A system and method have been provided for sorting information segments in a packet/cell earliest deadline first queue circuit. The invention permits information segments to be inserted at a rate that is twice as fast as the maximum extraction rate. Pairs of permanent and temporary registers are organized into a hierarchical sequence of stages. Generally, information segments with lower field ranks move systolically through the stages to temporary registers in higher sequence stages. Information segments with higher field ranks move systolically through the stages to permanent registers lower in the sequence of stages. The invention permits the highest rank information segments to be sorted and extracted with great efficiency.

System and method for systolic array sorting of information segments

A personal communication and electronic commerce system for use by participating users and participating merchants in connection with incentive programs in the Network Economy. The system includes a cellular communication network that includes geographically spaced base stations that are linked to a fixed communication network. Users may have personal communication devices that can be used to allow a digital message generated on the personal communication devices by placing a call through one of the base stations and memory for storing a digital value corresponding to a monetary value. The personal communication device may also be used as a cellular position locator to determine one's geographic location and, if desired, to access information from a merchant information database containing information pertaining to a plurality of participating merchants located within the geographic territory covered by the cellular communication network. The merchant information may be stored on a database that is accessible by merchants so those merchants can add, delete or alter information contained in their respective listings. An incentive system is also provided for creating incentives for participating users to encourage. This computer implemented incentive program for encouraging certain participant actions includes a first reward program under which participants may earn points for certain actions and a second reward program through which the redemption rate associated with a particular participant is adjusted in response to certain participant action. The incentive program has a wide range of applications, including transportation, financial services and computer gaming.

System and method for promoting commerce, including sales agent assisted commerce, in a networked economy

The specification discloses a method of doing business over the public Internet, particularly, a method which enables access to legacy management tools used by a telecommunications enterprise in the management of the enterprise business to the enterprise customer, to enable the customer to more effectively manage the business conducted by the customer through the enterprise, this access being provided over the public Internet. This method of doing business is accomplished with one or more secure web servers which manage one or more secure client sessions over the Internet, each web server supporting secure communications with the client workstation; a web page backplane application capable of launching one or more management tool applications used by the enterprise. Each of the management tool applications provide a customer interface integrated within said web page which enables interactive Web/Internet based communications with the web servers; each web server supports communication of messages entered via the integrated customer interface to one or more remote enterprise management tool application servers which interact with the enterprise management tool applications to provide associated management capabilities to the customer.

Integrated business system for web based telecommunications management

A Web-based call routing management workstation application which allows authorized customers to control toll free routing and monitor call center status. An architecture including one or more web servers located in a firewalled demilitarized zone (DMZ) as communications medium between the customer workstations at the customer sites and the enterprise back-end applications providing the call routing management services, provides a secure infrastructure for accessing the enterprise applications via the otherwise insecure public Internet. The present invention enables creation and management of call by call routing rules by a customer with a workstation having an Internet access and a supported Web browser. The customized rules may be tested and/or debugged via the Web-enabled workstation, using a debugger/tester which runs the routing rules under a simulated environment. In addition, customers may provision hierarchies for their business; create, modify or delete agent pools; manipulate capacity tables; and define quota schemes, value lists and schedule tables, all at the customer site via the Web-enabled workstation. The present invention also enables the customers to view near real-time displays of call center ACD statistics and peg counts based on routing rules, as well as, run provisioning and statistical reports on provisioning and statistical data and also to extract the data for further analysis. Additionally, the present invention supports foreign language and branding features on a graphical user interface. An infrastructure is provided which enables secure initiation, acquisition, and presentation of the call manager functionalities to customers from any computer workstation having a web browser and located anywhere in the world.

Integrated customer web station for web-based call management

A system and method for searching for documents within spaces in a distributed computing environment are provided. A client sends a lookup message to a space which stores documents. The lookup message may specify desired characteristics, such as a name or partial XML schema, of the stored documents. The documents may include XML service advertisements and XML device advertisements as well as general-purpose XML documents. A set of zero or more documents which match the lookup message are discovered. In one embodiment, the lookup message may include a desired name. If the lookup message includes both a desired name and a desired schema, the set of discovered documents may include both discovered documents having a name that matches the desired name and discovered documents having a schema that matches the desired schema. If the lookup message includes neither a desired name nor a desired schema, the set of discovered documents may include substantially all the documents stored in the space. After the matching documents are found, the space may send a lookup response message to the client. For each discovered document, the lookup response message may include a name and an advertisement. Each advertisement may include information which is usable by the client to obtain the respective discovered document or access the resource (e.g., a service) that the document advertises. The advertisements and messages may be expressed in a data representation language such as XML.

Mechanism and apparatus for using messages to look up documents stored in spaces in a distributed computing environment

A preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a method and apparatus for allocating and using IP addresses in a network of client systems. More specifically, the present invention includes a DHCP server that leases IP addresses to the client systems. The DHCP server works in combination with a secure DHCP relay agent and a secure IP relay agent. Broadcast DHCPREQUEST messages are forwarded to the DHCP server by the secure DHCP relay agent. Before forwarding, the secure DHCP relay agent embeds a trusted identifier in each DHCPREQUEST message. The trusted identifier is an unforgeable object specifically associated with the client system sending the DHCPREQUEST message. When the DHCP server receives the DHCPREQUEST message, the DHCP server extracts the trusted identifier. The trusted identifier is then used by the DHCP server to prevent client systems from accessing the IP address leases of other client systems. The DHCP server also counts the number of IP addresses leases assigned to each trusted identifier. In this way, each client system is prevented from leasing more than a predetermined number of IP addresses. Unicast DHCPREQUEST messages received by the DHCP server include a source address that corresponds to the client system sending the unicast DHCPREQUEST message. The validity of the source address is ensured by the secure IP relay agent. The DHCP server uses the source address to prevent client systems from accessing the IP address leases of other client systems.

Secure dhcp server

A method and apparatus for controlling access to services within a computer network is provided. More specifically, the present invention includes a services management system, or SMS. The SMS manages network connections between a series of client systems and a router. An access network control server (ANCS) manages the configuration of the router. For each network user, the SMS maintains a profile of filtering rules. When the user accesses the network, the SMS downloads the user's filtering profiles to the ANCS. The ANCS then uses the downloaded filtering profiles to reconfigure the router. The router then uses the filtering rules to selectively forward IP packets originating from the user's host system and directed at the network services.

Method and apparatus for controlling access to services within a computer network

The present invention includes a method and apparatus for filtering IP packets based on events within a computer network. More specifically, the present invention includes a services management system, or SMS. The SMS manages network connections between a series of client systems and a router. An access network control server (ANCS) manages the configuration of the router. The SMS monitors activities or events that occur within the network. In response to these events, the SMS dynamically downloads filtering profiles to the ANCS. The ANCS then uses the downloaded filtering profiles to reconfigure the router. The router then uses the filtering rules to selectively discard or forward IP packets received from the client systems.

Method and apparatus for dynamic packet filter assignment

A preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a method and apparatus for routing an IP packets in a network of client systems. The router forwards IP packets between the client systems and the server systems. More specifically, the router can be pre-configured to include one or more "routes." Each route is a mapping between an IP address and a client system. The router may also learn route from other routers and by analysis of IP packets. Preferably, the routes known by the router are included in a route table. The router also monitors DHCP assignment of IP addresses to client systems within the network. When the DHCP assignment of an IP address is detected, the router creates a new route that associates the newly assigned IP address and the corresponding client system. The new route is marked so that it may only be overwritten by a subsequent DHCP assignment. The router then updates the route table to include the new route and purges the route table of learned routes that have been invalidated by the new route. In this way, the present invention allows dynamically assigned IP addresses to override learned routes.

Method for using DHCP and marking to override learned IP addesseses in a network

A preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a method and apparatus for routing IP packets in a network of client systems. The router forwards IP packets between the client systems and the server systems. More specifically, the router can be pre-configured to include one or more 'routes'. Each route is a mapping between an IP address and a client system. The router may also learn route from other routers and by analysis of IP packets. Preferably, the routes known by the router are included in a route table. The router also monitors DHCP assignment of IP addresses to client systems within the network. When the DHCP assignment of an IP address is detected, the router creates a new route that associates the newly assigned IP address and the corresponding client system. The new route is marked so that it may only be overwritten by a subsequent DHCP assignment. The router then updates the route table to include the new route and purges the route table of learned routes that have been invalidated by the new route. In this way, the present invention allows dynamically assigned IP addresses to override learned routes.

Robert J. Goedman

Papers

Secure dhcp server

Method and apparatus for controlling access to services within a computer network

Method and apparatus for dynamic packet filter assignment

Method for using DHCP and marking to override learned IP addesseses in a network

Method for using dhcp to override learned ip addresses in a network