Patent attributes
A distributed caching technique for use in computer networks is disclosed. The illustrative embodiment is particularly advantageous in computer networks that comprises a hierarchical topology because it removes some of the computational tasks associated with caching away from the network nodes that act as caches to other network nodes that are less burdened with computational tasks. Furthermore, some embodiments of the present invention use hash tables to facilitate the storage and retrieval of cached resources. The illustrative embodiment of the present invention comprises: hashing at a first processor a first resource identifier to create a hash key, wherein the first resource identifier identifies a first resource; transmitting from the first processor to a second processor the hash key and a request for the first resource; and receiving at the first processor a second resource in response to the transmission of the hash key and the request for the first resource from the first processor to the second processor.
