Abstract: Offers for goods or services are targeted more efficiently to potential consumers by using a loyalty graph having nodes that correspond to users and edges that correspond to relationships between the users. The offers are transmitted to only superusers, corresponding to supernodes in the loyalty graph. By targeting only the superusers, the number of invitations transmitted as part of the promotion is reduced. The superusers are determined by calculating a weighted score for each node. Each weighted score corresponds to a number of directed connections between a node and its leaf nodes, with the supernodes determined as the subset of nodes having a weighted sum above a pre-determined threshold. After identifying superusers, subgraphs can be generated corresponding to each superuser. The subgraphs can be selected according to different criteria. In this way, promotions can be targeted to superusers in only selected subgraphs or to all the users in selected subgraphs.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to simultaneously monitoring the performance of differing communication paths between selected sites for detecting performance problems over one of the monitored paths, and moving packet traffic to one or more other better performing paths.

Abstract: A monitoring system gathers both site-to-site measurements, and agent-to-agent measurements, wherein one or more agents are distributed in one or more sites in a distributed network environment. Site-to-site measurements between two sites, such as site one and site two, are obtained by testing between any agent at site one and any agent at site two. A measurement rate between sites and between agents is determined that allows for the detection of events, such as user perceivable events, without overwhelming the set of agents that form the distributed measurement system. With, for example, a scheduling mechanism used to schedule measurement tests of finite duration, as opposed to continuous streams of measurement packets, for each pair of agents, the test can be used as an indication as to whether the measurement system is overwhelmed.

Abstract: The present invention provides embodiments of a network monitoring system that includes a scheduling agent for generating groupings of test agents and scheduling network measurements to be performed by each test agent grouping. The system may provide identifiers to members of first and second sets of objects. Then, the system can generate first and second sequences of the identifiers for each of the first and second sets, respectively and associate the identifiers to provide a plurality of groupings of identifiers. Finally the system may schedule a corresponding event for each of the grouping of identifiers. The systems and methods present can require very little state memory, ensure fair coverage of the object groupings; and can avoid the problems associated with round robin scheduling.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for supporting routing intelligence for evaluating routing paths based on performance measurements. The routing intelligence may include processes executed in a self-contained device. This device may control one or more edge routers, based on performance data from end users. In other embodiments, the routing intelligence device may be used solely to monitor one or more edge routers, producing reports but not effecting any changes to routing. Routing decisions may be injected to the edge routers via BGP updates. The devices may be stationed at the premises of a multihomed organization, such as an enterprise, ISP, government organization, university, or other organization supporting a sub-network coupled to an internetwork. In other embodiments, the routing intelligence comprises processes executed on a router.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to using measurement packets to compute network performance. Embodiments that send, receive and both send and receive measurement packets are described. Some embodiments are described that compute statistics based at least partly on measurement traffic. Some embodiments are described that communicate computed statistics within measurement traffic. Some embodiments are described that rank and select paths based at least partly on computed statistics.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for enabling routers to coordinate via a back-channel communication medium. The information exchanged over the back-channel is used to increase the number of paths considered for the routers during route optimization. The Decision Makers may assert routes and prefixes to the routers under their control. This may be done via a Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) feed. The Decision Makers, in turn, communicate separately with one another, in order to coordinate routing policy amongst themselves. This coordination may be performed over a back-channel, which may take the form of physical or logical connections between the Decision Makers.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for supporting routing intelligence for evaluating routing paths based on performance measurements. The routing intelligence may include processes executed in a self-contained device. This device may control one or more edge routers, based on performance data from end users. In other embodiments, the routing intelligence device may be used solely to monitor one or more edge routers, producing reports but not effecting any changes to routing. Routing decisions may be injected to the edge routers via BGP updates. The devices may be stationed at the premises of a multihomed organization, such as an enterprise, ISP, government organization, university, or other organization supporting a sub-network coupled to an internetwork. In other embodiments, the routing intelligence comprises processes executed on a router.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for enabling routers to coordinate via a back-channel communication medium. The information exchanged over the back-channel is used to increase the number of paths considered for the routers during route optimization. The Decision Makers may assert routes and prefixes to the routers under their control. This may be done via a Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) feed. The Decision Makers, in turn, communicate separately with one another, in order to coordinate routing policy amongst themselves. This coordination may be performed over a back-channel, which may take the form of physical or logical connections between the Decision Makers.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for supporting routing intelligence for evaluating routing paths based on performance measurements. The routing intelligence may include processes executed in a self-contained device. This device may control one or more edge routers, based on performance data from end users. In other embodiments, the routing intelligence device may be used solely to monitor one or more edge routers, producing reports but not effecting any changes to routing. Routing decisions may be injected to the edge routers via BGP updates. The devices may be stationed at the premises of a multihomed organization, such as an enterprise, ISP, government organization, university, or other organization supporting a sub-network coupled to an internetwork. In other embodiments, the routing intelligence comprises processes executed on a router.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for enabling routers to coordinate via a back-channel communication medium. The information exchanged over the back-channel is used to increase the number of paths considered for the routers during route optimization. The Decision Makers may assert routes and prefixes to the routers under their control. This may be done via a Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) feed. The Decision Makers, in turn, communicate separately with one another, in order to coordinate routing policy amongst themselves. This coordination may be performed over a back-channel, which may take the form of physical or logical connections between the Decision Makers.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for communicating data within measurement traffic are described. Embodiments that send, receive and both send and receive are described. Some embodiments are described that compute statistics based at least partly on measurement traffic. Some embodiments are described that communicate computed statistics within measurement traffic. Some embodiments are described that rank and select paths based at least in part on computed statistics.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for enabling routers to coordinate via a back-channel communication medium. The information exchanged over the back-channel is used to increase the number of paths considered for the routers during route optimization. The Decision Makers may assert routes and prefixes to the routers under their control. This may be done via a Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) feed. The Decision Makers, in turn, communicate separately with one another, in order to coordinate routing policy amongst themselves. This coordination may be performed over a back-channel, which may take the form of physical or logical connections between the Decision Makers.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for supporting routing intelligence for evaluating routing paths based on performance measurements. The routing intelligence may include processes executed in a self-contained device. This device may control one or more edge routers, based on performance data from end users. In other embodiments, the routing intelligence device may be used solely to monitor one or more edge routers, producing reports but not effecting any changes to routing. Routing decisions may be injected to the edge routers via BGP updates. The devices may be stationed at the premises of a multihomed organization, such as an enterprise, ISP, government organization, university, or other organization supporting a sub-network coupled to an internetwork. In other embodiments, the routing intelligence comprises processes executed on a router.