Systems for serving website content according to user status

• US 9,438,659 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2012
• Issued: 09/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Go Daddy Operating Company LLC (GoDaddy, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Go Daddy Operating Company LLC (GoDaddy, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jasperson, Harry
• Primary Examiner(s): Srivastava, Vivek
• Assistant Examiner(s): BUKHARI, SIBTE H
• Application Number:
  US13/529,950
• Publication Number:
  US 20130346475A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,538 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

An example embodiment of a system for accelerating hosting performance may comprise one or more databases and one or more server computers communicatively coupled to a network. For each of one or more web applications hosted on the one or more servers, the one or more databases may store a signature comprising a regular expression pattern indicating a status of a user of the web application. The status of the user may further indicate that the one or more servers and/or web applications are able to perform one or more actions. The one or more servers may determine whether the request includes a browser cookie. If so, the one or more proxy servers may determine whether the browser cookie matches the regular expression pattern for that web application. If the browser cookie matches the regular expression pattern, the user will be considered authenticated and the request for action will be processed accordingly.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

one or more server computers communicatively coupled to a network, said one or more server computers running;

A) a database configured to store, for each of one or more web applications hosted on said one or more server computers, a signature comprising a regular expression pattern identifying a session state, said session state indicating a status of a user of said one of said one or more web applications; and

B) one or more proxy servers configured to;

i) store a cached web content for a website hosted by a web server, the website comprising web content, at least a portion of the web content being cached as the cached web content;

ii) receive, from a client computer communicatively coupled to said network, a request for an action performed by said one or more server computers via one of said one or more web applications;

iii) determine whether said request includes a browser cookie; and

iv) responsive to a determination that said request includes said browser cookie;

determine whether said browser cookie matches said regular expression pattern for said one of said one or more web applications;

responsive to a determination that said browser cookie does not match said regular expression pattern for said one of said one or more web applications, transmit the cached web content to the client computer without performing the action; and

responsive to a determination that said browser cookie matches said regular expression pattern, pass the request to said one or more server computers;

said one or more server computers being configured to, responsive to receiving the request from the one or more proxy servers, perform said action using said one of said one or more web applications.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said one or more web applications comprise one or more hosting applications downloaded by said user from a web hosting community onto said one or more server computers, said one or more hosting applications comprising any combination of:

i) one or more customer support software applications;

ii) one or more blogging software applications;

iii) one or more content management system software applications;

iv) one or more shopping cart software applications;

v) one or more web forum software applications; and

vi) one or more social interaction software applications.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said one or more server computers are further running the web server, said web content comprising a static component and a dynamic component;

said web server being configured, in response to receiving said request from said one or more proxy servers, to;

i) retrieve, from said one or more server computers, the static component of the web content;

ii) render said dynamic component; and

iii) transmit, to said client computer for display, by said web server, said static component and said dynamic component of said web content.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said browser cookie:

i) comprises information;

a) originating from said one of said one or more web applications;

b) about an inbound connection between an Internet browser on said client computer and said web server; and

c) comprising one or more characteristics about said session state;

ii) is stored on said client computer;

iii) preserves said session state for said one of said one or more web applications and said Internet browser;

iv) is preserved, and delivered with said request, by said Internet browser;

v) describes one or more user characteristics comprising;

a) an identity of said user;

b) one or more actions performed by said user; and

c) one or more preferences of said user.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein the cached web content includes the static component of the web content and the web server retrieves the static component from the cached web content of the one or more proxy servers.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein:

i) said one or more server computers are further configured to store in said database, for each of said one or more web applications, said dynamic component of said web content;

ii) said request comprises a web content request to locate, render or update, via said one of said one or more web applications, said web content; and

iii) responsive to a determination that said browser cookie matches said regular expression pattern for said one of said one or more web applications, said one or more server computers are configured to;

a) request from said database, via a database query, an update to, and a retrieval of, said dynamic component of said web content;

b) combine said dynamic component with said static component of said web content, said static component being stored in a file storage of said one or more server computers or cached on said one or more proxy servers; and

c) transmit, to said client computer said web content.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein responsive to a determination that said browser cookie matches said regular expression pattern, said one or more proxy servers forward said request to said web server, and said web server, responsive to the action:

i) logs said user in to said one of said one or more web applications;

ii) grants access for said user to access and update said dynamic component of said web content; and

iii) updates and retrieves from said database said dynamic component of said web content.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein said one or more proxy servers are further configured to cache the dynamic component in the cached web content.

9. The system of claim 3 wherein said one or more proxy servers:

i) comprise one or more intermediary services between said client computer and said one or more server computers;

ii) comprise one or more reverse proxy servers;

iii) function in a reverse proxy layer in a cluster of server computers; and

iv) are configured to;

a) read said browser cookie;

b) determine that responsive to said browser cookie for said one of said one or more web applications not matching said regular expression pattern, said user is not authorized to request said action to be performed by said one or more server computers;

c) accelerate hosting by caching, as said cached web content, for each of said one or more web applications, said dynamic component and said static component of said web content;

d) eliminate, by transmitting said static component of said cached web content to the client computer when the request includes one or more static content requests, said web server fetching said static component of said web content from a file storage on said one or more server computers; and

e) eliminate, by transmitting said dynamic component of said cached web content to the client computer when the request includes one or more dynamic content requests and said browser cookie of said request does not match said regular expression pattern, a computational overhead created by;

a) repeatedly interpreting, compiling or rendering, on demand in real time, one or more executed scripts on said one or more server computers; and

b) one or more database queries by said web server.

10. The system of claim 3 wherein:

i) said one or more proxy servers are configured to cache said static component and said dynamic component of said web content as said cached web content according to a caching configuration of said one or more proxy servers; and

ii) said caching configuration comprises one or more policies for one or more behaviors of said one or more proxy servers, said one or more policies defining, for each of said one or more web applications;

a) what to identify as said static component and said dynamic component of said web content;

b) how to cache said static component and said dynamic component of said web content on said one or more proxy servers;

c) when to cache said static component and said dynamic component of said web content on said one or more proxy servers; and

d) how long to cache said static component and said dynamic component of said web content on said one or more proxy servers.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein:

i) said caching configuration for each of said one or more web applications is defined in a configuration software application external to said database; and

ii) said configuration software application is configured to update said one or more proxy servers, according to said regular expression pattern, to reflect said caching configuration.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein a proxy configuration syntax for said caching configuration for each of said one or more web applications is stored in said database.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein said caching configuration for each of said one or more web applications is written and compiled by a web hosting entity hosting a web hosting community, said web hosting community facilitating the download, installation, and use of said one or more web applications on said one or more server computers by said user, and wherein:

i) said one or more web applications are written in a programming language configured to;

a) present said dynamic content via one or more web pages rendered dynamically on said client computer; and

b) recognize if said user is logged in to said one of said one or more web applications or is tracking a shopping cart; and

ii) said one or more caching configurations are compiled into a configuration library in said database.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein a user identification is assigned to said user upon joining said web hosting community, said user identification identifying one or more of said one or more web applications in use by said user, wherein said one or more proxy servers track the use of one or more browser cookies from said one or more of said one or web applications in use by said user.

15. The system of claim 10 wherein said one or more proxy servers are configured, responsive to a determination that said browser cookie does not match said regular expression pattern, to:

i) determine that said session state for said web application is not maintained for said user for said one of said one or more web applications;

ii) determine that said user is not logged in to said one of said one or more web applications;

iii) determine that said user does not have access to update said dynamic component of said web content; and

iv) transmit said cached web content to said client computer.

16. The system of claim 10 further comprising a control panel, hosted on said one or more servers, displayed on said client computer and configured to:

i) receive and transmit to said one or more server computers input indicating a selection of said one or more web applications by said user;

ii) receive and transmit to said one or more server computers input indicating said caching configuration for each of said one or more web applications selected by said user; and

iii) receive and transmit to said one or more server computers input indicating whether said static component and said dynamic component of said web content will be automatically cached on said one or more proxy servers.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein said control panel comprises:

i) an expert level interface component configured to receive input from said user indicating that said user prefers an expert caching configuration causing said one or more proxy servers to cache said static component and said dynamic component of said web content for one or more users which are not logged in to said one or more web applications; and

ii) a simple level interface component configured to receive input from said user indicating that said user prefers a simple caching configuration causing said one or more proxy servers to only cache said static component of said web content, said static component comprising any combination of;

a) one or more text files;

b) one or more image files;

c) one or more client-side script files;

d) one or more cascading style sheet files; and

e) one or more hypertext markup language files.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein said one or more proxy servers are configured to begin caching said static component and said dynamic component of said web content according to said caching configuration for each of said one or more web applications responsive to receiving from said client computer:

i) said one or more web applications selected by said user;

ii) said caching configuration for each of said one or more web applications selected by said user; and

iii) said input indicating whether said static component and said dynamic component of said web content will be automatically cached on said one or more proxy servers.

19. The system of claim 10 further comprising a software application external to said one or more proxy servers configured to:

i) monitor a plurality of network activity in a web tier and a proxy tier within a multitier architecture for said one or more server computers;

ii) register a spike of network traffic in said plurality of network activity; and

iii) dynamically configure said one or more proxy servers to reflect said caching configuration.

20. The system of claim 9, wherein the dynamic component comprises content-specific data and user-specific data, the one or more proxy servers being configured to cache the content-specific data as the cached web content, and to not cache the user-specific data.