How Load Balancers Route Web Traffic Based on Specific Content
A method for web servers to route user requests to specific machines based on which files they store, rather than just blindly balancing traffic across all servers.
Original patent title: “World-wide-web server with delayed resource-binding for resource-based load balancing on a distributed resource multi-node network”
A method for web servers to route user requests to specific machines based on which files they store, rather than just blindly balancing traffic across all servers. Granted to Resonate Inc in 1998 with 19 claims and 1,148 forward citations, and it is now in the public domain.
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This patent describes a system where a central load balancer acts as a gatekeeper for a website. Instead of mirroring every file on every server, the system distributes specific resources across different nodes. When a user requests a file, the load balancer intercepts the request, reads the URL to see exactly what is being asked for, and then routes the connection to a server that actually holds that specific file. Once the connection is handed off, the chosen server sends the data directly back to the user, bypassing the load balancer to prevent network bottlenecks.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover systems where every server contains an identical copy of all website resources (full mirroring).
- Does not cover load balancing methods that assign servers based solely on CPU load or round-robin traffic distribution without inspecting the requested URL.
- Does not cover systems where the load balancer remains in the data path for the entire duration of the file transfer.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
Key facts
What made this novel
The system delays the load balancing decision until after the URL is parsed, allowing the network to make an intelligent routing choice based on content location rather than just network capacity.
The Patent Drawing
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
Modern content delivery networks (CDNs)
Distributed web server clusters
Enterprise load balancing appliances
Why it matters
The bigger picture
This technology was essential for the early scaling of the World Wide Web. By allowing web hosts to partition content across cheaper, specialized servers rather than requiring massive, fully-mirrored server clusters, it made hosting large, complex websites economically viable during the late 1990s dot-com boom.
Filed
August 5, 1996
Granted
June 30, 1998
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Major cloud infrastructure providers like AWS, Google Cloud, and Cloudflare have evolved these concepts into sophisticated global traffic management systems. The original assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →, Resonate, was a pioneer in this space, and these fundamental principles of content-aware routing remain standard in modern load balancing software like Nginx or HAProxy.
Market impact
This patent helped define the architecture for distributed web hosting. It moved the industry away from simple 'round-robin' DNS balancing toward intelligent, application-aware traffic management, which is now a foundational requirement for any high-traffic website.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent describes a system where a central load balancer acts as a gatekeeper for a website. Instead of mirroring every file on every server, the system distributes specific resources across different nodes. When a user requests a file, the load balancer intercepts the request, reads the URL to see exactly what is being asked for, and then routes the connection to a server that actually holds that specific file. Once the connection is handed off, the chosen server sends the data directly back to the user, bypassing the load balancer to prevent network bottlenecks.
The clever bit
The system delays the load balancing decision until after the URL is parsed, allowing the network to make an intelligent routing choice based on content location rather than just network capacity.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover systems where every server contains an identical copy of all website resources (full mirroring).
- Does not cover load balancing methods that assign servers based solely on CPU load or round-robin traffic distribution without inspecting the requested URL.
- Does not cover systems where the load balancer remains in the data path for the entire duration of the file transfer.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
Patent enters public domain
This patent is in the public domain
See the Freedom to Build guide — what is free to use, what is not, and how to cite this patent.
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Moderate
Citation count
40/40
Highly cited
Claim breadth
13/20
Broad claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
0/20
Older than 20 years
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$82K – $262K
Midpoint $164K · expired or expiring · industry ×1.4
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
Patent Claims
0 independent claims · 1 dependent
Claims are the legal boundaries of the patent. An independent claim stands alone. A dependent claim adds limitations to its parent, narrowing — but not broadening — the scope.
The original legal language
Original claims
19 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Marino, C. C., Liu, Z., Brendel, J., & Kring, C. J. (1998). How Load Balancers Route Web Traffic Based on Specific Content (U.S. Patent No. 5,774,660). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/5774660/world-wide-web-server-with-delayed-resource-binding-for-resource-based-load-balancing-on-a-distributed-resource-multi-node-network
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Load Balancers Route Web Traffic Based on Specific Content cover?
A method for web servers to route user requests to specific machines based on which files they store, rather than just blindly balancing traffic across all servers.
Who owns patent US 5774660?
Resonate Inc owns this patent, granted in 1998.
When does this patent expire?
This patent has expired and is now in the public domain — anyone can use the invention freely.
What is patent US 5774660 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 1148 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
This technology was essential for the early scaling of the World Wide Web. By allowing web hosts to partition content across cheaper, specialized servers rather than requiring massive, fully-mirrored server clusters, it made hosting large, complex websites economically viable during the late 1990s dot-com boom.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover systems where every server contains an identical copy of all website resources (full mirroring).
Patent monitoring