Patent 9456053

Prior art

Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.

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Prior art

Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.

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To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 9456053, I will access the USPTO Patent Public Search database.

Patent Search on USPTO:
I will search for patent number 9456053.

Once the patent document for US9456053 is retrieved from the USPTO database, I will analyze the "References Cited" section to extract the relevant prior art information, including full citation, publication/filing date, and a brief description. I will then evaluate each reference against the independent claims of US9456053 to determine potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

Since I don't have direct interactive access to the USPTO Patent Public Search tool to browse and extract the references cited, I will use a reliable source, such as Google Patents (which the initial prompt provided a link to and is considered authoritative for full patent text), to obtain the "References Cited" list for US9456053. Then I will proceed with the analysis of those references.

References Cited in US Patent 9456053 (from Google Patents link provided in prompt):

The patent US9456053B2 lists several prior art references. I will focus on the most relevant ones.

  • U.S. Patent Documents:

Now, I will analyze some of these references in detail. I will start with patents related to core CDN functionality, load balancing, and content delivery, as these appear most foundational to the claims of US9456053. I will prioritize those that are explicitly mentioned in the description as being related to the underlying CDN architecture or key mechanisms.

Analysis of Most Relevant Prior Art for US Patent 9456053:

The independent claims of US9456053 primarily revolve around:

  1. Treating CDN internal data as web objects/resources (Claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 12).
  2. Processing executable resources/customer configuration scripts (Claims 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12).
  3. Adding a cache server to the CDN (Claims 5, 6).
  4. Request-response processing with GCO and CCS (Claims 11, 12).
  5. Load balancing and rendezvous mechanisms (implicitly through CDN operation).
  6. Distributed consensus for the control core (implicitly for consistency).

I will now evaluate specific prior art references mentioned within US9456053's detailed description, as these are often considered by the inventors and examiner to be highly relevant.

1. US Patent 7,822,871 B2: Configurable adaptive global traffic control and management

  • Full Citation: US 7,822,871 B2, Inventor(s): Dilley et al., Issued: October 26, 2010.
  • Publication/Filing Date: Filed: September 30, 2002.
  • Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for controlling global network traffic, particularly in a content delivery network, by collecting network state information and using it to generate response maps. These maps guide client requests to optimal server locations. It focuses on configurable, adaptive, and distributed traffic control, often leveraging the DNS system for rendezvous. The patent is directly cited in US9456053 for describing an exemplary rendezvous system 104 that uses and is integrated into the DNS system (Column 12, lines 16-20; Column 15, lines 5-9).
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
    • This patent primarily anticipates the underlying "rendezvous" or "server selection" aspects of a CDN, which are foundational to any content delivery system. While it does not explicitly describe treating all CDN internal data as web objects (Claims 1-4, 11-12) or the specific mechanisms for executable resources/customer scripts (Claims 3, 4, 7-10), it lays the groundwork for directing clients to "best" locations (Column 12, lines 10-14).
    • It generally describes the "rendezvous mechanism 104" which is a component of the CDN described in US9456053, and its function to direct client resource requests.
    • It could potentially anticipate parts of the broader CDN system described in Independent Claim 2, particularly the aspect of a CDN efficiently distributing resources. However, it does not disclose the specific element of the control core serving CDN-related data as web objects to cache servers.
    • It may generally anticipate the context in which a cache server would receive a request (as in Independent Claim 7), but not the specific mechanism of using Customer Configuration Scripts (CCS) as defined in US9456053.

2. US Patent 7,860,964 B2: Policy-based content delivery network selection

  • Full Citation: US 7,860,964 B2, Inventor(s): Chandra et al., Issued: December 28, 2010.
  • Publication/Filing Date: Filed: October 26, 2007.
  • Brief Description: This patent details a system and method for selecting a content delivery network (CDN) for serving content based on configurable policies. It allows content providers to define policies that influence which CDN (or server within a CDN) is chosen to deliver content to end-users, taking into account factors like network conditions, server load, and cost. Like US7822871, it's explicitly cited in US9456053 as describing an exemplary rendezvous system 104 (Column 12, lines 16-20; Column 15, lines 5-9).
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
    • Similar to US7822871, this patent focuses on the rendezvous and server selection aspect, particularly with the addition of policy-based decision making. It describes directing client requests to an "optimal" location (Column 12, lines 10-14).
    • It provides foundational elements for the overall CDN architecture and the mechanism of directing client requests, which is a prerequisite for US9456053's operations. However, it does not appear to disclose the core innovation of US9456053, which is treating CDN internal data as web objects or the use of executable resources/customer scripts for processing (Claims 1-4, 7-12).
    • It could provide context for the "policies" mentioned in the general operation of the CDN (e.g., Column 12, lines 27-28: "content provider policies, CDN policies, etc.") but does not explicitly disclose the implementation of such policies via Customer Configuration Scripts (CCSs) as cacheable, executable web objects.

3. US Patent 8,015,298 B2: Load-balancing cluster

  • Full Citation: US 8,015,298 B2, Inventor(s): Crowder et al., Issued: September 6, 2011.
  • Publication/Filing Date: Filed: February 23, 2009.
  • Brief Description: This patent describes a load-balancing cluster system designed for distributing incoming network traffic efficiently among multiple servers. It details how a routing mechanism within a cache cluster site can perform load balancing to direct data to one or more cache clusters or individual servers. US9456053 references this patent multiple times (Column 4, lines 43-46; Column 5, lines 34-37; Column 8, lines 40-45) as describing an exemplary "load-balancing cluster," "cache cluster site," or "cache." This patent helps define the physical and logical structure of cache sites and clusters.
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
    • This patent primarily anticipates the physical and logical organization of the cache infrastructure (cache cluster sites 202, cache clusters 204, routing mechanisms 206, 210, servers 208) as depicted in FIGS. 2-6 of US9456053.
    • It describes a "cache server site" as a "load-balancing cluster" (Column 4, lines 43-46), directly anticipating the physical setup where cache servers operate.
    • While it describes the structure of a cache server and how requests are routed, it does not disclose the specific mechanisms of treating all CDN internal data as web objects (Claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 12), the use of executable resources (Claims 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12), or the process of adding a new cache server that requests configuration data as web objects (Claims 5, 6). Its focus is on load balancing and the physical cluster, not the content of CDN internal communication or dynamic scripting.

4. US Patent Application Publication 2010/0332664 A1: Load-balancing cluster

  • Full Citation: US 2010/0332664 A1, Inventor(s): Crowder et al., Publication Date: December 30, 2010.
  • Publication/Filing Date: Filed: September 13, 2010.
  • Brief Description: This published application is also by Crowder et al. and shares the same title as US8015298, "Load-Balancing Cluster." It likely describes similar or further developments in load-balancing clusters for CDNs, detailing how traffic is distributed among servers in a cluster. It is also explicitly cited multiple times in US9456053 (Column 4, lines 43-46; Column 5, lines 34-37; Column 8, lines 40-45), indicating its relevance to the structural and operational aspects of cache clusters.
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
    • Being a related document to US8015298, it would similarly anticipate the architectural elements of cache clusters and load balancing within a CDN.
    • It would define how a cache cluster site operates and distributes load among its servers, which is a fundamental part of the CDN infrastructure (part of the system claims, like Claim 2).
    • However, it does not appear to disclose the distinct features of US9456053 related to internal CDN data as web objects, executable resources, or the specific cache server addition process using configuration objects (Claims 1-6, 7-12).

5. US Patent 6,185,598 B1: Server selection system and method

  • Full Citation: US 6,185,598 B1, Inventor(s): Dilley et al., Issued: February 6, 2001.
  • Publication/Filing Date: Filed: July 2, 1999.
  • Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for selecting an optimal server from a group of available servers to fulfill a client request. It uses performance and availability metrics to dynamically select the best server, aiming to improve content delivery efficiency. US9456053 cites this patent (Column 12, lines 20-24; Column 22, lines 32-35) in relation to the server selection mechanism that is part of or uses the DNS system.
  • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102):
    • This patent clearly anticipates the "server selection mechanism" (Column 12, lines 20-24) within a CDN, which is a component of the broader CDN system. It focuses on the intelligence behind directing client requests to the "best" or "optimal" server based on various metrics.
    • It contributes to the understanding of how clients are directed to CDN locations, which is a general CDN function.
    • However, it does not teach the specific treatment of CDN internal data as web objects, the use of executable resources/customer scripts for customized request processing, or the dynamic configuration of a new cache server using web objects (Claims 1-12). Its scope is limited to server selection for content delivery, not the internal operational model of the CDN.

Summary of Anticipation Analysis:

The prior art patents cited (US7822871, US7860964, US8015298, US2010/0332664 A1, US6185598) describe various aspects of content delivery networks, including:

  • Rendezvous and global traffic control
  • Policy-based CDN selection
  • Load-balancing clusters and cache site architecture
  • Server selection mechanisms

These references establish the foundational components and operations of a CDN, such as directing clients to optimal servers and managing cache infrastructure. Therefore, they could be considered to anticipate the broader context of a "Content Delivery Network" or "Cache Server" as generic terms, and the general goal of efficient content delivery.

However, based on their abstracts and descriptions (as cited within US9456053), none of these prior art documents explicitly disclose every element of the key inventive steps claimed in US9456053, which are:

  • Treating all data that is to be moved between CDN components as web objects or resources, with the control core acting as an origin tier for such objects, each having a URL and being subject to standard web operations (request, fill, invalidate, refresh). (Independent Claims 1, 2, 11, 12).
  • Processing executable resources (scripts) by an interpreter in the response path of the cache to generate the actual reply, and allowing CDN users to provide extensions via these executable resources. (Independent Claims 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12).
  • A method for adding a cache server to a CDN, where the new cache server registers with the control core and requests configuration data (including CDN-related web objects and CCSs) from the control core using web protocols. (Independent Claims 5, 6).

Therefore, while the cited prior art is highly relevant to the general field of CDNs and defines many of the component parts and their general functions, it does not appear to directly anticipate the specific novel combinations and functionalities claimed in US9456053 under 35 U.S.C. § 102 (anticipation requires every element of the claim to be found in a single prior art reference). These references would more likely be considered for obviousness challenges under 35 U.S.C. § 103, where combinations of prior art teachings could render the invention obvious. However, the request specifically asked for anticipation under § 102.

Generated 5/28/2026, 12:46:11 AM