System For Delivery Of Content To Be Played Autonomously

• US 20110093534A1
• Filed: 06/04/2008
• Published: 04/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Souza, Victor
• Granted Patent: US 9,225,778 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1076 Resource dissemination mechanisms or network resource keeping policies for optimal resource availability in the overlay network

Abstract

The dynamicity of current content delivery environments demands the use of highly complex algorithms. A content delivery system for delivering content to clients in a content delivery network is disclosed and further comprises a method for placing the content in the content delivery network. The content delivery system comprises at least one mobile object adapted to be executed on the content delivery system but also adapted to be executed on other content delivery systems. Each mobile object comprises a media file and is adapted to monitor data related to the clients access of the media file. When certain conditions are met, e.g. when many clients that are accessing the media file are closer to another content delivery system, the mobile object can decide to move or copy itself to the other content delivery system.

Claims

1. A content delivery system (210) for delivering content to at least one client (230) said system (210) comprising a processor (410) and a memory area (420), and characterized by at least one mobile object (212) adapted to be stored in the memory area (420) and to be executed in the content delivery system (210) and in at least one second content delivery system (220) and where the mobile object (212) comprises:

a media file (213) accessible by the client (230);

a policy data base (217) and

execution logic (214) adapted to monitor data related to the client'"'"'s (230) access of the media file (213), to interrogate the policy data base (217) and to move or copy the mobile object (212) to the second content delivery system (220) or to delete the mobile object (212) when certain conditions stored in the policy data base (217) are met.

2. A content delivery system (210) as in claim 1 where the execution logic (214) in the mobile object (212) comprises program code (215) and a data area (216).

3. A content delivery system (210) as in claim 2 where the data area (216) in the mobile object (212) comprises the data related to the client'"'"'s (230) access of the media file (213).

4. A content delivery system (210) as in claim 3 further comprising an execution environment (211) adapted for mobile objects (212) and where the execution logic (214) in the mobile object (212) is further adapted to monitor (241) data related to the execution environment (211).

5. A content delivery system (210) as in claim 3 where the data area (216) comprises any of the following data:

the number of accesses to the mobile object (212);

the number of active connections (231) between the clients (230) and the mobile object (212);

the number of times the media file (213) has been accessed per time unit;

the location of the clients (230, 240) accessing the media file (213) ;

the location of other content delivery systems (220).

6. A content delivery system (210) as in claim 4 where the data related to the execution environment (211) comprises any of the following:

available bandwidth and/or processor load;

available communication links between the content server (210) and the clients (230, 240);

communication link usage and/or link costs.

7. A content delivery system (210) as in claim 3 where the policy data base (217) comprises any of the following data:

the maximum and minimum acceptable number of accesses to the media file (213) per time unit;

the maximum and minimum acceptable bandwidth to be consumed by the mobile object (212);

the maximum network cost for transmission of a media file (213).

8. A content delivery system (210) as in any preceding claim where the system (210) is a content server.

9. A method for placing content in a content delivery network (100) characterized by the steps of:

executing (301) in a first content delivery system (210) a mobile object (212) comprising execution logic (214), a policy data base (217) and a media file (213) accessible by at least one client (230);

monitoring (302) data related to the client'"'"'s (230) access of the media file (213) and

when certain conditions stored in the policy data base (217) are met, moving (307) or sending (312) a copy (222) of the mobile object (212) to a second content delivery system (220) or deleting (304) the mobile object (212).

10. A method as in claim 9 further comprising the step of monitoring (302) data related to an execution environment (211) adapted for mobile objects (212) in the content delivery system (210).

11. A method as in claim 9 further comprising the steps of pausing (306) active connections and halting (306) the execution of the mobile object (212) prior to the step of moving (307) the mobile object (212) to the second content delivery system (220).

12. A method as in claim 9 comprising the step of resetting (311) the execution states in the copy (222) of the mobile object (212) prior to the step of sending (312) the copy (222) to the second content delivery system (220).

13. A method as claim 12 further comprising the step of continuing (301) the execution of the mobile object (212) in the first content delivery system (210).

14. A method for creating a content delivery system (210) for delivering content to at least one client (230) characterized by the step of:

receiving, by a non-content delivery system being a server and having an execution environment (211) adapted for mobile objects, a mobile object (212) comprising a media file (213) accessible by the client (230).