Method for caching and delivery of compressed content in a content delivery network

Abstract

A content delivery network (CDN) edge server is provisioned to provide last mile acceleration of content to requesting end users. The CDN edge server fetches, compresses and caches content obtained from a content provider origin server, and serves that content in compressed form in response to receipt of an end user request for that content. It also provides “on-the-fly” compression of otherwise uncompressed content as such content is retrieved from cache and is delivered in response to receipt of an end user request for such content. A preferred compression routine is gzip, as most end user browsers support the capability to decompress files that are received in this format. The compression functionality preferably is enabled on the edge server using customer-specific metadata tags.

1 - 20 . (canceled)  
   
   
       21 . A content delivery method operative at an edge server to which an client machine has been directed by a CDN request routing mechanism, the edge server having a cache, wherein the edge server is managed by a service provider and shared by a set of participating content provider customers, wherein participating content provider customers identify content to be delivered over the content delivery network and such content has associated therewith at least one content handling requirement that is enforceable at the edge server, comprising: 
 storing a configuration file associated with each participating content provider customer, the configuration file comprising given metadata, wherein at least one attribute of the given metadata tag is settable on a per participating content provider customer basis, and wherein the given metadata tag has an associated match condition;    upon receipt of a request for given content from the client machine, fetching an uncompressed form of the given content from the cache;    selectively compressing the given content as the given content is delivered to the client machine in response to the request if there is a match on the associated match condition in the given metadata; and    billing the participating content provider customer associated with the given content for delivery of the given content delivered to the client machine, wherein an amount billed to the participating content provider customer is a function of a size of the given content in the uncompressed form irrespective of a number of bytes delivered to the client machine.    
   
   
       22 . The content delivery method as described in  claim 21  wherein the given content is stored in uncompressed form in the cache as a function of other given metadata.  
   
   
       23 - 26 . (canceled)