METHOD AND SERVER FOR MONITORING USERS DURING THEIR BROWSING WITHIN A COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK

• US 20140351418A1
• Filed: 08/24/2012
• Published: 11/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Burnside, Grard, Toubiana, Vincent, Le Berre, Olivier
• Granted Patent: US 10,785,132 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/146 Markers for unambiguous identification of a particular session, e.g. session cookie or URL-encoding
• 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 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data

Abstract

A method for monitoring browsers (B) for a communications network (N), wherein a monitoring server contains a set of monitoring elements, and implements: —a step (E1) of receiving a monitoring element request from a browser (B), —a step (E2) of determining whether the request is a first request from the browser, —if so, a step (E3) of calculating an identifier for the browser, then a step (E4) of determining a cache duration value associated with each monitoring element of the set, and a step (E5) of transmitting the set of monitoring elements and associated values to the browser; —if not, a step (E6) of determining the browser'"'"'s identifier based on the monitoring elements requested in the request.

Claims

1. ) A method for monitoring browsers for a communications network, wherein a monitoring server contains a set of monitoring elements, and implements

receiving a monitoring element request from a browser

determining whether said request is a first request from said browser,

if so, calculating an identifier for the browser, then determining a cache duration value associated with each monitoring element of said set, and transmitting the set of said monitoring elements and said values to said browser;

if not, determining said browser'"'"'s identifier based on the monitoring elements requested in said request,

2. ) A method according to claim 1, wherein whether a request is a first request may be determined based on the number of monitoring elements requested in said request.

3. ) A method according to claim 1, comprising a prior first step of said browser transmitting a content request to a content server, and of said content server transmitting both the requested content and an inset containing links leading to said monitoring elements.

4. ) A method according to claim 1, wherein said identifier is made up of a first part containing identification information transmitted in said request, and a second part formed of a counter.

5. ) A method according to claim 1, wherein the number of monitoring elements in said set is equal to the length of said counter, expressed in bits.

6. ) A method according to claim 1, wherein the value of a bit b(i) with significance i and the cache duration value associated with the monitoring element at position i may follow the following relationship:

if b(i)=1, v(i)=max

if b(i)=0, v(i)=0

wherein ‘

max’

is the maximum possible value for a given cache duration.

7. ) A method according to claim 1, wherein said identifier is preceded by a first part indicating chained redirects.

8. ) A method according to claim 1, wherein said chained redirects are indicated by the bit with matching significance in said first part.

9. ) A method according to claim 7, wherein each redirect among said chained redirects is associated with a cache value of zero or a maximum possible value for a cache value.

10. ) A method according to claim 7, wherein each redirect among said chained redirects may be associated with a 301 or 302 redirect code.

11. ) A monitoring server containing a set of monitoring elements and means for implementing the method according to claim 1.

12. ) A server comprising a monitoring server according to claim 1 and a content server.