Patent ID: 7656799

Claim:
A method for more efficiently utilizing network bandwidth for a plurality of sessions between a client and a server traversing a sender-side flow control module and a receiver-side flow control module, the method comprising the steps of: (a) identifying, by a receiver flow control module, a network bandwidth between the receiver flow control module and a sender flow control module; (b) receiving, by the sender flow control module from the receiver flow control module, responsive to a request by the sender flow control module a first transmission rate limit for a first session between a client and a server traversing the receiver flow control module and the sender flow control module, the receiver flow control module in communication with the client and intermediary to the client and the sender flow control module and the sender flow control module in communication with the server and intermediary to the server and the receiver flow control module; (c) transmitting, by the sender flow control module, to the receiver flow control module data packets from the server to the client via the first session at a transmission rate limited by the first transmission rate limit; (d) receiving, by the sender flow control module from the receiver flow control module, a second transmission rate limit for a second session to the server via the receiver flow control module and the sender flow control module; (e) allocating, by the receiver flow control module, the network bandwidth between the first session and the second session based on the first transmission rate limit and the second transmission rate limit and (f) transmitting, by the sender flow control module, to the receiver flow control module data packets from the server via the second session at a transmission rate in accordance with the allocated network bandwidth of the second session.