NETWORK-AWARE DOWNLOAD MANAGER
First Claim
1. A download system for electronically receiving content files from a plurality of sources with a plurality of user computing devices, the download system comprising:
- a politeness coordination function in communication with the plurality of user computing devices;
a network interface coupled with a plurality of download managers distributed among the plurality of user computing devices, wherein the politeness coordination function gathers a plurality of download tasks from the plurality of download managers; and
a data store holding a download task list, wherein;
the download task list includes the plurality of download tasks reported from the plurality of download mangers,each of the plurality of download tasks includes a requested bandwidth,the download task list includes a plurality of unreported download tasks determined from automatically observing addresses sending or receiving information, andthe politeness coordination function allocates and/or schedules download task list over a wide area network (WAN) connection shared by the plurality of user computing devices.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A download management system is disclosed. A number of download managers on a local area network (LAN) expressly negotiate bandwidth allocations with a politeness coordination function. Some bandwidth is consumed without the express negotiation and the politeness coordination function characterizes those while allocating an estimated bandwidth to provide adequate QoS. Some download managers can have their stream or download scheduled for a later time if adequate bandwidth is unavailable. The upstream connection to the Internet or wide area network (WAN) can be scheduled efficiently for computing devices that may or may not have a download manager capable of the express negotiation.
47 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A download system for electronically receiving content files from a plurality of sources with a plurality of user computing devices, the download system comprising:
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a politeness coordination function in communication with the plurality of user computing devices; a network interface coupled with a plurality of download managers distributed among the plurality of user computing devices, wherein the politeness coordination function gathers a plurality of download tasks from the plurality of download managers; and a data store holding a download task list, wherein; the download task list includes the plurality of download tasks reported from the plurality of download mangers, each of the plurality of download tasks includes a requested bandwidth, the download task list includes a plurality of unreported download tasks determined from automatically observing addresses sending or receiving information, and the politeness coordination function allocates and/or schedules download task list over a wide area network (WAN) connection shared by the plurality of user computing devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method for controlling use of bandwidth to a wide area network (WAN) used by a local area network (LAN) including a plurality user computing devices, the method comprising:
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accumulating a plurality of download tasks from a plurality of download managers distributed among the plurality of user computing devices, each of the plurality of download tasks indicating a desired bandwidth; prioritizing the plurality of download tasks; determining a fraction of the bandwidth for uses not reflected in the plurality of download tasks; and allocating bandwidth for the plurality of download tasks. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A download system for electronically receiving content files from a plurality of sources with a plurality of user computing devices, the download system comprising:
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a politeness coordination function in communication with the plurality of user computing devices; a network interface in communication with a plurality of download managers distributed among the plurality of user computing devices, wherein the politeness coordination function gathers a plurality of download tasks from the plurality of download managers; and a data store holding a download task list, wherein; the download task list includes the plurality of download tasks reported from the plurality of download mangers, and the politeness coordination function allocates and/or schedules bandwidth over a wide area network (WAN) connection shared by the plurality of user computing devices. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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Specification