Passive video caching for edge aggregation devices

• US 20070283397A1
• Filed: 05/31/2006
• Published: 12/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sbc Knowledge Ventures, L.P.
• Inventors: Scholl, Thomas Bradley
• Granted Patent: US 8,028,319 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/86
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4384 involving operations to reduce the access time, e.g. fast-tuning for reducing channel switching latency
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• 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 21/6408 Unicasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/647 Control signaling between network components and server or clients; Network processes for video distribution between server and clients, e.g. controlling the quality of the video stream, by dropping packets, protecting content from unauthorised alteration within the network, monitoring of network load, bridging between two different networks, e.g. between IP and wireless real-time session protocols H04L65/1101
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Techniques for delivering video on demand (VOD) channel content via streaming from a first edge aggregation device are provided. The first edge aggregation device receives the VOD channel content from a VOD server, and the streaming VOD channel content from the first edge aggregation device can stream down to a requestor. The streaming VOD channel content from the first edge aggregation device can also stream or up through a metro aggregation switch to a second edge aggregation device to reach the requestor. Techniques for buffering a cache of a video stream are also provided for bursting to a requestor, either after a request is made or before.

Claims

1. A method including:

receiving a request for a video on demand (VOD) channel content;

identifying a location of the request with respect to an edge aggregation device;

searching an index to locate the VOD channel content; and

instructing the edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the VOD channel content is streaming in a mode selected from unicast and multicast.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein searching includes searching the index located at one of the edge aggregation device and a central VOD asset mapper.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the edge aggregation device is a first edge aggregation device, wherein instructing the first edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request includes forwarding the VOD content through a second edge aggregation device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the edge aggregation device is a first edge aggregation device, wherein instructing the first edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request includes forwarding the VOD content through a second edge aggregation device, further including, wherein the second edge aggregation device subsequently receives the VOD channel content from a central VOD channel content server.

6. A method comprising:

forming a cache of a video stream for a VOD channel content at an edge aggregation device;

bursting the cache of the video stream to a location of a request in response to a request; and

forwarding uncached VOD channel content to the location of the request in at least one of unicast mode and multicast mode.

7. The method of claim 6, further including:

forming a VOD channel request database for the location of the request; and

pushing the VOD channel content to a requestor cache in advance of receiving the request for the VOD channel.

8. The method of claim 6, further including:

receiving the request for the VOD channel content;

identifying a location of the request with respect to an edge aggregation device;

searching an index for another viewer having the VOD channel content; and

instructing the edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein searching includes searching the index located at one of the edge aggregation device and a central VOD asset mapper.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the edge aggregation device is a first edge aggregation device, wherein instructing the first edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request includes forwarding the VOD content through a second edge aggregation device.

11. A method including:

receiving a request for a video on demand (VOD) channel;

identifying a location of the request with respect to a first edge aggregation device;

when the location of the request is below the first edge aggregation device, then instructing the edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request;

when the location of the request is below a second edge aggregation device, then instructing the first edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request through the second edge aggregation device; and

when the location of the request is below a second edge aggregation device and the first edge aggregation device is below a first metro aggregation router and the second edge aggregation device is below a second metro aggregation router, then instructing the first edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request through the second metro aggregation router.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein when the location of the request is below the second edge aggregation device, then instructing the first edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request through a first metro aggregation switch, wherein the first edge aggregation device and the second edge aggregation device are below the first metro aggregation switch.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein when the location of the request is below the second edge aggregation device, then instructing the first edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request through a first metro aggregation switch, wherein the first edge aggregation device is below the first metro aggregation switch, and through a second metro aggregation switch, wherein the second edge aggregation device is below the second metro aggregation switch.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein when the location of the request is below a second edge aggregation device, then instructing the first edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request through a first metro aggregation switch, wherein the first edge aggregation device is below the first metro aggregation switch, and through a second metro aggregation switch, wherein the second edge aggregation device are below the second metro aggregation switch, further including subsequently requesting a separate multicast VOD channel content stream from a VOD server.

15. The method of claim 11, further including:

forming a cache of a video stream of the VOD channel content at the edge aggregation device of the location of the request;

bursting the cache of the video stream to the location of the request from the first edge aggregation device; and

forwarding uncached VOD channel content to the location of the request.

16. The method of claim 11, further including:

forming a VOD channel request database for the location of the request; and

pushing the VOD channel content to a requestor cache in advance of receiving the request for the VOD channel.

17. A method including:

receiving a request for a video on demand (VOD) channel content at an edge aggregation device;

identifying a location of the request with respect to a first edge aggregation device;

when the location of the request is below the first edge aggregation device, then instructing the edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request;

when the location of the request is below a second edge aggregation device, then instructing the first edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request through the second edge aggregation device; and

when the location of the request is below a second edge aggregation device and the first edge aggregation device is below a first metro aggregation router and the second edge aggregation device is below a second metro aggregation router, then instructing the first edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request through the second metro aggregation router.

18. The method of claim 17, further including:

forming a cache of a video stream of the VOD channel content at the edge aggregation device of the location of the request;

bursting the cache of the video stream to the location of the request from the first edge aggregation device; and

forwarding uncached VOD channel content to the location of the request.

19. The method of claim 17, further including:

forming a VOD channel request database for the location of the request; and

pushing the VOD channel content to a requestor cache in advance of receiving the request for the VOD channel.

20. A machine-accessible medium having instructions embedded thereon, the instructions when accessed by an edge aggregation device perform the method of:

receiving a request for a video on demand (VOD) channel content;

identifying a location of the request with respect to an edge aggregation device;

searching an index to locate the VOD channel content; and

instructing the edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request.

21. The medium of claim 20, further including instructions for indexing the request in one of the edge aggregation device and a central VOD asset mapper.

22. The medium of claim 20, wherein the edge aggregation device is a first edge aggregation device, wherein instructing the first edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request includes forwarding the VOD content through a second edge aggregation device.

23. The medium of claim 20, wherein the edge aggregation device is a first edge aggregation device, wherein instructing the first edge aggregation device to forward the VOD channel content to the location of the request includes forwarding the VOD content through a second edge aggregation device, further including, wherein the second edge aggregation device subsequently receives the VOD channel content from a central VOD channel content server.

24. The medium of claim 20, further including instructions for, forming a channel forming a VOD channel request database for the location of the request and pushing the VOD channel content to a requestor cache in advance of receiving the request for the VOD channel database for the requestor and pushing the VOD channel content to a requester cache in advance of receiving the request for the VOD channel.

25. A system including:

memory having a repository with a given video on demand (VOD) channel content; and

a VOD distribution service element, wherein the VOD distribution service element is to initially distribute the given VOD channel content to a first edge aggregation device, and wherein the VOD distribution service element receives a request for the given VOD channel content, and wherein the VOD distribution service element directs the given VOD channel content from the first edge aggregation device to the location of the request.

26. The system of claim 25 further including, a VOD index that is maintained by the VOD distribution service element and that includes geographic locality profile information for the location of the request.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the VOD distribution service element is to initially distribute the VOD content in an encrypted format and wherein the encrypted format is to be decrypted with a license key to play the VOD channel content.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein the location of the request lacks the license key.

29. The system of claim 25, wherein the VOD distribution service element is to distribute the license key to a second request location in response to a request for the VOD channel content.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the second request location lacks the license key.