Mechanism for automatic network data compression on a network connection

• US 8,724,693 B2
• Filed: 05/11/2012
• Issued: 05/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Pamu, Srinivas, Patel, Kant C., Khan, Feroz Alam, Dadhich, Abhishek, Ramasubramanian, Saravanakumar, Mathur, Bhaskar
• Primary Examiner(s): ROSE, KERRI M
• Application Number:
  US13/469,358
• Publication Number:
  US 20130301430A1
• Time in Patent Office: 732 Days
• Field of Search: 370/252, 370/392, 375/240, 375/240.25, 375/E7.026
• US Class Current: 375/240
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/04 Protocols for data compression, e.g. ROHC

Abstract

The techniques are provided automatically detecting when performing pre-transmission compression on data to be sent over a network connection will be preferable to sending the data uncompressed, and for automatically performing pre-transmission compression only when doing so is determined to be beneficial. The techniques involve performing compression on sample data. The time it takes to perform the compression on the sample data, along with the reduction in size achieved by the compression, are factors used to automatically determine whether compressing data before sending the data over a network connection will achieve better results that sending the data uncompressed. In some embodiments, multiple compression algorithm/compression level combinations are tested at different points in the transmission. At each point, the sending device may switch to the algorithm/level combination that is producing the best results on the current sample.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

prior to sending data from a first device to a second device over a network connection, performing the steps of;

performing a compression operation on at least one sample that has a first size;

determining a first amount of time that was required to perform the compression operation;

determining a second size of compressed data produced by the compression operation;

based, at least in part, on the first size and an achievable rate of the network connection, determining a first value that estimates a cost of transmitting the data over the network connection without compression;

based, at least in part, on the second size, the first amount of time, and the achievable rate of the network connection, determining a second value that estimates a cost of transmitting the data over the network connection with pre-transmission compression; and

determining whether to perform pre-transmission compression on at least a portion of the data based, at least in part, on whether the second value is less than the first value;

responsive to determining to perform pre-transmission compression on the at least a portion of the data, causing the first device to compress the at least a portion of the data prior to transmitting the at least a portion of the data to the second device; and

responsive to determining to not perform pre-transmission compression on the at least a portion of the data, causing the first device to send the at least a portion of the data to the second device without compression;

wherein the compression operation is a first compression operation using a first technique;

wherein the at least a portion of the data is a first flight of a plurality of flights of the data;

wherein the first flight is compressed using the first technique prior to being transmitted across the network connection;

while the first flight is being transmitted, tracking compression times and sizes produced by compressing the first flight using the first technique; and

based, at least in part on the compression times and sizes produced by compressing the first flight using the first technique, determining whether to compress a second flight of the data using the first technique prior to transmitting the second flight across the network connection;

after transmission of the first flight has been initiated, and before transmission of a second flight of the data is initiated, performing the steps of;

performing a second compression operation that uses a second technique to compress at least one sample from the first flight;

determining a second amount of time that was required to perform the second compression operation;

determining a third size of compressed data produced by the second compression operation; and

based, at least in part, on the third size, the second amount of time, and the achievable rate of the network connection, determining a third value that estimates a cost of transmitting the data over the network connection with pre-transmission compression using the second technique; and

based, at least in part on the third value, determining whether to send the second flight with pre-transmission compression using the first technique, with pre-transmission compression using the second technique, or with no pre-transmission compression

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first technique uses a first compression algorithm and a first compression level and the second technique uses the first compression algorithm and a second compression level.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first technique uses a first compression algorithm and the second technique uses a second compression algorithm.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising sending the second flight with pre-transmission compression using the second technique.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the first value and the second value is based, in part, on a factor that is not related to effective transmission rates.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the factor is power savings that would result by not using pre-transmission compression.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the factor is processor load reduction that would result by not using pre-transmission compression.

8. One or more non-transitory storage media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause performance of a method comprising:

prior to sending data from a first device to a second device over a network connection, performing the steps of;

performing a compression operation on at least one sample that has a first size;

determining a first amount of time that was required to perform the compression operation;

determining a second size of compressed data produced by the compression operation;

based, at least in part, on the first size and an achievable rate of the network connection, determining a first value that estimates a cost of transmitting the data over the network connection without compression;

based, at least in part, on the second size, the first amount of time, and the achievable rate of the network connection, determining a second value that estimates a cost of transmitting the data over the network connection with pre-transmission compression; and

determining whether to perform pre-transmission compression on at least a portion of the data based, at least in part, on whether the second value is less than the first value;

responsive to determining to perform pre-transmission compression on the at least a portion of the data, causing the first device to compress the at least a portion of the data prior to transmitting the at least a portion of the data to the second device; and

responsive to determining to not perform pre-transmission compression on the at least a portion of the data, causing the first device to send the at least a portion of the data to the second device without compression;

wherein the compression operation is a first compression operation using a first technique;

wherein the at least a portion of the data is a first flight of a plurality of flights of the data;

wherein the first flight is compressed using the first technique prior to being transmitted across the network connection;

while the first flight is being transmitted, tracking compression times and sizes produced by compressing the first flight using the first technique; and

based, at least in part on the compression times and sizes produced by compressing the first flight using the first technique, determining whether to compress a second flight of the data using the first technique prior to transmitting the second flight across the network connection;

after transmission of the first flight has been initiated, and before transmission of a second flight of the data is initiated, performing the steps of;

performing a second compression operation that uses a second technique to compress at least one sample from the first flight;

determining a second amount of time that was required to perform the second compression operation;

determining a third size of compressed data produced by the second compression operation; and

based, at least in part, on the third size, the second amount of time, and the achievable rate of the network connection, determining a third value that estimates a cost of transmitting the data over the network connection with pre-transmission compression using the second technique; and

based, at least in part on the third value, determining whether to send the second flight with pre-transmission compression using the first technique, with pre-transmission compression using the second technique, or with no pre-transmission compression.

9. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 8 wherein the first technique uses a first compression algorithm and a first compression level and the second technique uses the first compression algorithm and a second compression level.

10. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 8 wherein the first technique uses a first compression algorithm and the second technique uses a second compression algorithm.

11. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 8 wherein the method further comprises sending the second flight with pre-transmission compression using the second technique.

12. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 8 wherein at least one of the first value and the second value is based, in part, on a factor that is not related to effective transmission rates.

13. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 12 wherein the factor is power savings that would result by not using pre-transmission compression.

14. The one or more non-transitory storage media of claim 12 wherein the fact is processor load reduction that would result by not using pre-transmission compression.