CHARGING-INVARIANT AND ORIGIN-SERVER-FRIENDLY TRANSIT CACHING IN MOBILE NETWORKS

• US 20110202634A1
• Filed: 02/11/2011
• Published: 08/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Movik Networks, Inc. (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Movik Networks, Inc. (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Inventors: Alden, Gregory, Ramakrishnan, Krishnan, Kovvali, Surya Kumar
• Application Number:
  US13/025,839
• Publication Number:
  US 20110202634A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1485 Tariff-related aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/163 In-band adaptation of TCP data exchange; In-band control procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP

Abstract

A method for serving content from a radio-access network cache includes detecting a request from a mobile device for content in the cache. The request is sent to a content-origin server, and a response is received therefrom.

Claims

1. A method for serving content from a radio-access network cache, the method comprising:

detecting a request, from a mobile device, for content present in the radio-access network cache;

sending the request to a content-origin server; and

receiving a response from the content-origin server related to the request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the request comprises receiving a client request from the mobile device or from the radio-access network cache.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the response received from the content-origin server comprises the requested content.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the response received from the content-origin server comprises an indication to halt serving the content from the radio-access network cache.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the indication comprises a message that the request is denied or that the content requested is invalid.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising instructing the radio-access network cache to halt serving the content.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the request to the content-origin server occurs in parallel with serving the content from the radio-access network cache.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the request to the content-origin server occurs after serving the content from the radio-access network cache.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising tagging the request sent to the content-origin server with a tag indicating presence of a content-origin-server-friendly radio-access network cache.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the response received from the content-origin server comprises content modified for compatibility with the content-origin-server-friendly radio-access network cache.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the modifications comprise flagging the content as cacheable or increasing the expiration time of the content.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the response received from the content-origin server comprises content to be served in a future request.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the content to be served in the future request comprises an advertisement.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising comparing an amount of data delivered to the mobile device to an amount of data received from the content-origin server.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising indicating undercharging or overcharging based on an outcome of the comparison.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising controlling an amount of data delivered from the radio-access network cache, prior to fetching the data from the content-origin server, based on an outcome of the comparison.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein controlling the amount of delivered data minimizes an impact on an accounting and charging system in a mobile core network.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein controlling the amount of delivered data minimizes an impact on any legal intercept issues in a mobile core network.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising delivering the content to a legal-intercept control-policy node and receiving verification therefrom prior to delivering the content to the mobile device.

20. A system for serving content from a radio-access network cache, the system comprising:

an interface module for sending data to and receiving data from a radio-access network;

a detection module for detecting a request, sent from a mobile device and received via the radio-access network, for content present in a radio-access network cache; and

a communication module for sending the request to a content-origin server and receiving a response therefrom.

21. The system of claim 20, further comprising a security module for verifying that the mobile device is allowed to receive the content.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the security module halts serving of the content from the radio-access network cache if the mobile device is not allowed to receive the content.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein the communication module receives the content from the content-origin server.

24. The system of claim 20, wherein the communication module tags the forwarded request with a tag indicating presence of a content-origin-server-friendly radio-access network cache.

25. The system of claim 20, further comprising an accounting module for comparing an amount of data delivered to the mobile device to an amount of data received from the content-origin server.

26. The system of claim 20, further comprising a cache-interface module for communicating with a radio-access network cache.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the cache-interface module forwards content received from the content-origin server to the radio-access network cache.

28. A system for serving content from a radio-access network cache, the system comprising:

computer memory for storing instructions for;

i. detecting a request, sent from a mobile device via a radio-access network, for content present in the radio-access network cache,

ii. sending the request to a content-origin server, and

iii. receiving a response from the content-origin server related the request; and

a processor for executing the instructions.