Prior art

Prior Art Analysis for US8478903

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 8478903, we will examine the patent's own citations from the Google Patents listing. Anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 occurs when every element of a claimed invention is identically disclosed or described in a single prior art reference, arranged as in the claim.

Based on the Google Patents data, US8478903B2 lists 275 patent citations. Given this large number, a comprehensive analysis of every single citation is beyond the scope of this response. However, I can provide an example of how to analyze a selection of the most frequently cited or earliest-filed prior art references if specific ones are provided, or based on the first few listed. For the purpose of this task, I will focus on the earliest-filed US patent documents listed in the "U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS" section of US8478903B2 as they are often highly relevant for anticipation due to their early priority dates.

Here's an analysis of a few early patent citations from US8478903:

1. US4495570A - Processing request allocator for assignment of loads in a distributed processing system

• Full Citation: US4495570A
• Publication Date: January 22, 1985 (Filing date: January 14, 1981)
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system for allocating processing requests in a distributed processing system. It involves a processing request allocator that assigns loads to various processors. While the full text is not provided, the title suggests a focus on load distribution across a network of processing units.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. § 102: Without a detailed review of the full patent text and claims of US4495570A, it's difficult to definitively state which claims of US8478903 it anticipates. However, given its description of a "processing request allocator for assignment of loads in a distributed processing system," it could potentially anticipate aspects of US8478903 related to the reflector's role in selecting a "best" repeater based on load or distributing requests among multiple servers. Specifically, elements of independent claims 1 and 11 of US8478903 that involve a mechanism for selecting a server (repeater) to process a request, possibly based on load balancing, could be anticipated if US4495570A explicitly discloses every step or structural element of those claims.

2. US4591983A - Multi-processor system with shared memory and task queue

• Full Citation: US4591983A
• Publication Date: May 27, 1986 (Filing date: July 30, 1984)
• Brief Description: This patent describes a multi-processor system with shared memory and a task queue. This generally relates to how multiple processors efficiently handle tasks by sharing resources.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. § 102: Similar to the above, a precise determination requires a thorough review of the patent's claims. However, the concept of a "multi-processor system with shared memory and task queue" could potentially anticipate elements of US8478903, particularly in the context of repeaters sharing cached resources or managing requests (tasks) in a distributed manner. Aspects of claims 1 and 11 that describe repeaters having local copies of resources or handling requests could be anticipated if the shared memory and task queue mechanism in US4591983A directly and identically maps to these elements.

3. US4594704A - Data processing system for distributed database

• Full Citation: US4594704A
• Publication Date: June 10, 1986 (Filing date: July 2, 1984)
• Brief Description: This patent focuses on a data processing system designed for distributed databases. This implies managing and accessing data spread across multiple locations.
• Potential Anticipated Claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. § 102: Given that US8478903 deals with a content delivery network where repeaters may hold "partial or sparse mirrors" of origin server information, a system for a "distributed database" could potentially anticipate aspects of claims 1 and 11 related to the replication and distribution of resources. Specifically, any disclosure in US4594704A concerning how a request for data is routed to a location holding that data, or how data is stored and retrieved in a distributed environment, could be relevant for anticipation.

It's important to reiterate that a definitive anticipation analysis requires a full claim-by-claim comparison with the entire disclosure of each prior art reference, examining if "every element" of the claim is "identically shown" in a single reference. The brief descriptions above are based on titles and high-level summaries available through Google Patents and would need to be thoroughly validated against the full patent documents.