Method and apparatus for sharing media files among network nodes with respect to available bandwidths

• US 20090007196A1
• Filed: 10/31/2007
• Published: 01/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Vudu Incorporated (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Vudu Incorporated (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Ganesan, Prasanna
• Application Number:
  US11/930,147
• Publication Number:
  US 20090007196A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/87
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/509 wherein the managed service relates to media content delivery, e.g. audio, video or TV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/00 Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD] real-time bi-directional transmission of motion video data H04N7/14 ; broadcast or conference over packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2312 Data placement on disk arrays data placement in general G06F3/0604
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2323 using file mapping
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4335 Housekeeping operations, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions storage management, e.g. defragmentation G06F3/0604; unloading stored programs G06F9/445; storage management in file systems G06F16/10; buffering arrangements in a network node or in an end terminal in packet networks H04L49/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44245 Monitoring the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. its availability, bandwidth
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Techniques for sharing data among a plurality of networked devices, also referred to network nodes, are discussed. To best use an available uploading bandwidth of a device sharing data with a receiving device, a portion of the data is uploaded within the available uploading bandwidth, and another portion of the data is uploaded from another device locally caching the same data. To satisfy the minimum transmission rate of the data to the receiving device, both portions of the data are concurrently uploaded from the two devices to the receiving device. In reference to a predetermined minimum uploading bandwidth and the available uploading bandwidth, the two portions of data are interleaved and must be reassembled to recover the data for consumption in the receiving device. A size of the first portion of the data is determined by a server in view of the available uploading bandwidth a designated supplying box has.

Claims

1. A method for providing media-on-demand services, the method comprising:

preparing media data pertaining to a title into a sequence of data blocks, each of the data blocks including a chunk of data;

fragmenting the media data into K segments, each of the K segments including data blocks interleaved from the media data, thus the data blocks in each of the K segments are non-consecutive;

distributing the K segments into boxes in service, and causing an i-th segment of the K segments to be cached in at least a first box and a second box;

measuring an available uploading bandwidth of the first and second boxes when receiving an order for the title from an ordering box;

designating the first and second boxes to supply collectively the i-th segment to the ordering box, wherein the first device is configured to supply a first portion of the i-th segment not exceeding the available uploading bandwidth of the first device.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

designating the second box to supply another one of the segment in addition to a second portion of the i-th segment to the ordering device without exceeding the available uploading bandwidth of the second device.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the ordering box is configured to multiplex the first and second portions of the i-th segment being streamed in to recover the i-th segment being streamed in, and at the same time to multiplex the i-th segment being streamed in and remaining K−

1 segments some or all of which are being streamed in for a playback of the title on the ordering box.

4. A system for providing media-on-demand services, the system comprising

a plurality of boxes including an ordering box, a first device and a second device, the ordering box associated with a user being placed an order of a title offered in a library;

a server configured to perform operations of;

preparing media data pertaining to a title into a sequence of data blocks, each of the data blocks including a chunk of data;

fragmenting the media data into K segments, each of the K segments including data blocks interleaved from the media data, thus the data blocks in each of the K segments are non-consecutive;

distributing the K segments into the boxes ahead of the order, and causing an i-th segment of the K segments to be cached in at least the first box and the second box;

measuring an available uploading bandwidth of the first and second boxes when receiving the order for the title from the ordering box; and

designating the first and second boxes to supply collectively the i-th segment to the ordering box, wherein the first device is configured to supply a first portion of the i-th segment not exceeding the available uploading bandwidth of the first device.

5. The system as recited in claim 4, wherein the uploading bandwidth of the first box is below a predefined minimum uploading bandwidth so that only the first portion of the data segment is uploaded to the ordering box, and thus the second box is configured to upload a remaining portion of the i-th segment to the ordering box.