Optimizing traffic by controlling keep-alives

• US 9,532,317 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2014
• Issued: 12/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Seven Networks LLC (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Seven Networks LLC (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Backholm, Ari, Kokhanovskyi, Andrii, Fleming, Michael, Yoon, Sungwook
• Primary Examiner(s): Moore, Ian N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jangbahadur, Lakeram
• Application Number:
  US14/500,241
• Publication Number:
  US 20150016342A1
• Time in Patent Office: 820 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/026 Details of "hello" or keep-alive messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/32 by discarding or delaying data units, e.g. packets or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/323 Discarding or blocking control packets, e.g. ACK packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/228 using past power values or information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/267 taking into account the information rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/25 Maintenance of established connections

Abstract

A system, method and non-transitory computer code for operating a proxy server operating under software to cause the proxy server to access a communication network and to delay, advance or block keep-alives for a client device to improve traffic data flow.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

at a mobile device;

monitoring keep-alive messages sent at varying intervals between the mobile device and a remote entity as part of one or more transactions;

determining a tolerance of delay of keep-alive messages that includes;

increasing the tolerance of delay until an application executing on the mobile device times out by increasing the tolerance of delay for a combination comprising at least two of;

the application, a protocol, and a communications port communicating with the application; and

reducing the tolerance of delay after the application times out;

identifying a transaction as unnecessary when the transaction includes user-initiated data transmitting from the mobile device in addition to a keep-alive message, wherein a respective transaction includes user-initiated data when the traffic originates in response to output mechanisms of the mobile device, or when the transaction is associated with a keep-alive message that has not been sent when the application times out, wherein a timer for the application timing out is set if the application is to be delayed; and

blocking the keep-alive message for the unnecessary transaction.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the output mechanisms of the mobile device include at least one of a display screen, audio, notification light, Bluetooth®

module, NFC module, RFID module, and touch sensor.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that the respective transaction is a keep-alive based off of at least one of periodicity of transactions, size of transactions, and repetitiveness of transactions.

4. A mobile device comprising:

a processor;

a memory;

wherein the processor is processing the memory to execute the following steps;

monitoring keep-alive messages sent at varying intervals between the mobile device and a remote entity as part of one or more transactions;

determining a tolerance of delay of keep-alive messages that includes;

increasing the tolerance of delay until an application executing on the mobile device times out by increasing the tolerance of delay for a combination comprising at least two of;

the application, a protocol, and a communications port communicating with the application; and

reducing the tolerance of delay after the application times out;

identifying a transaction as unnecessary when the transaction includes user-initiated data transmitting from the mobile device in addition to a keep-alive message, wherein a respective transaction includes user-initiated data when the traffic originates in response to output mechanisms of the mobile device, or when the transaction is associated with a keep-alive message that has not been sent when the application times out, wherein a timer for the application timing out is set if the application is to be delayed; and

blocking the keep-alive message for the unnecessary transaction.

5. The mobile device of claim 4, wherein the output mechanisms of the mobile device include at least one of a display screen, audio, notification light, Bluetooth®

module, NFC module, RFID module, and touch sensor.

6. The mobile device of claim 4, wherein the mobile device is further configured for determining that the respective transaction is a keep-alive based off of at least one of periodicity of transactions, size of transactions, and repetitiveness of transactions.