System and method of determining latency

• US 9,954,970 B1
• Filed: 08/11/2016
• Issued: 04/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Siganporia, Aspi, Wang, Zhiheng
• Primary Examiner(s): Pollack, Melvin H
• Application Number:
  US15/234,510
• Time in Patent Office: 621 Days
• Field of Search: 709224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/14 Handling requests for interconnection or transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0864 Round trip delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561

Abstract

A web server monitors and receives measurements as to how long a client device takes to load or display individual items after a user first requests a web page containing the items. The measurements may be based on a duration that begins at a time between a user'"'"'s navigation request and network browser'"'"'s transmission of a request for a new web page. The recorded measurements received by the web server may include measurements relating to the latency experienced by the user in loading a particular item of content for a web page, such as an image, or may include the latency experienced by the user in loading an entire web page. One or more components used by the network browser, such as a network browser plug-in and or scripting language embedded in a web page, may provide one or more routines for measuring and reporting the latencies experienced by the user.

Claims

1. An apparatus for providing content to a network browser based on a reported latency comprising:

a memory operative to store an item of content for a web page; and

a processor operative to;

receive a latency measurement from the web browser or a plug-in of the web browser, the latency measurement being based on an amount of time that has passed between two network browser events and a type of action that resulted in the network browser transitioning its display between the two events; and

modify data associated with the item of content for the web page with a different form of the data to account for the received latency measurement.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the item of content is of a first content type;

the memory is further operative to store a second item of content of a second content type; and

the processor is operative to modify data associated with the item of content by replacing the item of content with the second item of content.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the item of content is of a first complexity;

the memory is further operative to store a second item of content of a second complexity that is less complex than the first complexity; and

the processor is operative to modify data associated with the item of content by replacing the item of content with the second item of content.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is operative to modify data associated with the item of content when the received latency measurement indicates a high latency.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operative to confirm whether a decrease in the latency measurement has occurred based on a modification to data associated with the item of content for the web page.

6. A method for providing content to a network browser based on a reported latency comprising:

storing, in a memory, an item of content for a web page;

receiving a latency measurement from the web browser or a plug-in of the web browser, the latency measurement being based on an amount of time that has passed between two network browser events and a type of action that resulted in the network browser transitioning its display between the two events; and

modifying data associated with the item of content for the web page with a different form of the data to account for the received latency measurement.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the item of content is of a first content type, and the method further comprises:

storing a second item of content of a second content type; and

modifying data associated with the item of content by replacing the item of content with the second item of content.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the item of content is of a first complexity, and the method further comprises:

storing a second item of content of a second complexity that is less complex than the first complexity; and

modifying data associated with the item of content by replacing the item of content with the second item of content.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising modifying data associated with the item of content when the received latency measurement indicates a high latency.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising confirming whether a decrease in the latency measurement has occurred based on a modification to data associated with the item of content for the web page.