Abstract: One conferencing system allows conference participants to share all or a portion of the display seen on their computer screens. The conferees may be at sites removed from each other, or may view a recorded presentation or archived conference at different times. Conference participants are either “presenters” who can modify the display or “attendees” who cannot modify the display. An image may be captured of a selected region of a display image on a presenter computer, and data associated with the captured image may be transmitted to one or more attendee computers. The display of the transmitted data at the one or more attendee computers may be sequenced with respect to the presenter computer. These and other features apply to other data streams shared in the conference or in meetings where there is no shared-image data stream.

Abstract: A system and method for monitoring the performance associated with fulfilling resource requests and determining optimizations for improving such performance are provided. A processing device obtains and processes performance metric information associated with processing a request for an original resource and any embedded resource. The processing device uses the processed performance metric information to determine a set of service providers for alternatively hosting, processing, and/or transmitting at least a portion of the original resource and/or any embedded resources. In some embodiments, in making such a determination, the processing device assesses performance metric information collected and associated with subsequent resource requests for the original resource and any embedded resources using each of a variety of alternative set(s) of service providers.

Abstract: In a system with a terminal sending a request, when a load distributing unit distributes the request to many service providing apparatuses, the load distributing unit becomes a bottleneck of performance and/or a single point of failure. When the load is distributed to the service providing apparatuses without using the load distributing unit, a particular function is required on the terminal side to appropriately select one of apparatuses. A name resolution unit including an address group management table with IP addresses to select, for a request from a terminal, an address from the table to return the address to the terminal and a plurality of service providing apparatuses to which at least zero IP address selected from the table is allocated without duplication are arranged such that each service providing apparatus is allocated with IP addresses according to processing performance thereof, thereby conducting appropriate load distribution.

Abstract: A computing device determines an optimal allocation of network bandwidth on a plurality of communications links for a plurality of virtual machines (VMs) in a multi-tenant cloud network based upon a set of bandwidth requirements for the plurality of VMs. The computing device generates a plurality of spanning tree data structures (TDSs). Edges in the TDSs include computed bandwidth values indicating an amount of bandwidth to be reserved over a communications link represented by that edge for the plurality of VMs. The computing device generates a weighted distance value for each TDS of the plurality of TDSs, and selects a TDS of the plurality of TDSs having a smallest weighted distance value as the TDS having computed bandwidth values representing the optimal allocation of network bandwidth.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are representative embodiments of tools and techniques for providing network service assurance. One exemplary embodiment includes a framework for network service assurance that includes a presentation layer, a service management layer, a network-infrastructure management layer, and a unified network-access layer. The unified-network-access layer is configured to receive a network request in a standard abstracted format, the network request being associated with at least one network element. The unified network-access layer also being configured to select a vendor adaptor from a plurality of vendor adaptors based on an element type of the at least one network element. The unified network-access layer further being configured to generate a vendor-formatted network request using the vendor adapter, and configured to send the vendor-formatted network request to the at least one network element.

Abstract: A method includes receiving sponsor specifications designating story characteristics, monitoring an organic activity stream for entries matching the story characteristics, and, in response to identifying an entry as matching the story characteristics, providing for display the entry in a predetermined area of a web page.

Abstract: A method for deploying an enterprise application to enterprise users is provided. First, a defined sequence identifying a series of preverified functions is received, wherein the defined sequence constitutes the enterprise application. Then, the defined sequence is stored in a database, wherein the database additionally includes enterprise data created by use of the enterprise application. The enterprise application is then synchronized to the enterprise users in the same manner that the enterprise data is synchronized to the enterprise users.

Abstract: A method for maintaining a session between a smart thin client and a smart thin client server is provided. The smart thin client server permits a user to create, manage, and deploy enterprise applications via the smart thin client but lacks the ability to save state information. The method includes detecting a log-off event for the session between the smart thin client and the smart thin client server; and saving, by the smart thin client server in a database accessible by the smart thin client server, state information for the session, in a record containing a user identification corresponding to a user of the smart thin client.

Abstract: One conferencing system allows conference participants to share all or a portion of the display seen on their computer screens. The conferees may be at sites removed from each other, or may view a recorded presentation or archived conference at different times. Conference participants are either “presenters” who can modify the display or “attendees” who cannot modify the display. A pointer icon, which can be labeled to identify the conferee, is displayed on the shared image area. Each conferee can modify the position of his or her own pointer, even when not presenting, so that every participant can see what each conferee is pointing to, should a conferee choose to point to an element of the display. These and other features apply to other data streams shared in the conference or in meetings where there is no shared-image data stream.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided for maintaining inventory levels of identity data to be provisioned in electronic devices. The method includes monitoring over a communications network inventory levels of identity data records stored on a plurality of identity data personalization servers that each provision electronic devices with an identity data record. Additionally, if the inventory level on at least one of the identity data personalization servers falls below a minimum specified level, a refill request is sent to an identity data management authority requesting that additional identity data records be uploaded to the identity data personalization server.

Abstract: Synchronization of data accessible by an application program is performed transparent to the application program. After a data item is instantiated by the application program, the synchronization engine performs data synchronization without or with minimal intervention of the application program. The synchronization engine may be part of an operating system. The synchronization engine is preinstalled on a computing device; therefore, application program developers can simply define whether the data items associated with the application programs should be syncable, and if so, to what extent the data items should be syncable. The application program developer is relieved of the task of developing the synchronization engine or other software components associated with data synchronization.

Abstract: Techniques for fragmenting a file or a collection of media data are disclosed. According one aspect of the techniques, a file pertaining to a title is fragmented into a header and several tails or segments. The header is a continuous portion of the file while the segments are respective parts of the remaining portion of the file. The header is seeded substantially in all boxes, and none, one or more of the segments are distributed in each of the boxes in service. When a title is ordered, the header is instantly played back while the segments, if not locally available, are continuously fetched respectively from other boxes that have the segments.

Abstract: A method for determining metrics of a content delivery and global traffic management network provides service metric probes that determine the service availability and metric measurements of types of services provided by a content delivery machine. Latency probes are also provided for determining the latency of various servers within a network. Service metric probes consult a configuration file containing each DNS name in its area and the set of services. Each server in the network has a metric test associated with each service supported by the server which the service metric probes periodically performs metric tests on and records the metric test results which are periodically sent to all of the DNS servers in the network. DNS servers use the test result updates to determine the best server to return for a given DNS name. The latency probe calculates the latency from its location to a client's location using the round trip time for sending a packet to the client to obtain the latency value for that client.

Abstract: A method for prepending nonce labels to DNS queries includes determining whether a log contains a past entry of a domain name resolution query (“query”) to a name server for a full domain name that resulted in a positive reply indicating that the full domain name exists. It is determined whether the log contains a recent entry of the query that resulted in a negative reply indicating that the full domain name did not exist. The server is then queried with a nonce-less query for the full domain name. The server is queried again with a nonce label prepended query for the full domain name to determine if it currently results in the negative reply. The full domain name is flagged as inappropriate for nonce prepending upon determination that querying with a nonce prepended query results in a negative reply and a nonce-less query results in a positive reply.

Abstract: A communication device configured to receive content from a server via a network, comprises a storage unit configured to store content received from the server in a cache, a display unit configured to display the content stored in the storage unit, a control unit configured to switch connection to the network to one of a plurality of communication lines having different communication rates, and a setting unit configured to set the size of the content received from the server and the number of histories stored in the cache, in accordance with the communication line to which connection has been switched by the control unit.

Abstract: A system and method for replicating a distributed computer system state among a plurality of deterministic event processing engines are disclosed. A sender module receives a plurality of input events or input event streams and generates a serialized message sequence describing an order in which input events are processed. The serialized message sequence is then transmitted to a plurality of deterministic event processing engines for processing. As the event processing engines are deterministic, each event processing engine produces the same ordered sequence responsive to the received serialized message sequence. The ordered sequences from each deterministic event processing engine are transmitted to a merger module which generates an output from the plurality of ordered sequences. The merger module removes one or more redundant ordered sequences and associates the resulting output with a client device.

Abstract: Control information may be provided to a server by a computing device before or while the computing device sends a media stream to the server. The control information is associated with processing of the media stream by the media server. When the computing device is not sending the media stream to the media server, the computing device may send the control information to the media server while establishing a connection with the media server. When the computing device is sending the media stream to the media server, the computing device may send the control information without interrupting communication of the media stream to the media server. For example, the control information may be embedded into the media stream or may be sent via a separate connection to the media server.

Abstract: A system and method for synchronizing simultaneous media stream playback across disjoint network timing/clock islands. An embodiment of a method includes determining a closest device to a source device in a network communications path between the source device and one or more target devices. Here, clocks of the closest device and the one or more target devices are synchronized and a clock of the source device is not necessarily synchronized with the clocks of the closest device and the one or more target devices. A current time for the closest device is then determined. A start time is assigned to at least the current time plus a maximum latency across the network communications path. A data stream and the start time are sent to the one or more target devices for rendering. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Abstract: Techniques for providing data in dynamic account and device management are disclosed. In one particular exemplary embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a system for providing data in dynamic account and device management. The system may comprise one or more processors communicatively coupled to a network. The one or more processors may be configured to identify a user device to be managed. The one or more processors may be configured to transmit a request for delegate authority to manage the user device. The one or more processors may be configured to receive delegate authority to manage the user device. The one or more processors may be configured to provide network access to the user device. The one or more processors may also be configured to manage the user device and monitor data communicated to and from the user device.

Abstract: A method of automatic hostname configuration includes receiving a request from a client device. A location detection module may be utilized for determining a location identifier representing a location at which the client device is located. A hostname is formed including at least the location identifier, and a control server assigns the hostname to the client device by sending an acknowledgement including the hostname to the client device. The request and acknowledgement may be communicated using DHCP. Simple network management protocol messages may be sent to one or more switches to query for a MAC address of the client device to determine the source switch and port from which the request originated. The switch-port-to-location table may include several ports that map to a same location identifier. The hostname may further be formed by including a device type identifier associated with the client device.