Hybrid HTTP and UDP content delivery

• US 20140059168A1
• Filed: 08/23/2013
• Published: 02/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Akamai Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Akamai Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Ponec, Miroslav, Alness, Andrew
• Granted Patent: US 9,628,542 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/02 Protocol performance
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/164 Adaptation or special uses of UDP protocol
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/165 Combined use of TCP and UDP protocols; selection criteria therefor

Abstract

A hybrid HTTP/UDP delivery protocol provides significant improvements for delivery of video and other content over a network, such as an overlay. The approach is especially useful to address problems (e.g., slow startup times, rebuffering, and low bitrates) for HTTP-based streaming. In general, the protocol has two phases: an HTTP phase, and a UDP phase. In the HTTP phase, the client sends an HTTP GET request to a server. The GET request contains a transport header informing the server that the client would like to use UDP-based transfer over the protocol. The server may refuse this mode and continue in ordinary HTTP mode, or the server may respond by sending an empty response with header information informing the client how to make the connection to enter the UDP phase. In the UDP phase, the client initiates a connection and receives the originally-requested content over UDP.

Claims

1. A method of data delivery, comprising:

at a server executing on a hardware platform;

receiving, from a client, an HTTP request that identifies a content object;

returning a response to the HTTP request that includes a header identifying an IP address/port number associated with the server, and a response body that is devoid of the content object requested;

receiving a UDP request directed to the IP address/port number; and

returning a response to the UDP request that includes the content object that was identified in the HTTP request.

4. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the header also includes a security token.

5. The method as described in claim 4 wherein, prior to returning the response to the UDP request, the server verifies that the UDP request also includes the security token.

6. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the header also includes information to prevent one or more proxies between the server and the client from caching the response to the HTTP request.

2. The method as described in claim 2, further including:

maintaining a persistent HTTP connection between the client and the server.

3. The method as described in claim 2 further including:

receiving at least one additional HTTP request from the client; and

returning a UDP-based response to the at least one additional HTTP request.

7. A method of data delivery, comprising:

at a client executing on a hardware platform;

transmitting, to a server, an HTTP request that identifies a content object;

receiving a response to the HTTP request that includes a header identifying an IP address/port number associated with the server, and a response body that is devoid of the content object requested;

transmitting a UDP request directed to the IP address/port number; and

receiving a response to the UDP request that includes the content object that was identified in the HTTP request.

8. The method as described in claim 7, further including:

maintaining a persistent HTTP connection between the client and the server.

9. The method as described in claim 8 further including:

transmitting at least one additional HTTP request to the server; and

receiving a UDP-based response to the at least one additional HTTP request.

10. The method as described in claim 7 wherein the header also includes a security token.

11. The method as described in claim 10, further including the security token in the UDP request to enable the server to verify that the client received the response to the HTTP request.

12. The method as described in claim 7 wherein the header also includes information to prevent one or more proxies between the server and the client from caching the response to the HTTP request.

13. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor;

computer memory holding computer program instructions, the computer program instructions comprising;

program code to receive a request that identifies a content object, the request delivered via a first transport protocol;

program code to return a response to the request, the response delivered via the first transport protocol;

the response comprising an empty response body, and a transport header including at least first and second information, the first information identifying an address at which the content object can be obtained via a second transport protocol that differs from the first transport protocol, and the second information for subsequent use in verifying that the request is received by a client that issued the request.

14. The apparatus as described in claim 13 wherein the first transport protocol is HTTP, and the second transport protocol is UDP over one of:

unicast, and multicast.

15. The apparatus as described in claim 14 wherein the apparatus further includes program code responsive to receipt at the address of a UDP request that includes the second information, the program code being operative in response to the UDP request to return one of:

the content object, and a portion of the content object.

16. The apparatus as described in claim 15 wherein the content object is returned according to a forward error correction (FEC) coding scheme.

17. The apparatus as described in claim 13 wherein the address is one of:

a multicast group address, and a set of multicast group addresses.

18. A system operative in a multi-tenant overlay network environment in which a service provider provides video delivery from edge servers using HTTP-based streaming, comprising:

server-side program code executable in a hardware processor;

client-side program code executed in a hardware processor;

the server-side program code operative;

to receive, from the client-side program code, an HTTP request that identifies a content object;

to return a response to the HTTP request that includes a header identifying an IP address/port number associated with the server-side program code, and a response body that is devoid of the content object requested;

to receive a UDP request directed to the IP address/port number; and

to return a response to the UDP request that includes the content object that was identified in the HTTP request;

client-side program code operative;

to transmit, to the server-side program code, the HTTP request that identifies a content object;

to receive the response to the HTTP request that includes the header identifying an IP address/port number associated with the server-side program code, and the response body that is devoid of the content object requested;

to transmit the UDP request directed to the IP address/port number; and

to receive the response to the UDP request that includes the content object that was identified in the HTTP request.

19. The system as described in claim 18 wherein the header also includes a security token.

20. The system as described in claim 19 wherein the UDP request includes the security token, and server-side program code is further operative to return the response to the UDP request if the server-side program code verifies that the UDP request also includes the security token.