Digital River, Inc.

Other

Liveclicker, Inc.

Walter Rezin Mann

Stephane Kasriel

Xavier Casanova

Sara Swanson

Justin Michael Foster

Stéphane Kasriel

To allow a video clip to be rendered within an e-mail, the video stream is converted into an animated image object (e.g. a GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) object) and stored on a server system. An HTML image element/tag (&#x3c;img . . . &#x3e;) is created that references the animated image object at the server, for embedding in a conventional HTML-encoded e-mail message. When the receiving e-mail application processes the HTML encoding, the processing of the HTML image element causes the referenced animated image object to be downloaded and displayed, thereby automatically presenting a recreation of the video stream. To facilitate efficient transmission to the receiving device, the size of the animated image object is preferably optimized before transmission, the optimization including general optimization techniques, as well as optimizations based on the particular characteristics associated with the receiving device and/or the communications link to the receiving device.

Video in e-mail

A system and method for delivering content on a network using differential caching is described. A request for information is received from a request-generating element coupled to a browser associated with a client through the network. A static portion and a dynamic portion of a document to be included in a response as the requested information are identified based on previously cached information by utilizing a software element that is not part of the client. The static portion is cached in a memory that is logically local to the client that requested the information. The static portion is served to the request-generating element from the cached memory. The dynamic portion is served to the request-generating element from the network. The static portion and the dynamic portion are integrated using the request-generating element into the document included in the response to the browser as the requested information.

Delivering content on a network using differential caching system and method

A network object predictive pre-download device operable on a network logically between a web client and a web server on a network is described. The pre-download device includes a prediction engine that intercepts a request from the web client to the web server for a first network object and determines a second network object most probable to be requested in the future from the web server. The pre-download device also includes a cache primer that intercepts a response to the request from the web server and sends a first message to the web client informing the web client of the second network object to be cached by the web client. The cache primer also sends the second network object to the web client such that the second network object is predicatively pre-downloaded to the web client whereby second network object latency is reduced when an actual user request occurs.

Network object predictive pre-download device

A method for transmitting a web page to a client device is described. Template information, sub-template information, and delta information are identified based on a request for information from the client device. The template information includes seldom changing elements of a web page. The sub-template information includes: (i) information that changes less frequently than delta information, and (ii) elements of a web page shared by several templates. At least one of the template information, sub-template information, and delta information is retrieved from a location other than an originating server that is the original provider of information requested by the client device. The request is responded to by sending to the client device the template information, sub-template information and delta information. In addition, a system for transmitting a web page to a client device is described.

Differential caching with template, sub-template, and delta information

A method of providing a web-site performance analysis service is disclosed that gathers data relative to visits to web-pages that are associated with a web-site. Traversals are identified that correspond to each visit to the web-pages. Each identified traversal has an identification of either an incoming link from which each visit originated or an outgoing link to which each visit terminated. A time duration is measured that corresponds to each visit. A chart of a statistical distribution of pages-per-visit of the identified traversals is formed. The identified traversals and time duration corresponding to each visit is stored in a memory. The stored data from the memory is transferred to a database. Performance measures are produced that correspond to each visit to the web-pages based on the stored data in the database. A web-site performance analysis system that implements this method also is disclosed.

Web-site performance analysis system and method of providing a web-site performance analysis service

A method for enabling pre-downloading of network objects to a web client from a web server is described. The method includes intercepting at a device a request from a web client to a web server for a first network object. The same device intercepts a response to the request from the web server. The device determines a second network object most probable to be requested in the future from the web server. Subsequently, a message is sent from the device to the web client the first message informing the web client of the second network object to be cached by the web client. A second message is sent from the web client requesting the second network object. The second network object is received and predicatively pre-downloaded into a cache whereby a latency for requesting the second network object is reduced when requested in response to an actual user request.

Predictive pre-download of a network object

The invention provides a method and system for sending relatively identical web pages, when requested by subsequent users, with substantial reduction of bandwidth. The server determines a 'template web page' corresponding to the actual information on the web page, and having a set of insertion points, at which changed data can be inserted by the client. The server sends a JavaScript program corresponding to the template web page, which makes reference to the template web page and the changed data, along with sending the actual changed data itself. A first user requesting the web page receives the entire web page, while a second user requesting the web page (or the first user re-requesting the web page at a later time) receives the template information plus only the changed data. The server re-determines the template web page from time to time, such as when a ratio of changed data to template web page data exceeds a selected threshold. The server identifies the particular template web page to the client using a unique identifier (an 'E-tag') for the particular data sent in response to the request. Since the E-tag refers to the template, not the underlying web page, when the standard client makes its conditional request for the web page &#x201c;if not changed&#x201d;, the server responds that the web page is &#x201c;not changed&#x201d; even if it really is, but embeds the changed data in a cookie it sends to the client with the server response to the client request.

Server-originated differential caching

A technique for increased efficiency of content delivery over a network is described. Instances of web pages are divided into (1) templates including those elements of a web page that are relatively unchanging and (2) delta information including those elements that are ephemeral or customized. Each template is compressed and cached at an originating server. Transmission of the delta information is decoupled from transmission of the template. When a user requests a page, the compressed template is sent (either from an originating server or a mirror thereof). The delta information is compressed and sent separately. Since the template is only compressed once and is cached locally, it requires less bandwidth and allocation of other computing resources to transmit than transmission of a compressed web page.

Efficient compression using differential caching

The invention provides a technique for serving relatively non-static content in a CDN (content delivery network). Content is pushed out from an originating server to a set of mirroring servers using differential caching. Each requestable object is separated into template and delta information. The originating server determines templates for differential caching, and causes those templates to be distributed using the CDN. Each mirroring server in the CDN is able to access a copy of a recent template for each request. Hosting of the template information is decoupled from hosting of the delta information. Delta information can include (a) changes to the template information since last distributed, or (b) personalized information specific to the client or to the request. Delta information can be served separately from the originating server, or can be served separately from mirroring servers using a CDN (possibly the same CDN as used to serve template information).

Content delivery network using differential caching

It is desirable to send documents to a user in such a way as to minimize the bandwidth and other computer resources required. To this end, a document may be categorized as (1) delta information (information that changes rapidly), (2) sub-template information (information that changes less frequently) and (3) template information, which changes very seldom. The template information and sub-template information are compressed and cached at a site remote from the requesting party. Compressing and caching both sub-template information and template information results in a significant savings of bandwidth and computing resources, such as would be required if the sub-template information were treated as delta information and were not stored in a cache as is the case in the prior art. This savings is enhanced when the compressed template and sub-template information are sent to a large number of users.

Template identification with differential caching

The invention provides a method for predicting which network objects are likely to be requested by a web user from a web server, such as that used in conjunction with an internetworking environment. A request made by a web user for a web object is parsed and dynamic values contained therein normalized. A prediction is made based on the normalized request, statistical measures, and other factors about what other web objects the web user is likely to request. The predictive information is then made available to the web server and the predicted net objects are pre-downloaded to the Web client. A pre-download statistics server may be used to record and provide statistics to assist in the prediction process. Examples described herein relate to web pages, but the invention is broadly applicable to many different types of requests for information (such as, for example, database queries and other libraries of information.)

Predictive pre-download using normalized network object identifiers

A data collection system collects statistics related to each visit to each web-page within a web-site. In addition to collecting path information related to traversals to and from each web-page, the system collects information regarding the particular session, such as the visitor's connection speed, the time required to download the web-page to the visitor's system, the duration of time that the visitor spent at the page, whether the user clicked the 'back' button to leave the site, and so on. The data reporting system presents statistics based on the collected data in an easy-to-use and easy-to-understand form that is customizable by the user. By collecting and reporting performance factors related to each web-page, or sets of web-pages within a web-site, marketers and webmasters can address any perceived deficiencies and/or can optimize the performance of select pages to achieve specific marketing objectives. To optimize performance and minimize storage requirements, the data collection system uses a two-stage storage architecture. Data is collected in one or more registers in a sequential fashion, and transferred to a database periodically.

Growing community of inventors

San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Walter Rezin Mann