CALL LIMITER FOR WEB SERVICES

• US 20090106821A1
• Filed: 12/05/2007
• Published: 04/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kumar, Amit, Secthana, Sidharta, Kothari, Pankaj
• Granted Patent: US 7,908,363 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]

Abstract

Embodiments of methods, apparatuses, devices and systems associated with web services are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

tracking web services calls from one or more subscribers to a first server location; and

contacting one or more other server locations to determine whether additional web services calls for that subscriber are available in response to at least one of said subscribers reaching an established subscriber limit.

2. The method of claim 1, and further comprising;

leasing one or more additional web services calls from one of the other server locations in response to an availability of additional web services calls.

3. The method of claim 1, and further comprising:

contacting at least one successive other server locations to determine whether additional web services calls are available for that subscriber in response to an unavailability of additional web services calls at a contacted one of the one or more other server locations.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said subscriber limit comprises a portion of a total limit of web services calls for one or more subscribers.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein an order for contacting other server locations is determined based at least in part on one or more prior contacts with the other server locations.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said established subscriber limit is based at least in part on a distribution of prior web services calls from a particular subscriber to the server locations and/or one or more subscriber preferences.

7. The method of claim 1, and further comprising:

in response to a request from a second computing platform, leasing additional web services calls to a second server location, if said established subscriber limit associated with one of the subscribers has not been reached for said first server location.

8. An article comprising:

a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, wherein said instructions, if executed, result in the following;

tracking web services calls from one or more subscribers to a server location; and

contacting one or more other server locations to determine whether additional web services calls for that subscriber are available in response to at least one of said subscribers reaching an established subscriber limit.

9. The article of claim 8, wherein said instructions, if executed, further result in the following:

leasing one or more additional web services calls from one of the other server locations in response to an availability of additional web services calls.

10. The article of claim 8, wherein said instructions, if executed, further result in the following:

contacting at least one successive other server locations to determine whether additional web services calls are available for that subscriber in response to an unavailability of additional web services calls at a contacted one of the one or more other server locations,.

11. The article of claim 8, wherein said subscriber limit comprises a portion of a total limit of web services calls for one or more subscribers.

12. The article of claim 8, wherein an order for contacting other server locations is determined based at least in part on one or more prior contacts with the other server locations.

13. The article of claim 8, wherein said established subscriber limit is based at least in part on a distribution of prior web services calls from a particular subscriber to the server locations and/or one or more subscriber preferences.

14. The article of claim 9, wherein said instructions, if executed, further result in the following:

in response to a request from a second computing platform, leasing additional web services calls to a second server location, if said established subscriber limit associated with one of the subscribers has not been reached for said first server location.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a computing platform to track web services calls from one or more subscribers to a server location;

said computing platform further to determine whether at least one of said one or more subscribers has reached a call limit associated with said server location; and

said computing platform further to contact another computing platform attempt to lease additional web services calls from another server location for said one of said one or more subscribers in response to one of said subscribers reaching said call limit.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, said computing platform further to lease one or more additional web services calls from the contacted computing platform in response to an availability of additional web services calls at the contacted computing platform.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, said computing platform further to contact at least one successive other computing platforms to attempt to lease additional web services calls from other server locations in response to an unavailability of additional web services calls at the contacted computing platform.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said call limit comprises a portion of a total limit of web services calls for one or more subscribers.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said call limit is based at least in part on a distribution of prior web services calls from a particular subscriber to the server locations and/or one or more subscriber preferences.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, said computing platform further to lease additional web services calls to a second computing platform, in response to a request from said second computing platform, and in response to said call limit associated with one of the subscribers not having been reached for said computing platform.

21. A system comprising:

means for processing one or more web services calls;

means for tracking a number of web services calls to said means for processing from one or more subscribers; and

means for contacting other server locations in response to at least one of the subscribers reaching a subscriber limit.

22. The system of claim 21, and further comprising:

means for leasing additional web services calls from other server locations, in response to an availability of additional web service calls at those other server locations.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein said subscriber limit comprises a portion of a total limit of web services calls for one or more subscribers.

24. The system of claim 21, and further comprising:

means for determining said subscriber limit, based at least in part on a distribution of prior web services calls from a particular subscriber to the server locations and/or one or more subscriber preferences.

25. The system of claim 21, and further comprising:

means for leasing one or more web services calls to one of said other server locations in response to a request from said second server location, and in response to a subscriber not having reached said subscriber limit at said means for processing.