Accelerating network communications

US 7,774,499 B1
Filed: 10/30/2003
Issued: 08/10/2010
Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2003
Status: Active Grant

First Claim

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1. A method for increasing the throughput of network communications performed by a network access provider server, the method comprising:

the network access provider server establishing a connection with a client computerthe network access provider server receiving a request for a requested object from a requester, wherein the requester is a web browser on the client computerthe network access provider server storing request information included in the request as request history datathe network access provider server forwarding the request to a serverthe network access provider server receiving a response from the serverthe network access provider server reviewing the response to determine whether the response includes a native expirationwhen the response does not include the native expirationthe network access provider server computing a computed expiration for the response, includingthe network access provider server evaluating whether the response includes a modification historywhen the response includes the modification history,the network access provider server computing a time-to-live for the res s onse based on an a e factor a current time and a value of the modification historythe network access provider server computing the computed expiration based on the current time and the time-to-livewhen the response does not include the modification history,the network access provider server retrieving a modification query value from the request history data based on a response type and a response locationwhen the modification query value is retrieved,the network access provider server computing the time-to-live for the response based on an age factor, a current time and the modification query value,the network access provider server computing the computed expiration based on the current time and the time-to-livewhen the retrieving the modification query value is not successful,the network access provider server forwarding the response to the requesterthe network access provider server inserting the computed expiration into the response creating an amended responsethe network access provider server forwarding the amended response to the requester, wherein the amended response includes the requested objectstoring the amended responsethe network access provider server providing the amended response to other requesters at other client computers that request the requested object, the providing achieved without additional communication with the server.

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Abstract

There is disclosed a method for accelerating network communications. The method may be implemented on a server computer or other computing device. The method may exist as a software program and may be stored on a storage medium. The method may include receiving a request, forwarding the request to a server, receiving a response from the server, and reviewing the response to determine whether the response includes a native expiration. When the response does not include the native expiration, a calculated expiration for the response may be computed. The calculated expiration may be inserted into the response creating an amended response. The amended response may be forwarded to the client. When the response includes the native expiration, the response may be forwarded to the client. The amended response may be stored and provided to other requesters.

Citations

49 Claims

1. A method for increasing the throughput of network communications performed by a network access provider server, the method comprising:
- the network access provider server establishing a connection with a client computerthe network access provider server receiving a request for a requested object from a requester, wherein the requester is a web browser on the client computerthe network access provider server storing request information included in the request as request history datathe network access provider server forwarding the request to a serverthe network access provider server receiving a response from the serverthe network access provider server reviewing the response to determine whether the response includes a native expirationwhen the response does not include the native expirationthe network access provider server computing a computed expiration for the response, includingthe network access provider server evaluating whether the response includes a modification historywhen the response includes the modification history,the network access provider server computing a time-to-live for the res s onse based on an a e factor a current time and a value of the modification historythe network access provider server computing the computed expiration based on the current time and the time-to-livewhen the response does not include the modification history,the network access provider server retrieving a modification query value from the request history data based on a response type and a response locationwhen the modification query value is retrieved,the network access provider server computing the time-to-live for the response based on an age factor, a current time and the modification query value,the network access provider server computing the computed expiration based on the current time and the time-to-livewhen the retrieving the modification query value is not successful,the network access provider server forwarding the response to the requesterthe network access provider server inserting the computed expiration into the response creating an amended responsethe network access provider server forwarding the amended response to the requester, wherein the amended response includes the requested objectstoring the amended responsethe network access provider server providing the amended response to other requesters at other client computers that request the requested object, the providing achieved without additional communication with the server.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
- - 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the server comprises an origin server.
  - 3. The method of claim 1 wherein when the response includes the native expiration, the network access provider server forwarding the response to the requester.
  - 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the computed expiration is based on at least one of a response content type and a response resource identifier.
  - 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the computed expiration is based on a time-to-live.
  - 6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
    - the network access provider server evaluating whether a content type of the response is appropriate;
      
      the network access provider server performing the reviewing only when the content type of the response is appropriate.
  - 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the network access provider server evaluating whether a content type of the response is appropriate comprises the network access provider server checking to determine whether the content type is in an appropriate type list.
  - 8. The method of claim 7 wherein the appropriate type list comprises at least one of graphic, JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheet, portable document format (PDF), executable program, audio, video, and multimedia.
  - 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the network access provider server receiving a request comprises the network access provider server storing request information as request history data.
  - 10. The method of claim 1 wherein the request information includes a request resource identifier, a request content type, and a modification query when the modification query is present.
  - 11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
    - when the time-to-live is greater than a defined maximum, the network access provider server setting the time-to-live to be the defined maximum;
      
      when the time-to-live is less than a defined minimum, forwarding the response to the requester.
  - 12. The method of claim 1 wherein the request is a hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP) get, the modification query value is an HTTP if-modified-since value, and the modification history value is an HTTP last-modified value.

13. A method for increasing the throughput of network communications performed by a the network access provider server, the method comprising:
- the network access provider server establishing a connection with a client computerthe network access provider server receiving a request for a requested object from a requester, wherein the requester is a web browser on the client computerthe network access provider server storing request information included in the request as request history datathe network access provider server forwarding the request to a serverthe network access provider server receiving a response from the serverthe network access provider server evaluating whether the response has a status code that is actionablewhen the status code is actionable,the network access provider server reviewing the response to determine whether the response includes a native expirationwhen the response does not include the native expirationthe network access provider server calculating a calculated expiration for the response includingthe network access provider server evaluating whether the response includes a modification historywhen the response includes the modification history,the network access provider server computing a time-to-live for the response based on an a e factor, a current time and a value of the modification historythe network access provider server computing the calculated expiration based on the current time and the time-to-livewhen the response does not include the modification history,the network access provider server retrieving a modification query value from the request history data based on a response type and a response locationwhen the modification query value is retrieved,the network access provider server computing the time-to-live for the response based on an age factor, a current time and the modification query value,the network access provider server computing the calculated expiration based on the current time and the time-to-livewhen the retrieving the modification query value is not successful,the network access provider server forwarding the response to the requesterthe network access provider server inserting the calculated expiration into the response creating an amended responsethe network access provider server forwarding the amended response to the requester, wherein the amended response includes the requested objectthe network access provider server storing the amended responsethe network access provider server providing the amended response to other requesters on other client computers that request the requested object, the providing achieved without additional communication with the serverwhen the response includes the native expiration, the network access provider server forwarding the response to the requesterwhen the status code is not actionable, the network access provider server forwarding the response to the requester.
- View Dependent Claims (14)
- - 14. The method of claim 13 wherein the network access provider server evaluating whether the response has a status code that is actionable comprises the network access provider server checking to determine whether the response has a hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP) status code of “
    - OK”
      
      or “
      
      Not Modified”
      
      .

15. A method for increasing the throughput of network communications performed by a network access provider server, the method comprising:
- the network access provider server establishing a connection with a client computerthe network access provider server receiving a request for a requested object from a requester, wherein the requester is a web browser on the client computerthe network access provider server storing request information from the request as request history datathe network access provider server forwarding the request to a serverthe network access provider server receiving a response from the serverthe network access provider server reviewing the response to determine whether the response includes a native expirationwhen the response does not include the native expirationthe network access provider server evaluating whether a content type of the response is appropriatewhen the content type of the response is appropriatethe network access provider server computing a calculated expiration for the response, includingthe network access provider server evaluating whether the response includes a modification historywhen the response includes the modification history,the network access provider server computing a time-to-live for the response based on an age factor, a current time and a value of the modification historythe network access provider server calculating the calculated expiration based on the current time and the time-to-live when the response does not include the modification history,the network access provider server retrieving a modification query value from the request history data based on a response type and a response locationwhen the modification query value is retrieved,the network access provider server computing the time-to-live for the response based on an age factor, a current time and the modification query value,the network access provider server calculating the calculated expiration based on the current time and the time-to-live when the retrieving the modification query value is not successful,the network access provider server forwarding the response to the requesterthe network access provider server inserting the calculated expiration into the response creating an amended responsethe network access provider server forwarding the amended response to the requester, wherein the amended response includes the requested objectthe network access provider server storing the amended responsethe network access provider server providing the amended response to other requesters on other client computers that request the requested object, the providing achieved without additional communication with the server when the content type of the response is not appropriate,the network access provider server forwarding the response to the requesterwhen the response includes the native expiration,the network access provider server forwarding the response to the requester.
- View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
- - 16. The method of claim 15 wherein the network access provider server evaluating whether a content type of the response is appropriate comprises the network access provider server checking to determine whether the content type is a graphic image.
  - 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the network access provider server evaluating whether a content type of the response is appropriate comprises the network access provider server checking to determine whether the content type is one of a Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) file or Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) file.
  - 18. The method of claim 15 wherein the network access provider server evaluating whether a content type of the response is appropriate comprises the network access provider server checking to determine whether the content type is in an appropriate type list.
  - 19. The method of claim 18 wherein the appropriate type list comprises at least one of graphic, JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheet, portable document format (PDF), audio, video, and multimedia.
  - 20. The method of claim 15 wherein the calculated expiration is based on at least one of a response content type and a response resource identifier.
  - 21. The method of claim 15 wherein the calculated expiration is based on a time-to-live.
  - 22. The method of claim 15 wherein the network access provider server receiving a request comprises the network access provider server storing request information as request history data.
  - 23. The method of claim 15 wherein the request information includes a request resource identifier, a request content type, and a modification query when the modification query is present.
  - 24. The method of claim 15 further comprising:
    - when the time-to-live is greater than a defined maximum, the network access provider server setting the time-to-live to be the defined maximum;
      
      when the time-to-live is less than a defined minimum, the network access provider server forwarding the response to the requester.
  - 25. The method of claim 15 wherein the request is a hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP) get, the modification query value is an HTTP if-modified-since value, and the modification history value is an HTTP last-modified value.

26. A storage medium having instructions stored thereon which when executed by a processor cause a network access provider server to perform operations comprising:
- the network access provider server establishing a connection with a client computerthe network access provider server receiving a request for a requested object from a requester, wherein the requester is a web browser on the client computerthe network access provider server storing request information from the request as request history datathe network access provider server forwarding the request to a serverthe network access provider server receiving a response from the serverthe network access provider server reviewing the response to determine whether the response includes a native expirationwhen the response does not include the native expirationthe network access provider server computing a computed expiration for the response, includingthe network access provider server evaluating whether the response includes a modification historywhen the response includes the modification history,the network access provider server computing a time-to-live for the response based on an age factor, a current time and a value of the modification historythe network access provider server computing the computed expiration based on the current time and the time-to-live when the response does not include the modification history,the network access provider server retrieving a modification query value from the request history data based on a response type and a response locationwhen the modification query value is retrieved,the network access provider server computing the time-to-live for the response based on an age factor, a current time and the modification query value,the network access provider server computing the computed expiration based on the current time and the time-to-live when the retrieving the modification query value is not successful,the network access provider server forwarding the response to the requesterthe network access provider server inserting the computed expiration into the response creating an amended responsethe network access provider server forwarding the amended response to the requester, wherein the amended response includes the requested objectthe network access provider server storing the amended responsethe network access provider server providing the amended response to other requesters on other client computers that request the requested object, the providing achieved without additional communication with the server.
- View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
- - 27. The storage medium of claim 26 wherein the server comprises an origin server.
  - 28. The storage medium of claim 26 having further instructions stored thereon which when executed by the processor cause the network access provider server to perform further operations comprising:
    - the network access provider server evaluating whether a content type of the response is appropriate;
      
      the network access provider server performing the reviewing only when the content type of the response is appropriate.
  - 29. The storage medium of claim 28 wherein the network access provider server evaluating whether a content type of the response is appropriate comprises the network access provider server checking to determine whether the content type is in an appropriate type list.
  - 30. The storage medium of claim 29 wherein the appropriate type list comprises at least one of graphic, JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheet, portable document format (PDF), audio, video, and multimedia.
  - 31. The storage medium of claim 26 whereinwhen the response includes the native expiration, the network access provider server forwarding the response to the requester.
  - 32. The storage medium of claim 26 wherein the computed expiration is based on at least one of a response content type and a response resource identifier.
  - 33. The storage medium of claim 26 wherein the computed expiration is based on a time-to-live.
  - 34. The storage medium of claim 26 wherein the network access provider server receiving a request comprises the network access provider server storing request information as request history data.
  - 35. The storage medium of claim 26 wherein the request information includes a request resource identifier, a request content type, and a modification query when the modification query is present.
  - 36. The storage medium of claim 26 having further instructions stored thereon which when executed by the processor cause the network access provider server to perform operations further comprising:
    - when the time-to-live is greater than a defined maximum, the network access provider server setting the time-to-live to be the defined maximumwhen the time-to-live is less than a defined minimum, the network access provider server forwarding the response to the requester.
  - 37. The storage medium of claim 36 wherein the request is a hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP) get, the modification query value is an HTTP if-modified-since value, and the modification history value is an HTTP last-modified value.

38. A network access provider server configured to accelerate network traffic delivery, the network access provider server comprising:
- a processora memory coupled with the processora storage medium having instructions stored thereon which when executed cause the network access provider server to perform actions comprisingthe network access provider server establishing a connection with a client computerreceiving a request for a requested object from a requester, wherein the requester is a web browser on the client computerstoring request information from the request as request history dataforwarding the request to a serverreceiving a response from the serverreviewing the response to determine whether the response includes a native expirationwhen the response does not include the native expirationcomputing a computed expiration for the response, includingevaluating whether the response includes a modification history when the response includes the modification history,computing a time-to-live for the response based on an age factor, a current time and a value of the modification historycomputing the computed expiration based on the current time and the time-to-livewhen the response does not include the modification history,retrieving a modification query value from the request history data based on a response type and a response locationwhen the modification query value is retrieved,computing the time-to-live for the response based on an age factor, a current time and the modification query valuecomputing the computed expiration based on the current time and the time-to-livewhen the retrieving the modification query value is not successful, forwarding the response to the requesterinserting the computed expiration into the response creating an amended responseforwarding the amended response to the requester, wherein the amended response includes the requested objectstoring the amended responseproviding the amended response to other requesters on other client computers that request the requested object, the providing achieved without additional communication with the server.
- View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
- - 39. The network access provider server of claim 38 wherein the server comprises an origin server.
  - 40. The network access provider server of claim 38 having further instructions which when executed cause the processor to perform further operations comprising:
    - evaluating whether a content type of the response is appropriate;
      
      performing the reviewing only when the content type of the response is appropriate.
  - 41. The network access provider server of claim 40 wherein the evaluating whether a content type of the response is appropriate comprises checking to determine whether the content type is in an appropriate type list.
  - 42. The network access provider server of claim 41 wherein the appropriate type list comprises at least one of graphic, JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheet, portable document format (PDF), audio, video, and multimedia.
  - 43. The network access provider server of claim 38 wherein when the response includes the native expiration, forwarding the response to the requester.
  - 44. The network access provider server of claim 38 wherein the computed expiration is based on at least one of a response content type and a response resource identifier.
  - 45. The network access provider server of claim 38 wherein the computed expiration is based on a time-to-live.
  - 46. The network access provider server of claim 38 wherein the receiving a request comprises storing request information as request history data.
  - 47. The network access provider server of claim 38 wherein the request information includes a request resource identifier, a request content type, and a modification query when the modification query is present.
  - 48. The network access provider server of claim 38 wherein the storage medium has further instructions stored thereon which when executed cause the computing device to perform further operations comprising:
    - when the time-to-live is greater than a defined maximum, setting the time-to-live to be the defined maximumwhen the time-to-live is less than a defined minimum, forwarding the response to the requester.
  - 49. The network access provider server of claim 48 wherein the request is a hyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP) get, the modification query value is an HTTP if-modified-since value, and the modification history value is an HTTP last modified value.

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Current Assignee
United Online Incorporated (B. Riley Financial, Inc.)
Original Assignee
United Online Incorporated (B. Riley Financial, Inc.)
Inventors
Popek, Gerald, Tamura, Randall, Warren, Terry, Blaser, Shane, Nguyen, Thod
Primary Examiner(s)
Follansbee, John
Assistant Examiner(s)
Tiv, Backhean

Application Number

US10/699,439
Time in Patent Office

2,476 Days
Field of Search

709/232, 709/242
US Class Current

709/242
CPC Class Codes

H04L 67/02   based on web technology, e....

H04L 67/561   Adding application-function...

H04L 69/28   Timers or timing mechanisms...

Accelerating network communications

First Claim

6 Assignments

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Abstract

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49 Claims

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Accelerating network communications

First Claim

6 Assignments

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0 Petitions

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Accused Products

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Abstract

Citations

49 Claims

Specification

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