RESOURCE SCHEDULING APPARATUS AND METHOD, PROGRAM REQUESTING METHOD AND SYSTEM

• US 20110023061A1
• Filed: 09/29/2010
• Published: 01/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Cloud Computing Technologies Company Limited (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: JI, Xiangyang, Liao, Yongxiong, Luo, Wei, Jia, Zengli
• Granted Patent: US 8,832,759 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/39
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23805 Controlling the feeding rate to the network, e.g. by controlling the video pump
• 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 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

A resource scheduling apparatus, a resource scheduling method, a program requesting method, a program requesting system, and a Set Top Box (STB) are provided. The resource scheduling method includes: distributing bandwidth greater than an inherent code rate of a program respectively requested by a user to a Video On Demand (VOD) program of the user within available bandwidth of a frequency point according to a received VOD user request; and reducing the bandwidth distributed to at least one VOD program to which bandwidth has been distributed according to the received VOD user request for currently requesting the program when the available bandwidth of the frequency point is smaller than an inherent code rate of a currently requested program, so that the available bandwidth of the frequency point is greater than or equal to the inherent code rate of the currently requested program. Thus, a transmission speed of the program and a utilization ratio of the bandwidth are increased.

Claims

1. A resource scheduling method, comprising:

distributing bandwidth to a Video On Demand (VOD) program according to a received VOD user request, wherein the bandwidth is greater than a bandwidth that is occupied by an inherent code rate of a VOD program and within available bandwidth of a frequency point; and

reducing, according to the received VOD user request for currently requesting the VOD program, bandwidth distributed to at least one VOD program to which bandwidth has been distributed, when the available bandwidth of the frequency point is smaller than the bandwidth that is occupied by an inherent code rate of a currently requested VOD program, so that the available bandwidth of the frequency point is greater than or equal to the inherent code rate of the currently requested VOD program.

2. The resource scheduling method according to claim 1, further comprising:

reducing a transmission speed of at least one VOD program when the bandwidth distributed to each VOD program is adjusted to make the bandwidth be equal to the bandwidth that is occupied by the inherent code rate of the respective corresponding VOD program.

3. The resource scheduling method according to claim 2, wherein the reducing the transmission speed of at least one VOD program comprises:

determining bandwidth that costs a maximum time for transmitting the VOD program data, and reducing a transmission speed of the bandwidth that costs the maximum time for transmitting the VOD program data.

4. The resource scheduling method according to claim 1, further comprising:

reducing the bandwidth of the VOD program according to a formula R₁T₁+R₂T₂ . . . +R_nT_n+XT_x≧

CT_c, wherein R₁ indicates a transmission speed corresponding to bandwidth distributed to the VOD program for a first time, T₁ indicates a transmission time corresponding to the transmission speed, R_n indicates a transmission speed corresponding to bandwidth distributed to the VOD program for an nth time, T_n indicates a transmission time corresponding to the transmission speed R_n, X indicates a transmission speed after the bandwidth of the VOD is adjusted, T_x indicates transmission time required to complete program data transmission at the transmission speed X, C indicates an inherent code rate of the transmitted program, T_c indicates time required to complete program data transmission at the transmission speed C, the adjusted transmission speed X satisfies X*T_x+C*(T_z−

T₀)≧

C*T_x, T_x indicates transmission time required to complete program data transmission at the transmission speed X, T_z indicates time required to complete transmission of the received program data at the inherent code rate, T₀ indicates time consumed for playing the program corresponding to the received VOD program data of the received program data, and C indicates the inherent code rate of the requested program.

5. The resource scheduling method according to claim 1, further comprising:

distributing the bandwidth to other VOD programs that are transmitting, when the VOD stop request of the user is received or the transmission of the program is completed, wherein the bandwidth corresponds to the VOD program indicated in a VOD stop request of the user or the program whose transmission is completed.

6. A resource scheduling apparatus, comprising:

a bandwidth distribution module, configured to distribute bandwidth to a Video On Demand (VOD) program according to a received VOD user request, wherein the bandwidth is greater than a bandwidth that is occupied by an inherent code rate of a VOD program and within available bandwidth of a frequency point; and

a bandwidth adjustment module, configured to reduce, according to the received VOD user request for currently requesting the VOD program, bandwidth distributed to at least one VOD program to which bandwidth has been distributed when the available bandwidth of the frequency point is smaller than the bandwidth that is occupied by an inherent code rate of a currently requested VOD program, so that the available bandwidth of the frequency point is greater than or equal to the inherent code rate of the currently requested VOD program.

7. The resource scheduling apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the bandwidth adjustment module is further configured to reduce a transmission speed of at least one VOD program when the bandwidth distributed to each VOD program is adjusted to make the bandwidth be equal to the bandwidth that is occupied by the inherent code rate of the respective corresponding VOD program.

8. The resource scheduling apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the bandwidth of the VOD program is reduced according to a formula R₁T₁+R₂T₂ . . . +R_nT_n+XT_x≧

CT_c, wherein R₁ indicates a transmission speed corresponding to bandwidth distributed to the VOD program for a first time, T₁ indicates a transmission time corresponding to the transmission speed, R_n indicates a transmission speed corresponding to bandwidth distributed to the VOD program for an nth time, T_n indicates a transmission time corresponding to the transmission speed R_n, X indicates a transmission speed after the bandwidth of the VOD program is adjusted, T_x indicates transmission time required to complete program data transmission at the transmission speed X, C indicates an inherent code rate of the transmitted program, T_c indicates time required to complete the VOD program data transmission at the transmission speed C, the transmission speed X adjusted by the bandwidth adjustment module satisfies X*T_x+C*(T_z−

T₀)≧

C*T_x, T_x indicates transmission time required to complete the VOD program data transmission at the transmission speed X, T_z indicates time required to complete transmission of the received program data at the inherent code rate, T₀ indicates time consumed for playing the program corresponding to the received program data of the received program data, and C indicates the inherent code rate of the requested program.

9. The resource scheduling apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the bandwidth distribution module is configured to distribute the bandwidth corresponding to the VOD program or the already transmitted program to other VOD programs transmitting the VOD program data when a VOD stop request of the user is received or the program is already transmitted.

10. The resource scheduling apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a request receiving module, configured to receive a distribution request for distributing the bandwidth to each VOD program and send the distribution request to the bandwidth distribution module.

11. The resource scheduling apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an information acquisition module, configured to acquire reference information for distributing the bandwidth to each VOD program, wherein the reference information at least comprises a speed of storing received program data.

12. A program requesting method, comprising:

visiting an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) by using a decoding terminal, selecting a program, and sending Video On Demand (VOD) information;

scheduling, by middleware, a code stream corresponding to the program according to the received VOD information, and sending program description information to the decoding terminal, wherein the scheduling comprises;

distributing bandwidth to a Video On Demand (VOD) program according to a received VOD user request, wherein the bandwidth is greater than a bandwidth that is occupied by an inherent code rate of a VOD program and within available bandwidth of a frequency point; and

reducing, according to the received VOD user request for currently requesting the VOD program, bandwidth distributed to at least one VOD program to which bandwidth has been distributed, when the available bandwidth of the frequency point is smaller than the bandwidth that is occupied by an inherent code rate of a currently requested VOD program, so that the available bandwidth of the frequency point is greater than or equal to the inherent code rate of the currently requested VOD program;

multiplexing and outputting, by an Internet Protocol (IP) Quadrature Amplitude Modulator (IPQAM), the code stream corresponding to the requested program; and

decoding and storing, by the decoding terminal, the code stream corresponding to the program, according to the acquired program description information.

13. The program requesting method according to claim 12, further comprising:

reducing a transmission speed of at least one VOD program when the bandwidth distributed to each VOD program is adjusted to make the bandwidth be equal to the inherent code rate of the respective corresponding program.

14. The program requesting method according to claim 13, the reducing the transmission speed of at least one VOD program comprises:

determining bandwidth that cost a maximum time for transmitting the VOD program data, and reducing a transmission speed of the bandwidth that cost the maximum time for transmitting the VOD program data.

15. The program requesting method according to claim 12, further comprising:

reducing the bandwidth of the VOD program according to a formula R₁T₁+R₂T₂ . . . +R_nT_n+XT_x≧

CT_c, wherein R₁ indicates a transmission speed corresponding to bandwidth distributed to the VOD program for a first time, T₁ indicates a transmission time corresponding to the transmission speed, R_n indicates a transmission speed corresponding to bandwidth distributed to the VOD program for an nth time, T_n indicates a transmission time corresponding to the transmission speed R_n, X indicates a transmission speed after the bandwidth of the VOD program is adjusted, T_x indicates transmission time required to complete program data transmission at the transmission speed X, C indicates an inherent code rate of the transmitted program, T_c indicates time required to complete the VOD program data transmission at the transmission speed C, the adjusted transmission speed X satisfies X*T_x+C*(T_z−

T₀)≧

C*T_x, T_x indicates transmission time required to complete the VOD program data transmission at the transmission speed X, T_z indicates time required to complete transmission of the received program data at the inherent code rate, T₀ is time consumed for playing the program corresponding to the received program data of the received program data, and C is the inherent code rate of the requested program.

16. The program requesting method according to claim 12, further comprising:

distributing the bandwidth to other VOD programs that are transmitting, when the VOD stop request of the user is received or the transmission of the program is completed, wherein the bandwidth corresponds to the VOD program indicated in a VOD stop request of the user or the program whose transmission is completed.