HTTP Keep-Alive Mechanism for Mobile Server Connection Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mobile data delivery techniques often result in connections being terminated by wireless service providers and firewall servers due to inactivity timeouts, leading to response times that exceed provider and firewall parameters, causing data requests from mobile devices to be unfulfilled before completion.
Innovation Solution
Implementing HTTP keep-alive requests with dynamic time intervals to maintain active connections between mobile devices and servers, using HTTP request and response headers to send 'dummy' requests and responses, ensuring connections remain active and are not terminated by service providers or firewalls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If HTTP requests are sent from mobile devices to servers, then data delivery is achieved, but connections are terminated by service providers due to inactivity timeouts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic keep-alive requests sent at dynamic time intervals to maintain connection activity. These periodic actions prevent the connection from being terminated by service providers' inactivity timeouts while allowing the original HTTP request to complete, thus resolving the contradiction between data delivery and connection stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent sends preliminary keep-alive requests before the original HTTP request times out. These preliminary actions maintain the connection alive in advance, ensuring that when the original request needs to complete, the connection is still active and not terminated by the service provider's timeout mechanism.
2Reliability
If connections remain active to prevent termination, then connection stability is improved, but bandwidth is consumed by additional keep-alive traffic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses dynamic time intervals between keep-alive requests rather than fixed periodicity. The interval adjusts based on connection state and server response patterns, consuming bandwidth efficiently while maintaining connection stability. This dynamic approach optimizes the trade-off between keeping connections alive and minimizing unnecessary traffic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the timing parameter of keep-alive requests dynamically. By adjusting the time interval between requests based on observed connection behavior and server responses, the system optimizes bandwidth consumption while ensuring connections remain stable and are not terminated by inactivity timeouts.
3Reliability
If keep-alive requests are sent frequently to maintain connections, then connection stability is improved, but response time increases due to additional network traffic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic keep-alive requests that are timed to maintain connection activity without excessive frequency. The periodic nature ensures connections remain stable while the intervals are optimized to minimize impact on response time, preventing unnecessary delays in processing original HTTP requests.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by sending only the necessary number of keep-alive requests to maintain connection stability. Rather than continuous pinging, it sends minimal periodic requests sufficient to prevent timeout termination, thus avoiding excessive time loss while maintaining adequate connection stability.
Data Source
AI summary
A system, method, and computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for maintaining connections between a mobile device and a server are described herein. In an embodiment, the method operates by receiving a data request from the mobile device, the data request identifying at least a timeout interval. The method comprises sending the data request to a data server and then determining whether the timeout interval has passed. The method also comprises sending a keep alive message to the mobile device indicating that the request has timed out if it is determined that the timeout interval has passed. The method then receives a re post request from the mobile device, the re post request identifying a timeout interval. The method further comprises receiving a response from the data server, the response including at least data requested by the mobile device and then sends the response to the mobile device.