VIDEO POLICY SERVER

• US 20100306369A1
• Filed: 12/23/2009
• Published: 12/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CAMIANT, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: CAMIANT, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: RILEY, Yusun Kim
• Granted Patent: US 9,100,551 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/724 at intermediate nodes, e.g. resource reservation protocol [RSVP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/781 Centralised allocation of resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/821 Prioritising resource allocation or reservation requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2381 Adapting the multiplex stream to a specific network, e.g. an Internet Protocol [IP] network transmission of MPEG streams over ATM H04L12/5601
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2385 Channel allocation H04N21/266 takes precedence; Bandwidth allocation H04N21/24 takes precedence ; allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users in time-division multiplex systems H04J3/1682; admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896; negotiating bandwidth in wireless networks H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

A system for distributing digital content includes two or more digital content sources. Each source has a separate session manager that is distinct from other session managers associated with other digital content sources. The system further includes at least one set of network resources that receive digital content from the two or more digital content sources, modulate the digital content onto a carrier signal suitable for transmission over an access network, and transmit the carrier signal over the access network. The system also includes a receiving device for terminating the carrier signal. The receiving device generates a digital content stream corresponding to the digital content from the two or more digital content sources. The system further includes a policy server for allocating bandwidth of the network resources to the digital content sources, and for monitoring a utilization state of the network resources.

Claims

1. A system for distributing digital content, comprising:

two or more digital content sources, each having a separate session manager that is distinct from other session managers associated with other digital content sources;

at least one set of network resources for (i) receiving digital content from the two or more digital content sources, (ii) modulating the digital content onto a carrier signal suitable for transmission over an access network, and (iii) transmitting the carrier signal over the access network;

a receiving device for terminating the carrier signal and generating a digital content stream corresponding to the digital content from the two or more digital content sources;

a policy server separate from the digital content sources for monitoring a utilization state of the network resources, for receiving, from the digital content sources, requests for allocation, and for allocating, in response to the requests and based on the utilization state, a set of bandwidth segments of the at least one set of network resources to the digital content sources.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the policy server allocates the bandwidth segments according to the utilization state of the at least one set of network resources.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the policy server allocates the bandwidth segments according to a set of policy rules.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the policy rules define resource allocation according to subscriber priority.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the policy rules define resource allocation according to a category of the digital content.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the two or more digital content sources includes a video-on-demand server for providing video content.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the receiving device includes a set top box for generating an output signal suitable for one or more subscriber video equipment components.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the policy server issues instructions to the session manager associated with a digital content source to send video content to the at least one set of network resources.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the policy server is a video policy server for allocating the set of bandwidth segments of the at least one set of network resources to two or more video content sources.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the utilization state includes information about how much bandwidth of the at least one set of network resources is allocated and how much bandwidth of the at least one set of network resources is available.

11. A method of distributing digital content, comprising:

providing digital content from two or more digital content sources, each having a separate session manager that is distinct from other session managers associated with other digital content sources;

receiving, at one or more sets of network resources, digital content from the two or more digital content sources;

modulating the digital content onto a carrier signal suitable for transmission over an access network;

transmitting the carrier signal over the access network;

terminating the carrier signal and generating a digital content stream corresponding to the digital content from the two or more digital content sources;

receiving, at a policy server separate from the digital content sources, requests from the digital content sources for resource allocation;

monitoring, by the policy server, utilization state of the network resources; and

allocating, by the policy server, in response to the requests from the digital content sources and based on the utilization state, a set of bandwidth segments of the at least one set of network resources to the two or more digital content sources, and for monitoring a utilization state of the network resources.

12. The method of claim 11, further including allocating, using policy rules, the bandwidth segments according to the utilization state of the at least one set of network resources.

13. The method of claim 11, further including allocating, using policy rules, the bandwidth segments according to a set of policy rules.

14. The method of claim 13, further including defining resource allocation according to subscriber priority.

15. The method of claim 13, further including defining resource allocation according to a category of the digital content.

16. The method of claim 11, further including issuing instructions from the policy server to the session manager associated with a digital content source to send video content to the at least one set of network resources.

17. A method of distributing digital content from a content source to a receiving device over a network, comprising:

sending an initiating request for digital content, from the receiving device to a session manager associated with the content source;

sending a resource request for network resources, from the session manager to a policy server separate from the content source, and, at the policy server, in response to the request from the content source;

evaluating and executing one or more policy rules to determine whether or not the resource request should be granted;

sending an instruction from the policy server to the session manager instructing the session manager to send digital content to a specific set of network resources;

sending receiving information for receiving the digital content to the receiving device; and

sending digital content from the session manager to the network resources.

18. The method of claim 17, further including sending a notification from the policy server to the network resources notifying the network resources of a transfer of digital content from the session manager to the network resources.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the network resources include edge QAM interfacing devices.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the digital content includes video content, and the content source includes one or more video-on-demand servers.

21. The method of claim 17, further including monitoring a utilization state of the network resources.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the policy rules define resource allocation according to subscriber priority.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the policy rules define resource allocation according to a category of the digital content.

24. The method of claim 17, furthering including evaluating and executing the one or more policy rules to determine how much bandwidth of the network resources should be allocated to the session manager.

25. A method for operating a policy server, the method comprising:

at a policy server separate from digital content sources;

receiving, from the digital content sources, requests for resource allocation;

monitoring a utilization state of network resources associated with delivering media content to terminating devices; and

allocating, in response to the requests and based on the utilization state, bandwidth segments of the network resources to the digital content sources.