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Microsoft patents routing web traffic using time zone data

Patent drawing from the official filing.

Microsoft describes a method where a domain name system (DNS) checks the time zone of a user's device to find the fastest server connection. Instead of relying solely on IP addresses, the system uses the time zone as a clue to locate the nearest service endpoint. This helps direct web requests to servers that are likely to have lower latency for that specific region.

Why it mattersThis is a routine improvement to how internet traffic is managed, aiming to slightly speed up connections by using basic location hints rather than complex mapping.

In the filing’s own words

A DNS request is received from a requesting computing system at a DNS service. The DNS service serves the DNS request by identifying a service endpoint that is closest to the requesting computing system in terms of latency, based on a time zone in which the requesting computing system is located.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A computer implemented method, comprising: receiving, at a domain name system (DNS), a request from a computing system to access a hosted service; identifying a routing characteristic of the computing system indicative of a time zone where the computing system is located; and routing the request to a service endpoint based on the routing characteristic.

Facts

Company: Microsoft (Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC)
Official title: ROUTING NETWORK TRAFFIC USING TIME ZONE INFORMATION
Publication number: US20260322895A1
Application number: 18998773
Filed: Aug 9, 2022
Published: Oct 15, 2026
Inventors: 6
Claims: 20

Classified under

H04L 67/63 Electricity & electronicsH04L 45/121 Electricity & electronicsH04L 61/4511 Electricity & electronicsH04L 67/52 Electricity & electronics

Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.