SOFTWARE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE TIMING OF DELAYED DOWNLOADS

A system for accepting a specification of a time interval during which a download is to be performed on a delayed basis is described. The system can also select a time within the specified period. The selection can be randomized with the aim of distributing the load placed on computer and communication resources, or the selection may be based on testing a number of measures of computer and communication resource availability, and selecting a time of low utilization. A fuzzy measure of resource availability can be obtained, e.g., as a weighted sum of multiple measures, or each measure can be tested against a limit separately. According to another aspect of the invention a system and computer readable medium is disclosed for carrying out the above method.