DNS Pre-fetch Module for Wireless Device Latency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable computing devices face slow DNS lookups and TCP connection establishment processes, leading to substantial overhead, especially in wireless networks with limited resources and high latency.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for DNS pre-fetching and content pre-fetching, where a pre-fetch module in the web browser module identifies and retrieves domain names and downloads content before user requests, optimizing video playback quality by monitoring network conditions and device resources, and prioritizing content based on user behavior and network availability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If DNS lookup and TCP connection establishment are performed in real-time when user requests a URL, then the system ensures accurate resource retrieval, but the process becomes slow and generates substantial overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs DNS lookups for sub-resources in advance, before the user actually requests them. When the main HTML file is received, the pre-fetch module extracts sub-resource URLs and initiates DNS lookups for these links, storing the results in a cache. This preliminary action eliminates the need for time-consuming DNS lookups when the user subsequently clicks on these links, directly resolving the contradiction between ensuring accurate resource retrieval and reducing DNS lookup time.
2Loss of time
If DNS pre-fetching is performed for all sub-resources, then wait times are reduced, but network bandwidth and device resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs DNS pre-fetching selectively rather than for all sub-resources. The pre-fetch module monitors user behavior, such as hovering over links or scrolling to view them, and only initiates DNS lookups for sub-resources that are likely to be accessed next. This partial action approach reduces unnecessary network requests and device resource consumption while still achieving the benefit of reduced wait times for actually accessed content.
3Productivity
If multiple TCP connections are established simultaneously for sub-resources, then content download speed increases, but system overhead and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system establishes TCP connections for sub-resources in advance, before the user requests them. When sub-resource URLs are extracted from the main HTML file, the system proactively opens TCP connections to the corresponding host servers and maintains them in a connection pool. This preliminary connection establishment allows for faster content retrieval when users access these resources, while the connection pooling mechanism manages the complexity of maintaining multiple simultaneous connections.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method and system for performing domain name service (DNS) pre-fetching, content pre-fetching, or a combination thereof, are disclosed for a wireless portable computing device (PCD). The system and method may include rendering a web page on a display screen of the PCD and performing a DNS pre-fetch for any visible links within the web page. Further, the method may include determining whether a screen changing operation (i.e., a scrolling operation) is being performed and placing one or more DNS pre-fetch tasks in a queue for each link that is displayed on the display screen when the screen changing operation is performed. The method and system may reduce wait times for a wireless PCD when it is rendering webpages on its display screen.