Importance

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Abstract

A 'flat' network architecture facilitates direct connections between nodes so that information may be retrieved more efficiently. Agent software is loaded on each participating node, and this code is sufficiently intelligent to share and relay information appropriately in accordance with user requests. The invention is particularly advantageous in situations where communication bottlenecks are likely to occur, such as between corporate intranets and the Internet, in conjunction with requests to international servers, and in other configurations wherein only a limited number of data pipelines are available. A method of accessing information in a client-server network architecture according to the invention includes the step of maintaining a database on the server which keeps track of where desired information is stored on the network. When such information is requested from the server, the database is queried to determine whether the information is available from one or more participating clients. If, so, the information is provided to the requestor directly through the client(s). According to the invention, this redirection of information is accomplished by storing agent software on each participating client. The agent is operative to inform the server that the client is storing at least a portion of the requested information, such that when the server queries the clients to determine the location of the information, the agents let the server know how much of the requested information they can make available to the requestor. Following this, the information is either provided to the requestor by the server instructing the client to deliver the information directly to the requestor the address of the client is downloaded to the requester, enabling the requestor to link to one or more clients if the information is fragmented across the net.

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First Claim