Patent ID: 8924466

Claim:
A content delivery method for distributing objects maintained on at least one origin server via a content delivery network (CDN), the method comprising: providing a plurality of servers in the CDN, wherein each of the plurality of servers is distinct from the at least one origin server, the plurality of servers comprising a plurality of edge servers and a plurality of parent servers; directing a request by a client for an object to a first edge server in the CDN, regardless of whether the first edge server has the requested object, wherein said first edge server was selected based at least in part on network traffic conditions; if the first edge server has the requested object, serving the requested object to the client from the first edge server; otherwise, sending the client a response that causes the client to be redirected to a second server in the CDN to handle the request, wherein the second server comprises a parent server of the first edge server; and receiving, at the second server, a second request for the object from the client and serving the requested object to the client from the second server, wherein if a copy of the requested object is not stored on the second server, directing the client to another server in the CDN.