Akamai Technologies, Inc.

Northeastern University

Verizon Corporate Services Group Inc.

Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.

Ravi Sundaram

F Thomson Leighton

Matthew S Levine

Hariharan Rahul

Adrian Soviani

Robert D Kleinberg

Daniel M Lewin

Gary Lee Miller

Satish Balusu Rao

Claudson F Bornstein

Rizwan S Dhanidina

Timothy K Canfield

Andrew Parker

Srikanth Thirumalai

Walter Clark Milliken

Jay Parikh

Bruce Maggs

Yoav O Yerushalmi

William Yerazunis

Anne E Lewin, Legal Representative

Michael M Afergan

Arthur Wagner Berger

Andrew B Ellis

Alan Mislove

Nathan Faber

Rizwan S Dhanldina

Silvina Hanono-Wachman

Hariharan S Rahul

Hariharan Shankar Rahul

Andrian Soviani

Madhukar R Korupolu

Jay Gunvantrai Parikh

A method for Internet delivery in a delivery network established at network locations, the delivery network comprising a plurality of content servers for serving resources. The servers include a plurality of subsets, each subset being located at one of a plurality of Internet data centers. For each Internet Protocol (IP) address block from which requests for content resources are expected to be received, the method generates a candidate list of data centers to be used to service the requests. For the IP address block, the method selects at least one of the data centers from the candidate list. The selected Internet data center for the IP address block is written into a network map. In response to a DNS query, the map is used to identify one of the Internet data centers from the candidate list to be used to service a request for a content resource.

Network performance monitoring in a content delivery system

Methods and systems for detection and/or prevention of network attacks can include the use of multiple and/or time-dependent addresses coupled with filtering by the directory or naming service. The directory service can respond to requests for the address of a resource by returning an address that can be relocated over time by coordinating the directory service entry with the host and network address configuration data and/or by returning an address specific to the requestor. Thus, the directory service can track and build profiles of matches between requestors and accesses. The methods and systems can use the time dependent addresses and profiles to distinguish legitimate accesses from unauthorized or malicious ones. Requests for non-valid addresses can be misdirected to 'empty' addresses or to detection devices.

Methods and systems for network attack detection and prevention through redirection

In one embodiment, program code is added to a social network's web pages or site such that the content a first user accesses is locally stored at the first user's system. When another user, who is a friend of the first user, as defined by the social networking site, browses to that same content, the program code fetches it from the first user, instead of directly from the social networking site. The content is thus directly exchanged between the users without a transaction at the website. The present invention leverages the storage and bandwidth resources of social networking users to help serve content.

Content distribution network using a web browser and locally stored content to directly exchange content between users

A routing mechanism operable in a distributed networking environment, such as a content delivery network (CDN), provides improved connectivity back to an origin server, especially for HTTP traffic. The technique enables an edge server operating within a given edge region to retrieve content (cacheable, non-cacheable and the like) from an origin server more efficiently by selectively routing through the network's own nodes, thereby avoiding network congestion and hot spots. The technique enables an edge server to fetch content from an origin server through an intermediate edge server or, more generally, enables an edge server within a given first region to fetch content from the origin server through an intermediate edge region.

Optimal route selection in a content delivery network

A method for Internet content delivery in a content delivery network established at network locations, the content delivery network comprising a plurality of content servers for serving content resources. The plurality of content servers includes a plurality of subsets of content servers, each subject being located at one of a plurality of Internet data centers. For each Internet Protocol (IP) address block from which requests for content resources are expected to be received, the method generates a candidate list of Internet data centers to be used to service the requests for content resources. For the IP address block, the method selects at least one of the Internet data centers from the candidate list to be used to service the requests for content resources. The selected Internet data center for the IP address block is written into a network map. The selecting step is carried out concurrently for each IP address block from which requests for content resources are expected to be received such that the network map comprises the selected Internet data center for each IP address block. The network map is then provided to a domain name service (DNS) associated with the content delivery network. In response to a DNS query received at the domain name service associated with the content delivery network, the network map is used to identify one of the Internet data centers from the candidate list to be used to service a request for a content resource.

An infrastructure 'insurance' mechanism enables a Web site to fail over to a content delivery network (CDN) upon a given occurrence at the site. Upon such occurrence, at least some portion of the site's content is served preferentially from the CDN so that end users that desire the content can still get it, even if the content is not then available from the origin site. In operation, content requests are serviced from the site in the usual manner, e.g., by resolving DNS queries to the site's IP address, until detection of the given occurrence. Thereafter, DNS queries are managed by a CDN dynamic DNS-based request routing mechanism so that such queries are resolved to optimal CDN edge servers. After the event that caused the occurrence has passed, control of the site's DNS may be returned from the CDN back to the origin server's DNS mechanism.

Origin server protection service apparatus

A routing mechanism, service or system operable in a distributed networking environment. One preferred environment is a content delivery network (CDN) wherein the present invention provides improved connectivity back to an origin server, especially for HTTP traffic. In a CDN, edge servers are typically organized into regions, with each region comprising a set of content servers that preferably operate in a peer-to-peer manner and share data across a common backbone such as a local area network (LAN). The inventive routing technique enables an edge server operating within a given CDN region to retrieve content (cacheable, non-cacheable and the like) from an origin server more efficiently by selectively routing through the CDN's own nodes, thereby avoiding network congestion and hot spots. The invention enables an edge server to fetch content from an origin server through an intermediate CDN server or, more generally, enables an edge server within a given first region to fetch content from the origin server through an intermediate CDN region.

Method and system for providing on-demand content delivery for an origin server

A first virtual server is moved from a first network location to a second network location without interrupting service to users of the first virtual server. The state and data of the first virtual server are copied and transmitted to the second network location to create a copy of the first virtual server. The first virtual server copy is then updated to duplicate the first virtual server and all connections or packets directed to the first virtual server are intercepted and directed to the first virtual server copy at the second network location. A DNS entry for the symbolic name of the first virtual server is updated to reflect a shortened TTL value and then the address field of the DNS entry is set to the address of the first virtual server copy after the changeover and subsequent connections are directed to the first virtual server copy.

System and method for virtual server migration across networks using DNS and route triangulation

The invention is an intelligent traffic redirection system that does global load balancing. It can be used in any situation where an end-user requires access to a replicated resource. The method directs end-users to the appropriate replica so that the route to the replica is good from a network standpoint and the replica is not overloaded. The technique preferably uses a Domain Name Service (DNS) to provide IP addresses for the appropriate replica. The most common use is to direct traffic to a mirrored web site.

Global load balancing across mirrored data centers

A network architecture or framework that supports hosting and content distribution on a truly global scale allows a Content Provider to replicate and serve its most popular content at an unlimited number of points throughout the world. The inventive framework comprises a set of servers operating in a distributed manner. The actual content to be served is preferably supported on a set of hosting servers (sometimes referred to as ghost servers). This content comprises HTML page objects that, conventionally, are served from a Content Provider site. A base HTML document portion of a Web page is served from the Content Provider's site while one or more embedded objects for the page are served from the hosting servers, preferably, those hosting servers near the client machine. By serving the base HTML document from the Content Provider's site, the Content Provider maintains control over the content.

Network performance monitoring in a content delivery service

A routing mechanism, service or system operable in a distributed networking environment. One preferred environment is a content delivery network (CDN) wherein the present invention provides improved connectivity back to an origin server, especially for HTTP traffic. In a CDN, edge servers are typically organized into regions, with each region comprising a set of content servers that preferably operate in a peer-to-peer manner and share data across a common backbone such as a local area network (LAN). The inventive routing technique enables an edge server operating within a given CDN region to retrieve content (cacheable, non-cacheable and the like) from an origin server more efficiently by selectively routing through the CDN's own nodes, thereby avoiding network congestion and hot spots. The invention enables an edge server to fetch content from an origin server through an intermediate CDN server or, more generally, enables an edge server within a given first region to fetch content from the origin server through an intermediate CDN region. As used herein, this routing through an intermediate server, node or region is sometimes referred to as 'tunneling.'

Growing community of inventors

Cambridge, MA, United States of America

Ravi Sundaram