Streamlined delivery of video content

• US 10,218,756 B2
• Filed: 01/06/2012
• Issued: 02/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Chen, Joseph Yongxiang
• Primary Examiner(s): Giddins, Nelson
• Application Number:
  US13/344,674
• Publication Number:
  US 20130179541A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,608 Days
• Field of Search: 709219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/222 Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23106 involving caching operations prefetching while addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means within memory systems or architectures G06F12/0862; caching at an intermediate stage in a data network H04L67/568
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments

Abstract

A content delivery server may provide content to a requesting client device using a streamlined HTTP enhancement proxy delivery technique. For example, an HTTP proxy server may receive a request for video content or a fragment of video content from a client device. The request may be associated with a timeout scheduled to occur if no content has been received after a specified amount of time. The server may then transmit a request for the content to a remote server, such as an upstream cache server in the proxy server'"'"'s CDN. When the proxy server receives a portion of the requested content from the remote server, the proxy server begins transmitting the portion to the client device before the requested content has been completely received and buffered. The client device may then begin receiving data from the proxy server before timeout has occurred.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device and from a user device, a first request for a content fragment;

based on a determination that a first portion of the content fragment is stored locally in the computing device, transmitting, by the computing device and to the user device, the first portion of the content fragment;

transmitting, by the computing device and to a server device, a second request for a second portion of the content fragment, wherein the first portion of the content fragment and the second portion of the content fragment are different portions of the content fragment;

determining, prior to receiving an entirety of the second portion of the content fragment from the server device, that a buffer, of the computing device, is filled;

transmitting, by the computing device and to the user device, and based on the determining that the buffer is filled, an initial received portion of the second portion of the content fragment, from the filled buffer; and

transmitting, by the computing device and to the user device, and after transmitting the initial received portion, an additional received portion of the second portion of the content fragment, wherein the initial received portion and the additional received portion are different portions of the second portion of the content fragment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the content fragment corresponds to a fragment of video content.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first request for the content fragment comprises a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) request for the content fragment,

wherein the HTTP request comprises a timeout value indicating a time period after transmission of the request at which a timeout may occur, and

wherein the transmitting the additional received portion of the content fragment comprises transmitting the additional received portion of the content fragment in advance of the timeout.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting the second request comprises transmitting the second request via a service router.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the server device based on a search of a cache server device index.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the determining the server device comprises determining the server device based on a uniform resource identifier extracted from the first request.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the determining the server device comprises determining the server device based on a uniform resource identifier prefix extracted from the first request.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting, by the computing device and to the user device, the first portion of the content fragment comprises opening a network protocol session with the user device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the transmitting the additional received portion comprises transmitting the additional received portion based on non-receipt of an end of transmission indicator of the second portion.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting, from a plurality of servers and based on a factor, the server device to which the second request is transmitted,

wherein the factor comprises processing capability of the server device, or a length of a physical connection between the server device and the computing device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first request comprises address information identifying the content fragment, and

the method further comprising:

selecting, from a plurality of servers, the server device to which the second request is transmitted, wherein the server device possesses a longest match of the address information.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting the additional received portion of the second portion of the content fragment comprises:

determining, by the computing device and based on flag data associated with an index of the additional received portion of the second portion of the content fragment, whether part of the additional received portion of the second portion of the content fragment has been received by the computing device.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a buffer configured to store data;

one or more processors; and

memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to;

receive, from a user device, a first request for a content fragment;

determine that a first portion of the content fragment is stored locally in the apparatus;

transmit, to the user device, the first portion of the content fragment;

receive, from a server device, a second portion of the content fragment, wherein the first portion of the content fragment and the second portion of the content fragment are different portions of the content fragment;

store a portion of the second portion of the content fragment in the buffer;

prior to the apparatus receiving an entirety of the second portion of the content fragment from the server device and based on determining that the buffer is full, transmit, to the user device and from the full buffer, the portion of the second portion of the content fragment;

determine whether an end of transmission indicator, of the second portion of the content fragment, has been received; and

based on determining that the end of transmission indicator has not been received, transmit, to the user device, at least one additional portion of the second portion of the content fragment.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first request comprises a timeout, and wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to transmit the portion of the second portion of the content fragment in advance of the timeout.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:

determine whether the second portion of the content fragment is stored in the apparatus, and

based on determining that the second portion of the content fragment is not stored in the apparatus, transmit, to the server device, a second request for the second portion of the content fragment.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to determine the server device based on a search of a cache server device index.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to determine the server device based on a uniform resource identifier extracted from the first request.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to determine the server device based on a uniform resource identifier prefix extracted from the first request.

19. A system comprising:

a user device; and

a server device, wherein the server device comprises;

a buffer configured to store data;

one or more processors; and

memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the server device to;

receive, from the user device, a request for a content fragment;

determine that a first portion of the content fragment is stored locally in the server device;

transmit, to the user device, the first portion of the content fragment;

receive, from a second server device, a second portion of the content fragment, wherein the first portion of the content fragment and the second portion of the content fragment are different portions of the content fragment;

store a portion of the second portion of the content fragment in the buffer;

prior to the server device receiving an entirety of the second portion of the content fragment from the second server device, and based on determining that the buffer is full, transmit, to the user device and from the full buffer, the portion of the second portion of the content fragment;

determine whether an end of transmission indicator, of the second portion of the content fragment, has been received; and

based on determining that the end of transmission indicator has not been received, transmit, to the user device, at least one additional portion of the second portion of the content fragment; and

wherein the user device comprises;

one or more processors; and

memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of the user device, cause the user device to;

send the request for the content fragment; and

receive the first portion of the content fragment, the portion of the second portion of the content fragment, and the at least one additional portion of the second portion of the content fragment.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the memory of the server device stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of the server device, cause the server device to:

determine that the second portion of the content fragment is not locally stored in the server device; and

transmit, to the second server device and based on determining that the second portion of the content fragment is not locally stored, a request for the second portion of the content fragment.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the request for the content fragment comprises a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) request for the content fragment,

wherein the HTTP request comprises a timeout value indicating a time period after transmission of the HTTP request at which a timeout may occur, and

wherein the instructions stored in the memory of the server device, when executed by the one or more processors of the server device, cause the server device to transmit the portion of the second portion of the content fragment in advance of the timeout.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the instructions stored in the memory of the server device, when executed by the one or more processors of the server device, cause the server device to determine the second sever device based on a search of a cache server device index.