filed on Mar. 3, 2000 which is entitled “SYSTEMAND
`APPARATUS FOR INCREASING FILE SERVER BAND
`WIDTH,” the disclosures of each of the forgoing applica
`tions being incorporated herein by reference. This applica
`tion also claims priority to co-pending Provisional
`Application Ser. No. 60/246,401 filed on Nov. 7, 2000 which
`is entitled “SYSTEMAND METHOD FOR THE DETER
`MINISTIC DELIVERY OF DATA AND SERVICES.” and
`also claims priority to co-pending Provisional Application
`Ser. No. 60/285,211 filed on Apr. 20, 2001 which is entitled
`“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING DIF
`FERENTIATED SERVICE IN A NETWORKENVIRON
`MENT,” and also claims priority to co-pending Provisional
`Application Ser. No. 60/291,073 filed on May 15, 2001
`which is entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PRO
`VIDING DIFFERENTIATED SERVICE IN ANETWORK
`ENVIRONMENT,” the disclosures of each of the forgoing
`applications being incorporated herein by reference.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`0002 The present invention relates generally to comput
`ing Systems, and more particularly to network connected
`computing Systems.
`0.003 Most network computing systems, including serv
`erS and Switches, are typically provided with a number of
`Subsystems that interact to accomplish the designated task/S
`of the individual computing System. Each Subsystem within
`Such a network computing System is typically provided with
`a number of resources that it utilizes to carry out its function.
`In operation, one or more of these resources may become a
`bottleneck as load on the computing System increases,
`ultimately resulting in degradation of client connection
`quality, Severance of one or more client connections, and/or
`Server crashes.
`0004 Network computing system bottlenecks have tra
`ditionally been dealt with by throwing more resources at the
`problem. For example, when performance degradation is
`encountered, more memory, a faster CPU (central process
`ing unit), multiple CPU's, or more disk drives are added to
`the server in an attempt to alleviate the bottlenecks. Such
`Solutions therefore typically involve spending more money
`to add more hardware. Besides being expensive and time
`consuming, the addition of hardware often only Serves to
`push the bottleneck to a different Subsystem or resource.
`0005 Issues associated with thin last mile access net
`Works are currently being addressed by technologies Such as
`DSL and cable modems, while overrun core networks are
`being improved using, for example, ultra-high Speed Switch
`ing/routing and wave division multiplexing technologies.
`However, even with the implementation of Such technolo
`gies, end user expectations of Service quality per device and
`
`content usage experience is often not met due to network
`equipment limitations encountered in the face of the total
`Volume of network usage. Lack of network quality assur
`ance for information management applications Such as con
`tent delivery makes the implementation of mission-critical
`or high quality content delivery undesirable on networks
`Such as the Internet, limiting Service growth and profitability
`and leaving content delivery and other information manage
`ment applications as thin profit commodity businesses on
`Such networks.
`0006. Often the ultimate network bottleneck is the net
`work Server itself. For example, to maintain high-quality
`Service for a premium customer necessarily requires that the
`traditional video server be under-utilized so that Sufficient
`bandwidth is available to deliver a premium video stream
`without packet loss. However, to achieve efficient levels of
`utilization the Server must handle multiple user Sessions
`Simultaneously, often including both premium and non
`premium Video streams. In this situation, the traditional
`Server often becomes overloaded, and delivers all Streams
`with equal packet loSS. Thus, the premium customer has the
`Same low quality experience as a non-premium customer.
`0007. A number of standards, protocols and techniques
`have been developed over the years to provide varying
`levels of treatment for different types of traffic on local area
`networks (“LANs”). These standards have been imple
`mented at many Open System Interconnection (“OSI”)
`levels. For example, Ethernet has priority bits in the
`802.1 p/q header, and. TCP/IP has TOS bits. Presumably,
`Switches and routers would use these bits to give higher
`priority to packets labeled with one set of bits, as opposed
`to another. RSVP is a signaling protocol that is used to
`reserve resources throughout the LAN (from one endpoint to
`another), So that bandwidth for a connection can be guar
`anteed. Many of these protocols have being considered for
`use within the Internet.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`0008 Disclosed herein are systems and methods for the
`deterministic management of information, Such as manage
`ment of the delivery of content acroSS a network that utilizes
`computing Systems Such as Servers, Switches and/or routers.
`Among the many advantages provided by the disclosed
`Systems and methods are increased performance and
`improved predictability of Such computing Systems in the
`performance of designated tasks acroSS a wide range of
`loads. Examples include greater predictability in the capa
`bility of a network Server, Switch or router to proceSS and
`manage information Such as content requests, and accelera
`tion in the delivery of information acroSS a network utilizing
`Such computing Systems.
`0009 Deterministic embodiments of the disclosed sys
`tems and methods may be implemented to achieve Substan
`tial elimination of indeterminate application performance
`characteristics common with conventional information man
`agement Systems, Such as conventional content delivery
`infrastructures. For example, the disclosed Systems and
`methods may be advantageously employed to Solve unpre
`dictability, delivery latencies, capacity planning, and other
`problems associated with general application Serving in a
`computer network environment, for example, in the delivery
`of Streaming media, data and/or Services. Other advantages
`
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`and benefits possible with implementation of the disclosed
`Systems and methods include maximization of hardware
`resource use for delivery of content while at the same time
`allowing minimization of the need to add expensive hard
`ware acroSS all functional Subsystems simultaneously to a
`content delivery System, and elimination of the need for an
`application to have intimate knowledge of the hardware it
`intends to employ by maintaining Such knowledge in the
`operating System of a deterministically enabled computing
`component.
`0010. In one exemplary embodiment, the disclosed sys
`tems and methods may be employed with network content
`delivery Systems to manage content delivery hardware in a
`manner to achieve efficient and predictable delivery of
`content. In another exemplary embodiment, deterministic
`delivery of data through a content delivery System may be
`implemented with end-to-end consideration of QoS priority
`policies within and acroSS all components from Storage disk
`to wide area network (WAN) interface. In yet another
`exemplary embodiment, delivery of content may be tied to
`the rate at which the content is delivered from networking
`components. These and other benefits of the disclosed
`methods and Systems may be achieved, for example, by
`incorporating intelligence into individual System compo
`nentS.
`0.011 The disclosed systems and methods may be imple
`mented to utilize end-to-end consideration of quality assur
`ance parameters So as to provide Scalable and practical
`mechanisms that allow varying levels of Service to be
`differentially tailored or personalized for individual network
`users. Consideration of Such quality assurance parameters
`may be used to advantageously provide end-to-end network
`Systems, Such as end-to-end content delivery infrastructures,
`with network-based mechanisms that provide users with
`class of service (“CoS”), quality of service (“QoS”), con
`nection admission control, etc. This ability may be used by
`service providers (“XSPs') to offer their users premium
`information management Services for premium prices.
`Examples of Such XSPs include, but are not limited to,
`Internet service providers (“ISPs'), application service pro
`viders (“ASPs'), content delivery service providers
`(“CDSPs'), storage service providers ("SSPs'), content pro
`viders (“CPs”), Portals, etc.
`0012 Certain embodiments of the disclosed systems and
`methods may be advantageously employed in network com
`puting System environments to enable differentiated Service
`provisioning, for example, in accordance with busineSS
`objectives. Examples of types of differentiated Service pro
`Visioning that may be implemented include, but are not
`limited to, re-provisioned and real time System resource
`allocation and management, Service, metering, billing, etc.
`In other embodiments disclosed herein, monitoring, tracking
`and/or reporting features may be implemented in network
`computing System environments. Advantageously, these
`functions may be implemented at the resource, platform
`Subsystem, platform, and/or application levels, to fit the
`needs of particular network environments. In other
`examples, features that may be implemented include, but are
`not limited to, System and Service Level Agreement (SLA)
`performance reporting, content usage tracking and reporting
`(e.g., identity of content accessed, identity of user accessing
`the content, bandwidth at which the content is accessed,
`frequency and/or time of day of access to the content, etc.),
`
`bill generation and/or billing information reporting, etc.
`Advantageously, the disclosed Systems and methods make
`possible the delivery of such differentiated information
`management features at the edge of a network (e.g., across
`Single or multiple nodes), for example, by using SLA
`policies to control System resource allocation to Service
`classes (e.g., packet processing) at the network edge, etc.
`0013 In one disclosed embodiment, an information man
`agement System platform may be provided that is capable of
`delivering content, applications and/or Services to a network
`with Service guarantees Specified through policies. Such a
`System platform may be advantageously employed to pro
`vide an overall network infrastructure the ability to provide
`differentiated Services for bandwidth consumptive applica
`tions from the XSP Standpoint, advantageously allowing
`implementation of rich media audio and Video content
`delivery applications on Such networks.
`0014.
`In a further embodiment disclosed herein, a sepa
`rate operating System or operating System method may be
`provided that is inherently optimized to allow Standard/
`traditional network-connected compute System applications
`(or other applications designed for traditional I/O intensive
`environments) to be run without modification on the dis
`closed Systems having multi-layer asymmetrical processing
`architecture, although optional modifications and further
`optimization are possible if So desired. Examples include,
`but are not limited to, applications related to Streaming,
`HTTP, Storage networking (network attached Storage
`(NAS), storage area network (SAN), combinations thereof,
`etc.), data base, caching, life Sciences, etc.
`0015. In yet another embodiment disclosed herein, a
`utility-based computing proceSS may be implemented to
`manage information and provide differentiated Service using
`a process that includes provisioning of resources (e.g., based
`on SLA policies), tracking and logging of provisioning
`Statistics (e.g., to measure how well SLA policies have been
`met), and transmission of periodic logs to a billing System
`(e.g., for SLA verification, future resource allocation, bill
`generation, etc.). Such a process may also be implemented
`So as to be Scalable to bandwidth requirements (network
`(NET), compute, Storage elements, etc.), may be determin
`istic at various System levels (below the operating System
`level, at the application level, at the Subsystem or Subscriber
`flow level, etc.), may be implemented across all applications
`hosted (HTTP, RTSP, NFS, etc.), as well as across multiple
`users and multiple applications, Systems, and operating
`System configurations.
`0016 Advantageously, the scalable and deterministic
`aspects of certain embodiments disclosed herein may be
`implemented in a way So as to offer Surprising and Signifi
`cant advantages with regard to differentiated Service, while
`at the same time providing reduced total cost of System use,
`and increased performance for System cost relative to tra
`ditional computing and network Systems. Further, these
`Scalable and deterministic features may be used to provide
`information management Systems capable of performing
`differentiated Service functions or taskS Such as Service
`prioritization, monitoring, and reporting functions in a fixed
`hardware implementation platform, variable hardware
`implementation platform or distributed Set of platforms
`(either full System or distributed Subsystems across a net
`work), and which may be further configured to be capable of
`
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`delivering Such features at the edge of a network in a manner
`that is network transport independent.
`0.017. In one specific example, deterministic management
`of information may be implemented to extend network
`traffic management principles to achieve a true end-to-end
`quality experience, for example, all the way to the Stored
`content in a content delivery System environment. For
`example, the disclosed Systems and methods may be imple
`mented in one embodiment to provide differentiated service
`functions or tasks (e.g., that may be content-aware, user
`aware, application-aware, etc.) in a storage spindle-to-WAN
`edge router environment, and in doing So make possible the
`delivery of differentiated information services and/or differ
`entiated busineSS Services.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`0.018
`FIG. 1A is a representation of components of a
`content delivery System according to one embodiment of the
`disclosed content delivery System.
`0019 FIG. 1B is a representation of data flow between
`modules of a content delivery system of FIG. 1A according
`to one embodiment of the disclosed content delivery System.
`0020 FIG. 1C is a simplified schematic diagram show
`ing one possible network content delivery System hardware
`configuration.
`0021
`FIG. 1D is a simplified schematic diagram show
`ing a network content delivery engine configuration possible
`with the network content delivery System hardware configu
`ration of FIG. 1C.
`0022 FIG. 1E is a simplified schematic diagram show
`ing an alternate network content delivery engine configura
`tion possible with the network content delivery system
`hardware configuration of FIG. 1C.
`0023 FIG.1F is a simplified schematic diagram showing
`another alternate network content delivery engine configu
`ration possible with the network content delivery system
`hardware configuration of FIG. C.
`0024 FIGS. 1G-1J illustrate exemplary clusters of net
`work content delivery Systems.
`0.025
`FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic diagram showing
`another possible network content delivery System configu
`ration.
`FIG. 2A is a simplified schematic diagram show
`0.026
`ing a network endpoint computing System.
`0.027
`FIG. 2B is a simplified schematic diagram show
`ing a network endpoint computing System.
`0028 FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an exem
`plary network processor.
`0029 FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of an exem
`plary interface between a Switch fabric and a processor.
`0030 FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for the
`deterministic delivery of content according to one embodi
`ment of the present invention.
`0.031
`FIG. 6 is a simplified schematic diagram illustrat
`ing a data center operable to perform deterministic delivery
`of content according to one embodiment of the present
`invention.
`
`0032 FIG. 7 is a simplified representation illustrating
`interrelation of various functional components of an infor
`mation management System and method for delivering dif
`ferentiated Service according to one embodiment of the
`present invention.
`0033 FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a method of
`providing differentiated Service based on defined busineSS
`objectives according to one embodiment of the present
`invention.
`0034 FIG. 9A is a simplified representation illustrating
`an endpoint information management node and data center
`connected to a network according to one embodiment of the
`disclosed content delivery System.
`0035 FIG.9B is a simplified representation illustrating a
`traffic management node connected to a network according
`to one embodiment of the disclosed content delivery System.
`0036 FIG. 9C is a simplified representation of multiple
`edge content delivery nodes connected to a network accord
`ing to one embodiment of the disclosed content delivery
`System.
`0037 FIG. 9D is a representation of components of an
`information management System interconnected acroSS a
`network according to one embodiment of the disclosed
`content delivery System.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE
`EMBODIMENTS
`0038. Disclosed herein are systems and methods for
`operating network connected computing Systems. The net
`work connected computing Systems disclosed provide a
`more efficient use of computing System resources and pro
`vide improved performance as compared to traditional net
`work connected computing Systems. Network connected
`computing Systems may include network endpoint Systems.
`The Systems and methods disclosed herein may be particu
`larly beneficial for use in network endpoint systems. Net
`work endpoint Systems may include a wide variety of
`computing devices, including but not limited to, classic
`general purpose Servers, Specialized Servers, network appli
`ances, Storage area networks or other Storage medium,
`content delivery Systems, corporate data centers, application
`Service providers, home or laptop computers, clients, any
`other device that operates as an endpoint network connec
`tion, etc.
`0039) Other network connected systems may be consid
`ered a network intermediate node System. Such Systems are
`generally connected to Some node of a network that may
`operate in Some other fashion than an endpoint. Typical
`examples include network Switches or network routers.
`Network intermediate node Systems may also include any
`other devices coupled to intermediate nodes of a network.
`0040. Further, some devices may be considered both a
`network intermediate node System and a network endpoint
`system. Such hybrid systems may perform both endpoint
`functionality and intermediate node functionality in the
`Same device. For example, a network Switch that also
`performs. Some endpoint functionality may be considered a
`hybrid system. As used herein such hybrid devices are
`considered to be a network endpoint System and are also
`considered to be a network intermediate node System.
`
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`0041. For ease of understanding, the systems and meth
`ods disclosed herein are described with regards to an illus
`trative network connected computing System. In the illus
`trative example the System is a network endpoint System
`optimized for a content delivery application. Thus a content
`delivery System is provided as an illustrative exa