Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm David H. Judson
  • Patent number: 8103618
    Abstract: A system that enables enterprises to design, create integrate and operate online communities. The system operates as an on-demand hosted platform (software-as-a-service) that provides a secure and reliable architecture on which enterprises can safely and securely develop, execute and manage their online communities. The platform combines a wide range of web-based participation technologies (e.g., blogs, wikis, discussion groups, social networking, podcasts, RSS, tagging, photos, videos, mapping, and the like). Any content can have attributes that make it appear as any type of content. With this uniform content architecture, all user-generated content is treated as a post (or, more generally, a submission), and there is no need for a participant to author multiple entries for separate uses. Preferably, all content created or otherwise associated with a particular author is intrinsically tied or “linked” to the author via the author's profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: Surfmap, Inc.
    Inventors: David K. R. Carter, Robin A. Hopper
  • Patent number: 8086740
    Abstract: A remote access session is established between client and host computers with the assistance of a gateway. The gateway requests the host computer to send a plurality of data packets to different external addresses and monitors the network ports used for these outgoing packets. The gateway then uses the network port information to predict which port the host will use to transmit future outgoing data packets. A similar process is performed on the client computer. The gateway then directs the client computer to send further data packets to the network address and the predicted port of the host computer. Similarly, the host computer is directed to send further data packets to the network address and predicted port of the client computer. The computers are then directly connected together so that further data communications bypass the gateway.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2011
    Assignee: LogMeln, Inc.
    Inventors: Gabor Tyukasz, Marton B. Anka
  • Patent number: 8082109
    Abstract: The invention relates to computational methods, systems and apparatus useful in the analysis of sets of biomolecules in an accessible body fluid or tissue sample from a patient, which biomolecules collectively or individually are candidates to serve as biomarkers, i.e., biomolecules which together or individually upon detection or change are indicative that the patient is in some biological state, such as a diseased state. The methods permit one to examine such potential biological markers to determine whether each one is indeed present as a consequence of the biological state, or as an artifact of the biomarker search protocol.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignee: Selventa, Inc.
    Inventors: William M. Ladd, Keith O. Elliston, Joseph J. Loureiro
  • Patent number: 8073961
    Abstract: The present invention is a network architecture or framework that supports hosting and content distribution on a truly global scale. The inventive framework allows a Content Provider to replicate and serve its most popular content at an unlimited number of points throughout the world. The inventive framework comprises a set of servers operating in a distributed manner. The actual content to be served is preferably supported on a set of hosting servers (sometimes referred to as ghost servers). This content comprises HTML page objects that, conventionally, are served from a Content Provider site. In accordance with the invention, however, a base HTML document portion of a Web page is served from the Content Provider's site while one or more embedded objects for the page are served from the hosting servers, preferably, those hosting servers near the client machine. By serving the base HTML document from the Content Provider's site, the Content Provider maintains control over the content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2011
    Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Inventors: F. Thomson Leighton, Daniel M. Lewin
  • Patent number: 8055285
    Abstract: A user of a wireless device, such as a mobile phone, can make purchases or obtain information via a network, such as the Internet, using both voice and non-verbal methods. Users can submit voice queries and receive non-verbal replies, submit non-verbal queries and receive voice replies, or perform similar operations that marry the voice and data capabilities of modern mobile communication devices. The user may provide notification criteria indicating under what conditions a notification should be sent to the user's wireless device. When purchasing opportunities matching the selected notification criteria become available, the user is notified. The user can respond to the notification, and immediately take advantage of the purchasing opportunity if he so desires. Mixed-mode interactions can also be used by sellers to more advantageously control the marketing of distressed, time sensitive, or other merchandise/services.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2011
    Assignee: Aeritas, LLC
    Inventors: Malik Mamdani, Patrick Johnson, Kevin Bomar
  • Patent number: 8050955
    Abstract: Multimedia contacts are forecasted, propagated, and managed for each period in a range. The number of contacts received in a period is forecasted using historical methods and is propagated to succeeding periods based on the business goals, such as how quickly a certain contact type is to be handled. After the contacts have been propagated, a total contacts to handle is determined for each period, and the staffing requirements are calculated therefrom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2011
    Assignee: IEX Corporation
    Inventors: John David Sarlay, Paul Harold Leamon, Meghan Herbert
  • Patent number: 8041809
    Abstract: An infrastructure “insurance” mechanism enables a Web site to fail over to a content delivery network (CDN) upon a given occurrence at the site. Upon such occurrence, at least some portion of the site's content is served preferentially from the CDN so that end users that desire the content can still get it, even if the content is not then available from the origin site. In operation, content requests are serviced from the site in the usual manner, e.g., by resolving DNS queries to the site's IP address, until detection of the given occurrence. Thereafter, DNS queries are managed by a CDN dynamic DNS-based request routing mechanism so that such queries are resolved to optimal CDN edge servers. After the event that caused the occurrence has passed, control of the site's DNS may be returned from the CDN back to the origin server's DNS mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2011
    Assignee: Akamai Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Ravi Sundaram, Hariharan S. Rahul
  • Patent number: 8010861
    Abstract: Fast recovery from losses is an important problem for reliable data communication protocols. The Internet standard TCP protocol (Transmission Control Protocol) implements two algorithms for that: an original one based on a special timer, and a later addition to TCP that is triggered when there are three packets received by the client after the missing one. Web communications are most frequently carrying rather small objects that are generally ineligible for anything other than timeout-based retransmission schemes. The present invention describes a system delivering performance improvements to TCP (and other reliable data communication protocols) that are compliant with present Internet standards. One improvement is to send duplicates of packets without waiting for a timeout to occur. Another is to split particular parts of a data stream into smaller packets. A third is to send packets out-of-order to force the remote host to acknowledge all packets that were successfully received.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2011
    Assignee: Akamai Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Adam J. Grove, Michael Kharitonov, Alexei Tumarkin
  • Patent number: 8000262
    Abstract: A method of computing a measure of similarity between nodes of first and second networks is described. In particular, sets of pairwise scores are computed to find nodes in the individual networks that are good matches to one another. Thus, a pairwise score, referred to as Rij, is computed for a node i in the first network and a node j in the second network. Similar pairwise scores are computed for each of the nodes in each network. The goal of this process is to identify node pairs that exhibit high Rij values. According to the technique described herein, the intuition is that nodes i and j are a good match if their neighbors are a good match. This technique produces a measure of “network similarity.” If node feature data also is available, the intuition may be expanded such that nodes i and j are considered a good match if their neighbors are a good match (network similarity) and their node features are a good match (node similarity). Node feature data typically is domain-specific.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2011
    Inventors: Bonnie Berger Leighton, Rohit Singh
  • Patent number: 7996531
    Abstract: A routing method operative in a content delivery network (CDN) where the CDN includes a request routing mechanism for routing clients to subsets of edge servers within the CDN. According to the routing method, TCP connection data statistics are collected are edge servers located within a CDN region. The TCP connection data statistics are collected as connections are established between requesting clients and the CDN region and requests are serviced by those edge servers. Periodically, e.g., daily, the connection data statistics are provided from the edge servers in a region back to the request routing mechanism. The TCP connection data statistics are then used by the request routing mechanism in subsequent routing decisions and, in particular, in the map generation processes. Thus, for example, the TCP connection data may be used to determine whether a given quality of service is being obtained by routing requesting clients to the CDN region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2011
    Assignee: Akamai Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Avraham T. Freedman
  • Patent number: 7996533
    Abstract: A content delivery network is enhanced to provide for delivery of cacheable markup language content files such as HTML. To support HTML delivery, the content provider provides the CDNSP with an association of the content provider's domain name (e.g., www.customer.com) to an origin server domain name (e.g., html.customer.com) at which one or more default HTML files are published and hosted. The CDNSP provides its customer with a CDNSP-specific domain name. The content provider, or an entity on its behalf, then implements DNS entry aliasing (e.g., a CNAME of the host to the CDNSP-specific domain) so that domain name requests for the host cue the CDN DNS request routing mechanism. This mechanism then identifies a best content server to respond to a request directed to the customer's domain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2011
    Assignee: Akamai Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: F. Thomson Leighton, Daniel M. Lewin, Anne E. Lewin, legal representative
  • Patent number: 7987252
    Abstract: A “velvet rope” mechanism that enables customers of a shared distributed network (such as a content delivery network) needing to control their costs to control the amount of traffic that is served via the shared network. A given server in the distributed network identifies when a customer is about to exceed a bandwidth quota as a rate (bursting) or for a given billing period (e.g., total megabytes (MB) served for a given period) and provides a means for taking a given action based on this information. Typically, the action taken would result in a reduction in traffic served so that the customer can constrain its usage of the shared network to a given budget value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2011
    Assignee: Akamai Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Marty Kagan, Sylvain Lauzac, Eisar Lipkovitz
  • Patent number: 7958249
    Abstract: A file transport mechanism according to the invention is responsible for accepting, storing and distributing files, such as configuration or control files, to a large number of field machines. The mechanism is comprised of a set of servers that accept, store and maintain submitted files. The file transport mechanism implements a distributed agreement protocol based on “vector exchange.” A vector exchange is a knowledge-based algorithm that works by passing around to potential participants a commitment bit vector. A participant that observes a quorum of commit bits in a vector assumes agreement. Servers use vector exchange to achieve consensus on file submissions. Once a server learns of an agreement, it persistently marks (in a local data store) the request as “agreed.” Once the submission is agreed, the server can stage the new file for download.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Assignee: Akamai Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Alexander Sherman, Andrew D. Berkheimer, Philip A. Lisiecki, William E. Weihl, Joel M. Wein
  • Patent number: 7946474
    Abstract: A method of and apparatus for forecasting cash demand for an automated teller machine (ATM) or any other cash dispensing devices for individual days, weeks and multi-day load periods. In one embodiment, an expected value of withdrawal for any particular period, as well as an upper limit on expected withdrawals for a given confidence level, are computed. The invention facilitates the creation of a daily and multi-day withdrawal forecast for a given ATM. The forecasts are also used to compute an optimum load amount for a given load period (the period between loading operations) for a given ATM, subject to given parameters (such as courier cost, interest rate, transit time, desired confidence level, cost of run-out, and the like) and given constraints (bundle size, maximum capacity, possible delivery days, and the like). The forecasts are also used to determine an optimal load period length and schedule.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2011
    Inventor: Subhash C. Agrawal
  • Patent number: 7945655
    Abstract: A method for content storage on behalf of participating content providers begins by having a given content provider identify content for storage. The content provider then uploads the content to a given storage site selected from a set of storage sites. Following upload, the content is replicated from the given storage site to at least one other storage site in the set. Upon request from a given entity, a given storage site from which the given entity may retrieve the content is then identified. The content is then downloaded from the identified given storage site to the given entity. In an illustrative embodiment, the given entity is an edge server of a content delivery network (CDN).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2011
    Assignee: Akamai Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Philip A. Lisiecki, Cosmos Nicolaou, Kyle R. Rose
  • Patent number: 7933589
    Abstract: A method for facilitating a wireless transaction includes communicating a transaction request from a wireless communication device to a transaction apparatus and communicating a spoken authentication code from the wireless communication device to the transaction apparatus. After the spoken authentication code is authenticated, a transaction code is received by the wireless communication device. After receiving the transaction code, the transaction code is displayed on and optically scanned from a visual display of the wireless communication device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2011
    Assignee: Aeritas, LLC
    Inventors: Malik Mamdani, Curtis Grant, Patrick Johnson, Kevin Bomar, Tim Whatley
  • Patent number: 7930391
    Abstract: A method and system for approximating the viewing time of a video posted on a website of a plurality of websites on the Internet is disclosed herein. The method and system is able to approximate the viewing time of the online video by a visitor computer and transmit the information to a compiling server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: Visible Measures Corp.
    Inventor: Brian Holt
  • Patent number: 7929429
    Abstract: A routing mechanism, service or system operable in a distributed networking environment. One preferred environment is a content delivery network (CDN) wherein the present invention provides improved connectivity back to an origin server, especially for HTTP traffic. In a CDN, edge servers are typically organized into regions, with each region comprising a set of content servers that preferably operate in a peer-to-peer manner and share data across a common backbone such as a local area network (LAN). The inventive routing technique enables an edge server operating within a given CDN region to retrieve content (cacheable, non-cacheable and the like) from an origin server more efficiently by selectively routing through the CDN's own nodes, thereby avoiding network congestion and hot spots.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: Akamai Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Claudson F. Bornstein, Timothy K. Canfield, Gary L. Miller, Satish B. Rao, Ravi Sundaram
  • Patent number: 7930402
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for the automatic migration of data via a distributed computer network allows a customer to select content files that are to be transferred to a group of edge servers. Origin sites store all of a customer's available content files. An edge server maintains a dynamic number of popular files in its memory for the customer. The files are ranked from most popular to least popular and when a file has been requested from an edge server a sufficient number of times to become more popular than the lowest popular stored file, the file is obtained from an origin site. The edge servers are grouped into two service levels: regional and global. The customer is charged a higher fee to store its popular files on the global edge servers compared to a regional set of edge servers because of greater coverage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: Akamai Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric Sven-Johan Swildens, Maurice Cinquini, Amol D. Chavarkar, Anshu Agarwal
  • Patent number: 7917469
    Abstract: A cluster recovery process is implemented across a set of distributed archives, where each individual archive is a storage cluster of preferably symmetric nodes. Each node of a cluster typically executes an instance of an application that provides object-based storage of fixed content data and associated metadata. According to the storage method, an association or “link” between a first cluster and a second cluster is first established to facilitate replication. The first cluster is sometimes referred to as a “primary” whereas the “second” cluster is sometimes referred to as a “replica.” Once the link is made, the first cluster's fixed content data and metadata are then replicated from the first cluster to the second cluster, preferably in a continuous manner. Upon a failure of the first cluster, however, a failover operation occurs, and clients of the first cluster are redirected to the second cluster.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2011
    Assignee: Hitachi Data Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Benjamin K. D. Bernhard, Robert S. Mason, Jr.