CONTROL PLANE ARCHITECTURE FOR MULTICAST CACHE-FILL

• US 20110188439A1
• Filed: 09/15/2010
• Published: 08/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Salinger, Jorge, Mao, Weidong
• Granted Patent: US 8,681,680 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/312
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/44 for identifying broadcast stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2433 Allocation of priorities to traffic types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1014 based on the content of a request
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1021 based on client or server locations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21 Server components or server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2343 involving reformatting operations of video signals for distribution or compliance with end-user requests or end-user device requirements video transcoding H04N19/40; media packet handling at the source H04L65/762
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2368 Multiplexing of audio and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2389 Multiplex stream processing, e.g. multiplex stream encrypting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/24 Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. monitoring of server load, available bandwidth, upstream requests monitoring of server performance or load G06F11/34; arrangements for observation, testing or troubleshooting for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/266 Channel or content management, e.g. generation and management of keys and entitlement messages in a conditional access system, merging a VOD unicast channel into a multicast channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4353 involving decryption of additional data arrangements using cryptography for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/23
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 Unicasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/643 Communication protocols network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP], H04L65/65
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64723 : Monitoring of network processes or resources, e.g. monitoring of network load traffic related reporting in data switching networks H04L43/062
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A multicast content delivery system can use both multicast and unicast streams to efficiently use available bandwidth to deliver content. Available multicast content can be identified to gateways serving consumption devices, and the gateways can receive requests for unicast content deliver, but honor the requests with multicast group sessions.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

selecting, by a multicast controller computing device, a plurality of versions of a multimedia content to be multicast by each of a plurality of multicast servers, wherein different groups of versions are selected for different multicast servers; and

delivering, by the multicast controller computing device, a multicast listing identifying a list of the selected versions of the multimedia content.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting further comprises selecting versions of the multimedia content based on geographic area of the different multicast servers.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the selecting further comprises selecting versions of the multimedia content based on device profile popularity within the geographic areas of the different multicast servers.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising delivering incremental updates of the multicast listing after the multicast listing is originally delivered.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the delivering delivers the multicast listing to a gateway device, the method further comprising:

filtering, by the multicast controller computing device and prior to the delivering, the multicast listing according to one or more device profiles identifying capabilities of consumption devices served by the gateway device to which the multicast is sent.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising filtering, by the multicast controller computing device, the multicast listing according to one or more user preferences of users at a premises of the gateway device.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising filtering, by the multicast controller computing device, the multicast listing according to one or more digital rights management capabilities of a consuming device.

8. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a gateway device, a multicast listing identifying content items available for multicast reception;

receiving, by the gateway device, a content request from a consumption device, the content request being a request to establish a unicast session to obtain content;

determining, by the gateway device, that the requested content is listed in the multicast listing;

joining, by the gateway device, a multicast group identified in the multicast listing; and

supplying the content from the multicast group to the consumption device in response to the consumption device'"'"'s request.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

while supplying requested content to the requesting device, the gateway device switching from a multicast group to a unicast group for the content without further input from the consumption device, and without informing the consumption device of the switching.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving, by the gateway device, a content request for a second item of content from the consumption device;

determining that a requested version of the second item of content is not listed in the multicast listing;

determining that a similar version of the second item of content is listed in the multicast listing;

transmitting a message to the requesting consumption device, informing the consumption device that the similar version is available; and

receiving approval from the consumption device to supply the similar version of the second item of content instead of the requested version of the second item of content.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

the gateway device remaining a member of the multicast group of the requested content after determining that the consumption device no longer needs the requested content.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein if the consumption device does not resume consumption of the requested content within a predetermined period of time, the gateway device leaves the multicast group.

13. A gateway computing device, comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more computer readable memories, storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the gateway computing device to perform the following;

receive a multicast listing identifying content items available for multicast reception;

receive a unicast content request from a consumption device, the unicast content request being a request to establish a unicast session to obtain content;

determine that the requested content is listed in the multicast listing;

subscribe to a multicast group identified in the multicast listing; and

supply the content from the multicast group to the consumption device in response to the consumption device'"'"'s unicast request.

14. The gateway computing device of claim 13, wherein the instructions further cause the device to perform the following:

while supplying requested content to the requesting device, switching from a multicast group to a unicast group for the content without further input from the consumption device, and without informing the consumption device of the switching.

15. The gateway computing device of claim 13, wherein the instructions further cause the device to perform the following:

receive a unicast content request for a second item of content from the consumption device;

determine that a requested version of the second item of content is not listed in the multicast listing;

determine that a similar version of the second item of content is listed in the multicast listing;

transmit a hint to the requesting consumption device, informing the consumption device that the similar version is available; and

receive approval from the consumption device to supply the similar version of the second item of content instead of the requested version of the second item of content.

16. The gateway computing device of claim 15, wherein the instructions further cause the device to select the similar version based on available bandwidth between the gateway computing device and a termination system.

17. The gateway computing device of claim 13, wherein the instructions further cause the device to perform the following:

remain a member of the multicast group of the requested content after determining that the consumption device no longer needs the requested content.

18. The gateway computing device of claim 17 wherein the instructions further cause the device to perform the following:

leave the multicast group if the consumption device does not resume consumption of the requested content within a predetermined period of time.

19. The gateway computing device of claim 13, wherein the instructions further cause the device to manage bandwidth usage by adjusting multicast sessions.

20. The gateway computing device of claim 13, wherein the instructions further cause the device to conduct a cache join of a multicast group upon a consuming device ceasing to access content in the multicast group, wherein the cache join includes remaining a member of the multicast group without caching content multicast in the group.

21. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a termination system (TS), a gateway request for content, the request including a multicast source address field and a multicast group identifier field;

determining whether the content is already being sent from the TS as a logical multicast connection;

using the received multicast group identifier field to determine a bitrate of the requested content;

determining if the TS has sufficient capacity to support the determined bitrate;

if enough capacity is available to support the determined bitrate, establishing a logical connection between the TS and the gateway and requesting the requested content from a source identified by the multicast source value;

informing the gateway, by the TS, where to find the logical connection and how to decrypt it; and

sending the content on the logical connection from the TS.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the request includes an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) multicast source and group identifier.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

receiving a second request for the same content from a second gateway device;

and the TS informing the second gateway device to use the same logical connection for receiving the requested content.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the request is received by the TS as a PacketCable Multimedia (PCMM) message.