Client Email Polling to Reduce Proxy Server Workload
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing email communication systems burden email proxy servers by requiring frequent polling for new messages, leading to increased workload and costs, especially when users have multiple email accounts, and SMS notifications are limited and expensive due to character restrictions and carrier charges.
Innovation Solution
A system where a client email application on a user's computer periodically polls an ISP server for new emails and sends notifications to an email proxy server, which then pushes emails to a mobile device, allowing users to set preferred polling intervals and reducing the proxy server's workload, while using HTTP connections for secure and efficient communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the email proxy server periodically polls the email storage server for new messages, then new emails can be delivered to the user's mobile device, but the workload on the email proxy server increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of the email proxy server polling the email storage server for new messages, the client application on the user's computer performs the polling function. The client application checks the email storage server for new messages and notifies the email proxy server when messages are found, thereby inverting the traditional client-server polling relationship and reducing the proxy server's workload.
Solution Approach 2:
The client application on the user's computer autonomously performs the email polling function, checking the email storage server for new messages without requiring the email proxy server to initiate each check. This self-service approach allows the client to independently manage email retrieval while the proxy server only needs to receive notifications and forward messages.
2Speed
If SMS messages are used to notify users of new emails, then users receive timely notifications on their mobile phones, but the cost increases due to carrier charges and character limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the notification method from SMS messages to email notifications. Instead of using SMS which has character limitations and incurs carrier charges, the system sends full email messages to the user's mobile device through the email proxy server, thereby changing the communication parameter from text messaging to email delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of the email message and sends it to the user's mobile device. Rather than using SMS to notify users, the actual email content is copied and delivered to the mobile device through the email proxy server, allowing users to receive complete messages without character limitations.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic mail (email) communications system may include a mobile wireless communications device, a wireless communications network connected to the Internet, and an Internet Service Provider (ISP) server connected to the Internet for receiving emails for a given user. The system may further include an email proxy server connected to the Internet for pushing emails from the ISP server to the mobile wireless communications device via the wireless communications network. A user computer may be connected to the Internet and may include a client email application for periodically polling the ISP server to detect new emails. The client email application may also send new email notifications to the email proxy server upon detection of new emails to cause the email proxy server to push the new emails to the mobile wireless communications device.