CONTENT DELIVERY AND GLOBAL TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT NETWORK SYSTEM

• US 20090132648A1
• Filed: 01/26/2009
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Akamai Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Akamai Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Gupta, Ajit K., Swildens, Eric Sven-Johan, Day, Richard David
• Granted Patent: US 7,979,580 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5083 wherein the managed service relates to web hosting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/509 wherein the managed service relates to media content delivery, e.g. audio, video or TV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4541 Directories for service discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• 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 67/1027 Persistence of sessions during load balancing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1038 Load balancing arrangements to avoid a single path through 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 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A content delivery and global traffic management network system provides a plurality of caching servers connected to a network. The caching servers host customer content that can be cached and stored, and respond to requests for Web content from clients. If the requested content does not exist in memory or on disk, it generates a request to an origin site to obtain the content. A DNS Server load balances network requests among customer Web servers and directs client requests for hosted customer content to the appropriate caching server. The customer pays a service that provides the content delivery and global traffic management network system a fee for usage of the content delivery and global traffic management network system.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

dynamically mapping hostnames to second-tier domain names in a DNS server in a plurality of DNS servers in a global traffic management system coupled to a world wide area network;

storing hostname to second tier domain name mappings in a configuration file at the DNS server;

receiving, by the DNS server, a hostname resolution request from a client DNS server; and

returning to the client DNS server, by the DNS server, an address of a second tier domain name that is mapped to the requested hostname.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the returning step returns an address of a second tier domain name for a persistent domain when the requested hostname is designated in the configuration file as persistent.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the returning step returns an address of a second tier domain name for an edge domain when the requested hostname is not designated as persistent in the configuration file.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the returning step returns an address of a second tier domain name for a specific domain when the requested hostname is designated in the configuration file as belonging to a specific group of servers.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the returning step returns an address for the hostname when the hostname is part of the global traffic management system.

6. A system, comprising:

a DNS server in a plurality of DNS servers in a global traffic management system coupled to a world wide area network;

a mapping subsystem in the DNS server that dynamically maps hostnames to second-tier domain names;

wherein the mapping subsystem stores hostname to second tier domain name mappings in a configuration file;

a DNS request receiver in the DNS server that receives a hostname resolution request from a client DNS server; and

a hostname lookup subsystem in the DNS server that returns to the client DNS server an address of a second tier domain name that is mapped to the requested hostname.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the hostname lookup subsystem returns an address of a second tier domain name for a persistent domain when the requested hostname is designated in the configuration file as persistent.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the hostname lookup subsystem returns an address of a second tier domain name for an edge domain when the requested hostname is not designated as persistent in the configuration file.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the hostname lookup subsystem returns an address of a second tier domain name for a specific domain when the requested hostname is designated in the configuration file as belonging to a specific group of servers.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the hostname lookup subsystem returns an address for the hostname when the hostname is part of the global traffic management system.

11. A volatile or non-volatile computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for increasing a number of DNS servers in a domain, which instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of:

dynamically mapping hostnames to second-tier domain names in a DNS server in a plurality of DNS servers in a global traffic management system coupled to a world wide area network;

storing hostname to second tier domain name mappings in a configuration file at the DNS server;

receiving, by the DNS server, a hostname resolution request from a client DNS server; and

returning to the client DNS server, by the DNS server, an address of a second tier domain name that is mapped to the requested hostname.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the returning step returns an address of a second tier domain name for a persistent domain when the requested hostname is designated in the configuration file as persistent.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the returning step returns an address of a second tier domain name for an edge domain when the requested hostname is not designated as persistent in the configuration file.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the returning step returns an address of a second tier domain name for a specific domain when the requested hostname is designated in the configuration file as belonging to a specific group of servers.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the returning step returns an address for the hostname when the hostname is part of the global traffic management system.