Method for dynamically adjusting multimedia content of a web page by a server in accordance to network path characteristics between client and server

• US 6,243,761 B1
• Filed: 03/26/1998
• Issued: 06/05/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Digital Equipment Corporation (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Mogul, Jeffrey C., Brakmo, Lawrence S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu, Le Hien
• Application Number:
  US09/048,652
• Time in Patent Office: 1,167 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/232, 709/234, 709/235, 709/246, 709/219, 709/203, 709/217, 345/428, 710/33
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5651 Reducing the amount or size of exchanged application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A computer implemented method adjusts a Web page including multimedia content according to the effective bandwidth and/or latency monitored on a network path connecting a server computer storing the Web page, and a client computer requesting the Web page. In response to receiving a request for the Web page in the server computer from the client computer, the server computer, or some other computer closely connected to the server computer monitors the effective bandwidth and/or latency of the network path. Using the measured effective bandwidth and/or latency, the content of the Web page is dynamically adjusted by the server computer while sending the Web page to the client.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for adjusting a Web page stored by a server computer connected to a client computer by a network path, the Web page including multimedia content, the multimedia content including at least two forms of content selected from the group consisting of text, images, audio, video, and software, comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for the Web page in the server computer from the client computer over the network path;

monitoring, in response to receiving the request, a characteristic of the network path between the client computer and the server computer;

adjusting the multimedia content of the Web page according to the monitored characteristics, including dynamically adjusting the multimedia content of the Web page other than image content by the server while the server is sending the Web page to the client computer; and

sending the adjusted Web page to the client computer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitored characteristic includes an effective bandwidth of the network path.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitored characteristic includes a latency of the network path.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitored characteristic includes an effective bandwidth and a latency of the network path.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the multimedia content is formatted according to HTML.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring is passively performed by monitoring software, the monitoring software forwarding the monitored characteristic to the server while the server is adjusting and sending the Web page to the client computer.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring is performed by a proxy server, the proxy server forwarding the monitored characteristic to the server while the server is adjusting and sending the Web page to the client computer.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring includes measuring a sending rate on the network path.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring includes measuring a round-trip time on the network path.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring includes measuring a packet loss rate on the network path.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring includes measuring a server load of the server, and adjusting the Web page according to the measured server load while sending the Web page to the client computer.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the server load includes CPU, disk, network and memory utilization.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the multimedia content of the Web page includes annotations that indicate priority order for specified portions of the Web page, and the method includes sending the client computer the specified portions of the Web page in the indicated priority order to enable fast partial rendering of the Web page at the client computer.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the annotations include a target time to send the Web page to the client computer;

and the method including sending only portions of the Web page that can be transmitted to the client computer within the target time.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring of the monitored characteristic is performed by a network layer of the server, the network layer forwarding the monitored characteristic to an application layer of the server, the application layer adjusting the Web page according to the forwarded monitored characteristic.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the network layer is a TCP implementation, and the application layer is a HTTP implementation.

17. The method of claim 1 including storing the monitored characteristic of the network path with a network address of the client computer in a database of the server computer, and retrieving the monitored characteristic of the network path to the client computer from the database when receiving a subsequent request from a particular client computer having a substantially identical network address as the client computer.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the Web page includes a graphic image, and the adjusting reduces the size of the graphic image.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the Web page includes a graphic image, and the adjusting reduces the resolution of the graphic image.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein the Web page includes a graphic image, and the adjusting filters the graphic image.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the Web page includes a graphic image, and the adjusting reduces the number of colors of the graphic image.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein the Web page includes a graphic image, and the adjusting reduces the spatial frequencies of the graphic image.

23. The method of claim 1 wherein the Web page includes a graphic image, and the adjusting compresses the graphic image.

24. The method of claim 1 wherein the Web page includes a plurality of graphic images and the adjusting reduces the number of graphic images sent to the client computer.

25. The method of claim 1 wherein the Web page includes a plurality of graphic images, and the adjusting rearranges the order in which the graphic images are sent to the client computer to enable fast partial rendering of the Web page at the client computer.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein the Web page includes audio data, and the adjusting compresses the audio data.

27. The method of claim 1 wherein the Web page includes audio data, and the adjusting reduces a sampling rate of the audio data.

28. The method of claim 1 wherein the Web page includes audio data, and the adjusting suppresses background audio data.

29. The method of claim 1 wherein the Web page includes video data, and the adjusting compresses the video data.

30. The method of claim 1 wherein the Web page includes video data, and the adjusting includes reducing the frame rate of the video data.

31. The method of claim 1 wherein the adjusting the Web page includes partitioning the Web page into a plurality of connected sub-pages to enable fast partial rendering of the Web page at the client computer.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein the sub-pages are arranged serially.

33. The method of claim 31 wherein the sub-pages are arranged in a hierarchy.

34. The method of claim 31 wherein the sub-pages are arranged in a mesh.

35. The method of claim 1 wherein the Web page includes text, and the adjusting reduces the amount of text.

36. A computer implemented method for adjusting a Web page stored by a server computer connected to a client computer by a network path, the Web page including software programs executable at the client computer, comprising the steps of:

receiving a request in a server computer from a client computer over a network path for a Web page including at least one software program;

monitoring a characteristic of the network path between the client computer and the server computer;

adjusting the Web page, including dynamically adjusting to reduce complexity the at least one software program by the server while the server is sending the Web page to the client computer, according to the monitored characteristic of the network path; and

sending the adjusted Web page to the client computer.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein the adjusting reduces the number of the at least one software program sent to the client computer.

38. The method of claim 36 wherein the adjusting optimizes a length of the at least one software program.

39. The method of claim 36 wherein the at least one software program includes data to be presented to the client computer, and the adjusting reduces a length of the data.