Persistent In-Memory Cache for Network Acceleration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Computer networks face issues such as overloaded servers, network congestion, and limited bandwidth, leading to decreased download speeds for client devices, which existing network acceleration devices struggle to effectively address.
Innovation Solution
A network acceleration device that caches multiple encodings of network content and intelligently serves them based on client device capabilities, simultaneously manages historical versions of content, and employs a shared cache across multiple devices to reduce the load on individual servers and improve download efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a network acceleration device caches content to avoid additional accesses to servers, then download speeds are improved, but the device complexity increases due to cache management requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by caching content in advance before it is requested by client devices. The cache server pre-loads and stores content from network servers, so that when clients request the content, it is already available locally, eliminating the need for complex real-time cache management decisions during content delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies the copying principle by creating duplicate copies of content and storing them in the cache server's memory. These copies are maintained separately from the original content on network servers, allowing the acceleration device to serve cached copies without complex coordination with the original servers, thereby reducing management complexity while improving download speed.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the cache stores multiple encodings of content to serve different client device capabilities, then adaptability is improved, but the volume of cached data increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by storing multiple encodings of the same content in the cache, where each encoding is optimized for specific client device capabilities. The cache server selectively serves different encodings based on the requesting device's characteristics, allowing high adaptability to various devices while managing cached volume through intelligent encoding selection and storage.
3Productivity
If the network acceleration device compresses content before transmitting to client devices, then download efficiency is improved, but the processing power required increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-compressing content and storing the compressed versions in the cache server before client requests arrive. This eliminates the need for real-time compression processing when serving content, thereby reducing the processing power required during active content delivery while maintaining high download efficiency through pre-prepared compressed files.
Data Source
AI summary
A network acceleration device includes a persistent, in-memory cache of network content. For example, the cache may store content in a manner that allows a software process to map virtual memory to specific, known regions of an underlying physical memory. Upon detecting a failure of a process executing within the network device, the network acceleration device may restart the software process and remap data structures of the cache to the known regions of the physical memory without necessarily requiring that the cache content be reloaded from a non-volatile memory, such as a hard drive. In this manner, the network acceleration device may accelerate download speeds by avoiding timely cache content restoration in the event of a software process failure.