Split protocol client/server architecture

Protocol splitting has been used to enable protocols to be split at a server level without client involvement. We describe a novel split protocol client/server architecture that completely separates connections and data transfers within a typical session. In this approach, a client becomes aware of its multiple server sources and communicates with them using their IP addresses. Specifically, a client makes a single TCP connection to a connection server and subsequently communicates with one or more data servers to obtain its data and close the connection. We also conduct experiments and measure performance to demonstrate the feasibility of this architecture. Our results indicate that scalable server cluster configurations can be built using this approach. The proposed architecture simplifies server implementations, avoids traditional load balancing techniques, and isolates clients from data servers. It also results in a scalable and distributable approach to client/server computing that provides an alternative to the current paradigm.