Patent ID: 7693959

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of delivering text, graphics, images, downloads, audio or video on behalf of multiple content providers, comprising: operating content delivery network (CDN) content servers in multiple locations, each location with connectivity to one or more networks; operating multiple CDN name servers; receiving a first domain name service (DNS) query at a first CDN name server, the first DNS query including a data string of the form “string 1 string 2 string 3 ”, where: string 3 is a generic top level domain (gTLD), string 2 is separated from string 3 by a period and is a name maintained by a service provider that operates the CDN content servers and the CDN name servers, and string 1 is separated from string 2 by a period and comprises one or more sub-strings, where each sub-string is comprised of one of: letters, numbers, and combinations of letters and numbers, and any pair of sub-strings in string 1 are separated by a period; having the first CDN name server respond to the first DNS query by sending a response that includes a first set of one or more IP addresses, where a first end user request for content directed to one of the IP addresses of the first set causes the service provider to deliver the content to a first end user from a first CDN content server; receiving a second DNS query at a second CDN name server, the second DNS query also including the same data string that is received by the first CDN name server; and having the second CDN name server respond to the second DNS query by sending a response that includes a second set of one or more IP addresses, wherein a second end user request for content directed to one of the IP addresses of the second set causes the service provider to deliver the content to a second end user from a second CDN content server; the second set of one or more IP addresses differing from the first set of one or more IP addresses based on where the first and second DNS queries originate.