Method and system for controlling streaming in an on-demand server

• US 20050278760A1
• Filed: 06/01/2005
• Published: 12/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Broadbus Technologies, Inc. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Broadbus Technologies, Inc. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Chirtic, Silvia, Dewar, Don
• Application Number:
  US11/143,515
• Publication Number:
  US 20050278760A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/94
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23113 involving housekeeping operations for stored content, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions storage management, e.g. defragmentation G06F3/0604; snloading stored programs G06F9/445; housekeeping operations in file systems, e.g. deletion policies G06F16/10; buffering arrangements in a network node or in an end terminal in packet networks H04L49/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2326 Scheduling disk or memory reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• 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 21/2405 Monitoring of the internal components or processes of the server, e.g. server load allocation of resources in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/50; performance measurement of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

A method and system configured for managing and controlling one or more on-demand servers in order to ingest content files, set-up on-demand sessions at a subscriber request and record status information about the on-demand streams in the operational framework of an on demand service operator (ODSO) with and without the support of the Business Management System (BMS) platform to provide video-on-demand (VOD), subscription video on demand (SVOD), television on demand (TOD), and audio on demand (AOD) services by streaming content to on-demand to a customer. The method can be implemented as software running on an application server with a a web application GUI, a CORBA-based interface to the BMS, a SOAP-based interface to the VOD server, and a set of internal services that glue the other components together on top of an Oracle database all configured to managing and controlling one or more on-demand servers.

Claims

1. A system for controlling streaming of content from an on-demand server comprising:

a processor;

memory coupled to said processor;

said memory having stored therein an array of ordered values, wherein the array of ordered values has a first value and a last value;

said processor being configured to ingest the content over a protocol bus;

said processor being configured to repeatedly (a) establish a content session for obtaining content by interfacing with a business management system (BMS);

(b) ingest content as an object by interfacing with an asset management system AMS and/or a catcher; and

/or (c) ingest movie-on-demand MOD APPS; and

said processor being configured to control the streaming of the content stored in memory of the on-demand server to a customer on-demand.

2. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor communicates with said on-demand server over a port [such as a 10/100 Ethernet].

3. The system of claim 1, whereby the on-demand server has a substantial RAM memory.

4. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor ingests the content as an object and stores the content in said RAM memory of the on demand server by file transfer protocol (FTP).

5. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor is further configured to ingest the content and stores the content in disk storage such as Near Term Storage connected to the on demand server.

6. The system of claim 1, whereby said protocol bus is configured as Interactive Services Architecture (ISA) standard.

7. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor is further configured to interpret information of said protocol bus from one of a group of protocols of an Interactive Services Architecture (ISA) standard, a J2EE standard, a RTSP standard, a RTSP and LSCP standard, a RTSP and extended markup language XML.

8. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor is further configured to implement said content as an object according to the ISA standard and insures persistence.

9. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor is further configured to maintains information about all of the content 22 object files installed on the on-demand server.

10. The system of claim 9, whereby said processor is further configured to remove content object files installed on the on-demand server.

11. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor is further configured to maintain information about all of the content 22 object files installed on the on-demand server.

12. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor is further configured to create unique handle for the content object file, said unique handle of the content object file is maintained

13. The system of claim 12, whereby said processor is further configured to forward said unique handle of the content object file to the on-demand server.

14. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor is further configured to provide information concerning the content object file to the on-demand server including, but not limited to, bit-rate, path including one or more of ([define] URL containing IP address, user and password), and unique content ID.

15. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor is further configured to provide persistence for asset and information concerning the content object file to the on-demand server.

16. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor is further configured to notify the on-demand server about an ingest request concerning the content object file to the on-demand server.

17. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor is further configured to generate an alarm when an ingest request fails concerning the content object file to the on-demand server.

18. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor is further configured to generate a log of events including events concerning ingesting the content object file to the on-demand server.

19. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor is further configured to manage the content object file in the on-demand server.

20. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor is further configured to balance the content object file in one or more on-demand servers

21. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor is further configured to maintain concurrency of streams of the content object file.

22. The system of claim 21, whereby said processor is further configured to utilize said RAM memory efficiently across and/or between said one or more on-demand servers.

23. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor is further configured to schedule said ingesting of the content object file across and/or between said one or more on-demand servers.

24. The system of claim 1, whereby said processor is further configured to enable direct communications with the BMS, other third party components, and on-demand server components including server, blade and port status.

25. A method for managing and controlling streaming in an on-demand, memory-based server, comprising:

signaling an ingest manager of a business management system to request an ingest of content;

creating an ingest processor object for said request for said ingest of content;

queuing said ingest processor object to manage said ingest of content;

initiating a start ingest from said ingest processor object by sending a start ingest message over a SOAP interface to the on-demand server;

sending an await response from said ingest manager to said ingest processor object;

creating a result waiter by said ingest processor object where said result waiter waits for events about said request for ingest of content;

registering said results waiter with a JMS topic;

sending an ingest start event from the on-demand server to an event binding implementation component of said streaming controller over a SOAP interface;

publishing by said event binding implementation component said ingest start event on said JMS topic;

updating a database concerning a bit rate and status of said ingest of content when said JMS topic is received after said ingest start event;

sending an ingest complete event from the on-demand server to said event binding implementation component of said streaming controller over a SOAP interface;

publishing said ingest complete event of said JMS topic to said event binding implementation component;

updating said content object and said database after receiving said JMS topic concerning said ingest complete event; and

removing from said queue said ingest processor after receiving said ingest complete event.

26. The method of claim 25, further including the step of:

updating said results waiter with said JMS topic concerning said ingest complete event.

27. The method of claim 25, further including the step of:

updating said BMS concerning said ingest complete event after receiving a content status event from said ingest processor object about said request for said ingest of content.