Content Delivering Method and System for Computer Network

• US 20100082836A1
• Filed: 11/21/2007
• Published: 04/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yongmin Zhang
• Original Assignee: Yongmin Zhang
• Inventors: Zhang, Yongmin
• Granted Patent: US 8,161,181 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/232
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways

Abstract

A content delivering method for computer network and system are provided. The present invention classifies nodes participating in content transmission into a transmitting group and a receiving group, and uses the groups to manage the nodes dynamically entering or quitting, and the management includes grouping, monitoring and reflecting update of CDS of group controlling information. Real time management for nodes is achieved through CDS, and the nodes in the transmitting group communicate information according to nodes recorded in the CDS. Multiple nodes in the transmitting group cooperate with each other in transmitting content. Firstly, transmission tasks are assigned to nodes in the transmitting group, and then, nodes in the transmitting group divide assigned content into many blocks and package them and transmit to nodes in the receiving group, and nodes in the receiving group which have received content packages exchange the content packages in the group according to the control data set. Therefore, the content is simultaneously transmitted from a plurality of nodes to other a plurality of nodes, and content transmission speed is improved, compared to the prior art.

Claims

1. A content delivering method for computer network, wherein, comprising a basic group-to-group transmission, and said group is a collection of nodes with the same attributes and said basic group-to-group transmission comprising the following steps:

A1, Nodes participating in content transmission are classified into a transmitting group in charge of transmitting content and a receiving group in charge of receiving content, Nodes that have existed or will participate and in charge of content transmission are classified into a transmitting group management, and Nodes that have existed or will participate and need to receive content are classified into a receiving group management;

B1, A control data set reflecting information of the group it belongs to is established for each transmitting group or receiving group, and each control data set is set with a serial number which is updated after change of the control data set in every time or during a period of time, so as to establish one-to-one correspondence between the control data set and the serial number, said control data set at least comprises basic information of each node in the group, which at least comprises the communication address of this node;

C1, The control data set is delivered to each node of the group, and each node is made to keep the latest control data set of the group;

D1, Content that needs to be transmitted is divided into a plurality of portions, and the portions need to be transmitted are assigned to nodes in the transmitting group which taking charge;

E1, The content that needs to be transmitted is divided into a plurality of content blocks, which then assembled to be a content packet by the Nodes in the transmitting group, wherein, the content packet comprises serial number marks of the control data set;

F1, The control data set of the receiving group that receiving this content packet is delivered to nodes of the transmitting group, and before transmitting, the serial number marks of the control data set is set to be the current serial numbers of the control data set of the receiving group that receiving this content packet;

G1, According to the control data set of the receiving group, nodes in the transmitting group respectively transmit the data packet to at least one node of the receiving group;

H1, After receiving the content packet transmitted from the transmitting group, the node in the receiving group transmits said content blocks again to other nodes in need of the content blocks within the group according to the control data set indicated by the serial number marks of the content packet;

I1, Nodes in the receiving group recover the content blocks transmitted by each node to the transmitted content.

2. The content delivering method for computer network according to claim 1, wherein, after receiving some or all content, said receiving group becomes a new transmitting group, which continues transmitting the received content to another receiving group.

3. The content delivering method for computer network according to claim 1, wherein, the attributes of said node can be selected from contents, tasks, network rate, location, distance, delay, node identification, stability, on-line time, packet loss rate, location of starting to receive contents, and any attributes related to tasks, behaviors, individual difference, and identification.

4. The content delivering method for computer network according to claim 1, wherein, one or more groups are used to manage nodes participating in a content delivery, and a plurality of basic group-to-group transmissions are used for large-scale content delivering tasks.

5. The content delivering method for computer network according to claim 1, wherein, said changes of the control data set in step B1 include the entering, quitting of the nodes, the changes of the task and the change of the node status, and said node preserves many control data sets with different serial numbers.

6. The content delivering method for computer network according to claim 5, wherein, the way of making each node keep the latest control data set of the group in said step B1 comprises the following steps:

B11, The server extracts the control data set of the group which needs maintenance at the set time intervals or before transmitting the content packet;

B12, Through comparing the whole set of the latest control data set of the group with the whole set of the previously existing control data set according to symbols, the server gets a change string;

B13, A change set is got after transmutation and compression of the change string, and said change set carries serial number marks of both the latest control data set and the existing control data set as a comparison base;

B14, The change set is transmitted to at least one of the nodes in the group so that the existing control data set can be updated to the latest one by the node.

7. The content delivering method for computer network according to claim 6, wherein, the length of said symbol in step B12 is one or two bytes.

8. The content delivering method for computer network according to claim 7, wherein, a change set got after transmutation and compression of the change string in said step B13 comprises [starting marks][serial number of the new control data set][serial number of the old control data set][skewing 1] [change string head 1][change string 1][skewing 2] [change string head 2] [change string 2] . . . [skewing i] [change string head i] [change string i] [checking sum] and [ending marks], wherein the skewing at least comprises skewing length of the variable length codes, and the change string head at least comprises change string length of the variable length codes, and the change string is the changed portions of the new control data set compared with the old control data set, and i is the number of the change string in the change set, and is an integral number greater than or equal to zero.

9. The content delivering method for computer network according to claim 5, wherein, each node in the group processes the content according to the control data set of the group, including validity checking of the received content packet, content retransmitting and content supplementarily transmitting.

10. The content delivering method for computer network according to claim 5, wherein, Said content can be audio/video data, data stream, computer files, UDP data packets on network, control data sets or change sets of control data sets.

11. The content delivering method for computer network according to claim 5, wherein, nodes in the receiving group are classified into many supporting groups in a preset way, and when nodes waiting for the content packet have not received the content packet during the agreed receiving time period, supplementing packet request is sent out to other nodes in the supporting groups with priority to request the node to transmit supplementarily the content packet it lacks.

12. The content delivering method for computer network according to any one claim of claim 1, wherein, in the process of content delivering, following steps are also comprised:

A2, Based on the bandwidth W that can be used by the node j in the receiving group for content uploading, the system selects a reasonable uploading rate U_j;

B2, Node j in the receiving group is controlled to participate in content uploading service at the uploading rate appointed by the system, wherein j=1, 2 . . . N, and N is the number of nodes in the receiving group, and said uploading rate coefficient U_j satisfies the following relational expression;

(U₁+ . . . +U_N)+L*D≧

f(N,D)

Wherein, D is rate of content delivering, and f(N,D) is a function related to N*D, which is the bandwidth needed by all nodes in the receiving group for content downloading;

L*D is the sum of uploading rate provided by all nodes in the transmitting group.

13. The content delivering method for computer network according to claim 12, wherein, in said step A2, the system can select a reasonable uploading rate by the following steps:

When bandwidth W_j that can be used by the node j for content uploading is narrower than or equal to average uploading rate U_avg provided by the node for content, then select Uj=Wj;

When bandwidth W_j that can be used by the node j for content uploading is wider than average uploading rate U_avg provided by the node for content, then U_j selected should satisfy U_j≧

U_avg.

14. The content delivering method for computer network according to claim 13, wherein, when parameters Wj, L and N change, then the condition (U₁+ . . . +U_N)+L*D≧

f (N, D) can not be satisfied, parameters W_j, L and D can be modified appropriately, or when parameters W_j, L and N change and parameter L or B needs to be and also can be changed, parameters W_j, L and D can be modified appropriately.

15. A content delivering method for computer network, wherein, comprising the following steps:

A3, Nodes participating in content transmission are classified into a transmitting group in charge of transmitting content and a receiving group in charge of receiving content, Nodes that have existed or will participate and in charge of content transmission are classified into a transmitting group management, and Nodes that have existed or will participate and need to receive content are classified into a receiving group management;

B3, A control data set reflecting information of the group it belongs to is established for each transmitting group or receiving group, and each control data set is set with a serial number, which is updated after change of the control data set in every time or during a period of time, so as to establish one-to-one correspondence between the control data set and the serial number, said control data set at least comprises basic information of each node in the group, which at least comprises the communication address of this node;

C3, The control data set is delivered to each node, and each node is made to keep the latest control data set of the group;

D3, Content that needs to be transmitted is divided into a plurality of portions, and the portions need to be transmitted are assigned to nodes in the transmitting group which taking charge;

E3, The content that needs to be transmitted is divided into a plurality of content blocks which then assembled to be a content packet by the Nodes in the transmitting group, wherein, the content packet comprises serial number marks of the control data set;

F3, The control data set of the receiving group that receiving this content packet is delivered to nodes of the transmitting group, and before transmitting, the serial number marks of the control data set is set to be the current serial numbers of the control data set of the receiving group that receiving this content packet;

G3, Based on the control data set of the receiving group, nodes in the transmitting group respectively transmit the data packet to at least one node of the receiving group;

H3, After receiving the content packet transmitted from the transmitting group, the node in the receiving group decides whether the content packet needs to be exchanged within the group according to exchange type marks of the content packet, when exchange is needed, the node transmits said content blocks again to other nodes in need of the content blocks in the group according to the control data set indicated by the serial number marks of the content packet;

I3, Nodes in the receiving group recover the content blocks transmitted by each node to the transmitted content.

16. The content delivering method for computer network according to claim 15, wherein, in step H3, the node receiving the content packet also decides whether the content packet needs to be delivered to other receiving groups according to exchange type marks of the content packet.

17. A content delivering system for computer network, wherein, comprising:

a grouping device, which is used to classify nodes participating in content transmission into a transmitting group in charge of transmitting content and a receiving group in charge of receiving content, and to classify nodes that have existed or will participate and in charge of content transmission into a transmitting group management, and to classify nodes that have existed or will participate and need to receive content into a receiving group management;

a control data set generation device, which is used to establish a control data set reflecting information of the group it belongs to for each transmitting group or receiving group, also to set a serial number for each control data set, and to update the serial number after the change of the control data set in every time or during a period of time so as to make one-to-one correspondence between the control data set and the serial number, said control data set at least comprises basic information of each node in the group, which at least comprises communication address of this node;

a transmitting device, which is used to deliver the control data set to each node of the group, and make each node keep the latest control data set of the group;

a first processing device, which is used to divide content that needs to be transmitted into a plurality of portions, and assigns the content portions to nodes in the transmitting group to transmit;

a second processing device, which is used to control nodes in the transmitting group to divide the content that needs to be transmitted to a plurality of content blocks, and assemble the content blocks to a content packet, which comprises serial number marks of the control data set;

and said transmitting device is also used to deliver the control data set of the receiving group that receives this content packet to nodes in the transmitting group;

a third processing device, which is used to control nodes in the transmitting group to set the serial number marks of the control data set to be the current serial numbers of the control data set of the receiving group that receiving this content packet before transmitting;

a fourth processing device, which is used to control nodes in the transmitting group respectively transmit the data packet to at least one node of the receiving group according to the control data set of the receiving group;

a fifth processing device, which is used to control the node in the receiving group to transmit said content blocks again to other nodes in need of the content blocks in the group after receiving the content packet transmitted from the transmitting group according to the control data set indicated by the serial number marks of the content packet;

a content recovering device, which is used to control nodes in the receiving group to recover the content blocks transmitted by each node to the transmitted content.

18. The content delivering system for computer network according to claim 17, wherein, after receiving some or all content, said receiving group becomes a new transmitting group which continues transmitting the received content to another receiving group.

19. The content delivering system for computer network according to claim 17, wherein, said changes of the control data set include the entering, quitting of the nodes, the changes of the task and the change of the node status, and said node preserves many control data sets with different serial numbers.

20. The content delivering system for computer network according to claim 19, wherein, said control data set generation device comprises:

a control data set extraction unit, which is used to make the server extract the control data set of the group needing maintenance at the set time intervals or before transmitting the content packet;

a comparison unit, which is used to get a change string through comparing the whole set of the latest control data set of the group with the whole set of the previously existing control data set according to symbols;

a transmutation unit, which is used to get a change unit of a change set through transmuting and compressing the change string, wherein said change set carries serial number marks of both the latest control data set and the existing control data set as a comparing base;

a transmission unit, which is used to transmit the change set to at least one of the nodes in the group so that the existing control data set can be updated to the latest one by the node.

21. The content delivering system for computer network according to claim 20, wherein, the length of said symbol is one or two bytes.

22. The content delivering system for computer network according to claim 21, wherein, a change set got after transmutation and compression of the change string comprises [starting marks] [serial number of the new control data set] [serial number of the old control data set] [skewing 1] [change string head 1 lichange string 1][skewing 2][change string head 2][change string 2] . . . [skewing i][change string head i][change string i][checking sum] and [ending marks], wherein the skewing at least comprises skewing length of the variable length codes, and the change string head at least comprises change string length of the variable length codes, and the change string is the changed portions of the new control data set compared with the old control data set, and i is the number of the change string in the change set, and is an integral number greater than or equal to zero.

23. The content delivering system for computer network according to claim 19, wherein, a sixth processing unit is also included, which is used to make each node in the group process the content according to the control data set of the group, including validity checking of the received content packet, content retransmitting and content supplementarily transmitting.

24. The content delivering system for computer network according to claim 20, wherein, said content can be audio/video data, data stream, computer files, UDP data packets on network, control data sets or change sets of control data sets.

25. The content delivering system for computer network according to any claim of claim 17, wherein, a congestion control device is also included, comprising:

a rate selection unit, which is used to select a reasonable uploading rate U_j, according to the bandwidth W_j that can be used by the node j in the receiving group for content uploading;

a seventh processing unit, which is used to control node j in the receiving group to participate in content uploading service at the uploading rate U_j appointed by the system, wherein j=1, 2 . . . N, and N is the number of nodes in the receiving group, and said uploading rate coefficient satisfies the following relational expression;

(U₁+ . . . +U_N)+L*D≧

f(N,D)

Wherein D is rate of content delivering, and f(N,D) is a function related to N*D, which is the bandwidth needed by all nodes in the receiving group for content downloading. L*D is the sum of uploading rate provided by all nodes in the transmitting group.

26. A content delivering system for computer network, wherein, comprising:

a grouping device, which is used to classify nodes participating in content transmission into a transmitting group in charge of transmitting content and a receiving group in charge of receiving content, and to classify nodes that have existed or will participate and in charge of content transmission into a transmitting group management, and to classify nodes that have existed or will participate and need to receive content into a receiving group management;

a control data set generation device, which is used to establish a control data set reflecting information of the group it belongs to for each transmitting group or receiving group, also to set a serial number for each control data set and to update the serial number after the change of the control data set in every time or during a period of time so as to make one-to-one correspondence between the control data set and the serial number, said control data set at least comprises basic information of each node in the group, which at least comprises communication address of this node;

a transmitting device, which is used to deliver the control data set to each node of the group, and make each node keep the latest control data set of the group;

a first processing device, which is used to divide content that needs to be transmitted into a plurality of portions, and assign the content portions need to be transmitted to nodes in the transmitting group;

a second processing device, which is used to control nodes in the transmitting group to divide the content that needs to be transmitted into a plurality of content blocks, and assemble the content blocks to a content packet which comprises serial number marks of the control data set;

said transmitting device is also used to deliver the control data set of the receiving group that receiving this content packet to nodes in the transmitting group;

a third processing device, which is used to control nodes in the transmitting group to set the serial number marks of the control data set to be the current serial numbers of the control data set of the receiving group that receiving this content packet before transmitting;

a fourth processing device, which is used to control nodes in the transmitting group respectively transmit the data packet to at least one node of the receiving group according to the control data set of the receiving group;

a fifth processing device, which is used to control the node in the receiving group to decide whether the content packet needs to be exchanged within the group according to exchange type marks of the content packet after receiving the content packet transmitted from the transmitting group, when exchange is needed, the node transmits said content blocks again to other nodes in need of the content blocks in the group according to the control data set indicated by the serial number marks of the content packet;

and a content recovering device, which is used to control nodes in the receiving group to recover the content blocks transmitted by each node to the transmitted content.