Regulating client requests in an electronic messaging environment

• US 20050267980A1
• Filed: 04/21/2004
• Published: 12/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Warren, Joseph R., Novitskey, Robert R., Kripalani, Amit, Dun, Alexander C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,594,022 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/232
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting

Abstract

The present invention is directed to regulating client requests in an electronic messaging environment. A client sends a data request to a messaging server. The messaging server receives the client data request and determines that the messaging server is unable to process the client data request. The messaging server adaptively generates a wait hint and sends a server response that includes the adaptively generated wait hint. The client receives the server response including the adaptively generated wait hint. The client waits a specified wait time in accordance with the adaptively generated wait hint to reduce the load on the messaging server. The client resends the data request subsequent to waiting the specified wait time.

Claims

1. At a computer system that is network connectable to a messaging server, the computer system configured to provide user access to data stored at the messaging server, a method for requesting data that provides an improved user experience when the messaging server is experiencing increased load, the method comprising:

an act of sending a data request to the messaging server;

an act of receiving a server response including an adaptively generated wait hint, the adaptively generated wait hint being an indication that the messaging server was unable to process the data request;

an act of waiting a specified wait time in accordance with the adaptively generated wait hint to thereby reduce the load on the messaging server; and

an act of resending the data request subsequent to waiting the specified wait time.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of sending a data request to the messaging server comprises an act of sending a synchronization request.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of sending a data request to the messaging server comprises an act of issuing an RPC call.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of receiving a server response including an adaptively generated wait hint comprises an act of receiving a buffer from the server in response to an RPC call.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the act of receiving a buffer from the server in response to an RPC call comprises an act of receiving a buffer that includes an error code and a corresponding wait hint, the error code indicating that the server was busy.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of waiting a specified wait time in accordance with the adaptively generated wait hint comprises randomizing the specified wait time.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of waiting a specified wait time in accordance with the adaptively generated wait hint comprises application of the wait hint to a provider side algorithm that attempts to reduce the load at the messaging server.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of resending the data request subsequent to waiting the specified time comprises reissuing an RPC call that was originally issued to send the data request.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an act of receiving a synchronization command from a user.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an act of receiving a second server response including a second adaptively generated wait hint subsequent to resending the data request, the second adaptively generated wait hint being an indication that the messaging server was unable to process the data request;

an act of waiting a second specified wait time in accordance with the second adaptively generated wait hint to thereby reduce the load on the messaging server; and

an act of again resending the data request subsequent to waiting the second specified wait time.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an act of receiving message related data corresponding to the data request subsequent to resending the data request; and

an act of updating a user-interface to reflect that the message related data was received.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an act of causing a user-interface to indicate that the data request is still being processed notwithstanding that the messaging server was unable to process the data request.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the act of causing a user-interface to indicate that the data request is still being processed comprises a message provider causing a messaging interface to indicate that the data request is still being processed.

14. At a computer system that is network connectable to a plurality of clients, the computer system configured to process client data requests for data maintained at the computer system and return appropriate data to corresponding requesting clients, a method for regulating client requests so as to provide an improved user experience when the messaging server is experiencing increased load, the method comprising:

an act of receiving a client data request from a client;

an act of determining that the computer system is unable to process the client data request, subsequent to receiving the client data request;

an act of adaptively generating a wait hint, the adaptively generated wait hint representing that the client is to wait a specified wait time before resending the client data request to thereby reduce the load at the computer system; and

an act of sending a server response that includes the adaptively generated wait hint to the client.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the act of receiving a client data request from a client comprises an act of receiving a synchronization request.

16. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the act of receiving a client data request from a client comprises an act of receiving an RPC call.

17. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the act of determining that the computer system is unable to process the client data request comprises an act of determining that the computer system lacks the resources to process the client data request in parallel with other requests that are being processed.

18. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the act of determining that the computer system is unable to process the client data request comprises an act of determining that the computer system is already processing a configured maximum number of requests that can be processed in parallel.

19. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the act of adaptively generating a wait hint comprises an act of adaptively generating a wait hint in accordance with a configurable wait hint generation algorithm.

20. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein the act of adaptively generating a wait hint in accordance with a configurable wait hint generation algorithm comprises an act of generating a wait hint in accordance with a wait hint generation algorithm that increases the wait time represented by each successive wait hint corresponding to the same data request.

21. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein the act of adaptively generating a wait hint in accordance with a configurable wait hint generation algorithm comprises an act of generating a wait hint in accordance with a wait hint generation algorithm that accesses external configurable parameter values.

22. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the act of adaptively generating a wait hint comprises an act of generating a wait hint for a data request based on the connection speed of the client that sent the data request.

23. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the act of sending a server response that includes the adaptively generated wait hint to the client comprises an act of sending a buffer to the client in response to an RPC call.

24. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein the act of sending a buffer to the client in response to an RPC call comprises an act of sending a buffer that includes an error code and a corresponding wait hint, the error code indicating that the server was busy.

25. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

an act of receiving a resent client data request from the client, the resent client data request requesting the same data as the client request;

an act of determining that the computer system is unable to process the resent client data request, subsequent to receiving the resent client data request;

an act of adaptively generating a second wait hint, the adaptively generated second wait hint representing that the client is to wait a second specified wait time before resending the resent client data request to thereby reduce the load at the computer system; and

an act of sending a second server response that includes the adaptively generated second wait hint to the client.

26. A computer program product for use at a computer system that is network connectable to a messaging server, the computer system configured to provide user access to data stored at the messaging server, the computer program product for implementing a method for requesting data that provides an improved user experience when the messaging server is experiencing increased load, the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the computer system to perform the following:

send a data request to the messaging server;

receive a server response including an adaptively generated wait hint, the adaptively generated wait hint being an indication that the messaging server was unable to process the data request;

wait a specified wait time in accordance with the adaptively generated wait hint to thereby reduce the load on the messaging server; and

resend the data request subsequent to waiting the specified wait time.

27. A computer program product for use at a computer system that is network connectable to a plurality of clients, the computer system configured to process client data requests for data maintained at the computer system and return appropriate data to corresponding requesting clients, the computer program product for implementing a method for regulating client requests so as to provide an improved user experience when the messaging server is experiencing increased load, , the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the computer system to perform the following:

receive a client data request from a client;

determine that the computer system is unable to process the client data request, subsequent to receiving the client data request;

adaptively generate a wait hint, the adaptively generated wait hint representing that the client is to wait a specified wait time before resending the client data request to thereby reduce the load at the computer system; and

send a server response that includes the adaptively generated wait hint to the client.