FLEXIBLE BANDWIDTH ALLOCATION IN A CONTENT DISTRIBUTION NETWORK
First Claim
1. A method of bandwidth location at a local distribution node, comprising:
- for each leaf node in a content distribution network, at a local distribution node, determining values for bandwidth parameters;
based on the bandwidth parameter values, projecting bandwidth needs for a future period for each leaf node; and
reallocating bandwidth for one or more of the leaf nodes based on said projection.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems to improve the efficiency of a content delivery system. A local distribution node is introduced to the network, between the content provider and the end user device (i.e., the leaf node). The local distribution node is responsible for servicing a localized subset of the leaf nodes that would otherwise be serviced by a conventional server of the content delivery system. Requests for content are received at the local distribution node from leaf nodes, and content is received at the local distribution node for transmission to the leaf node(s). Content may be cached at the local distribution node to allow faster service of subsequent requests for this content. Caching may also be used to make the channel surfing process more efficient. If demand is high, a leaf node may be promoted to serve as an additional local distribution node. Leaf nodes may also share content among themselves. Bandwidth may be allocated and reallocated by the local distribution node for the local population of leaf nodes.
43 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of bandwidth location at a local distribution node, comprising:
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for each leaf node in a content distribution network, at a local distribution node, determining values for bandwidth parameters; based on the bandwidth parameter values, projecting bandwidth needs for a future period for each leaf node; and reallocating bandwidth for one or more of the leaf nodes based on said projection. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A computer program product for bandwidth allocation at a local distribution node, including a non-transitory computer readable medium having computer program logic stored therein, the computer program logic comprising:
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logic for determining, at a local distribution node, values for bandwidth parameters for each leaf node in a content distribution network; logic for projecting bandwidth needs for a future period for each leaf node, based on the bandwidth parameter values; and logic for reallocating bandwidth for one or more of the leaf nodes based on the projection. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for bandwidth location at a local distribution node, comprising:
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a processor; and memory in communication with said processor, said memory for storing a plurality of processing instructions for directing said processor to; for each leaf node in a content distribution network, at a local distribution node, determine values for bandwidth parameters; based on the bandwidth parameter values, project bandwidth needs for a future period for each leaf node; and reallocate bandwidth for one or more of the leaf nodes based on said projection. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification