Importance

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Abstract

A server computer connectable to a network and having a plurality of processors (20, 30, 40) arranged to provide a service to one or more client computers connected to the network. The service Involves the provision of blocks of information to a client computer (50), and the processors have access to a data storage (120) in which data for the blocks of information is stored. Each processor in the server has block retrieval means (80), employed in response to a request from a client computer (50) for a particular block of information from that processor, to retrieve data from the data storage (120) to construct a file representing the requested block of information, the file including references to subsequent blocks of information requestable by the client (50). Additionally, load determining means (100) periodically determines activity data for the processor for inclusion In a load distribution record maintained for all of the processors of the server. Decision means (90) is then used which, for each reference to a subsequent block of information in the file constructed by the block retrieval means (80), determines, based on the load distribution record, which processor should service a request from the client computer (50) for that subsequent block of information, and includes an address for that processor in the file constructed by the block retrieval means (80). The file is then sent to the client computer (50). In preferred embodiments, the service being provided is the World Wide Web (WWW) service, and the technique Is employed on a parallel Web server providing Web pages to clients over the Internet.

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First Claim