Internet upstream request compression

Abstract

Interactive internet activities are a very popular means for gathering information for business, personal, medical, entertainment and other purposes. Most internet interaction is asymmetrical in nature in that a client's requests for information are much smaller (in data size) than the resulting information delivered by the server. Although the client/internet link is inherently asymmetrical, there remains a great deal of interaction and overhead required between the client and the server that increases the bandwidth needs for the client's upstream request channel. There are many advantages to reducing this upstream traffic volume and thereby making the internet interaction even more asymmetrical. Such compression of request data could allow more clients to utilize a single upstream data path instead of separate paths.

1. In an interactive internet information distribution system in which user stations are connected to the internet by an internet server through an upstream gateway for transmission of information requests to said internet server and downstream gateways for transmission of information from the internet server to the user stations, the improvement wherein each user station includes a processor, said processor including:
 (a) means for interfacing with the user,  
 (b) an internet browser module connected to said interfacing means,  
 (c) internet driver means connected to said internet browser means,  
 (d) compression module connected to said internet driver means for reducing the upstream traffic whereby the ratio of downstream to upstream channel traffic is increased beyond a 20:1 ratio and wherein said upstream gateway includes means for storing a profile of the users connected thereto.  
 
     
     
       2. In an interactive internet information distribution system in which user stations are connected to the internet by an internet server through an upstream gateway for transmission of information requests to said internet server and downstream gateways for transmission of information from the internet server to the user stations, the improvement wherein each user station includes a processor, said processor including:
 (a) means for interfacing with the user,  
 (b) an internet browser module connected to said interfacing means,  
 (c) internet driver means connected to said internet browser means,  
 (d) compression module connected to said internet driver means for reducing the upstream traffic whereby the ratio of downstream to upstream channel traffic is increased beyond a 20:1 ratio and wherein said upstream gateway is adapted to perform protocol overhead functions and includes means for storing a profile of the users connected thereto.  
 
     
     
       3. In an interactive internet information distribution system in which user stations are connected to the internet by an internet server through an upstream gateway for transmission of information requests to said internet server and downstream gateways for transmission of information from the internet server to the user stations, the improvement wherein each user station includes a processor, said processor including:
 (a) means for interfacing with the user,  
 (b) an internet browser module, connected to said interfacing means,  
 (c) internet driver means connected to said internet browser means,  
 (d) compression module connected to said internet driver means for reducing the upstream traffic whereby the ratio of downstream to upstream channel traffic is increased beyond a 20:1 ratio and wherein said upstream gateway includes means for automatically generating a new data request for a given user.  
 
     
     
       4. The information distribution system defined in  claim 2  wherein said upstream gateway includes means for automatically generating a new data request for a given user. 
     
     
       5. The information distribution system defined in  claim 1  wherein said upstream gateway includes means for automatically generating a new data request for a given user. 
     
     
       6. A method of reducing upstream request data from a client to request information from a server, the method comprising:
   receiving an upstream request;        compressing the upstream request data using an internet driver, thereby generating a compressed upstream request; and        outputting the compressed upstream request using a connection - oriented communication protocol, wherein the compressed upstream request is output on an upstream channel and the requested information is received on a downstream channel having a substantially larger capacity than the upstream channel, wherein a ratio of downstream channel traffic to upstream channel traffic is increased beyond a  20 : 1  ratio.      
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the upstream request is compressed using format compression.  
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein said format compression is a statistical compression.  
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 7 , wherein said format compression is a linear prediction compression.  
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the upstream request is compressed by intercepting said upstream request prior to the addition of network communications protocol information, and generating the compressed upstream request that does not include network communications protocol information.  
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , wherein said communications protocol is TCP/IP.  
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the upstream request is compressed by replacing a previously used string with a short coded reference.  
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12 , wherein said previously used string is a web site address.  
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 6 , further comprising reducing the number of subsequent upstream requests output from said client.  
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , wherein said reducing the number of subsequent upstream requests is performed by inhibiting generation of automatic upstream requests based on embedded references contained within the information received in response to outputting the compressed upstream request.  
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 14 , wherein said client provides criteria to a gateway for generating requests based on the embedded references contained within the information received in response to outputting the compressed upstream request.  
     
     
       17. A method of reducing upstream request data from a client to request information from a server, the method comprising:
   receiving a compressed upstream request according to a connection - oriented communication protocol, the compressed upstream request being compressed using an internet driver, wherein a ratio of downstream channel traffic to upstream channel traffic exceeds a ratio of  20 : 1 ;        decompressing said compressed upstream request to reconstruct an upstream request from the client;        outputting the upstream request upon a communications network; and        automatically generating a new data request for a given user.      
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the compressed upstream request is decompressed using format decompression.  
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18 , wherein said format decompression is a statistical decompression.  
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 18 , wherein said format decompression is a linear prediction decompression.  
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the compressed upstream request is decompressed by adding network communications protocol information to the compressed upstream request.  
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 21 , wherein said communications protocol is TCP/IP.  
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the compressed upstream request is decompressed by replacing a short coded reference within the compressed upstream request with a predetermined string.  
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 23 , wherein said predetermined string is a web site address contained in a previously received upstream request.  
     
     
       25. The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
   receiving the information from the server in response to outputting the upstream request;        generating a request for additional information based on a reference identified within the received information;        outputting the generated request upon said communications network.      
     
     
       26. The method as defined in  claim 25 , wherein said upstream request is an HTTP request for a web page, the information received from the server is the requested web page, and the additional information is a file referenced by the web page.  
     
     
       27. The method of  claim 26 , wherein generating the request for the file referenced by the web page is controlled by criteria provided by said client.  
     
     
       28. The method of  claim 17 , wherein said decompressing is performed by an upstream gateway having stored therein a profile of users connected to the upstream gateway.  
     
     
       29. A client processor for requesting information from a server in a communications network, the client processor comprising a compression unit configured to receive an upstream request, to compress the received request using an internet driver, thereby generating a compressed upstream request, and to output the compressed upstream request using a connection- oriented communication protocol, wherein client processor is connected to an upstream and a downstream channel, and the compressed upstream request is output on the upstream channel and the requested information is received on the downstream channel and a ratio of downstream traffic to upstream traffic is increased beyond a  20 : 1  ratio.    
     
     
       30. The client processor of  claim 29 , wherein the compression unit by compressing the upstream request reduces traffic on the upstream channel, thereby increasing a ratio of downstream to upstream traffic beyond a ratio of  20 : 1 .  
     
     
       31. The client processor of  claim 30 , wherein the downstream channel has a substantially larger capacity than the upstream channel.  
     
     
       32. The client processor of  claim 30 , wherein the compression unit compresses the upstream request by using format compression.  
     
     
       33. The client processor of  claim 32 , wherein said format compression is a statistical compression.  
     
     
       34. The client processor of  claim 32 , wherein said format compression is a linear prediction compression.  
     
     
       35. The client processor of  claim 30 , wherein the compression unit compresses the upstream request by intercepting said upstream request prior to the addition of network communications protocol information and generating the compressed request in a manner that the compressed request does not include network communications protocol information.  
     
     
       36. The client processor of  claim 35 , wherein said communications protocol is a TCP/IP.  
     
     
       37. The client processor of  claim 30 , wherein the compression unit compresses the upstream request by replacing a string within the upstream request with a short coded reference.  
     
     
       38. The client processor of  claim 37 , wherein said predetermined string is a web site address contained in a previously output upstream request.  
     
     
       39. The client processor of  claim 30 , wherein the compression unit reduces the number of subsequent requests output from said client.  
     
     
       40. The client processor of  claim 39 , wherein the compression unit reduces the number of subsequent upstream requests by inhibiting generation of automatic upstream requests based on embedded references contained within the information received in response to outputting the compressed upstream request.  
     
     
       41. The client processor of  claim 39 , wherein said client provides criteria to a gateway for generating requests based on the embedded references contained within the information received in response to outputting the compressed upstream request.  
     
     
       42. An upstream processor coupled to a client processor via an upstream channel and to a server via a communication network, the upstream processor comprising a decompression unit configured to receive from the client processor a compressed upstream request for information from the server, the compressed upstream request being compressed using an internet driver, wherein a ratio of downstream channel traffic to upstream channel traffic exceeds a ratio of  20 : 1 , and to decompress the compressed upstream request to reconstruct an upstream request from the client, wherein the decompression unit is configured to receive the compressed upstream request according to a connection- oriented communication protocol, wherein said decompression unit is configured to automatically generate a new data request for a given user.    
     
     
       43. The upstream processor of  claim 42 , wherein the decompression unit decompresses the compressed upstream request by using format decompression.  
     
     
       44. The upstream processor of  claim 43 , wherein said format decompression is a statistical decompression.  
     
     
       45. The upstream processor of  claim 43 , wherein said format decompression is a linear prediction decompression.  
     
     
       46. The upstream processor of  claim 42 , wherein the decompression unit decompresses the compressed upstream request by adding network communications protocol information to the compressed request.  
     
     
       47. The upstream processor of  claim 46 , wherein said communications protocol is TCP/IP.  
     
     
       48. The upstream processor of  claim 42 , wherein the decompression unit decompresses the compressed upstream request by replacing a short coded reference within the compressed upstream request with a predetermined string.  
     
     
       49. The upstream processor of  claim 48 , further comprising a user profile database having recorded therein the predetermined string in association with the short coded reference.  
     
     
       50. The upstream processor of  claim 48 , wherein said predetermined string is a web site address contained in a previously received upstream request.  
     
     
       51. The upstream processor of  claim 42 , the decompression unit comprising:
   means for receiving the information from the server in response to outputting the upstream request;        means for generating a request for additional information based on a reference within the received information; and        means for outputting the generated request upon said communications network.      
     
     
       52. The upstream processor of  claim 51 , wherein said upstream request is an HTTP request for a web page, the information received from the server is the requested web page, and the additional information is a file referenced by the web page.  
     
     
       53. The upstream processor of  claim 51 , wherein the means for generating the request for the file referenced by the web page is controlled by criteria provided by said client.  
     
     
       54. The upstream processor of  claim 42 , further comprising a storage unit having stored therein a profile of users connected to the upstream gateway.  
     
     
       55. In an interactive internet information distribution system in which user stations are connected to the internet by an internet server through an upstream gateway for transmission of information requests to said internet server and downstream gateways for transmission of information from the internet server to the user stations, the improvement wherein each user station includes a processor, said processor including:
 ( a )  an internet browser module,      ( b )  internet driver means connected to said internet browser module,      ( c )  compression module connected to said internet driver means for reducing the upstream traffic whereby the ratio of downstream to upstream channel traffic is increased beyond a  20 : 1  ratio and wherein said upstream gateway includes means for storing a profile of the users connected thereto.      
     
     
       56. In an interactive internet information distribution system in which user stations are connected to the internet by an internet server through an upstream gateway for transmission of information requests to said internet server and downstream gateways for transmission of information from the internet server to the user stations, the improvement wherein each user station includes a processor, said processor including:
 ( a )  an internet browser module,      ( b )  internet driver means connected to said internet browser module,      ( c )  compression module connected to said internet driver means for reducing the upstream traffic whereby the ratio of downstream to upstream channel traffic is increased beyond a  20 : 1  ratio and wherein said upstream gateway is adapted to perform protocol overhead functions and includes means for storing a profile of the users connected thereto.      
     
     
       57. In an interactive internet information distribution system in which user stations are connected to the internet by an internet server through an upstream gateway for transmission of information requests to said internet server and downstream gateways for transmission of information from the internet server to the user stations, the improvement wherein each user station includes a processor, said processor including:
 ( a )  an internet browser module,      ( b )  internet driver means connected to said internet browser module,      ( c )  compression module connected to said internet driver means for reducing the upstream traffic whereby the ratio of downstream to upstream channel traffic is increased beyond a  20 : 1  ratio and wherein said upstream gateway includes means for automatically generating a new data request for a given user.