DNS Interception for Web Content Prefetching

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing HTTP caching solutions only accelerate responses for subsequent requests to a particular resource after it has been retrieved and cached, failing to improve the initial request latency for web content retrieval.

Innovation Solution

A method and system that intercept DNS resolution requests to identify web sessions and prefetch the index page from a web server before an HTTP GET request is made, caching the index page and linked resources to accelerate the initial request and subsequent rendering of web content.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If a caching proxy is used to store local copies of frequently requested resources, then subsequent request performance is improved, but the initial request latency remains unchanged

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverequest response speedVSAvoidinitial request latency
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by intercepting DNS resolution requests and proactively prefetching index pages from web servers before clients actually request them. When the caching proxy detects a DNS query for a web server, it automatically retrieves the index page and stores it in the cache, so that when the client subsequently makes an HTTP request, the content is already available locally, eliminating the initial request latency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Loss of time

If the caching proxy intercepts and caches index pages proactively, then initial request latency is reduced, but network traffic and server load increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinitial request latencyVSAvoidnetwork traffic
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of timeVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by selectively prefetching only index pages from web servers whose DNS resolutions are intercepted, rather than caching all web content. The caching proxy identifies web server DNS queries (as opposed to other types of DNS requests) and proactively caches only their index pages, creating a targeted caching strategy that balances latency reduction with controlled network traffic increase.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS10911561B2Method and network node for caching web content
Publication Date: 2021.02.02 TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)
  • US10911561B2 patent drawing
  • US10911561B2 patent drawing
  • US10911561B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A method of caching web content, performed by a network node such as a caching proxy, is disclosed. The method comprises receiving, from a client, a Domain Name System (DNS) resolution request comprising a hostname. The DNS resolution request is forwarded to a DNS server. A DNS resolution response comprising an Internet Protocol (IP) address corresponding to the hostname is received from the DNS server. The DNS resolution response is forwarded to the client. The method further comprises determining if the DNS resolution request relates to a web session, and if so, retrieving an index page from a web server associated with the received IP address, and caching the retrieved index page. Thereby, a subsequent initial Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request from the client for that index page can be accelerated.