Content provider for pull based intelligent caching system

• US 6,275,496 B1
• Filed: 03/02/1999
• Issued: 08/14/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Burns, Gregory, Leach, Paul J.
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, HUY DUY
• Application Number:
  US09/260,933
• Time in Patent Office: 896 Days
• Field of Search: 370/252, 370/401, 370/310, 370/338, 370/428, 370/429, 370/412, 455/5.1, 348/7, 348/12, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/201, 709/202, 709/203
• US Class Current: 370/429
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18582 Arrangements for data linking, i.e. for data framing, for error recovery, for multiple access
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A network system includes a content provider connected to local service providers via an interactive distribution network, such as the Internet. The local service providers facilitate delivery of the content from the content provider to multiple subscribers. The local service providers schedule delivery of frequently requested content from the content provider prior to a peak time when the subscribers are likely to request the content. The content is downloaded from the content provider during the off-peak hours and cached at the local service providers for serving to the subscribers during the ensuing peak time. In this manner, the frequently requested content is already present at the local service providers and ready to be served to the subscribers before they actually request it. When the content is finally requested, the data is streamed continuously in real-time for just-in-time rendering at the subscriber computer. Another aspect of this invention involves supplementing content delivery over the Internet with delivery of content over a secondary network, such as a broadcast satellite network. The supplemental broadcast link offers additional bandwidth at a fraction of the cost that would be incurred if the local service provider installed additional Internet connections, such as T1 or T3 connections.

Claims

1. A content provider, comprising:

a storage system to store content;

a server connected to the storage system to serve the content to requesting clients; and

the server being programmed to serve early at least some of the content to the clients prior to a peak time when the clients are likely to request the content, and the server being programmed to assign a time-to-live tag to the content to indicate when the content is expected to be updated.

2. A content provider as recited in claim 1, wherein the server serves multiple clients, the server being programmed to serve early different sets of content for different ones of the clients.