Resource measurement and management

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11323337-B2
Application number	US-201113245897-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 27, 2011
Priority date	Sep 27, 2011
Publication date	May 3, 2022
Grant date	May 3, 2022

Abstract

Aspects of the disclosure relate to measuring and managing data traffic in one or more networks. In some embodiments, a monitor may measure the traffic at one or more locations within the network(s) or devices associated therewith to determine whether the traffic exceeds a threshold. When the traffic exceeds the threshold, one or more actions may be taken, such as issuing or transmitting a command or directive. The command or directive may advise a device or an application to throttle or reduce an input or stimulus responsible for generating the traffic. In some embodiments, a throttling may be effectuated to reduce the data traffic.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
receiving, from one or more first computing devices, a plurality of responses to an initial portion of interactive content sent by one or more second computing devices, wherein the plurality of responses comprises indications of user selections associated with the initial portion of the interactive content; and
sending, to the one or more second computing devices and based on determining that a rate at which the plurality of responses was received satisfies a threshold metric, a message that causes the one or more second computing devices to reduce a rate at which the one or more second computing devices send a further portion of the interactive content.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the message causes the one or more second computing devices to stop sending the further portion of the interactive content for a period of time.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising: determining a classification for the plurality of responses to the initial portion of the interactive content, and wherein determining that the rate at which the plurality of responses was received satisfies the threshold metric is based on the classification.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving one or more radio frequency (RF) signals;
demodulating the one or more RF signals to obtain the plurality of responses; and
determining one or more payloads from the plurality of responses, wherein the rate at which the plurality of responses was received satisfies the threshold metric based on the one or more payloads.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the initial portion of the interactive content comprises content for an interactive gaming session, wherein the plurality of responses comprises indications of user selections associated with the interactive gaming session.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:
after sending the message, receiving, from the one or more first computing devices, an additional plurality of responses to the further portion of the interactive content; and
based on determining that an additional rate at which the additional plurality of responses was received does not satisfy an additional threshold metric, sending, to the one or more second computing devices, another message that causes the reduced rate of sending of the further portion of the interactive content to expire.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more first computing devices comprises a plurality of first computing devices, and wherein the message causes:
reducing, by the one or more second computing devices, the rate at which the one or more second computing devices send the further portion of the interactive content to the plurality of first computing devices by at least:
sending the further portion of the interactive content only to a first subset of the plurality of first computing devices during a first time period, and
sending the further portion of the interactive content only to a second subset of the plurality of first computing devices during a second time period.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: based on determining that the rate at which the plurality of responses was received satisfies the threshold metric, presenting a selectable option to remove the further portion of the interactive content from the one or more first computing devices.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more first computing devices are located at a user location, wherein the one or more second computing devices are located at a service provider location, and wherein the method further comprises:
monitoring, by one or more third computing devices that are located at the service provider location, a channel associated with an ALOHA communication or a frequency associated with the ALOHA communication, wherein the monitoring comprises the receiving of the plurality of responses.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the interactive content comprises one of advertising content, an interactive program guide, a television program, an advertisement, an instant message, an e-mail, an audio track, or a text file.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of responses comprise interactions with the interactive content.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
sending, to the one or more first computing devices and based on determining that the rate at which the plurality of responses was received satisfies the threshold metric, data that causes the one or more first computing devices to remove an option enabling selection of the interactive content.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the message further causes the one or more second computing devices to remove interactive features from the further portion of the interactive content.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the message further causes the one or more second computing devices to adjust a frequency of interactive features in the further portion of the interactive content.

15. An apparatus comprising:
one or more processors; and
memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:
receive, from one or more first computing devices, a plurality of responses to an initial portion of interactive content sent by one or more second computing devices, wherein the plurality of responses comprises indications of user selections associated with the initial portion of the interactive content; and
send, to the one or more second computing devices and based on determining that a rate at which the plurality of responses was received satisfies a threshold metric, a message that causes the one or more second computing devices to reduce a rate at which the one or more second computing devices sends a further portion of the interactive content to the one or more first computing devices.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to:
after sending the message, receive, from the one or more first computing devices, an additional plurality of responses to the further portion of the interactive content; and
based on determining that an additional rate at which the additional plurality of responses was received does not satisfy an additional threshold metric, send, to the one or more second computing devices, another message that causes the reduced rate of sending of the further portion of the interactive content to expire.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to: send, to the one or more first computing devices and based on determining that the rate at which the plurality of responses was received satisfies the threshold metric, data that causes the one or more first computing devices to remove an option enabling selection of the interactive content.

18. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the message causes the one or more second computing devices to stop sending the further portion of the interactive content for a period of time.

19. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to:
determine a classification for the responses to the initial portion of the interactive content, and wherein determining that the rate at which the plurality of responses was received satisfies the threshold metric is based on the classification.

20. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when ex

Assignees

• Cook Michael J
• Comcast Cable Comm Llc

Inventors

• Cook Michael J

Classifications

• H04L47/26

  using explicit feedback to the source, e.g. choke packets · CPC title

• G06Q30/02

  Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising · CPC title

• H04N21/64723

  Monitoring of network processes or resources, e.g. monitoring of network load (traffic related reporting in data switching networks H04L43/062) · CPC title

• H04L41/5025 Primary

  by proactively reacting to service quality change, e.g. by reconfiguration after service quality degradation or upgrade · CPC title

• H04L43/0882

  Utilisation of link capacity · CPC title