Abstract: Improvement on delivery of continuous media programs, such as video, divides the programs into prefixes and suffixes of data. One of these groups, or other groups associated with alternate on-demand data streaming, may be stored at a remote location, while the other of the groups may be stored at a plurality of regional locations. Accordingly, when the media program is ordered by a plurality of clients, a portion of the program will be broadcast from the regional server, while the other portion of the program will be transmitted from the remote server. The prefixes and suffixes are chosen so as to maximize the efficiency of data transfer taking into account the cost of storing the data as well as bandwidth costs.

Abstract: A method of efficiently transmitting streamed data of a program to multiple clients requesting the program at different times ranks the requests in a multilevel hierarchy, which describes merging of data streams servicing the requests. The multilevel hierarchy changes dynamically as new requests arrive or existing data streams are merged to reduce the bandwidth or other costs required to serve the requests. The hierarchy may be established by simple rules or by a modeling of the actual cost of possible hierarchies.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed in which an initiating caller using a station connected to a data network receives advertisement information while waiting for a call to complete between the station and the receiving party. The station connects with a server that can access a database storing a plurality of advertisement information. The station includes a user interface, which allows the caller to interact with the station, and a flow controller, which monitors the bandwidth available to receive information from the server system.

Abstract: A computer implemented method, system, and computer-readable medium for modifying and creating networked documents (105). To create a document (105), the method includes the acts of reading a control sheet (340), reading a content sheet (340), and generating the document (350, 360) using the control sheet (405) and the content sheet (407). To modify a document (105), the method includes the acts of reading a control sheet (405) having commands, reading a content sheet (407) having content (340), retrieving the document (105) using a command from the command sheet (350); and modifying the document using the control sheet (405) and the content sheet (350). The content sheet includes content of the document (105) and the control sheet (405) specifies the location of the content on the Web page. Either or both of the control sheet (405) and content sheet (407) may include print content.

Abstract: A device for Connection Admission Control for an ATM switch, intended for admitting to the switch a requested ATM connection of the DBR type, such that the “Quality of Service” of all ATM connections of the DBR type in said switch continues to satisfy certain conditions. For the composite traffic stream of DBR connections at an output port with capacity C, a single buffer with capacity B is available, while as boundary condition it holds that the total average load of the output port does not amount to more than ?×C, where ? is a constant with a value between 0 and 1. The CAC device comprises two sub-devices, which each execute a—rather complex—partial calculation, resulting in a positive or negative admission signal. The new ATM connection is only granted admission to the switch if both sub-devices emit a positive admission signal.

Abstract: The invention relates to a system for control and supervision of residential control in a broadband network (10). It comprises at least one of the following features port control, class of service assurance, forced direction for network login, abuse and anti-spoof protection, provided by hardware and software broadband network (10) dedicated means (22, 24, 26, 28, 30). Thereby the system is providing services differentiation for customers to the network (10).

Abstract: A system for determining capacity of a server is provided in accordance with the present invention. The system may include a client for generating a plurality of requests to the server, the client providing a desired rate of requests by calculating an actual rate of requests being generated and adjusting the actual rate to within a predetermined range of the desired rate such that a continual rate of requests are provided to the server in order to facilitate determining server capacity.

Abstract: In a client-server environment having a server group including one or more participating servers and one or more controller servers, where each participating server can communicate with at least one controller server, a method for coordinating actions among the servers in the server group comprising the steps of: (1) communicating between a client and at least one of the servers in the server group using a protocol that has limited or no defined procedures for passing state information between the client and the servers; (2) transmitting a request for an action from the client to one of the servers; and (3) communicating among a plurality of servers with at least one controller server coordinating actions of at least some of the servers in response to the request.

Abstract: A data communications network includes network servers, clusters of network servers, as well as content providers and service providers, such as ISPs and ASPs, and further includes at least one data processor that operates under control of a stored program resident on a memory media. The stored program directs operation of the data processor to provide users with differentiated services by defining, for individual ones of the plurality of content providers, a plurality of levels of services for users, and for responding to service level tables received from individual ones of the plurality of content providers, where individual ones of users are assigned to one of the plurality of levels of service. There is also at least one resource requirement table for defining at least a minimum set of resources required for realizing individual ones of said plurality of service levels.

Abstract: A method for synchronizing a program that is executed on one of a plurality of computers in a distributed computer system by using a reliable ordered multicast, comprising the steps of generating a new process comprising a program and the status in execution on a computer, and transferring the new process through the reliable ordered multicast to the computers, respectively.

Abstract: A network resource, such as bandwidth, is reserved by obtaining historical usage data relating to usage of the network resource over a period of time, and determining an amount by which the network resource can be oversubscribed based on the historical usage data. Current usage data relating to current usage of the network resource may also be determined. The amount by which the network resource can be oversubscribed may be determined based additionally on the current usage data.