Email Aggregation Server Polling Staggering
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Solution Overview
Problem
As the number of system users grows, the number of mailboxes that mail user agents (MUAs) need to poll for email messages increases, leading to potential over-utilization and under-utilization of polling resources, and existing systems fail to efficiently manage time overlapping and staggering of polling operations.
Innovation Solution
An email system with an email aggregation server that determines time overlapped polling and staggers next polling operations using a formula (Tn = Tc + I + xΔt) and performs type-specific polling (abbreviated and reconciliation polling) to distribute polling tasks uniformly across subintervals, reducing resource burden and improving efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the number of mailboxes polled by MUAs increases to support more users, then email coverage and user service capability improve, but polling resource utilization becomes unbalanced with over-utilization and under-utilization periods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the polling operation into multiple types (abbreviated polling and reconciliation polling) with different frequencies and depths. Abbreviated polling checks only for new messages at high frequency, while reconciliation polling performs full mailbox synchronization at lower frequency. This segmentation allows the system to maintain comprehensive email coverage across many mailboxes while optimizing resource usage by avoiding full polling of all mailboxes at all times.
2Speed
If polling frequency is increased to reduce email retrieval delay, then responsiveness improves, but server load and network traffic increase during peak periods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic polling with varying frequencies based on mailbox activity and type. Active mailboxes with recent messages are polled more frequently using abbreviated polling, while inactive mailboxes are polled less frequently using reconciliation polling. This periodic action with adaptive frequency ensures timely email delivery for active users while reducing server load during periods of low activity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes polling parameters including frequency, depth, and type based on mailbox state, user activity, and server conditions. Polling intervals are adjusted based on whether messages are present, and polling depth varies between abbreviated (new messages only) and reconciliation (full sync). These parameter changes allow the system to maintain fast email retrieval for active mailboxes while reducing server load through optimized polling configurations.
3Reliability
If all mailboxes are polled simultaneously, then comprehensive email updates are achieved, but resource bursts occur causing over-utilization and under-utilization cycles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary abbreviated polling to detect the presence of new messages before initiating full reconciliation polling. This two-stage approach ensures that comprehensive email updates are achieved when necessary while avoiding unnecessary full polls. The preliminary action of checking for new messages allows the system to skip full reconciliation polling when no updates are needed, thereby preventing resource bursts while maintaining email update completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts polling behavior based on real-time conditions including mailbox activity, message presence, and server load. Polling frequency and type change dynamically rather than following a fixed schedule for all mailboxes. This dynamic adaptation ensures comprehensive updates for active mailboxes while reducing polling activity for inactive ones, eliminating the over-utilization and under-utilization cycles associated with static simultaneous polling of all mailboxes.
Data Source
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AI summary
An electronic mail (email) system may include at least one email server having mailboxes for storing email messages, and a plurality of mobile wireless communications devices. The system may further include at least one email aggregation server for repetitively polling the mailboxes for email messages, and forwarding the email messages to respective mobile wireless communications devices. The at least one email aggregation server may determine time overlapped polling of corresponding mailboxes and time stagger a next polling thereof.