Server-machine-driven hint generation for improved web page loading using client-machine-driven feedback

• US 10,855,797 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2015
• Issued: 12/01/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ViaSat Incorporated
• Original Assignee: ViaSat Incorporated
• Inventors: Lepeska, Peter, Lerner, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Gillis, Brian J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Grijalva Lobos, Boris D
• Application Number:
  US14/729,949
• Publication Number:
  US 20150350370A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,008 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics

Abstract

Embodiments seek to improve web page loading time using server-machine-driven hint generation for based on client-machine-driven feedback. For example, client computers having page renderers are in communication with content servers and hinting processors. The hinting processors can use hinting feedback from multiple page rendering instances to automatically generate hints for optimizing loading and/or rendering of those pages. In some implementations, in response to page requests from the page renderers, content servers can request hints from hinting processors and send those hints to the requesting page renderers for use in improving the page loading experience. In other implementations, in response to page requests from the page renderers, content servers can instruct the requesting page renderers to contact an appropriate hinting processor and to retrieve appropriate hints therefrom for use in improving the page loading experience.

Claims

1. A method for improving web page loading time in a communications network, the method comprising:

receiving a request for hints at a hinting processor from a client page renderer in response to the client page renderer executing a hinting script that identifies a network location of the hinting processor, the hinting script communicated to the client page renderer by a content server in response to the client page renderer communicating a page request to the content server for a web page comprising a plurality of page objects;

generating a hinting response by the hinting processor in response to the request for hints, the hinting response comprising hints indicating an anticipated set of page objects that might be requested by the client page renderer during a web page transaction corresponding to the web page to render the web page, the hints based on hinting information maintained by the hinting processor;

communicating the hinting response from the hinting processor to the client page renderer in response to the request for hints, thereby causing the client page renderer to render the web page at least according to the hinting response;

receiving hinting feedback at the hinting processor from the client page renderer subsequent to the client page renderer rendering the web page at least according to the hinting response, the hinting feedback indicating a rendered set of page objects used to render the web page; and

updating the hinting information according to the hinting feedback.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the request for hints comprises establishing a connection between the client page renderer and the hinting processor over the communications network in response to client page renderer executing the hinting script.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the hints comprise a list of uniform resource locators (URLs) for the anticipated set of page objects; and

updating the hinting information comprises updating the list of URLs according to the rendered set of page objects used to render the web page.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the hinting information comprises:

timing information associated with rendering the web page; and

a prefetch aggressiveness value for at least some of the rendered set of page objects based on the timing information associated with rendering the web page.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the hinting feedback is received by the hinting processor from the client page renderer.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the hinting feedback is received by the hinting processor from the client page renderer via the content server.

7. A method for improving web page loading time in a communications network, the method comprising:

first communicating, from a client page renderer to a content server over a communications network, a page request for a web page comprising a plurality of page objects, the page request initiating a web page transaction;

receiving a page response at the client page renderer from the content server over the communications network in response to the page request, the page response comprising a first page object and a hinting script, the hinting script indicating a network address of a hinting processor;

in response to the client page renderer executing the hinting script, second communicating, from the client page renderer to the hinting processor, a request for hints;

receiving a hinting response at the client page renderer from the hinting processor in response to the request for hints, the hinting response comprising hints indicating an anticipated set of page objects that might be needed by the client page renderer during the web page transaction corresponding to the web page to render the web page;

third communicating, by the client page renderer and based on the hints, a plurality of object requests for the page objects;

rendering the web page by the client page renderer by receiving the plurality of page objects from the content server in response to the object requests;

monitoring hinting feedback indicating a set of rendered page objects used to render the web page; and

fourth communicating the hinting feedback from the client page renderer to the hinting processor.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second communicating comprises establishing a connection by the client page renderer with the hinting processor over the communications network in response to receiving the hinting script.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein:

the plurality of object requests comprise a list of uniform resource locators (URLs) for the plurality of page objects defined by the hinting processor as previously used to render the web page; and

the hinting feedback is communicated in such a way that the list of URLs is updatable by the hinting processor according to the set of rendered page objects used to render the web page.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the hinting processor is associated with the content server.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein:

the hinting processor calculates hinting information as a function of prior feedback regarding which of the page objects were rendered during a plurality of prior renderings of the web page; and

the hinting processor defines the anticipated set of page objects according to the hinting information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the hinting information comprises:

timing information associated with rendering the web page; and

a prefetch aggressiveness value for at least some of the set of rendered page objects used to render the web page, the prefetch aggressiveness value based on the timing information associated with rendering the web page.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the fourth communicating comprises communicating the hinting feedback from the client page renderer to the hinting processor.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein the fourth communicating comprises communicating the hinting feedback from the client page renderer to the hinting processor via the content server.

15. The method of claim 7, wherein the hinting script is injected into the page response by the content server as hypertext markup language (HTML).

16. The method of claim 7, wherein the first page object is retrieved from a content database of the content server and comprises the hinting script.

17. The method of claim 7, wherein the page request is a root request, and the page response is a root response to the root request.

18. The method of claim 7, wherein the page request is a redirected request.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising processor-executable instructions for a hinting processor stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium configured to cause a processor to:

receive a request for hints from a client page renderer in response to the client page renderer executing a hinting script that identifies a network location of the hinting processor, the hinting script communicated to the client page renderer by a content server in response to the client page renderer communicating a page request to the content server for a web page comprising a plurality of page objects;

generate a hinting response in response to the request for hints, the hinting response comprising hints indicating an anticipated set of page objects that might be requested by the client page renderer during a web page transaction corresponding to the web page to render the web page, the hints based on hinting information maintained by the hinting processor;

communicate the hinting response to the client page renderer in response to the request for hints, thereby causing the client page renderer to render the web page at least according to the hinting response;

receive hinting feedback from the client page renderer subsequent to the client page renderer rendering the web page at least according to the hinting response, the hinting feedback indicating a rendered set of page objects used to render the web page; and

update the hinting information according to the hinting feedback.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, further comprising processor-executable instructions configured to cause the processor to establish a connection between the client page renderer and the hinting processor over a communications network in response to client page renderer executing the hinting script.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the hints comprise a list of uniform resource locators (URLs) for the anticipated set of page objects;

and

further comprising processor-executable instructions configured to cause the processor to update the list of URLs according to the rendered set of page objects used to render the web page.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the hinting information comprises:

timing information associated with rendering the web page; and

a prefetch aggressiveness value for at least some of the rendered set of page objects based on the timing information associated with rendering the web page.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the hinting feedback is received by the hinting processor from the client page renderer.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the hinting feedback is received from the client page renderer via the content server.

25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium configured to cause a processor to:

first communicate, to a content server over a communications network, a page request for a web page comprising a plurality of page objects, the page request initiating a web page transaction;

receive a page response from the content server over the communications network in response to the page request, the page response comprising a first page object and a hinting script, the hinting script indicating a network address of a hinting processor;

in response to executing the hinting script, second communicate, to the hinting processor, a request for hints;

receive a hinting response from the hinting processor in response to the request for hints, the hinting response comprising hints indicating an anticipated set of page objects that might be needed by a client page renderer during the web page transaction corresponding to the web page to render the web page;

third communicate, based on the hints, a plurality of object requests for the page objects;

render the web page by receiving the plurality of page objects from the content server in response to the object requests;

monitor hinting feedback indicating a set of rendered page objects used to render the web page; and

fourth communicate the hinting feedback to the hinting processor.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, further comprising processor-executable instructions configured to cause the processor to establish a connection with the hinting processor over the communications network in response to receiving the hinting script.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein:

the plurality of object requests comprise a list of uniform resource locators (URLs) for the plurality of page objects defined by the hinting processor as previously used to render the web page; and

the hinting feedback is communicated in such a way that the list of URLs is updatable by the hinting processor according to the set of rendered page objects used to render the web page.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the hinting processor is associated with the content server.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein:

the hinting processor calculates hinting information as a function of prior feedback regarding which of the page objects were rendered during a plurality of prior renderings of the web page; and

the hinting processor defines the anticipated set of page objects according to the hinting information.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 29, wherein the hinting information comprises:

timing information associated with rendering the web page; and

a prefetch aggressiveness value for at least some of the set of rendered page objects used to render the web page, the prefetch aggressiveness value based on the timing information associated with rendering the web page.

31. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, further comprising processor-executable instructions configured to cause the processor to communicate the hinting feedback from the client page renderer to the hinting processor.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, further comprising processor-executable instructions configured to cause the processor to communicate the hinting feedback from the client page renderer to the hinting processor via the content server.

33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the hinting script is injected into the page response by the content server as hypertext markup language (HTML).

34. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the first page object is retrieved from a content database of the content server and comprises the hinting script.

35. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the page request is a root request, and the page response is a root response to the root request.

36. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the page request is a redirected request.