Abstract: Some embodiments provide an end-to-end federated CDN solution that assimilates a transparent caching server that is operated by a transparent caching server operator into a CDN that independently operates CDN caching servers. Specifically, the logs from the transparent caching server are assimilated into the CDN by aggregating the logs from the transparent caching server and processing the transparent caching server logs to identify network usage for content of a CDN content provider customer that is delivered by the transparent caching server. The network usage is then combined with the network usage that tracked by the CDN caching servers in order to provide comprehensive report metrics for the content provider customer and to bill the content provider customer for all network usage related to delivering the content provider customer's content irrespective of whether the content was delivered by a transparent caching server or a CDN caching server.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a capacity management agent that modifies bandwidth that is allocated between an end user and a carrier network by caching requested content that is streamed at a first rate and then providing the cached content to the end user through the carrier network at a second rate. The agent performs a process that includes receiving data intended for a service region of the carrier network from an external data network. The process identifies resource availability at the service region. Next, the process passes the data to the service region at the first rate when the resource availability at the service region is not less than a threshold amount and caches the data for passing to the service region at the second rate that consumes fewer carrier network resource than the first rate when the resource availability at the service region is less than the threshold amount.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide an end-to-end federated CDN solution that assimilates a transparent caching server that is operated by a transparent caching server operator into a CDN that independently operates CDN caching servers. Specifically, the logs from the transparent caching server are assimilated into the CDN by aggregating the logs from the transparent caching server and processing the transparent caching server logs to identify network usage for content of a CDN content provider customer that is delivered by the transparent caching server. The network usage is then combined with the network usage that tracked by the CDN caching servers in order to provide comprehensive report metrics for the content provider customer and to bill the content provider customer for all network usage related to delivering the content provider customer's content irrespective of whether the content was delivered by a transparent caching server or a CDN caching server.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide systems and methods for performing localized and real-time server-side network performance monitoring. These systems and methods leverage the distributed architecture of a content delivery network (CDN) so as to perform distributed monitoring with each Point-of-Presence of the CDN responsible for monitoring performance to a localized set of end users. These systems and methods also leverage existing traffic flows from a server to a particular end user in order to perform real-time server-side network performance monitoring without the injection of specialized monitoring packets and without active involvement of the end user in deriving the performance measurements. The performance measurements are then used to optimize delivery of existing and future traffic flows to the end user.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide an end-to-end federated CDN solution that assimilates a transparent caching server that is operated by a transparent caching server operator into a CDN that independently operates CDN caching servers. Specifically, the logs from the transparent caching server are assimilated into the CDN by aggregating the logs from the transparent caching server and processing the transparent caching server logs to identify network usage for content of a CDN content provider customer that is delivered by the transparent caching server. The network usage is then combined with the network usage that tracked by the CDN caching servers in order to provide comprehensive report metrics for the content provider customer and to bill the content provider customer for all network usage related to delivering the content provider customer's content irrespective of whether the content was delivered by a transparent caching server or a CDN caching server.

Abstract: Embodiments facilitate confidential and secure sharing of anonymous user profile data to improve the delivery of customized content. Embodiments of the invention provide a data appliance to an entity such as a business to convert profile data about the business's customers into anonymous identifiers. A similar data appliance is provided to a content provider in one embodiment to generate identifiers for its user profile data. Because the anonymous identifiers are generated with the same anonymization method, identical identifiers are likely generated from profile data of the same users. Therefore, the identifiers can be used to anonymously match the customers of the business to the users of the content provider. Therefore, data can be shared to improve customized content such as advertisements that the business wishes to place with the content provider without requiring the business to disclose customer data in an unencrypted form, and any non-matched data can remain confidential.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide multi-tenant billing systems and methods whereby data network usage fees that are associated with delivering select content of different content providers over a data network are passed to the content provider that originates or is the source for that select content instead of the end users that request and receive the select content. A deep packet inspection server or a billing server may be configured with a list of identifiers to distinguish between the network usage that is related to the delivery of the designated free content from the network usage that is not related to the delivery of the designated free content. The network usage can be distinguished by filtering or processing usage logs that track the network usage using the configured list of identifiers. Such filtering or processing can be done in real-time or in a delayed manner in a standalone or integrated system.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a capacity management agent that modifies bandwidth that is allocated between an end user and a carrier network by caching requested content that is streamed at a first rate and then providing the cached content to the end user through the carrier network at a second rate. The agent performs a process that includes receiving data intended for a service region of the carrier network from an external data network. The process identifies resource availability at the service region. Next, the process passes the data to the service region at the first rate when the resource availability at the service region is not less than a threshold amount and caches the data for passing to the service region at the second rate that consumes fewer carrier network resource than the first rate when the resource availability at the service region is less than the threshold amount.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a capacity management agent that modifies bandwidth that is allocated between an end user and a carrier network by caching requested content that is streamed at a first rate and then providing the cached content to the end user through the carrier network at a second rate. The agent performs a process that includes receiving data intended for a service region of the carrier network from an external data network. The process identifies resource availability at the service region. Next, the process passes the data to the service region at the first rate when the resource availability at the service region is not less than a threshold amount and caches the data for passing to the service region at the second rate that consumes fewer carrier network resource than the first rate when the resource availability at the service region is less than the threshold amount.

Abstract: Embodiments are directed to establishing caches that provide authoritative domain name system (DNS) answers to DNS requests. In one scenario, a computer system establishes a cache that stores authoritative DNS answers to DNS queries. The cache corresponds to a specified DNS zone that includes authoritative DNS answers for a subset of DNS queries. The cache is configured to store the authoritative DNS answers for at least a specified period of time during which the authoritative DNS answers are updatable. The cache then receives an update indicating that at least one cached DNS answer is out-of-date and the computer system purges the out-of-date DNS answer from the cache, ensuring that the cache continually provides authoritative DNS answers for DNS queries assigned to the specified DNS zone.

Abstract: Embodiments facilitate confidential and secure sharing of anonymous user profile data to improve the delivery of customized content. Embodiments of the invention provide a data appliance to an entity such as a business to convert profile data about the business's customers into anonymous identifiers. A similar data appliance is provided to a content provider in one embodiment to generate identifiers for its user profile data. Because the anonymous identifiers are generated with the same anonymization method, identical identifiers are likely generated from profile data of the same users. Therefore, the identifiers can be used to anonymously match the customers of the business to the users of the content provider. Therefore, data can be shared to improve customized content such as advertisements that the business wishes to place with the content provider without requiring the business to disclose customer data in an unencrypted form, and any non-matched data can remain confidential.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a capacity management agent that modifies content requests to adjust bandwidth consumption when streaming requested content from a content provider to a requesting user. The modifications include modifying a URL or header information of the request. The agent performs a process that receives a request for content of a content provider. The process identifies a parameter of the carrier network and modifies the request when the parameter satisfies a threshold. The process passes the request to the content provider and the content provider provides content that consumes a first set of resources in response to an unmodified request and a second set of resources in response to a modified request. When the parameter identifies congestion, the first set of resources is greater than the second set of resources. When the condition parameter identifies underutilization, the first set of resources is less than the second set of resources.

Abstract: A system is disclosed that maps user IDs (such as IP addresses) and geographic regions to particular categories or “segments” reflective of user profiles. The mappings may be based on behavioral data reflective of user browsing activities, offline data (e.g., survey data or demographic data), or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the mappings are generated using data collected by a plurality of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) regarding their subscribers. The system also includes a query interface that enables content providers to retrieve segment data associated with particular user IDs.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide systems and methods for implementing discrete mapping for targeted caching in a carrier network. In some embodiments, discrete mapping is implemented using a method that caches content from a content provider to a caching server. The method modifies a DNS entry at a particular DNS server to resolve a request that identifies either a hostname or a domain for the content provider to an address of the caching server so that the requested content is passed from the cached content of the caching server and not the source content provider. In some embodiments, the particular DNS server is a recursive DNS server, a local DNS server of the carrier network, or a DNS server that is not authoritative for the hostname or domain of the content provider.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide systems and methods for validating cached content based on changes in the content instead of an expiration interval. One method involves caching content and a first checksum in response to a first request for that content. The caching produces a cached instance of the content representative of a form of the content at the time of caching. The first checksum identifies the cached instance. In response to receiving a second request for the content, the method submits a request for a second checksum representing a current instance of the content and a request for the current instance. Upon receiving the second checksum, the method serves the cached instance of the content when the first checksum matches the second checksum and serves the current instance of the content upon completion of the transfer of the current instance when the first checksum does not match the second checksum.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide systems and methods for performing localized and real-time server-side network performance monitoring. These systems and methods leverage the distributed architecture of a content delivery network (CDN) so as to perform distributed monitoring with each Point-of-Presence of the CDN responsible for monitoring performance to a localized set of end users. These systems and methods also leverage existing traffic flows from a server to a particular end user in order to perform real-time server-side network performance monitoring without the injection of specialized monitoring packets and without active involvement of the end user in deriving the performance measurements. The performance measurements are then used to optimize delivery of existing and future traffic flows to the end user.

Abstract: Embodiments facilitate confidential and secure sharing of anonymous user profile data to improve the delivery of customized content. Embodiments of the invention provide a data appliance to an entity such as a business to convert profile data about the business's customers into anonymous identifiers. A similar data appliance is provided to a content provider in one embodiment to generate identifiers for its user profile data. Because the anonymous identifiers are generated with the same anonymization method, identical identifiers are likely generated from profile data of the same users. Therefore, the identifiers can be used to anonymously match the customers of the business to the users of the content provider. Therefore, data can be shared to improve customized content such as advertisements that the business wishes to place with the content provider without requiring the business to disclose customer data in an unencrypted form, and any non-matched data can remain confidential.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide systems and methods for performing localized and real-time server-side network performance monitoring. These systems and methods leverage the distributed architecture of a content delivery network (CDN) so as to perform distributed monitoring with each Point-of-Presence of the CDN responsible for monitoring performance to a localized set of end users. These systems and methods also leverage existing traffic flows from a server to a particular end user in order to perform real-time server-side network performance monitoring without the injection of specialized monitoring packets and without active involvement of the end user in deriving the performance measurements. The performance measurements are then used to optimize delivery of existing and future traffic flows to the end user.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a capacity management agent that modifies content requests to adjust bandwidth consumption when streaming requested content from a content provider to a requesting user. The modifications include modifying a URL or header information of the request. The agent performs a process that receives a request for content of a content provider. The process identifies a parameter of the carrier network and modifies the request when the parameter satisfies a threshold. The process passes the request to the content provider and the content provider provides content that consumes a first set of resources in response to an unmodified request and a second set of resources in response to a modified request. When the parameter identifies congestion, the first set of resources is greater than the second set of resources. When the condition parameter identifies underutilization, the first set of resources is less than the second set of resources.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a capacity management agent that modifies content requests to adjust bandwidth consumption when streaming requested content from a content provider to a requesting user. The modifications include modifying a URL or header information of the request. The agent performs a process that receives a request for content of a content provider. The process identifies a parameter of the carrier network and modifies the request when the parameter satisfies a threshold. The process passes the request to the content provider and the content provider provides content that consumes a first set of resources in response to an unmodified request and a second set of resources in response to a modified request. When the parameter identifies congestion, the first set of resources is greater than the second set of resources. When the condition parameter identifies underutilization, the first set of resources is less than the second set of resources.