WO2002017199A1

WO2002017199A1 - System and method for facilitating business in a computer network

Info

Publication number: WO2002017199A1
Application number: PCT/US2001/026465
Authority: WO
Inventors: Joe J Wu
Original assignee: Specialty Merchandise Corporation
Priority date: 2000-08-24
Filing date: 2001-08-24
Publication date: 2002-02-28
Also published as: AU2001286723A1

Abstract

In a business model for a computer network, a single distributor establishes and maintains one or more main databases of products, creates and subsequently services and maintains a commerce site that can interact with the database for each of multiple vendors. While there is a database associated with each of the commerce sites, the individual site databases need not contain detailed product information but rather only pointers or indices to detailed product information in the main database(s). Thus, unnecessary redundancy in the system is avoided. Further, the system and method has the capacity to monitor the individual processing elements of the network; and, based on that activity, to determine the conditions under which adjustments should be made to enhance efficiency; and to partially or entirely, as necessary, recreate the sites on a different processing element or elements of the network in a quick and easy-to-implement manner using scripting language programming.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FACILITATING BUSINESS IN A

COMPUTER NETWORK

The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for conducting business over a computer network. More particularly, and although not exclusively, the present inventions relates to a system and method for managing multiple sites within a computer network through which users may interact with one or more database management systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the advent of the Internet, i.e., the worldwide association of interconnected computer networks which use a common protocol, such as the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), conducting business "on line" has become more and more popular. In the early days of the Internet, it was a fairly simple matter for a given individual to create a web site for the purpose of advertising products or services by merely displaying text or other images in HyperText Markup Language (HTML), the standard coding language for documents that are transmitted across the Internet in HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) from the web site's host computer to the computer of a user. However, more complex processing and/or programming is required when it is desired to actually accomplish transactions over the Internet, e.g., allowing a user to place an order for a product over the Internet, and allowing a vendor to reply with a message acknowledging the order, and the like.

Various types of languages are used for communicating amongst the various processing elements of a computer network which interact with the Internet. One way of classifying these languages is according to the ease with which a human programmer can understand the language. A "high-level" language is one that is easier for a human programmer to read and write and maintain, but a "low-level" language is one which is easier for a computer to understand. For example, the lowest of low-level languages is the machine language specific to a particular type of computer.

A scripting language is a simple-to-use, high-level language that enables a programmer to create scripts, or a series of commands, that can be executed without any input from a user. The most common use of a script is to build interactivity into a web site, so that a user of the site can do more than simply view the site's content. Having a site with interactivity generally is critical if the site is to be used as an e-commerce site, because a user of the site will need to send queries to the database(s) and to receive responses in return. Conducting business over the Internet or "e-commerce" can be an attractive way for would-be entrepreneurs or small businesses to establish themselves in a particular marketplace, since the overhead almost always is less burdensome than that associated with a traditional storefront operation. In addition, the ever-increasing popularity of the worldwide web allows a vendor of products or services access to a greater number of potential customers than otherwise might be realized from a storefront, direct mail, or telemarketing approach.

In order to establish a typical e-commerce business, however, a would-be vendor often faces substantial start-up costs. Such start-up costs might include, for example, setting up a database of the products the vendor would like to make available for sale, putting in place a mechanism for maintaining the database which includes continuously or periodically monitoring inventory, purchasing the hardware components necessary to host the database, the vendor web site, and the interface between the same, and configuring the software needed to effect the interface so as to optimize processing time, and the like. These start-up costs can be daunting for a potential business with limited capital and/or limited or non-existent information technology resources. In addition, a potential business must consider the expertise and corresponding expense associated with maintaining the network so as to best serve the business as it grows or to effectively adjust for varying economic circumstances. These factors can discourage altogether a would-be vendor from undertaking a new enterprise.

Barriers to the business opportunities afforded by e-commerce would be less onerous if there were a way for an individual to use the resources of another, for example, those of a distributor, to both establish the vendor web site and to subsequently service that site with products from one or more databases that also are maintained by the distributor. In such a business scheme, each vendor could have its own individual e-commerce business, but would not have to have the wherewithal to configure the client/server system, update and maintain the databases, and the like. In such a scenario, the distributor's system desirably would have features that allow a vendor to both establish and to subsequently maintain his her own enterprise efficiently and without much effort or computer resources and to subsequently maintain the enterprise. The distributor's system also desirably would have the capacity for redundancy, to guard against irrevocable loss of data (for example, if a processing element in the network temporarily fails). Further, it would be advantageous if the system were scalable, so as to be able to accommodate changes in business conditions, (such as an increase in the number of vendors being serviced by the distributor). Likewise, it would be beneficial if the distributor's system had the ability to adjust the various processes being carried out by various elements of the network in accordance with some set of criteria in order to maximize resource utilization, optimize execution time, and minimize communication delays.

One way of providing a system with the characteristics of redundancy, scalability and load balancing, is to increase capacity by adding physical components to the network, e.g., bigger servers or additional servers. Redundancy might be accomplished by adding a server such that everything that is processed by or stored on one server is duplicated onto a second server as back up, in case one or the other of the servers fails. Similarly, scalability might be implemented by adding processing components whenever a certain number of vendors have been added to the system. When one or more vendor sites on one server become too busy, again more servers can be introduced into the system, in an effort to accommodate the increased load on the network.

However, it can be costly to merely adding components to a network or transferring data from one processing element to another processing element in the network with a larger capacity. If the distributor's business projections are uncertain or tend to fluctuate based on factors such as the time of year (e.g., holiday gift-giving season versus school vacation season) or the state of the economy, an alternative to upgrading the quantity or capacity of components would be desirable. Thus, it would be advantageous if, for example, when web site traffic on one or more web sites is especially high, if the locus of activity of one or more web sites could be transferred, temporarily or otherwise, from one unique processing element in the network to a different processing element in the network. What has been needed, therefore, and what has heretofore been unavailable is a system and method for facilitating business over a computer network that is easy-to-manage and cost-effective -from the point of view of both the vendors and the distributors and which system and method has a feature that allows one or more commerce sites within the network to be managed so as to optimize the efficiency of the network. The present invention clearly addresses and satisfies these and other needs.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly and in general terms, in accordance with the present invention, a system and method renders e-commerce palatable to "low-tech" businesses or enterprises of a smaller scale. In this regard, a business model has been developed in which, in a computer network, a single distributor establishes and maintains one or more main databases of products, creates and subsequently services and maintains a commerce site that can interact with the database for each of multiple vendors. Each of the vendors has the capability, by reason of a unique user name and password, to access his or her site in the network and to accomplish such actions as changing the "look and feel" of the vendor site. While there is a database associated with each of the commerce sites, the individual site databases need not contain detailed product information but rather only pointers or indices to detailed product information in the main database(s). Thus, unnecessary redundancy in the system is avoided. Further, a system and method in accordance with the present invention has the capacity to monitor the individual processing elements of the network; and, based on that activity, to determine the conditions under which adjustments should be made to enhance efficiency; and to partially or entirely, as necessary, recreate the sites on a different processing element or elements of the network in a quick and easy-to-implement manner using scripting language programming.

In this distribution system, therefore, a vendor can establish a business on a computer network with little effort and does not require any particularly sophisticated computer hardware or software. A vendor need not be concerned with overhead costs associated with maintaining product inventories or purchasing and maintaining large-scale computer resources. Information regarding a particular product or collection of products need not be permanently maintained in a database at the level of the vendor, but rather can be retrieved from the distributor's main databases only upon request by a user (e.g., a vendor or a vendor's customer). Moreover, the distributor can enhance the efficiency of the system as conditions change, without necessarily having to add components or to upgrade existing components, with a simple-to-implement technique. Using a scripting language program to recreate commerce sites from one processing element to another, allows the locus of activity for multiple vendors to be moved quickly and simply from one physical processing element to another. The transfer of activity is transparent to the vendors and the vendors' customers, because the address the vendors and customers use to access a given site does not change.

More particularly, according to one aspect of the invention, the distributor creates and maintains one or more main databases of products, and offers a prospective vendor the opportunity to establish his or her own business selling some subset of those products through . his or her own commerce site. The prospective vendor provides the distributor with certain information that will be used to customize a commerce site for the vendor from among a selection of various site templates. This information includes such things as the identification of a unique name for the commerce site, and a user name and password. The prospective vendor might provide the distributor with this information by filing out a form and mailing it in, calling the information into the distributor by telephone, or by filling out a form on a web site maintained by the distributor. A commerce site for the vendor then is created on of the processing elements within the computer network of the distributor and will be interfaced with the main database of the network. Once his or her business is established, the distributor will offer tips or more detailed counseling to the vendor as to how to best manage the enterprise so as to be profitable. The distributor's advice may be provided in various ways, such as in mailings, over the telephone, or over its web site.

The distributor's computer network corresponds to a multiple tier client/server architecture, wherein a lower tier comprises user interfaces that are resident on the computers of the vendors, a top tier comprises at least one Database Management System (DBMS) that can respond to queries from the user interfaces formatted in Structured Query Language (SQL) and which resides on a database server, and the middle tier comprises a plurality of processing elements in the form of application servers (or a "server farm"), which application servers accomplish the processing functions necessary to communicate between the user interfaces and the databases.

As noted above, the distributor creates commerce sites for each of a plurality of vendors according to a customizable template or templates. Upon entry of the information that is specific to the vendor, a scripting language program executes the steps required to create each commerce site on a particular one of the application servers in the server farm. A database specific to each commerce site is created as well, which contains indices to the product information maintained in the main database(s). Once a site has been established on the network, the vendor will have access, by virtue of a unique user name and password, to a "Site Manager" feature provided and maintained by the distributor. The Site Manager allows the vendor to change various aspects of his or her site, such as features ranging from the background color of the web page which will be downloaded to the user interface of a customer or the number and/or kind of products from the distributor's main database(s) which are offered for sale on the site. A customer desiring to access a particular vendor's site will request the site by entering the site's address on the customer's user interface. The distributor's system will respond by sending the appropriate web page to the customer. The customer can view information from the main database(s) regarding a particular product that the vendor is offering for sale even though such information is not contained in the database specific to the vendor's site. That is, a customer's query about a product will cause a pointer in the database of the vendor site to request product information, such as a detailed description or a graphical representation of the product, from the main database(s). The product information then will be relayed through the vendor site to the customer's user interface.

A set of criteria is established for the distributor's system, which will determine under what conditions the locus of activity of one or more vendor sites will be effectively rerouted to a different application server in the server farm. The scripting language is used to execute the site-generating program, and those aspects of the site which are necessary to allow a user to interact with the site on the different application server are recreated on the different application server. The sites are recreated on the other server using a scripting language program. Load-balancing algorithms are then used to re-direct traffic on the recreated sites to the different application server.

This characteristic allows a large number of sites to be recreated automatically and thus very quickly, onto one or more different processing elements in the network. This, efficiency-enhancing feature is transparent to the vendors and to the vendors' customers, because from their perspective (i.e., at the level of a user interfaced), the addresses of the vendors' sites remain unchanged. As between the main database(s) and the application servers in the server farm however, the main database(s) will recognize that a particular request processed through a particular vendor site is coming from a different processing element and, therefore, the main database(s) will respond to the correct physical machine on which the recreated site is resident.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings of certain preferred embodiments, which are intended to illustrate and not to limit the invention, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an Internet computer network; FIG. 2 is a high-level architectural drawing illustrating the primary components of a system that operates in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 3 a flowchart diagram of a preferred method according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings Wherein like reference numerals denote like corresponding elements throughout the figures and, more particularly, to FIG. 1 , there is shown a known Internet network 10. The Internet network 10 is comprised of a large number of processing elements known as "servers" 20, which are interfaced with the processing elements of "clients" 30. The client-side processing elements most commonly are in the form of a user's home personal computer (PC), wherein the client can access different ones of the servers 20 from his or her home PC 30 over the Internet 40 via what is commonly referred to as an Internet Access Provider (IAP) or Internet Service Provider (ISP).

The processing elements on the worldwide web use common protocols in order to exchange information with each other, a common one of which is the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Use of one of these common protocols provides a client with access to certain files that are in a standardized language. One of these standardized languages is called the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). A client can use a software program referred to as a "browser" which is capable of reading HTML files. The HTML files are delivered to the client via a web site, which is resident on one of the servers. A web site* is assigned a unique identifier called a Universal Resource Locator (URL). The first part of the URL address identifies the protocol to be used (e.g., HTTP), and the second part of the URL identifies the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer on which the web site can be found. As IP addresses are in the format of a 32-bit numeric address (e.g., #.###.##.###) which generally are not easy for a user to remember, a URL often includes a "domain name" for the site which is easy to remember and which corresponds to one or more of the IP addresses. An Internet service called a Domain Name Service (DNS) is available to translate domain names into the appropriate corresponding IP address or addresses. To access a particular web site, the client enters the URL on his or her browser, which is transformed into a request in standard TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) for the server on which the web site is resident. In response to the request, the server sends a web page for the site over the Internet 40 to the client's PC 30.

In the system illustrated in FIG. 2, a computer network is shown that is divided into a server-side 50, above the hashed line A, and a client-side 60, below the hashed line A. A distributor controls and maintains the server-side 50, and users of home PC's 30, and the like, control and maintain the processing elements on the client-side 60.

In one tier of the server-side 50, on a database server 70, the distributor establishes and maintains a main database 76 containing information respecting a variety of product types, such as graphics or image information. In a cunently preferred embodiment of a system according to the present invention, the variety of product types available are gift items, such as figurines, decorative plates, and gift baskets. The query language that is used to access the database is Structured Query Language (SQL), a standard database management system query language. It will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, however, that other database languages can be used in accordance with the present invention. It likewise will be clear to those skilled in the relevant art that virtually any type of product or service could serve as the basis for what is offered for sale by the distributor's vendors.

In a second tier of the server-side 50, a plurality of application servers 80 are provided which are interfaced between the main SQL database 76 and the client-side 60 of the network. The collection of application servers 80 sometimes is referred to colloquially by the term "server farm" 86. The distributor services a plurality of vendors who wish to sell products from the main SQL database 76 over the Internet by establishing web sites 82 for each vendor which are resident on one or more of the application servers 80 in the server farm 86. Each vendor can access his or her web site through his or her own PC 30, by specifying the URL address and then by identifying his or her user name and password. In this manner, a vendor can monitor the activity of his or her site or change the "look and feel" of the site through a feature referred to as the "site manager." The site manager allows the vendor to change certain aspects of the web site 82, such as the background color of the web page(s) or the mix of products in the SQL database(s) that are available over the site. Of course, customers of a vendor can access the vendor's site 82 from their own PCs 30 by requesting the web site 82 from the server farm 86.

The distributor goes about creating a web site for a vendor by first collecting certain information from the vendor that will be unique to his or her site, such as site name, and a user name and a password. To permit e-commerce to be conducted over the vendor web sites, each web site that is created is interactive, such that customers can make requests of the main SQL database 76, and the main SQL database 76 can then transmit responses to the customer's PC 30 via the server farm 86 and the Internet 40. A site 82 thus is created on a particular one of the application servers 80 by inputting the information that is unique to the vendor into a program written in a scripting language 84, and running the program to execute a plurality of steps to create the interactive web site 82. For example, some of the steps that might be involved include: identifying which of several available web site templates will be used; creating an Internet Information Store (IIS) for the vendor; identifying a unique name, user name and password for the web site; creating the database (i.e., the index of product information) to which the IIS will connect; identifying a port to enable the exchange over the web site of encrypted information, copying the necessary HTML and/or ASP (Active Server Page) files, and the like.

One type of scripting language currently is available under the tradename "JAVA SCRIPT" or the tradename "J SCRIPT" from Sun Microsystems, Inc. Another example of a scripting language is available under the tradename "VB SCRIPT" from the Microsoft Corporation.

Once a vendor web site is established, the distributor makes available to the vendor various advice regarding the vendor's business. For example, the distributor may provide suggestions on how to maximize profit or statistics reflecting some aspect of the vendor's performance over a particular period of time.

The distributor continuously or periodically monitors certain parameters of each application servers 80 in the server farm 86 so as to determine such things as the number of web sites 82 resident on a the application server 80 and the level of activity or traffic that is happening on the web site 82. The parameters might include, variously, Central Processing Unit (CPU) usage, memory usage and disk space usage. Based on the results of this monitoring, the system is configured so as to permit one or more of the web sites 82 to be recreated onto one or more of the other application servers 80 in the server farm 86 using a program written in a scripting language 88. More preciously, only so much of a given web site as is necessary to transfer the locus of activity of the site will be recreated. Thus, for example, if a database for a vendor site already exists on the system, a new database will not be generated when the scripting language program is executed. Accordingly, to enhance the efficiency of the application servers 80, e-commerce sites 82 can be copied or moved quickly around among the application servers 80 in a manner that does not require adding hardware and is transparent to and undetectable by the user.

In a method in accordance with a currently preferred embodiment of the present invention, a main database 76 is established on a database server 70. Next, a plurality of web sites 82 is established on one or more host application servers 80, whereby the resulting plurality of web sites 82 each permit interaction between a user and the database 76. Each web site is associated with its own database, which preferably contains indices (such as product numbers) to more comprehensive product information (such as graphical images or detailed descriptions of the products) stored in the main database 76. The site specific databases contain information that is more than just a pointer or an index, however, such as the vendor's particular pricing information, the vendor's customized descriptions of products or advertising, etc.

When a customer wishes to transact business with a particular one of the distributor's vendors, the customer enters the address for the vendor's site (or activates a link to the vendor's site) from his or her user interface, typically his or her PC. The web page associated with the site thus is downloaded to the customer's PC so that the customer can begin interacting with the vendor's site and with the distributor's database. If the customer requests information about a particular product being offered for sale by the vendor, the request will be associated with some type of identifier for that product (e.g., a product number) in the database for the web site. The index in the database for the web site points to the location in the main database 76 where more detailed information about the product (e.g., an image of the product or the description of its color or size) can be retrieved for the customer. In another method in accordance with a currently preferred embodiment of the present invention, and with reference to FIG. 3, a main database 76 is established on a database server 70. A plurality of web sites 82 is established on one or more host application servers 80 pursuant to a customizable template which is implemented with a scripting language program, whereby the resulting plurality of web sites 82 each permit interaction between a user and the main database 76. Next, it is determined whether one or several of the sites on a given application server should be recreated on a different application server to the extent necessary to reduce the load or level of activity being borne by the given application server. These criteria might include values reflecting the percentage of CPU usage for the given application server, or the percentage of memory or disk space usage. When the criteria is satisfied, a scripting language program 88 is used to recreate, on a different application server 80 in the network, only those aspects of the one or several web sites 82 as are necessary for the different application server 80 bear the e-commerce "traffic" for the web site 82.

Although the invention has been described in terms specific to the Internet and to particular types of processing elements in a computer network, as well as with reference to certain methodological acts, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific structures or acts described. The Internet, and the specific structural features and acts therefore are disclosed as exemplary embodiments implementing the claimed invention. Especially, and while the present invention is described in the context of the Internet and the worldwide web, it is to be appreciated that the present invention also could be applied in connection with other computer networks, such as a private network or intranet or a Wide Area Network (WAN), whenever multiple users are interacting in some form of client/server architecture.

Further, the embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the invention. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize various modifications and changes that may be made to the present invention without following the exemplary embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein, and without departing from the scope of the present invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

Claims

What Is Claimed Is:

1. A method of facilitating business in a computer network, comprising:

establishing a main database containing information relating to a variety of

products or services;

creating a site on a computer for each of a plurality of vendors, each vendor

site being capable of interacting with a user and with the main database;

creating a database for each vendor site relating to at least some of the

products or services in the main database;

accepting a request from a user for a vendor site;

downloading to the user interface at least one file corresponding to the vendor

site;

accepting a request from the user for information relating to a particular

product in the database for the particular one of the sites;

responding to the request for information by relaying information about the

product or service from the vendor site database or from the main database through the

vendor site to the user interface.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each vendor site database contains indices to

more detailed information regarding products or services that is located in the main database.

3. A method of enhancing efficiency in a computer network, comprising:

creating a database on a database server;

establishing a plurality of sites using at least one application server, which

sites are characterized by interactivity such that a user of the site can interact with the

database; monitoring the plurality of sites in accordance with a predetermined set of

criteria;

when the predetermined criteria are satisfied, recreating all or a portion of each

of the plurality of sites or each of a subset of the plurality of sites from the at least one

application server to a different application server located on the computer network using a

list of instructions that is implemented in scripting language.

4. The method of claim 1 , further including connecting the computer network to

the Internet.

5. The method of claim 2, further including changing the Internet Protocol

address of one or more of the plurality of sites so as to redirect users of the one or more of the

plurality of sites to the different application server.

6. In a computer network, a system for providing the capability of enhancing

server efficiency, the system comprising:

a database resident on a database server;

a plurality of client servers accessible by one or more users;

a plurality of application servers interfaced between the client servers and the

database;

a plurality of sites each of which resides on at least one of the plurality of

application servers, which sites permit interactivity between the one or more users and the

database;

a predetermined set of criteria corresponding to the state of each of the

plurality of application servers; a scripting .language program which, when executed, copies each of the plurality of sites or each of a subset of the plurality of sites from the at least one of the plurality of

application servers to one or more different application servers in the computer network.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the computer network is connected to the

Internet.

8. The system of claim 4, wherein the scripting language is NB Script.

9. The system of claim 4, wherein the scripting language is Java Script.