Session level technique for improving web browsing performance on low speed links

• US 20060218304A1
• Filed: 03/22/2005
• Published: 09/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sound View Innovations, LLC (Sound View Innovation Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Rangarajan, Sampath, Mukherjee, Sarit, Rodriguez, Pablo
• Granted Patent: US 8,589,561 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams

Abstract

A method and apparatus for retrieving embedded objects of a web page across links. The method and apparatus include receiving, at a gateway, a requested top-level web page having at least one embedded uniform resource locator (URL) from at least one content server in response to a request for the web page from an end-user browser. The at least one embedded URL is modified with an IP address of a caching proxy. The caching proxy may be either co-located or separate from the gateway. The top-level web page and modified embedded URLs are sent to the end-user browser, wherein the caching proxy forwards the at least one embedded URL from the at least one content server to the end-user browser.

Claims

1. A method for retrieving embedded objects of a web page across links, comprising:

receiving, at a gateway, a requested top-level web page having at least one embedded uniform resource locator (URL) from at least one content server in response to a request for said web page from an end-user browser;

modifying said at least one embedded URL with an IP address of a caching proxy; and

sending said top-level web page and modified embedded URLs to said end-user browser, wherein said end-user browser is adapted to receive said at least one embedded URL from said caching proxy.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving, by said caching proxy, said at least one embedded object from said at least one content server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving said top-level web page further comprises:

receiving said requested top-level web page and at least one embedded URL in response to a request for said web page from an end-user browser.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said modifying said at least one embedded URL further comprises:

prefixing an IP address of said caching proxy to the embedded URL address.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said modifying said at least one embedded URL further comprises:

modifying the at least one embedded URL with an IP address of a caching proxy having an IP address different from said gateway.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said modifying said at least one embedded URL further comprises:

modifying the at least one embedded URL with an IP address common to both said gateway and said caching proxy.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said gateway uses a selected virtual IP address to rewrite embedded object URLs in a top-level page.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said gateway uses a public and globally routable virtual IP address to rewrite embedded object URLs in a top-level page.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving at a gateway further comprises:

receiving said requested top-level page from a roaming mobile device having web browsing capabilities.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein in an instance where said mobile device is roaming from a first access network not having gateway service to a second access network associated with said gateway, said method further comprises:

modifying said at least one embedded URL with an IP address of a caching proxy for only new requests for said top-level web page; and

sending said top-level web page and modified embedded URLs associated with the new requests to said end-user browser, wherein said end-user browser is adapted to receive said at least one embedded URL from said caching proxy.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein in an instance where said mobile device is roaming from a first access network having gateway service from said gateway to a second access network not associated with a second gateway, said method further comprises:

providing said top-level page and embedded objects from said gateway in an instance where said first access network is accessible.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein in an instance where said mobile device is roaming from a first access network having gateway service from said gateway to a second access network associated with a second gateway, said method further comprises:

providing said top-level page and embedded objects from said gateway in an instance where said first access network is accessible.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein in an instance where said mobile device is roaming from a first access network having gateway service from said gateway to a second access network associated with a second gateway, said method further comprises:

modifying said at least one embedded URL with an IP address of a caching proxy for only new requests for said top-level web page; and

sending said top-level web page and modified embedded URLs associated with the new requests to said end-user browser, wherein said end-user browser is adapted to receive said at least one embedded URL from said caching proxy.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein in an instance where said mobile device is roaming from a first access network having gateway service from said gateway to a second access network associated with a second gateway, said method further comprises:

providing said top-level page from said gateway in an instance where said first access network is accessible; and

prior to retrieving embedded objects from said gateway, providing said embedded objects via said second gateway in an instance where said gateway is no longer accessible and said second gateway has an IP address identical to said gateway.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein in an instance where said mobile device is roaming from a first access network having gateway service from said gateway to a second access network associated with a second gateway, said method further comprises:

providing said top-level page from said gateway in an instance where said first access network is accessible; and

prior to retrieving embedded objects from said gateway, providing said embedded objects via said at least one origin server in an instance at least one switch is programmed to provide TCP port-based redirection, and said second gateway has an IP address differing from said gateway.

16. Apparatus for retrieving embedded objects of a web page across links, comprising:

means for receiving, at a gateway, a requested top-level web page having at least one embedded uniform resource locator (URL) from at least one content server in response to a request for said web page from an end-user browser;

means for modifying said at least one embedded URL with an IP address of a caching proxy; and

means for sending said top-level web page and modified embedded URLs to said end-user browser, wherein said end-user browser is adapted to receive said at least one embedded URL from said caching proxy.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said means for receiving said top-level web page further comprises:

means for receiving said requested top-level web page and at least one embedded URL in response to a request for said web page from an end-user browser.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said means for modifying said at least one embedded URL further comprises:

means for prefixing the an IP address of said caching proxy to the embedded URL address.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said gateway and said caching proxy are co-located and have a common IP address.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said gateway and said caching proxy have different IP addresses.

21. A computer readable medium including software instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform a method, comprising:

receiving a requested top-level web page having at least one embedded uniform resource locator (URL) from at least one content server in response to a request for said web page from an end-user browser;

modifying said at least one embedded URL with an IP address of a caching proxy; and

sending said top-level web page and modified embedded URLs to said end-user browser, wherein said end-user browser is adapted to receive said at least one embedded URL from said caching proxy.