Patent ID: 7359986

Claim:
A method for prioritizing a server's responses to HTTP requests received via a computer network from a client, the method comprising: defining a policy object at the server specifying one or more conditions for receiving priority treatment and specifying one or more flows; receiving notice of an HTTP request of the client; determining that the HTTP request satisfies the one or more conditions specified in the policy object; upon determining that the HTTP request satisfies the one or more conditions, creating a traffic control filter for said request, wherein the traffic control filter is associated with the request and is assigned to one of the one or more flows specified in the policy object, wherein the traffic control filter is generated in response to determining that the HTTP request satisfies the one or more conditions; upon generating the traffic control filter, generating a response to the request comprising one or more packets, each packet being associated with the traffic control filter of the request to which the packet is responsive; and transmitting the one or more packets based on a predefined flow discipline, wherein the packets are prioritized and are processed and transmitted based on the flow to which the traffic control filter is assigned.