How Amazon Optimizes Website Loading Speeds by Managing Domain Requests
A system that tests different ways to distribute website resources across multiple domains to find the fastest way to load a webpage for users.
Original patent title: “Monitoring domain allocation performance”
A system that tests different ways to distribute website resources across multiple domains to find the fastest way to load a webpage for users. Granted to Amazon Technologies Inc in 2011 with 49 claims and 123 forward citations.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
When a web browser loads a page, it fetches many 'embedded resources' like images, scripts, and stylesheets. This patent describes a system that monitors how long these resources take to load from different domains. It then tests various 'domain allocations'—essentially deciding which files should come from which server address—to see which configuration is fastest. By analyzing performance data like bandwidth and connection limits, the system dynamically recommends the best way to group these resources to ensure the page loads as quickly as possible for the user.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover general website caching techniques that do not involve testing multiple domain allocations.
- Does not cover hardware-based load balancing that operates purely at the network layer without client-side performance feedback.
- Does not cover methods for optimizing server-side database queries or backend application logic.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The system doesn't just guess the best configuration; it actively performs 'A/B testing' of domain assignments in the background to empirically measure which specific distribution of resources performs best under real-world network conditions.
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
Amazon CloudFront
Modern Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
Dynamic web performance monitoring tools
Why it matters
The bigger picture
This technology is fundamental to modern Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). By automating the 'domain sharding' process, it allows large-scale web platforms to bypass browser limitations on simultaneous connections, significantly reducing latency and improving the user experience for complex, media-heavy websites.
Filed
September 29, 2008
Granted
April 19, 2011
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Amazon Web Services (AWS) continues to integrate these principles into its CloudFront CDN service. Major cloud infrastructure providers and performance monitoring firms like Akamai and Cloudflare also utilize similar logic for optimizing resource delivery.
Market impact
This patent helped formalize the automated optimization of web asset delivery, moving the industry away from manual 'domain sharding' hacks toward intelligent, data-driven resource management. It became a core component of the infrastructure that allows global e-commerce sites to maintain high performance despite increasing page complexity.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
When a web browser loads a page, it fetches many 'embedded resources' like images, scripts, and stylesheets. This patent describes a system that monitors how long these resources take to load from different domains. It then tests various 'domain allocations'—essentially deciding which files should come from which server address—to see which configuration is fastest. By analyzing performance data like bandwidth and connection limits, the system dynamically recommends the best way to group these resources to ensure the page loads as quickly as possible for the user.
The clever bit
The system doesn't just guess the best configuration; it actively performs 'A/B testing' of domain assignments in the background to empirically measure which specific distribution of resources performs best under real-world network conditions.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover general website caching techniques that do not involve testing multiple domain allocations.
- Does not cover hardware-based load balancing that operates purely at the network layer without client-side performance feedback.
- Does not cover methods for optimizing server-side database queries or backend application logic.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
High impact
Citation count
40/40
Highly cited
Claim breadth
20/20
Very broad protection
Recency
5/20
Granted 10–20 years ago
Assignee scale
20/20
Major company or institution
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
$307K – $983K
Midpoint $614K · 2.3 yr remaining · industry ×1.6
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
49 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Baumback, M. S., Bettis, D. W., & Jenkins, J. A. (2011). How Amazon Optimizes Website Loading Speeds by Managing Domain Requests (U.S. Patent No. 7,930,393). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7930393/amazon-cloudfront-cdn
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 Amazon Optimizes Website Loading Speeds by Managing Domain Requests cover?
A system that tests different ways to distribute website resources across multiple domains to find the fastest way to load a webpage for users.
Who owns patent US 7930393?
Amazon Technologies Inc owns this patent, granted in 2011.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on April 19, 2031, when the invention enters the public domain.
What is patent US 7930393 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 123 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
This technology is fundamental to modern Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). By automating the 'domain sharding' process, it allows large-scale web platforms to bypass browser limitations on simultaneous connections, significantly reducing latency and improving the user experience for complex, media-heavy websites.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover general website caching techniques that do not involve testing multiple domain allocations.
Same assignee
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