Content Retrieval

• US 20090320099A1
• Filed: 06/23/2008
• Published: 12/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Singhal, Sandeep K., Rao, Ravi T., Ahmed, Khaja E., Briggs, R. Scott
• Granted Patent: US 8,769,277 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/601 Broadcast encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1068 Discovery involving direct consultation or announcement among potential requesting and potential source peers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/108 characterised by resources being split in blocks or fragments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3236 using cryptographic hash functions

Abstract

Content retrieval techniques are described. In an implementation, a determination is made as to whether a client is permitted to receive content requested by the client. When the client is permitted to receive the content, a communication is formed to be communicated via a wide area network that includes a hash list having a hash of each of a plurality of blocks of the content, each hash being configured to enable the client to locate a corresponding one of the blocks of the content via a local area network.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining if a client is permitted to receive content requested by the client and

when the client is permitted to receive the content based on the determining, forming a communication to be communicated via a wide area network that includes a hash list having a hash of each of a plurality of blocks of the content, each said hash being configured to enable the client to locate a corresponding said block of the content via a local network connection.

2. A method as described in claim 1, wherein at least one of the blocks are locatable by the client in an enterprise system that includes the client.

3. A method as described in claim 1, wherein one or more modules that perform the determining and the forming operate at a layer of a stack that is below an applications and protocols layer.

4. A method as described in claim 1, wherein one or more modules that perform the determining and the forming abstract this functionality to an applications and protocols layer such that software that operates at the applications and protocols layer is not aware of how the determining and the forming are performed.

5. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the communication configures the client to broadcast the hash list to a plurality of clients to obtain at least one said block of the content from the plurality of clients.

6. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the at least one said block was previously cached by a corresponding said client locally at the corresponding said client.

7. A method as described in claim 6, wherein the at least one said block that was previously cached by the corresponding said client was decrypted by the corresponding said client.

8. A method comprising:

forming a request for content to be communicated to a content provider over a network;

receiving a response to the request from the content provider that includes a hash list having a hash of each of a plurality of blocks of the content; and

broadcasting the hash list for receipt by a plurality of clients, each said hash being configured to enable a corresponding said client to determine whether a corresponding said block of the content is cached locally by the corresponding said client.

9. A method as described in claim 8, wherein the hash list is received when a client that performs the forming, the receiving and the broadcasting is permitted to consume the content by the content provider.

10. A method as described in claim 8, wherein the plurality of clients is a part of an enterprise system that includes a client that performs the forming, the receiving and the broadcasting.

11. A method as described in claim 8, wherein:

the plurality of clients are communicatively coupled via a local area network to a client that performs the forming, the receiving and the broadcasting; and

the client is communicatively coupled to the content provider via a wide area network.

12. A method as described in claim 8, wherein the plurality of clients is accessible, one to another, via a peer-to-peer network.

13. A method as described in claim 8, further comprising obtaining one or more said blocks of the content as a result of the broadcasting.

14. A method as described in claim 13, wherein the obtaining includes receiving a communication from at least one said client that indicates that the one or more blocks of the content are available from the at least one said client.

15. A method as described in claim 13, wherein the obtaining includes receiving the one or more blocks of the content are from the at least one said client responsive to the broadcast.

16. A method as described in claim 8, further comprising:

responsive to the broadcasting, determining that at least one said block of the content is not available from the plurality of clients; and

forming a request to be communicated to the content provider for the at least one said block of the content.

17. A method as described in claim 8, wherein the forming is prompted by a Hypertext Transfer Protocol request that identifies the content.

18. One or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that are executable by a computer to provide one or more modules that are callable, by a network protocol that is executing on the computer, to form a request to be communicated to a content provider over a network for content and broadcast a hash list received from the content provider to a plurality of clients, each said hash being configured to enable a corresponding said client to determine whether a corresponding said block of the content is cached locally by the corresponding said client.

19. One or more computer readable media as described in claim 18, wherein the network protocol is a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

20. One or more computer readable media as described in claim 18, wherein the one or more modules are callable by an application.