Proxy Server Web Page Component Consolidation for Latency Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-latency Internet connections, such as satellite broadband, significantly impair web browser performance due to the latency involved in retrieving multiple web page components, which can result in slower loading times despite high bandwidth, making user experience worse than dial-up connections.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a proxy server with a low-latency Internet connection to generate a substitute web page comprising a graphical image and image map, which is then transferred to the browser, reducing the number of components that need to be downloaded individually over the high-latency connection, thus minimizing round-trip delays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a web browser downloads each component individually through a high-latency connection, then the connection bandwidth is fully utilized, but the total loading time increases significantly due to multiple round-trip delays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual component downloads into a single aggregated data transfer. The proxy server consolidates all web page components (HTML, images, scripts, etc.) that would normally be downloaded separately into one unified data stream, eliminating the need for multiple separate TCP connections and round-trip delays over the high-latency connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a proxy server as an intermediary between the web browser and the internet. The proxy server has a low-latency connection to the internet and handles all component retrieval operations, allowing the browser to receive all components through a single transfer without experiencing the latency of multiple individual downloads over the high-latency satellite connection.
2Ease of operation
If a web browser establishes separate TCP connections for each component download, then each component can be retrieved individually, but the number of round-trip delays increases linearly with the number of components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate component retrieval operations into a single aggregated transfer. Instead of establishing individual TCP connections for each component, the proxy server consolidates all components into one data stream that is transferred in a single operation, reducing the number of round-trip delays from N (number of components) to 1.
Solution Approach 2:
The proxy server performs preliminary actions by pre-fetching and caching all web page components before the browser requests them. When the browser requests a web page, the proxy server has already retrieved and stored all necessary components locally, allowing immediate delivery without requiring the browser to initiate multiple separate download transactions over the high-latency connection.
3Productivity
If a browser transfers a limited number of components concurrently, then resource constraints are managed, but the total retrieval time increases for pages with many components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the transfer of multiple components into a single concurrent operation. Instead of transferring components in batches of limited size, the proxy server consolidates all components into one large data stream that can be transferred simultaneously, effectively increasing the concurrent transfer rate from N components to 1 aggregated component regardless of the actual number of individual components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the dimension of data transfer by aggregating multiple small component files into a single large unified data stream. This dimensional transformation allows the system to bypass the limitation of concurrent transfer slots, as the aggregated data is treated as a single transfer unit that can be sent without being constrained by the browser's concurrent connection limits.
Data Source
AI summary
One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for reducing the latency in retrieving a web page. The system receives a request from a browser to retrieve a target web page, wherein the request is received at a proxy server, which can retrieve the target web page through a low-latency Internet connection. The system then forwards the request to a host server. After receiving components comprising the target web page, the system generates a substitute web page which includes a graphical image of the target web page, and transfers the substitute web page to the browser. If the browser has a high-latency Internet connection, delivering the substitute web page instead of the actual target web page can avoid the latency involved in transferring the components of the target web page individually through the high-latency Internet connection, each of which may involve a separate round-trip delay. The system can instead transfer a single graphical image of the target web page through the high-latency Internet connection, which involves only a single round-trip delay.