Geographic location determination including inspection of network address
First Claim
1. A method for geographic location determination based at least in part on inspection of a network address of a client, the method comprising:
- performing a trace route between a server and the address of the client, the trace route identifying at least one domain name in a route between the server and the client;
identifying a construction format for the domain name;
identifying a geographically significant component of the domain name; and
determining a geographic location for the domain name based at least in part on the geographically significant component.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Geographic location determination for a client is facilitated by performing a trace route between a known network device and the client. The trace route results in a list of intermediary network devices between the client and the known network device. Network addresses may be configured with geographically significant portions. Thus, network addresses for the client and/or one or more of the intermediary devices can be inspected to facilitated a geographic location determination for the client based on the geographically significant portions. An online service provider hosting network sites may prepare client activity reports for the hosted sites using the determined geographic data. The determined geographic locations may also be used to ensure compliance, such as with regulations, distribution agreements, etc., for data distributions to clients.
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Citations
43 Claims
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1. A method for geographic location determination based at least in part on inspection of a network address of a client, the method comprising:
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performing a trace route between a server and the address of the client, the trace route identifying at least one domain name in a route between the server and the client;
identifying a construction format for the domain name;
identifying a geographically significant component of the domain name; and
determining a geographic location for the domain name based at least in part on the geographically significant component. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for determining a geographic location for a network address, comprising:
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receiving a trace route comprising first and second network host identifiers for hosts disposed between a server and a client on a network;
matching the first network host identifier to a first template;
first parsing the first network host identifier according to the first template; and
identifying an estimated geographic location for the client based at least in part on said first parsing. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 34)
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14. A method of determining a geographic location, comprising:
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creating a log comprising network addresses of clients that have communicated with a web server;
filtering the log so as to remove undesirable network addresses;
asynchronously performing a trace route between a first one of said filtered network addresses and the server;
analyzing a result of said asynchronous performed trace route; and
determining a geographic location for said first one responsive to said analyzing.
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18. An apparatus for geographic location determination based at least in part on inspection of a network address of a client comprising a readable medium having instructions encoded thereon for execution by a processor, said instructions capable of directing the processor to perform:
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performing a trace route between a server and the address of the client, the trace route identifying at least one domain name in a route between the server and the client;
identifying a construction format for the domain name;
identifying a geographically significant component of the domain name; and
determining a geographic location for the domain name based at least in part on the geographically significant component.
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25. An apparatus for determining a geographic location for a network address comprising a readable medium having instructions encoded thereon for execution by a processor, said instructions capable of directing the processor to perform:
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receiving a trace route comprising first and second network host identifiers for hosts disposed between a server and a client on a network;
matching the first network host identifier to a first template;
first parsing the first network host identifier according to the first template; and
identifying an estimated geographic location for the client based at least in part on said first parsing.
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31. An apparatus for determining a geographic location comprising a readable medium having instructions encoded thereon for execution by a processor, said instructions capable of directing the processor to perform:
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creating a log comprising network addresses of clients that have communicated with a web server;
filtering the log so as to remove undesirable network addresses;
asynchronously performing a trace route between a first one of said filtered network addresses and the server;
analyzing a result of said asynchronous performed trace route; and
determining a geographic location for said first one responsive to said analyzing. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 36, 37, 39, 40)
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35. An apparatus for geographic location determination based at least in part on inspection of a network address of a client, the apparatus comprising:
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performing means for performing a trace route between a server and the address of the client, the trace route identifying at least one domain name in a route between the server and the client;
identifying means for identifying a construction format for the domain name;
identifying means for identifying a geographically significant component of the domain name; and
determining means for determining a geographic location for the domain name based at least in part on the geographically significant component.
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38. An apparatus for determining a geographic location for a network address, comprising:
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receiving means for receiving a trace route comprising first and second network host identifiers for hosts disposed between a server and a client on a network;
matching means for matching the first network host identifier to a first template;
first parsing means for parsing the first network host identifier according to the first template; and
identifying means for identifying an estimated geographic location for the client based at least in part on said first parsing.
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41. An apparatus for determining a geographic location, comprising:
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creating means for creating a log comprising network addresses of clients that have communicated with a web server;
filtering means for filtering the log so as to remove undesirable network addresses;
asynchronous tracing means for asynchronously performing a trace route between a first one of said filtered network addresses and the server;
analyzing means for analyzing a result of said asynchronous performed trace route; and
determining means for determining a geographic location for said first one responsive to said analyzing. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43)
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Specification