Abstract: The present invention relates to providing security functionality over computer system mass storage data, and more particularly relates to a system and method of transparent data backup on either local or remote storage devices such as SATA storage devices. According to aspects of the invention, the system is transparent to operating system and application software layers. That makes it unnecessary to make any software modifications to the file system, device drivers, operating system, or applications, or installing specialized applications or hardware. In embodiments, the snapshot functionality of the invention is implemented entirely in hardware, and is not designed to slow down performance of the rest of the system.

Abstract: A system and method of routing messages in a distributed computing environment is provided. The method includes providing a platform server, a set of intermediary servers, and a set of edge servers, collectively defining a network. The method includes binding, at the platform server, at a first instance, the end-point device to the platform server wherein the platform server binds, at the first instance, the end-point device using a non-addressable name value associated to the end-point device. The binding associates a first path across the network. The method includes communicating a first message to the end-point device along the first path. Method includes rebinding, at the platform server, at a second instance, the end-point device to the platform server, where the rebinding uses the non-addressable name value and associates a second path across the network. The method includes communicating a second message to the end-point device along the second path.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide a method of managing cloud resources on several of nodes of a hosting system. The method receives a cloud resource configuration. The method identifies a particular node from the several nodes to host the cloud resource configuration. The method sets an administrative state of the hosting system to reflect the hosting of the cloud resource configuration on the particular node. The administrative state includes information for each node in the hosting system. Each node includes a performer operating on the node that manages an operational state of the node based on the administrative state of the node.

Abstract: A system and method of operating resources within a distributed computing environment. The resources include a platform server and intermediate servers where each of the intermediate servers connects and maintains a persistent connection to the platform server a number of edge servers. The method includes injecting state identifier information into service requests from a given edge server to the intermediate server and transmitting the service request to the platform server. The method includes receiving a response message from the platform server where the message includes the state identifier. The method includes using the state identifier to route the message to the given edge server.

Abstract: A user provides an annotation, such as text or graphics, in relation to a resource available on a computer network. The annotation is automatically stored and/or retrieved without requiring separate action from the user to accomplish the storage or retrieval. An annotation interface may receive the annotation from the user. The annotation is then stored in association with the user and the network address of the resource. The user's annotation may be later retrieved and displayed to the user based on the network address of the resource. In one specific embodiment, a browser toolbar receives and displays user annotations associated with Web sites or Web pages to which the user has navigated. Preferably, the annotation interface remains available to the user throughout the time in which the resource is provided. Further controls may enable the user to make an annotation publicly available to others, and to receive annotations from others.

Abstract: Technology is disclosed for enabling scene-based variable compression (“the technology”). In some embodiments, the technology can receive an indication of a compression level for a first content type, wherein the compression level specifies a tolerance level for lossy compression; receive a request for content, the content having at least two portions, wherein a first portion has first content of the first content type and the second portion has second content of a second content type, a first compression method associated with the indicated compression level and a second compression method associated with a different compression level. The technology can transmit the content, wherein the first portion of the content was compressed using the first compression method and the second portion was compressed using the second compression method.

Abstract: A server abstracted messaging system interfaces to networking services such as SMS, UDP and IP, using internally implemented protocols or third-party tools. All connections, disconnections, errors or intricacies in service decoding are abstracted by the messaging system. To interface to an LBS device, the messaging system uses a special language to communicate with that device, leaving the actual translation of the command to the device until the very end, thereby abstracting the communication to the device by any application. All new commands for the LBS device are implemented in the abstracted language.

Abstract: Method for allowing distributed running of an application between a device and a server connected via a network. The method includes the following steps carried out by the device: obtaining a device profile including resource capacity characteristics of the device; obtaining an application profile including resource consumption characteristics of the application; obtaining device metrics relating to real-time resource usage with respect to the device; obtaining offload rules defining conditions under which an application is to be run at least in part on a server and/or on a device, the conditions involving device resource capacity, application resource consumption and device real-time resource usage; and making a decision by an inference engine to run the application at least in part on the server and/or on the device, by evaluating the offload rules applied to the device profile, application profile and device metrics.

Abstract: A system, method, and computer readable medium for communicating at least one real-time specially-composed bulletin message to at least one subscriber of a provider of Internet services, comprising a first device, and a second device communicably coupled to the first device, wherein the first device: accesses only subscriber upstream traffic to a destination web site requested by the subscriber, wherein the first device inter-connects between the at least one subscriber and the destination web site, identifies the at least one subscriber's identification based on the accessed subscriber upstream traffic automatically provided by the subscriber, and provides the unique subscriber identification to the second device located at the provider of Internet services providing data services and management control to the first device, wherein the second device determines the subscriber associated with the unique subscriber identification.

Abstract: Various embodiments enable redundant or replica services, such as “cloud” services, to be run at geographically distributed locations. Each replica is capable of performing operations that are generally, identically performed across all replicas. In the event of an interruption at one location, services in other locations can quickly and automatically take over operations. In one or more embodiments, a Distributed Agreement Protocol is utilized to bind a CRUD-type protocol as a state machine. Binding takes place through the use of a reverse proxy that is located at each of the locations at which the service is distributed. In at least some embodiments, the Distributed Agreement Protocol is implemented as the Paxos protocol or a variant thereof, and/or the CRUD-type protocol comprises the HTTP protocol.

Abstract: A method for communicating in real-time to users of a provider of Internet access service, without requiring any installation or set-up by the user, that utilizes the unique identification information automatically provided by the user during communications for identifying the user to provide a fixed identifier which is then communicated to a redirecting device. Messages may then be selectively transmitted to the user. The system is normally transparent to the user, with no modification of its content along the path. Content then may be modified or replaced along the path to the user. For the purposes of establishing a reliable delivery of bulletin messages from providers to their users, the system forces the delivery of specially-composed World Wide Web browser pages to the user, although it is not limited to that type of data.

Abstract: A connection request including a connection model key and a partner system attribute of the partner system requesting a connection is received at an application server from a partner system. Using a predefined connection model, as determination is made as to whether the received connection model key and the received partner system attribute respectively match a configured connection model key and a configured authorized partner system attribute within the predefined connection model. In response to determining that the received connection model key and the received partner system attribute match the respective configured connection model key and the configured authorized partner system attribute within the predefined connection model, a connection is created that includes a first unique connection name derived from the received partner system attribute.

Abstract: At least one inline probe is employed to test compliance of a network element with a network traffic policy. The testing capability of the probe is handled by specialized software or hardware. The inline probes hardware can be implemented in network elements such as routers or transceivers. The inline probes can be discovered, registered, and controlled by a dedicated controller disposed at a remote location.

Abstract: Providing a cloud-based service to an endpoint device includes providing the cloud-based service to the endpoint device in accordance with a default Quality of Service, learning an importance of the cloud-based service to a user of the endpoint device, and automatically adjusting the providing of the cloud-based service to the endpoint device in response to the importance, wherein the adjusting results in the cloud-based service being provided to the endpoint device in accordance with a Quality of Service other than the default Quality of Service for at least a temporary period of time. The importance may be inferred from how quickly the user of the endpoint device consumes data provided by the cloud-based service. Alternatively, the importance may be a relative importance of the cloud-based service to the user, as compared to other users of the cloud-based service.

Abstract: A system for providing a cloud-based service to an endpoint device includes a resources that provide the service to the device in accordance with a default Quality of Service (QoS) and a processor that monitors usage of the service on the device and automatically adjusts the service on the device in response to the usage, so that the service is provided to the device in accordance with a QoS other than the default QoS at least temporarily. A system for providing a cloud-based service includes an endpoint device that monitors usage of the service on the device and a server that provides the service to the device in accordance with a default QoS and automatically adjusts the service on the device in response to the usage so that the service is provided to the device in accordance with a QoS other than the default QoS at least temporarily.

Abstract: To allow for detection of links to spam within a social networking system by identifying entities based on uniform resource locators (URLs). Identifiers that include at least one parent entity identifier representing a parent entity and at least one child entity identifier representing a child entity are extracted from URLs. An identifier sequence including the at least one parent entity identifier is designated as an attributable sequence when the child entity accounts for a value of traffic received by the parent entity that does not satisfy a threshold. In an embodiment, the child entity may be identified as an actionable target. The URLs may be classified within a hierarchical structure based on the identifiers. The hierarchical structure may comprise at least one parent node representing the parent entity and at least one child node representing the child entity. The hierarchical structure may be a tree.

Abstract: An identity provider (IdP) discovery service operative at a service provider (SP) is described. In operation, and as valid requests are received by the SP via normal IdP-initiated flows, the SP builds-up knowledge about the relationship between the IdP (that redirected the request) and the initiator of the request. The IdP instance typically is inferred from an HTTP referrer field, and information about the initiator may be ascertained from client-specific information, such as client system IP address, client DNS domain, a domain of a user e-mail address, a target URL for the incoming request, or the value associated with a particular HTTP header field. This knowledge is maintained in one or more mapping table(s) that associate request attributes-to-IdP instance data. The mappings are then used to facilitate IdP discovery for a new incoming request to the SP that has been determined to originate from other than an IdP.

Abstract: One or more devices may store attribute information identifying multiple attributes associated with a client device that is associated with a particular classification; reclassify the client device based on the attribute information; and provide, based on reclassifying the client device, classification information to a network device to cause the network device to associate a particular policy set, of multiple policy sets, with the client device. The classification information may identify an updated classification of the client device. The updated classification may be different from the particular classification. The particular policy set may be based on the updated classification of the client device. The particular policy set may include an instruction used to process a data flow provided to or provided from the client device.

Abstract: In embodiments of cross device visitor correlation, application data is generated by an application executing on a computing device, and a visitor identifier is included in the application data. The visitor identifier is associated with the computing device for a user who is not identified at the computing device from a user-provided log-in credential or email address. The application data can be communicated to a cloud data storage that maintains the application data to update instances of the application on one or more additional computing devices when the application data is requested. An additional computing device can receive the application data along with the visitor identifier, and then return the visitor identifier back to the cloud storage along with updated application data. A user of the computing device and the additional computing device is correlated as the same visitor by a visitor profile server based on the visitor identifier.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for creating conversations related to a location. One method includes receiving a topic for a real-time conversation from a user, receiving location information related to a location of the user, and creating a real-time conversation object that includes the received topic. The method also includes tagging the created real-time conversation object with the received location information, indexing, based on the received topic and the received location information, the tagged real-time conversation object with respect to other real-time conversation objects, and providing the tagged real-time conversation object in response to a search for real-time conversation objects received from another user.