Internet location coordinate enhanced domain name system

• US 8,275,873 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2011
• Issued: 09/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Josefsberg, Arne, Wolman, Alastair, Dunagan, John D., Acheibel, Mark D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Avellino, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Park, Jeong S
• Application Number:
  US13/188,013
• Publication Number:
  US 20110282973A1
• Time in Patent Office: 432 Days
• Field of Search: 709/223, 709/224, 709/227
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4552 Lookup mechanisms between a plurality of directories; Synchronisation of directories, e.g. metadirectories
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1021 based on client or server locations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information

Abstract

An exemplary architecture is for an Internet Location Coordinate enhanced Domain Name System (DNS). An exemplary method includes requesting information for a plurality of servers associated with a network domain name of a Domain Name System (DNS) where the information includes information based in part on packets transmitted by each of the plurality of servers to a plurality of network beacons; receiving the requested information from a name server associated with the Domain Name System (DNS); and, based in part on the received information, selecting an optimal server for the network domain name. Other methods, devices and systems are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage device storing executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, performs a method comprising:

determining, by a client, an associated client Internet Location Coordinate (ILC) based in part on sending data to network beacons;

requesting information for web servers associated with a network domain name;

receiving the information, directly or indirectly, from a name server associated with a Domain Name System (DNS), the information including a web server ILC associated with each of the web servers;

calculating, by the client, differences between the associated client ILC and each web server ILC; and

selecting a closest web server for the network domain name based in part on the calculating.

2. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1 wherein the ILC comprises a plurality of tuples.

3. The computer-readable storage device of claim 2 wherein each of the plurality of tuples includes a network beacon identifier and a round trip time (RTT).

4. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1 wherein the client sends the data to the network beacons to ascertain a transmission time between the client and each of the network beacons.

5. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1 wherein each of the network beacons reflects the data received from the client to allow the client to determine a round trip time (RTT) for each of the plurality of network beacons.

6. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1 wherein the information comprises a network latency indicator for each of the web servers.

7. A computer-readable storage device storing executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, performs a method comprising:

sending packets, by web servers, to N network beacons, wherein N is a positive integer;

receiving, by the web servers, response packets associated with a location of the N network beacons, wherein the sending the packets and the receiving the response packets is done via a DNS request and response packet protocol;

determining an associated relative location by the web servers based in part on the location of the N network beacons;

determining, by the web servers, an associated Internet Location Coordinate (ILC) based in part the associated relative location;

receiving, by a subset of the web servers, a message from a domain name system (DNS) server; and

communicating the associated ILC by each web server of the subset of the web servers to the DNS server in response to the message.

8. The computer-readable storage device of claim 7, wherein the message is associated with a client request for DNS resolution of a domain name.

9. The computer-readable storage device of claim 8, wherein the subset of the web servers is associated with the domain name.

10. The computer-readable storage device of claim 7, wherein N has a value greater than or equal to 2.

11. The computer-readable storage device of claim 7, wherein N has a value greater than or equal to 3.

12. The computer-readable storage device of claim 11, wherein determining the associated relative location is based in part on determining a geometric centroid associated with the location of each of the N network beacons.

13. The computer-readable storage device of claim 11, wherein the location includes a relative distance from each associated web server.

14. The computer-readable storage device of claim 7, wherein the location includes a round trip time (RTT) between an associated one of the web servers and an associated one of the N network beacons.

15. The computer-readable storage device of claim 7, wherein the N network beacons, the web servers and the DNS server are distributed over a network logical space.

16. A method comprising:

determining, by a client, an associated client Internet Location Coordinate (ILC) based in part on sending data to network beacons;

requesting information for web servers associated with a network domain name;

receiving the information, directly or indirectly, from a name server associated with a Domain Name System (DNS), the information including a web server ILC associated with each of the web servers;

calculating, by the client, differences between the associated client ILC and each web server ILC; and

selecting a closest web server for the network domain name based in part on the calculating.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the receiving includes receiving a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packet, the server ILC information associated with each of the web servers being encapsulated in the UDP packet.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein each of the network beacons reflects the data received from the client to allow the client to determine a round trip time (RTT) for each of the plurality of network beacons.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the information comprises a network latency indicator for each of the web servers.