Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Distributed data processing – Client/server
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-20
2002-04-02
Maung, Zarni (Department: 2154)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Distributed data processing
Client/server
C709S217000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06366947
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the use of computers on a network, such as the Internet, and to the process of interacting therewith, such as browsing web sites and downloading data therefrom, and, more particularly, to systems and methods for accelerating the acquisition and display of network data.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is common today for computers, such as general purpose personal computers found in the home or office, to be used to access information available from a network. For example, it is common for an operator of a personal computer to browse web sites on the Internet. Such computers typically employ a modem (modulator-demodulator), or other low speed (as compared to the internal processing speed of the computer) communication interfaces, for the purpose of interfacing the computer to a network, such as the Internet, through, for example, a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) or other communication gateway.
Additionally, a standard network user interface is often utilized in order to both provide predictable and user friendly interaction with a user and to provide compatibility with a plurality of network devices operable on the network. Examples of such standardized network user interfaces are NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR by Netscape Communications Corporation and INTERNET EXPLORER by Microsoft which are often referred to as “Internet browsers.” These network user interfaces provide a standardized platform through which network devices may provide robust interaction with a variety of different user computer hardware and software. For example, rich graphic images may be provided by a network device for display upon a variety of different computer systems by providing data, such as in the form of a joint photographic experts group (JPEG) data file, operable with a standard network user interface to generate the image on the user's computer. Accordingly, the computer hardware becomes nearly transparent to the user and the network device as the user interface arbitrates the interaction in a similar manner regardless of the particular computer platform upon which it operates. Of course, the use of such a network user interface may include the use of a plurality of program modules and data files, such as application programming interface (API) modules and data libraries.
The performance of computers interacting with networks, such as during browsing of the Internet, is often disagreeably slow. There are at least two major factors that affect performance of a computer interacting with networks such as the Internet. These two factors are the speed of the communication interface, i.e., the baud rate of the modem used with the computer, and network latency.
The communication interface speed is a limit on the speed at which data from a host server on the network, such as an Internet web site, is downloaded to the user's computer. For example, where the computer is coupled to the network via a 28.8 KiloBaud modem, an image that is 30,000 characters in length will take approximately ten seconds to download to the user's computer. However, if the modem is a 14.4 KiloBaud modem, the same image will take approximately twenty seconds to download. Of course, if an even slower modem is used, downloading that same image will take a proportionally longer length of time.
Even where a network interface significantly faster than the speeds described above, the transfer of information between the network and the user's computer can require an appreciable time. Often a user's computer is a part of a local area network (LAN), used for example as an enterprise wide intranet or for providing a gateway to another network such as the Internet, where the network interface is rated at a speed substantially higher than those of the modems described above. However, these LANs typically provide data throughput significantly slower than the internal processing speed of the computer and often provide actual data throughput slower than the communication rate of the network interface card (NIC). For example, Ethernet systems rated at 10 Mbps often deliver actual throughput of approximately 1 Mbps due to heavy network usage causing multiple data packet collisions and/or routers, bridges and concentrators causing data bottlenecks. Accordingly, downloading an image as described above can take a substantial amount of time to download to the user's computer.
Network latency is the time it takes for the network devices, such as an Internet web site and the devices coupling the web site to the user's computer, to provide a response to the user's computer when it makes a request. For example, it may take a second or longer for a server hosting an Internet site to respond to a request for a single image. If the data requested by the user's computer contains multiple such images, for example a web page having 20 to 30 images, the total latency introduced by the server providing these images is potentially 20 to 30 seconds.
Moreover, the server is typically not the only network device affecting the network latency as perceived by the user. Generally, other network devices are utilized in providing data communication between the user's computer requesting data and the server providing the data. Such other devices may include communication servers, routers, bridges, and gateways. Each of the devices operable in the link between the user's computer and the server being accessed may potentially introduce additional latency time as experienced by the user.
Although not a network latency problem, there is generally latency associated with the user of the computer system, such as in reviewing data presented and selecting an appropriate next interaction. During this user latency period the capacity of the network interface is not used, or at least not used to the full extent. For example, a user browsing the Internet may be presented with a web page giving the user particular information in the form of text, graphic images, and the like. Associated with particular information of the web page may be links, commonly referred to as hyperlinks or “buttons,” to other web pages or other resources having related or additional information. There may be significant periods of time where the network interface remains idle, or nearly so, after transmission of the data of a displayed page, while the user assimilates the displayed data and decides how to interact next. Often the next interaction is in the form of selection of one of the links presented which results in the retrieval, as affected by the above-described network latencies, over the network of the associated information.
A further problem exists in the prior art in that desired information is often associated with undesired or unnecessary information. For example, in the above-mentioned web pages, there are typically information resources such as text and graphic images associated with sponsors of the web page. Likewise, there are often information packets associated with the particular user and his/her interaction with the network device, often called “cookies” in Internet parlance, which are transferred to and/or from the user computer. The above resources, although often not desired by the user and often quite large in data content, require communication bandwidth to be transferred to or from the user's computer, although the user would probably prefer to forgo their transmission in favor of transmission of the desired information. Accordingly, the transmission of this unnecessary information through the network, including the aforementioned latency problems, and the network interface, having the aforementioned speed limitations, during network interaction only exasperates the already disagreeable performance of the network.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a system and method of accelerating interaction over a network. Specifically, there is a need in the art for a system and method for accelerating the operation of a web browser in downloading and presenting
Caldwell Andrew
Fulbright & Jaworski
Maung Zarni
Redmond Venture, Inc.
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