System and method for performing broadcast-enabled disk drive replication in a distributed data delivery network

• US 20020040404A1
• Filed: 01/29/2001
• Published: 04/04/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Wiltel Communications Group, Inc. (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: iBEAM Broadcasting Corp.
• Inventors: Lahr, Nils B.
• Application Number:
  US09/770,680
• Publication Number:
  US 20020040404A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/288 Distributed intermediate devices, i.e. intermediate devices for interaction with other intermediate devices on the same level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2885 Hierarchically arranged intermediate devices, e.g. for hierarchical caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2181 comprising remotely distributed storage units, e.g. when movies are replicated over a plurality of video servers distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23116 involving data replication, e.g. over plural servers synchronization of replicated data G06F11/1658; error detection or correction by means of data replication G06F11/2053; replication in distributed file systems G06F16/10; replication in distributed file systems G06F16/27; replication or mirroring of data in data networks H04L67/1095
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23439 for generating different versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

A system and method for writing to a disk in real-time at a bitrate which allows streaming of the same payloads over a network connection that supports the same or substantially the same bitrate. The system and method are capable of performing the mirroring or data replication for applications that write to a disk at different or slower rates than other applications in the network. The system and method can employ digital encoders that are advantageous in that they are operable to write to a disk at a specific and substantially constant rate that produce predictable and consistent results. A disk driver employed in the system and method enables an application to read and write to a disk as if it were a normal disk drive. As the application reads and writes content to the disk drive, the network transparently broadcasts the content via TCP/IP to remote listening devices, such as edge servers in the network. A remote device can include, for example, another disk driver that then writes the data to disk or a remote application that simply uses the information being broadcast. By saving the broadcast information back to the disk, a remote listening device can recreate the file being created by the source application.

Claims

1. A system, adapted for use with a distributed data delivery network, for duplicating data being distributed in the network, comprising:

a data storage; and

a data distributor, adapted to distribute data as streaming data at a first bitrate to at least one data server in the network, while writing said data to said data storage at substantially said first bitrate.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

said data distributor comprises an encoder, adapted to encode said data to create said streaming data at said first bitrate.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

said data storage includes a disk, and said data distributor is adapted to write said data to said disk at substantially said first bitrate.

4. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

said data storage is disposed at a data server in said network.

5. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

said data storage is disposed at one of said at least one data server in said network.

6. A system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a reader, adapted to read said data stored at said data storage at a read rate substantially equal to said first bitrate.

7. A method for duplicating data being distributed in a distributed data delivery network, comprising:

distributing data as streaming data at a first bitrate to at least one data server in the network; and

writing said data to a data storage at substantially said first bitrate while performing said distributing step.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein:

said data distributing step includes encoding said data to create said streaming data at said first bitrate.

9. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein:

said data storage includes a disk; and

said data distributing step includes writing said data to said disk at substantially said first bitrate.

10. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein:

said data storage is disposed at a data server in said network; and

said writing step writes said data to said data storage disposed at said data server.

11. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein:

said data storage is disposed at one of said at least one data server in said network;

said writing step writes said data to said data storage disposed at said one of said at least one data server.

12. A method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:

reading said data stored at said data storage at a read rate substantially equal to said first bitrate.