Mobile DNS Cache and Web Proxy for Latency Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Domain Name System (DNS) lookups over cellular networks experience significant latency due to communication delays, leading to slowed webpage loading times and degraded mobile Internet experience.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a DNS cache and web proxy on mobile computing devices to store translated IP addresses locally, reducing the need for repeated DNS lookups by proactively retrieving and storing IP addresses for frequently accessed domains, and using a web proxy to intercept and handle DNS requests asynchronously.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If DNS lookups are performed remotely over cellular networks, then accurate IP address translation is achieved, but significant latency of one to several seconds occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-resolves DNS names to IP addresses before they are actually needed by the application. The system proactively queries DNS servers for potential domain names and caches the resolved IP addresses, so when an application needs to access a domain, the translation is already complete or nearly complete, dramatically reducing the perceived latency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimension of operation by running DNS resolution in the background independently of application requests. Instead of waiting for an application to trigger a DNS lookup, the system operates in a separate temporal dimension by continuously pre-resolving domains, allowing main application threads to proceed without blocking on DNS operations.
2Reliability
If multiple DNS translations are performed for webpage elements, then complete webpage loading is achieved, but webpage display time is significantly slowed down
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-resolves DNS names for all elements that will be needed in a webpage, including main content, images, advertisements, and other resources, before the webpage rendering process begins. This allows the browser to start displaying content as soon as it receives the HTML, without waiting for sequential DNS lookups for each resource.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains continuous background DNS resolution operations that don't interrupt the main application flow. Multiple DNS translations are performed in parallel and asynchronously, ensuring that all webpage elements are resolved continuously and simultaneously rather than sequentially, maintaining complete webpage loading while improving display speed.
3Measurement precision
If DNS lookups are performed synchronously, then accurate IP address resolution is ensured, but application responsiveness is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
By performing DNS resolutions in advance and caching results, the system eliminates the need for synchronous blocking operations during application execution. Applications can submit domain names for resolution and receive results from the cache or from pre-completed resolutions, maintaining both accuracy and responsiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary DNS resolution service that sits between applications and the DNS infrastructure. This intermediary handles all DNS queries asynchronously, managing the complexity of accurate resolution while keeping application code simple and responsive. Applications interact with the intermediary through simple APIs without needing to implement complex asynchronous error handling.
Data Source
AI summary
A technique to reduce the latency of a remote DNS lookup operation is disclosed. More specifically, a machine-readable medium, method, device, and system are described that scan a document when it is retrieved from the Internet. The scan takes place for one or more patterns, where each pattern denotes an Internet host name. The technique then asynchronously causes an Internet Domain Name System (DNS) server to translate each Internet host name pattern discovered from the document scan to an associated Internet Protocol (IP) address. The technique then asynchronously stores each translated IP address in a local DNS cache.