Patent ID: 8201164

Claim:
At a regulation service in a computerized environment, the regulation service being configured to distribute software content in the form of one or more software packages to one or more client computer systems, a method of the regulation service managing distribution of the software content so that network traffic is minimized, comprising the acts of: identifying one or more software packages to be delivered to one or more computer systems over a network, wherein the one or more software packages are separated into priority levels; identifying at least an acceptance rate for each of the one or more software packages; exposing a web service for receiving requests from one or more computer systems for any of the one or more software packages and for transmitting responses to the requests to the one or more computer systems, wherein requests received by the web service and responses transmitted by the web service are secured using transport layer security (TLS); receiving, via the web service, one or more requests, from an internet gateway device (IGD) that provides internet access to one or more computer systems, for any of the one or more software packages, the one or more requests being secured using TLS, wherein the request includes IGD information that specifies the number of computer systems to which the internet gateway device provides internet access, and the internet bandwidth of the IGD; based on the IGD information, determining bandwidth usage limitations for the one or more computer systems that connect to the internet through the IGD that will govern the one or more computer systems' access to the one or more software packages; and sending, via the web service, to the IGD one or more responses that include the identified acceptance rate for each of the requested software packages as well as the bandwidth usage limitations, the one or more responses being secured using TLS, and wherein the IGD modifies the acceptance rate for at least one of the requested software packages and forwards the acceptance rate for each of the requested software packages, including the modified acceptance rate for the at least one of the requested software packages, to the one or more computer systems, and wherein the bandwidth usage limitations instruct the IGD to limit a particular computer system's maximum bandwidth utilization while downloading one of the one or more software packages.