Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Barbara Harder

Edward F Reus

Kancheng Cao

Jeffrey S Roberts

Narayana Mahankali

Anna Magdalena Hester

Mike Zoran

Anil Francis Thomas

Anthony S Chavez

Nirmal Rajesh Soy

Mahmood Ahmed Dhalla

Kwanjalit S Marok

Anna M Hester

Example embodiments allow a local network client to access information about a shared gateway to determine its actual amount of bandwidth consumption. The client can also obtain the total capacity of such shared gateway. Using its knowledge of its own bandwidth consumption, it can determine the other local network clients' usage of the shared gateway. With all of this information, i.e., total capacity of the shared gateway, the actual usage of the shared gateway, and the usage by other clients within the local network, the client can adjust or throttle background file transfers in order to keep the actual data transfers across the shared gateway within a reasonable percentage of the total capacity available. That is, a client will give priority to other local network computing machines' usage of the shared gateway by adjusting data transfers for its own background transfer system based on usage across a shared gateway.

Background network bandwidth sharing behind gateway devices

Distributed caching and download of file. A method is described that includes building a peer list comprising a listing of potential peer servers from among one or more networked computers. The peer list includes no more than a predetermined number of potential peer servers. Potential peer servers in the peer list are queried for a file or portion of a file. A message from a peer server in the peer list is received indicating that the peer server has the file or portion of a file available for download. The computer system downloads the file or portion of a file from the peer server.

Distributed caching of files in a network

Methods and systems for backing up and restoring the state of a computer system are disclosed. Computer resource use is minimized by combining the backup methods of file copying and file logging. During backup, copies are stored of those files that are expected to change frequently. For other files, changes are noted in a change log and backup copies may be made if they would be useful when later restoring the files. Restoration proceeds by overwriting the frequently-changing files with stored copies and by undoing the changes to the logged files.

Restoration of a computer to a previous working state

Growing community of inventors

Kirkland, WA, United States of America

Barbara Harder