Content management in caching services

• US 10,225,361 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2016
• Issued: 03/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hack, Michel, Ren, Yufei, Wang, Yandong, Zhang, Li
• Primary Examiner(s): Parry, Chris
• Assistant Examiner(s): Stiltner, Weiwei
• Application Number:
  US15/196,880
• Publication Number:
  US 20180007158A1
• Time in Patent Office: 979 Days
• Field of Search: 709213
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0808 with cache invalidating means G06F12/0815 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0811 with multilevel cache hierarchies
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0815 Cache consistency protocols
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0862 with prefetch
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0875 with dedicated cache, e.g. instruction or stack
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0893 Caches characterised by their organisation or structure
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0897 with two or more cache hierarchy levels with multilevel cache hierarchies G06F12/0811
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

A caching management method includes embedding a notification request tag in a dummy file, uploading the dummy file to a cache server, recording a timestamp indicating a first point in time that the dummy file is uploaded to the cache server, receiving an eviction notification indicating a second point in time that the dummy file is evicted from the cache server, and calculating an eviction time indicating an amount of time taken for the dummy file to be evicted from the cache server. Transmission of the eviction notification is triggered in response to processing the notification request tag, and the dummy file is not retrieved from the cache server between the first point in time and the second point in time. The eviction time is equal to a difference between the first point in time and the second point in time.

Claims

1. A caching management method, comprising:

embedding a notification request tag as metadata in a dummy file, wherein the notification request tag includes at least one bit;

uploading the dummy file to a cache server;

recording a timestamp indicating a first point in time that the dummy file is uploaded to the cache server;

receiving an eviction notification indicating a second point in time that the dummy file is evicted from the cache server, wherein transmission of the eviction notification is triggered in response to processing the notification request tag, and the dummy file is not retrieved from the cache server between the first point in time and the second point in time; and

calculating an eviction time indicating an amount of time taken for the dummy file to be evicted from the cache server, wherein the eviction time is equal to a difference between the first point in time and the second point in time.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining an average inter-request time of an actual file, wherein the average inter-request time is equal to an average amount of time that passes between consecutive requests for the actual file;

comparing the average inter-request time to the eviction time; and

uploading the actual file to the cache server when the average inter-request time is smaller than the eviction time.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the dummy file is a dummy webpage, and the actual file is an actual webpage.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

aborting uploading the actual file to the cache server when the average inter-request time is larger than the eviction time.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the dummy file is uploaded to the cache server by a content provider server, the eviction notification is transmitted to the content provider server by the cache server in response to the cache server processing the notification request tag, the average inter-request time is determined by the content provider server, the average inter-request time is compared to the eviction time by the content provider server, uploading the actual file to the cache server is performed by the content provider server, and aborting uploading the actual file to the cache server is performed by the content provider server.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining an average inter-request time of an actual file, wherein the average inter-request time is equal to an average amount of time that passes between consecutive requests for the actual file;

comparing the average inter-request time to an average request frequency of all files stored in the cache server, wherein the average request frequency is indicated by the eviction notification; and

uploading the actual file to the cache server when the average inter-request time is within a predetermined deviation range of the average request frequency.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

aborting uploading the actual file to the cache server when the average inter-request time is not within the predetermined deviation range of the average request frequency.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the dummy file is uploaded to the cache server by a content provider server, the eviction notification is transmitted to the content provider server by the cache server in response to the cache server processing the notification request tag, the average inter-request time is determined by the content provider server, the average inter-request time is compared to the average request frequency by the content provider server, uploading the actual file to the cache server is performed by the content provider server, and aborting uploading the actual file to the cache server is performed by the content provider server.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining an average inter-request time of an actual file, wherein the average inter-request time is equal to an average amount of time that passes between consecutive requests for the actual file;

comparing the average inter-request time to an average request frequency of files stored in the cache server that are at a predetermined percentile of all files stored in the cache server with relation to access frequency, wherein the average request frequency is indicated by the eviction notification; and

uploading the actual file to the cache server when the average inter-request time is within a predetermined deviation range of the average request frequency.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

aborting uploading the actual file to the cache server when the average inter-request time is not within the predetermined deviation range of the average request frequency.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the dummy file is periodically uploaded to the cache server at a predetermined interval.

12. A caching management method, comprising:

embedding a notification request tag metadata in dummy data, wherein the notification request tag includes at least one bit;

transmitting the dummy data from a backend data store to a frontend data cache, wherein the backend data store stores compressed data and the frontend data cache stores uncompressed data;

recording a timestamp indicating a first point in time that the dummy data is transmitted to the frontend data cache;

receiving an eviction notification indicating a second point in time that the dummy data is evicted from the frontend data cache, wherein transmission of the eviction notification is triggered in response to processing the notification request tag, and the dummy data is not retrieved from the frontend data cache between the first point in time and the second point in time; and

calculating an eviction time indicating an amount of time taken for the dummy data to be evicted from the frontend data cache, wherein the eviction time is equal to a difference between the first point in time and the second point in time.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining an average inter-request time of actual data, wherein the average inter-request time is equal to an average amount of time that passes between consecutive requests for the actual data;

comparing the average inter-request time to the eviction time; and

transmitting the actual data to the frontend data cache when the average inter-request time is smaller than the eviction time.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

aborting transmitting the actual data to the frontend data cache when the average inter-request time is larger than the eviction time.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining an average inter-request time of actual data, wherein the average inter-request time is equal to an average amount of time that passes between consecutive requests for the actual data;

comparing the average inter-request time to an average request frequency of all data stored in the frontend data cache, wherein the average request frequency is indicated by the eviction notification; and

transmitting the actual data to the frontend data cache when the average inter-request time is within a predetermined deviation range of the average request frequency.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

aborting transmitting the actual data to the frontend data cache when the average inter-request time is not within the predetermined deviation range of the average request frequency.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining an average inter-request time of actual data, wherein the average inter-request time is equal to an average amount of time that passes between consecutive requests for the actual data;

comparing the average inter-request time to an average request frequency of data stored in the frontend data cache that is at a predetermined percentile of all data stored in the frontend data cache with relation to access frequency, wherein the average request frequency is indicated by the eviction notification; and

transmitting the actual data to the frontend data cache when the average inter-request time is within a predetermined deviation range of the average request frequency.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

aborting transmitting the actual data to the frontend data cache when the average inter-request time is not within the predetermined deviation range of the average request frequency.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the dummy data is periodically transmitted to the frontend data cache at a predetermined interval.

20. A caching management system, comprising:

a backend data store configured to store compressed data;

a frontend data cache configured to store uncompressed data, wherein the frontend data cache is operatively coupled to the backend data store;

a memory storing a computer program; and

a processor configured to execute the computer program, wherein the computer program is configured to;

embed a notification request tag as metadata in dummy data, wherein the notification request tag includes at least one bit;

transmit the dummy data from the backend data store to the frontend data cache;

record a timestamp indicating a first point in time that the dummy data is transmitted to the frontend data cache;

transmit an eviction notification indicating a second point in time that the dummy data is evicted from the frontend data cache, wherein transmission of the eviction notification is triggered in response to processing the notification request tag, and the dummy data is not retrieved from the frontend data cache between the first point in time and the second point in time; and

calculate an eviction time indicating an amount of time taken for the dummy data to be evicted from the frontend data cache, wherein the eviction time is equal to a difference between the first point in time and the second point in time.