Server architecture and methods for persistently storing and serving event data

• US 20060112178A1
• Filed: 01/04/2006
• Published: 05/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ruben Ortega, Taylor N Van Vleet, Udi Manber, Yu-Shan Fung
• Original Assignee: Ruben Ortega, Taylor N Van Vleet, Udi Manber, Yu-Shan Fung
• Inventors: Manber, Udi, Van Vleet, Taylor N., Ortega, Ruben, Fung, Yu-Shan
• Granted Patent: US 7,945,637 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A web site system includes an event history server system that persistently stores event data reflective of events that occur during browsing sessions of web site users, and makes such data available to other applications and services in real time. The server system may, for example, be used to record information about every mouse click of every recognized user, and may also be used to record other types of events such as impressions and mouse-over events. The event data of a particular user may be retrieved from the server system based on event type, event time of occurrence, and various other criteria. In one embodiment, the server system includes a cache layer that caches event data by session ID, and includes a persistent storage layer the persistently stores the event data by user ID. Also disclosed are various application features that may be implemented using the stored event data.

Claims

1. A method of processing a search query from a user, comprising, on a server system that is remote from the user:

executing the search query to generate a query result, wherein the query result comprises URLs of web pages that are responsive to the search query;

for at least one of the URLs, querying a server to determine whether event data stored for said user indicates that the user previously accessed the URL; and

if the event data indicates that the user previously accessed the URL, including within a search results page an annotation indicating to the user that the URL was previously accessed.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the annotation further indicates a date that the user accessed the URL, as indicated by the event data stored for the user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the server responds to the querying at least in part by using a Bloom filter stored for the user to evaluate whether the user previously accessed the URL.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises querying said server to identify a date that the user accessed the URL, and including said date within the search results page.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the method comprises querying the server separately for each of a plurality of said URLs to determine whether each such URL was previously accessed by the user, as indicated by the event data stored for the user.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a user-supplied annotation from the user in association with the query result, storing the user-supplied annotation on said server, and subsequently making the user-supplied annotation available to the user from the server.

7. A search engine system comprising executable query processing code that embodies the method of claim 1.

8. A system that provides functionality for conducting Internet searches, the system comprising:

a search application that is responsive to search queries from users by generating and returning search results pages listing search result URLs of external web pages that are responsive to such search queries; and

a server that records user-specific data indicative of the search result URLs selected by users during browsing of the search result pages;

wherein the search application accesses the server to determine whether specific search result URLs have previously been accessed by a user who is conducting a search, and incorporates into the search results pages indications of which search result URLs were previously accessed, whereby users are notified of search result URLs they have previously accessed.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the server additionally records information indicative of the dates that specific search result URLs were accessed by specific users, and the search application uses said information to further indicate within the search results pages the dates that specific search result URLs were accessed.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the server is configured to generate user-specific Bloom filters that reflect search result URLs selected by users, and to use said user-specific Bloom filters to evaluate whether specific users have previously accessed specific URLs.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the system facilitates tracking of a user'"'"'s selection of a search result URL by redirecting the user to the search result URL in response to selection thereof.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the server further records user-specific data indicative of specific search queries submitted by specific users, and the search application uses the data stored by the server to identify and highlight search result URLs that did not come up when a user conducting a current search previously conducted the same search.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the server persistently stores event data for each of a plurality of event types, and implements a query set that provides for real-time retrieval of user-specific event data by event type.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the server records said user-specific data substantially as corresponding user selections are made of said search result URLs, and makes such user-specific data available to the search application in real time.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein the search application and server collectively provide functionality for users to annotate search results for subsequent viewing.

16. The system of claim 8, wherein the server comprises a plurality of storage layer servers that persistently store, and provide real-time access to, event data descriptive of search events that occur during web browsing sessions of users;

and a plurality of cache layer servers that serve as intermediaries between the storage layer servers and the search application, wherein each cache layer server stores cached event data within a respective cache and uses the cached event data to respond to queries from the search application.