Transaction acceleration for client-server communication systems
Self-discovering transaction accelerators improve communications between a client and a server. A client directs a message to a server. A client-side transaction accelerator intercepts the message, terminates the connection with the client, and accelerates the request by replacing segments of data with references. The accelerated request is forwarded to a server-side transaction accelerator through a new connection. The server-side transaction accelerator reconstructs the message by replacing the reference with segment data in a persistent segment store accessible to the server-side transaction accelerator. The reconstructed request is then provided to the server. Accelerations may occur in any direction of communication. Persistent segment stores can be pre-populated with segment data from other transaction accelerators and anticipated transactions. The persistent segment store can store segments that are data segmented based on content of the data and can be independent of transaction protocol, application, and device.
1. A system for accelerating protocol interactions over transport connections between a client and a server communicating over a network path, the system comprising:
a first proxy in proximity to the client;
a second proxy in proximity to the server, wherein the first proxy and the second proxy include logic for determining whether both the first proxy and the second proxy are in the network path from the client to the server; and
a connection interception mechanism that, when the first and second proxies are determined to be in the network path, is configured to (1) transparently terminate, at the first proxy, a client to-server transport connection, thereby forming a first intercepted connection between the first proxy and the client, (2) transparently terminate, at the second proxy, a server-to-client transport connection, thereby forming a second intercepted connection between the second proxy and the server, and (3) establish a third connection between the first proxy and second proxy,
wherein as part of a bandwidth optimization mechanism, the second proxy is configured to:
store data patterns in a data store, wherein each stored data pattern is associated with a reference;
receive one or more messages from the server over the second intercepted connection;
modify said server messages at least in part by replacing one or more data patterns of the server messages with associated references; and
transmit said modified server messages to the first proxy over the third connection.
2. The system claim 1 , wherein as part of an application protocol optimization mechanism, the second proxy is further configured to:
observe one or more application protocol messages transmitted by the client to the server for determining a pattern of client activity;
based on the observed pattern, synthesize and issue one or more requests to the server over the second intercepted connection;
receive responses to said requests; and
transmit said responses to the first proxy over the third connection as predicted responses.
3. The system claim 2 , wherein the second proxy comprises:
a prediction database comprising records of past transactions and relationships among past transactions; and
a predictor module that determines, from a received transaction and contents of the prediction database, which transactions are likely to occur in the future.
4. The system of claim 2 , wherein the application protocol is a file access protocol, the pattern of client activity is an “open” operation for a file, and the synthesized requests are “read requests” constituting a file read ahead.
5. The system of claim 2 , wherein the application protocol is a file access protocol, the pattern of client activity is a “read” operation at one location in a file, and the synthesized requests are “read requests” for one or more other locations in the file constituting a file read ahead.