Control plane architecture for multicast cache-fill

• US 10,327,012 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2017
• Issued: 06/18/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Salinger, Jorge, Mao, Weidong
• Primary Examiner(s): Adhami, Mohammad S
• Application Number:
  US15/604,110
• Publication Number:
  US 20180048918A1
• Time in Patent Office: 755 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/44 for identifying broadcast stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2433 Allocation of priorities to traffic types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1014 based on the content of a request
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1021 based on client or server locations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21 Server components or server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2343 involving reformatting operations of video signals for distribution or compliance with end-user requests or end-user device requirements video transcoding H04N19/40; media packet handling at the source H04L65/762
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2368 Multiplexing of audio and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2389 Multiplex stream processing, e.g. multiplex stream encrypting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/24 Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. monitoring of server load, available bandwidth, upstream requests monitoring of server performance or load G06F11/34; arrangements for observation, testing or troubleshooting for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/266 Channel or content management, e.g. generation and management of keys and entitlement messages in a conditional access system, merging a VOD unicast channel into a multicast channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4353 involving decryption of additional data arrangements using cryptography for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/23
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 Unicasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/643 Communication protocols network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP], H04L65/65
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64723 : Monitoring of network processes or resources, e.g. monitoring of network load traffic related reporting in data switching networks H04L43/062
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A multicast content delivery system can use both multicast and unicast streams to efficiently use available bandwidth to deliver content. Available multicast content can be identified to gateways serving consumption devices, and the gateways can receive requests for unicast content deliver, but honor the requests with multicast group sessions.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a first computing device and from a second computing device, a first request for content, the first request comprising a multicast source address field and a multicast group identifier field;

determining whether the content is already being sent by the first computing device via a logical connection;

determining, using the multicast group identifier field and after determining that the content is not already being sent by the first computing device via the logical connection, a bitrate of the content;

determining a capacity of the first computing device;

after determining that the capacity is large enough to support the bitrate;

establishing the logical connection between the first computing device and the second computing device, and

requesting the content;

informing, by the first computing device, the second computing device of where to find the logical connection and how to decrypt the logical connection; and

sending, by the first computing device and via the logical connection, the content.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first request comprises an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) multicast source and a group identifier.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from a third computing device, a second request for the content; and

informing the third computing device to use the logical connection for receiving the content.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first computing device comprises a termination system (TS), the second computing device comprises a gateway device, and the third computing device comprises a different gateway device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the first request comprises receiving, by the first computing device, the first request as a PacketCable Multimedia (PCMM) message.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending, after determining that the capacity is not large enough to support the bitrate and to the second computing device, an indication indicating that the logical connection between the first computing device and the second computing device will not be established.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the first computing device and from the second computing device, a request for second content, the request for the second content comprising a second multicast source address field and a second multicast group identifier field;

informing, after determining that the second content is already being sent by the first computing device via the logical connection, the second computing device of where to find the logical connection and how to decrypt the logical connection; and

sending, via the logical connection, the second content.

6. A first computing device comprising:

one or more processors; and

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

receive, from a second computing device, a first request for content, the first request comprising a multicast source address field and a multicast group identifier field;

determine whether the content is already being sent by the first computing device via a logical connection;

determine, using the multicast group identifier field and after determining that the content is not already being sent by the first computing device via the logical connection, a bitrate of the content;

determining a capacity of the first computing device;

after determining that the capacity is large enough to support the bitrate;

establish the logical connection between the first computing device and the second computing device, and

request the content;

inform the second computing device of where to find the logical connection and how to decrypt the logical connection; and

send, via the logical connection, the content.

7. The first computing device of claim 6, wherein the first request comprises an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) multicast source and a group identifier.

8. The first computing device of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the first computing device to:

receive, from a third computing device, a second request for the content; and

inform the third computing device to use the logical connection for receiving the content.

9. The first computing device of claim 8, wherein the first computing device comprises a termination system (TS), the second computing device comprises a gateway device, and the third computing device comprises a different gateway device.

10. The first computing device of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the first computing device to receive the first request by receiving the first request as a PacketCable Multimedia (PCMM) message.

20. The first computing device of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the first computing device to:

send, after determining that the capacity is not large enough to support the bitrate and to the second computing device, an indication indicating that the logical connection between the first computing device and the second computing device will not be established.

11. A system comprising:

a first computing device and a second computing device,

wherein the first computing device comprises;

one or more processors; and

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

receive, from the second computing device, a first request for content, the first request comprising a multicast source address field and a multicast group identifier field;

determine whether the content is already being sent via a logical connection;

determine, using the multicast group identifier field and after determining that the content is not already being sent via the logical connection, a bitrate of the content;

determining a capacity of the first computing device;

after determining that the capacity is large enough to support the bitrate;

 

establish the logical connection between the first computing device and the second computing device, and

 

request the content; and

wherein the second computing device comprises;

one or more processors; and

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

receive an indication of where to find the logical connection and how to decrypt the logical connection; and

access, via the logical connection, the content.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the first request comprises an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) multicast source and a group identifier.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the first instructions, when executed by the one or more processors of the first computing device, further cause the first computing device to:

receive, from a third computing device, a second request for the content; and

inform the third computing device to use the logical connection for receiving the content.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the first computing device comprises a termination system (TS), the second computing device comprises a gateway device, and the third computing device comprises a different gateway device.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the first instructions, when executed by the one or more processors of the first computing device, further cause the first computing device to:

receive the first request by receiving the first request as a PacketCable Multimedia (PCMM) message.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the first instructions, when executed by the one or more processors of the first computing device, further cause the first computing device to:

send, after determining that the capacity is not large enough to support the bitrate and to the second computing device, an indication indicating that the logical connection between the first computing device and the second computing device will not be established.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the first instructions, when executed by the one or more processors of the first computing device, further cause the first computing device to:

receive, by the first computing device and from the second computing device, a request for second content, the request for the second content comprising a second multicast source address field and a second multicast group identifier field;

inform, after determining that the second content is already being sent by the first computing device via the logical connection, the second computing device of where to find the logical connection and how to decrypt the logical connection; and

send, via the logical connection, the second content.