Methods and apparatus for content caching in a video network
First Claim
1. A computerized method of operating a content delivery network, the method comprising:
- receiving a plurality of digitally rendered video content in a first format from a content source;
receiving data representative of a plurality of requests for individual ones of the plurality of digitally rendered video content in at least one second format from individual ones of a plurality of users of the content delivery network;
utilizing the data to determine one or more predicted patterns of behavior relating to interactions of the individual ones of the plurality of users with respect to the individual ones of the plurality of digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format; and
determining time periods based at least in part on the one or more predicted patterns of behavior with respect to the individual ones of the plurality of digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format, a first one of the time periods comprising a time within which the individual ones of the plurality of digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format are cached in a storage apparatus, and a second one of the time periods comprising a time within which the individual ones of the plurality of digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format are not cached, the first and the second ones of the time periods configured not to overlap; and
delivering at least one of the individual ones of the plurality of digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format to the individual ones of the plurality of users of the content delivery network.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for selectively caching (and de-caching) video content in network so as to reduce content transformation requirements and also cache storage requirements. In one embodiment, a content caching controller associated with a content server differentiates content requests based on content attributes such as the requested codec format (e.g., MPEG or Windows Media), resolution, bitrate, and/or encryption type or security environment. If the content requested by a user is not available with the requested attribute(s), the content server transfers to content to the user by first transforming it. The content server also speculatively caches the transformed content locally, so that a future request for the same content with the same attributes can be filled by transferring without the intermediate transformation step. The controller allows the network operator to optimize use of available storage and transcoding resources.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A computerized method of operating a content delivery network, the method comprising:
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receiving a plurality of digitally rendered video content in a first format from a content source; receiving data representative of a plurality of requests for individual ones of the plurality of digitally rendered video content in at least one second format from individual ones of a plurality of users of the content delivery network; utilizing the data to determine one or more predicted patterns of behavior relating to interactions of the individual ones of the plurality of users with respect to the individual ones of the plurality of digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format; and determining time periods based at least in part on the one or more predicted patterns of behavior with respect to the individual ones of the plurality of digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format, a first one of the time periods comprising a time within which the individual ones of the plurality of digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format are cached in a storage apparatus, and a second one of the time periods comprising a time within which the individual ones of the plurality of digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format are not cached, the first and the second ones of the time periods configured not to overlap; and delivering at least one of the individual ones of the plurality of digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format to the individual ones of the plurality of users of the content delivery network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. Computerized network apparatus configured for use in a managed content distribution network, the computerized network apparatus comprising:
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server apparatus comprising; processor apparatus; first network interface apparatus in data communication with the processor apparatus configured to communicate with a content source; second network interface apparatus in data communication with the processor apparatus configured to communicate with a plurality of computerized client devices via at least one or more digital data communication channels of the managed content distribution network; and storage apparatus in data communication with the processor apparatus, the storage apparatus comprising at least one computer program configured to, when executed on the processor apparatus; receive, via the first network interface, digitally rendered video content in a first format from the content source; and receive, via the second network interface, data representative of a plurality of requests for the digitally rendered video content in at least one second format from individual ones of the plurality of computerized client devices; and cause delivery of the digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format to the individual ones of the plurality of computerized client devices; and controller apparatus operatively communicating with the server apparatus, the controller apparatus configured to; receive the data representative of the requests; utilize the received data to perform one or more computerized calculations, the computerized calculations calculating one or more predicted patterns of behavior relating to interactions of the individual ones of the plurality of computerized client devices with respect to the digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format; and determine at least one time period based at least in part on the one or more predicted patterns of behavior, a first one of the at least one time period comprising a time period within which the digitally rendered video content is to be cached in the at least one second format in a content data cache. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. Computer readable apparatus comprising a non-transitory storage medium, the non-transitory medium comprising at least one computer program having a plurality of instructions, the instructions configured to, when executed on a processing apparatus:
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receive digital video content rendered in a first format from a content source; receive data representative of a plurality of requests for the digitally rendered video content in at least one second format, the plurality of request each initiated by a user associated with a respective one of a plurality of computerized client devices in data communication with a content delivery network; utilize the received data to algorithmically determine one or more predicted patterns of behavior relating to interactions of the computerized client devices with respect to the digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format, the one or more predicted patterns comprising one or more temporal components or aspects; determine, based at least in part on the one or more temporal components or aspects, a first time period within which the digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format should be speculatively cached in a data cache; cause caching of the digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format; during the first time period, receive a request from one of the computerized client devices for the digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format; and in response to the received request, deliver the digitally rendered video content in the at least one second format to the one computerized client device via the content delivery network from at least the data cache. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification