Media stream distribution system

• US 20080189382A1
• Filed: 12/12/2007
• Published: 08/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadband Royalty Corporation (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Duzett, Robert C., Page, Steven R., Lovely, Sydney D., Klaas, Darin J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,032,650 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/212
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4022 using switching circuits, e.g. switching matrix, connection or expansion network G06F13/4009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/12 Protocol engines

Abstract

A media server comprises a plurality of nodes each comprising a gateway, each gateway providing memory and communication of data between mass storage and I/O ports of a node, and/or providing communication of data between the node and other nodes. Each node utilizes one or more central processors. The media server comprises logic to enable the processors to manage the streaming of data from the mass storage to the I/O ports via the gateways without communicating the data between the processors and any of the mass storage, I/O ports, or gateways.

Claims

1. A media server comprising:

a plurality of nodes each comprising a gateway, each gateway providing memory and communication of data between mass storage and I/O ports of a node, and/or providing communication of data between the node and other nodes;

each node utilizing one or more central processors; and

the media server comprising logic to enable the processors to manage the streaming of data from the mass storage to the I/O ports via the gateways without communicating the data between the processors and any of the mass storage, I/O ports, or gateways.

2. The media server of claim 1, further comprising:

logic to cause mass storage and gateway memory of the at least two nodes to appear to the processors as a single mass storage volume and cache memory, respectively.

3. The media server of claim 1, further comprising:

logic to determine whether one or more addresses of data to stream refers to data stored by non-local gateway memory, and if so, to retrieve the data from the non-local gateway memory to the node that is streaming the data.

4. The media server of claim 1, further comprising:

the first and second nodes comprised by a single console and comprising interfaces to nodes of other consoles.

5. The media server of claim 4, further comprising:

nodes within the single console communicating stream data between themselves primarily via gateways of the nodes within the single console.

6. The media server of claim 1, further comprising:

the first and second nodes coupled to a console interface comprising independent physical communication channels to multiple nodes of other consoles.

7. The media server of claim 6, further comprising:

the first and second nodes coupled to nodes of another console by a cable comprising four independent physical communication channels, with the first node having two independent physical communication channels to a first node in another console, and the second node having two independent physical communication channels to a second node in the another console.

8. The media server of claim 6, further comprising:

multiple independent communication channels in each cable connecting two consoles, a pair of independent communication channels connecting each node in a first console with a partner node in a second console.

9. A node of a multi-processor system comprising:

mass storage;

an I/O interface; and

the media server comprising logic to enable one or more central processors to manage the streaming of data from the mass storage to the I/O interface without communicating the data between the processors and any of the mass storage or I/O interface.

10. The node of a multi-processor system of claim 9, further comprising:

at least one gateway providing communication of stream data between the mass storage, the one or more I/O interfaces, and an interconnect to other nodes of the multi-processor system; and

logic to enable the processors to manage the streaming of data from the mass storage to the I/O interface via the gateway without communicating the data between the processors and any of the mass storage, gateway, or I/O interface.

11. The node of a multi-processor system of claim 9, further comprising:

the processors coupled to one or more processor memories comprising logic to manage the streaming of data from the mass storage to the I/O interface.

12. The node of a multi-processor system of claim 11, further comprising:

logic to enable the processors to cause the communication of data stream blocks from the mass storage of the node and/or the mass storage of another node to the I/O interface, without communicating contents of the blocks to the processor or the processor memories.

13. A media distribution system comprising:

nodes of a hypercube organized into console units;

nodes in different consoles communicating by way of an external hypercube interconnect;

nodes in same consoles communicating via an intra-console hypercube interconnect; and

the nodes utilizing a gateway common to both the external interconnect and the intra-console interconnect.

14. The media distribution system of claim 13, further comprising:

the nodes within each console sharing a pool of one or more processors.

15. The media distribution system of claim 13, wherein the nodes in different consoles communicating by way of an external hypercube interconnect further comprises:

N nodes in a first console communicating with N nodes in a second console by way of 2N independent physical communication channels, where N>

=2.

16. The media distribution system of claim 15, wherein the N nodes in a first console communicating with N nodes in a second console by way of 2N independent physical communication channels, where N>

=2 further comprises;

at least a pair of independent physical conductors for each half duplex connection between each node and at least one other node in another console.

17. The media distribution system of claim 15, wherein the N nodes in a first console communicating with N nodes in a second console by way of 2N independent physical communication channels, where N>

=2 further comprises;

the 2N independent physical communication channels within a single cable.

18. The media distribution system of claim 13, further comprising:

logic to cause mass storage and cache memory of the nodes of the same and different consoles to appear to processors of each console as a single mass storage volume and cache memory, respectively.

19. The media distribution system of claim 13, further comprising:

each node comprising one or more central processors shared with at least one other node, and a data plane comprising mass storage, cache memory, and I/O, the processors supervising the communication of data via the data plane without accessing the data that is communicated.