Cached data detection

• US 8,966,059 B2
• Filed: 04/06/2011
• Issued: 02/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Mastrangelo, Michael P., Nassar, Aladdin A., Alongi, David M., Miranda-Steiner, Emmanuel Jose, Lee, Tze Meng
• Primary Examiner(s): Hamza, Faruk
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zaman, Shah R
• Application Number:
  US13/081,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20120259969A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,420 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3419 by assessing time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3466 Performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3476 Data logging G06F11/14, G06F11/2205 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/865 Monitoring of software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/875 Monitoring of systems including the internet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/885 Monitoring specific for caches
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

A service assigns session identifiers to usage sessions of a program on a computing device, and maintains records in a log of received page requests and associated session identifiers, as well as received cached data detection requests and associated session identifiers. This log can be used to determine how many usage sessions existed over a particular amount of time, and how many of the usage sessions used data from a local cache rather than from the service. The service also returns, in response to a received cached data detection request, a response including an indication that the response is from the service. The program can determine that the response was received from the service if the indication is included in the response, and that the response was received from a local cache of the computing device if the indication is not included in the response.

Claims

1. A method implemented in a service, the method comprising:

receiving, from programs running on computing devices remote from the service, page requests for one or more pages from the service;

storing, by the service, for each page request, information regarding the page request and a session identifier associated with a usage session of the program from which the page request is received;

receiving, from one or more of the programs, both a cached data detection request and the session identifier associated with the usage session of the program from which the cached data detection request is received;

storing, by the service, for each cached data detection request, information regarding the cached data detection request and the session identifier;

determining, by the service, based on the stored information, how many usage sessions existed over a particular amount of time, and how many of the usage sessions used data from local caches of the remote computing devices rather than from the service; and

determining, based on the stored information, a percent of usage sessions that used data from a local cache rather than from the service, the percent determined by comparing a ratio of a number of session identifiers that are assigned and a number of cached data detection requests that are received.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

assigning the session identifier associated with the usage session in response to an initial page request to the service for the usage session; and

returning both the session identifier and the requested page in response to the initial page request.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, the cached data detection request comprising a request for a particular file or data.

4. A method as recited in claim 3, the cached data detection request identifying the particular file or data by a uniform resource locator (URL), the URL including a version identifier that is updated each time one or more files of the service are updated.

5. A method as recited in claim 3, further comprising returning, in response to the cached data detection request, the particular file or data as well as a cookie indicating that the response to the cached data detection request is from the service.

6. A method as recited in claim 5, the particular file or data having a same cache retention policy as one or more other files of the service.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, the service implemented on one or more different types of computing devices that are remote relative to the one or more computing devices running the programs and being one of multiple services provided by an entity, the functionality included in the service being specified by the entity.

12. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising altering, based on how many usage sessions existed over the particular amount of time and how many of the usage sessions used data from local caches of the remote computing devices rather than from the service, a behavior of the service.

8. A method implemented in a service, the method comprising:

receiving, from programs running on computing devices remote from the service, page requests for one or more pages from the service;

storing, by the service, for each page request, information regarding the page request and a session identifier associated with a usage session of the program from which the page request is received;

receiving, from one or more of the programs, both a cached data detection request and the session identifier associated with the usage session of the program from which the cached data detection request is received, the cached data detection request comprising a request for a particular file identified by a uniform resource locator (URL);

storing, by the service, for each cached data detection request, information regarding the cached data detection request and the session identifier;

tracking, by the service, based on the stored information regarding session identifiers and cached data detection requests, whether the remote computing devices already have the particular file cached locally at the remote computing devices;

returning, by the service, in response to each cached data detection request, a response with both the particular file and a cookie indicating that the response with the particular file is being returned by the service, the particular file having a same cache retention policy as other files provided to the program from the service; and

determining, based on the stored information, a percent of usage sessions that used data from a local cache rather than from the service, the percent determined by comparing a ratio of a number of session identifiers that are assigned and a number of cached data detection requests that are received.

9. A method as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

assigning the session identifier associated with the usage session in response to an initial page request to the service for the usage session; and

returning both the session identifier and the requested page in response to the initial page request.

10. A method as recited in claim 8, the URL including a version identifier that is updated each time one or more files of the service are updated.

11. A method as recited in claim 8, the service implemented on one or more different types of computing devices that are remote relative to the one or more computing devices running the programs and being one of multiple services provided by an entity, the functionality included in the service being specified by the entity.

13. One or more computing devices implementing a service, the one or more computing devices comprising:

one or more hardware processors; and

an instrumentation module and a request handler module implementing one or more programs that, when executed by the one or more hardware processors, cause the one or more hardware processors to perform acts comprising;

receiving, from programs running on computing devices remote from the service, page requests for one or more pages from the service;

storing, by the service, for each page request, information regarding the page request and a session identifier associated with a usage session of the program from which the page request is received;

receiving, from one or more of the programs, both a cached data detection request and the session identifier associated with the usage session of the program from which the cached data detection request is received;

storing, by the service, for each cached data detection request, information regarding the cached data detection request and the session identifier;

determining, by the service, based on the stored information, how many usage sessions existed over a particular amount of time, and how many of the usage sessions used data from local caches of the remote computing devices rather than from the service; and

determining, based on the stored information, a percent of usage sessions that used data from a local cache rather than from the service, the percent determined by using a ratio of a number of session identifiers that are assigned and a number of cached data detection requests that are received.

14. One or more computing devices as recited in claim 13, the acts further comprising:

assigning the session identifier associated with the usage session in response to an initial page request to the service for the usage session; and

returning both the session identifier and the requested page in response to the initial page request.

15. One or more computing devices as recited in claim 13, the cached data detection request comprising a request for a particular file or data.

16. One or more computing devices as recited in claim 15, the cached data detection request identifying the particular file or data by a uniform resource locator (URL), the URL including a version identifier that is updated each time one or more files of the service are updated.

17. One or more computing devices as recited in claim 15, the acts further comprising returning, in response to the cached data detection request, the particular file or data as well as a cookie indicating that the response to the cached data detection request is from the service.

18. One or more computing devices as recited in claim 17, the particular file or data having a same cache retention policy as one or more other files of the service.

19. One or more computing devices as recited in claim 13, the service being one of multiple services provided by an entity, the functionality included in the service being specified by the entity.

20. One or more computing devices as recited in claim 13, the acts further comprising altering, based on how many usage sessions existed over the particular amount of time and how many of the usage sessions used data from local caches of the remote computing devices rather than from the service, a behavior of the service.