Content distribution system using an alternative domain name system (DNS) and content servers

• US 20070005689A1
• Filed: 09/01/2006
• Published: 01/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Lewin, Daniel, Leighton, F.
• Granted Patent: US 7,693,959 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2514 between local and global IP addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5007 Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10015 Access to distributed or replicated servers, e.g. using brokers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1008 based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/101 based on network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1019 Random or heuristic server selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1021 based on client or server locations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1023 based on a hash applied to IP addresses or costs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1029 using data related to the state of servers by a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1034 Reaction to server failures by a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 : Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 : Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols

Abstract

The present invention is a network architecture or framework that supports hosting and content distribution on a truly global scale. The inventive framework allows a Content Provider to replicate and serve its most popular content at an unlimited number of points throughout the world. The inventive framework comprises a set of servers operating in a distributed manner. The actual content to be served is preferably supported on a set of hosting servers (sometimes referred to as ghost servers). This content comprises HTML page objects that, conventionally, are served from a Content Provider site. In accordance with the invention, however, a base HTML document portion of a Web page is served from the Content Provider'"'"'s site while one or more embedded objects for the page are served from the hosting servers, preferably, those hosting servers near the client machine. By serving the base HTML document from the Content Provider'"'"'s site, the Content Provider maintains control over the content.

Claims

1. A content distribution system operated by a service provider distinct from a set of content providers that use the content distribution system, comprising:

a set of content servers organized into a plurality of subsets, with each subset of content servers having a plurality of content servers and being located at a given location in a wide area network, wherein the given location is one of an Internet point of presence or a network access point, wherein the content servers are adapted to selectively receive, cache and serve content provider content, wherein each piece of content provider content is associated with an alphanumeric string that includes given text characters identifying or associated with the service provider;

an alternative domain name system (DNS) distinct from an Internet domain name system and any client local name server, the alternative domain name system having one or more DNS levels, wherein at least one DNS level comprises a set of service provider name servers including at least a first service provider name server associated with a first subset of content servers and a second service provider name server associated with a second subset of content servers, each of the first and second service provider name servers in the DNS level adapted to resolve DNS queries to the alphanumeric strings so that content provider content is served from the content distribution system, wherein the first service provider name server receives a first DNS query to a given alphanumeric string from a first client local name server and generates an IP address associated with a first subset of content servers and the second service provider name server receives a second DNS query to the given alphanumeric string from a second client local name server, distinct from the first client local name server, and generates an IP address associated with a second subset of content servers, wherein the first and second DNS queries are received at the first and second service provider name servers as a function of a location of the first and second client local name servers, and wherein each of the first and second name servers includes code executable in a processor that resolves the given alphanumeric string without reference to a filename for a piece of content provider content associated with the given alphanumeric string;

wherein, as a result of the first service provider name server receiving and resolving the first DNS query from the first client local name server, the content provider content associated with the given alphanumeric string is served from at least one content server in the first subset and cached therein for re-use;

wherein, as a result of the second service provider name server receiving and resolving the second DNS query from the second client local name server, the content provider content associated with the given alphanumeric string is also served from at least one content server in the second subset and cached therein for re-use.

2. The system as described in claim 1 wherein each of the set of content servers is adapted to host given objects from a set of content providers.

3. The system as described in claim 1 wherein the one or more levels of the alternative domain name subsystem are arranged as a hierarchy of levels, and wherein a service provider name server in a given level selects a service provider name server in a next succeeding level of the hierarchy.

4. The system as described in claim 1 wherein the first service provider name server has a load sharing algorithm associated therewith that evaluates a load on at least one content server in the first subset of content servers.

5. The system as described in claim 4 wherein the load on the content server is a function of an identifier in the given alphanumeric string, the identifier being associated with a virtual content bucket in which the content provider content is associated.