Patent ID: 7117262
Filing Date: 2006-10-03
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for managing content caches distributed on a network, comprising the steps of: in response to a first request, via a first network access provider, for particular content wherein the particular content is served from a first server cache at a first location on the network, creating at the first server a first activity record corresponding to the first request; in response to a second request, via a second network access provider, for the particular content wherein the particular content is served from a second server cache at a second location on the network that is a different location from the first location, creating at the second server a second activity record corresponding to the second request; receiving from the first server, at a gateway to the first network access provider network, a first set of activity records that contain statistics about requests for content that resides in caches at a plurality of locations wherein the first set of activity records includes the first activity record; receiving from the second server, at a gateway to the second network access provider network, a second set of activity records that contain statistics about requests for content that resides in caches at a plurality of locations, wherein the second set of activity records includes the second activity record; forwarding the set of activity records to a cooperative gateway server managed by a cooperative of network service providers, wherein the cooperative of network service providers comprises (a) the first and second access providers, (b) distribution network owners associated with the first and second servers, and (c) content hosting providers associated with content publishers; the cooperative gateway server collating the set of activity records based on which content publisher provided the content associated with each respective activity record; forwarding collated activity records to respective content hosting providers associated with respective content publishers; and providing, to each of a plurality of content publishers whose content is distributed in various caches on the network, statistics based on activity records and the corresponding requests for content provided by the content publisher so that the plurality of content publishers can monitor the overall number of accesses to their respective content regardless of the content cache location.