Method and system for scheduled streaming of best effort data
First Claim
1. A method of transmitting information, comprising the steps of:
- generating, in a transmission apparatus, a sequence of one or more packets for carrying file data of one of a plurality of programs, each program carrying data of one or more files to be used by a recipient node in a similar fashion each packet of the sequence being transferred from source node to recipient node in whole or as plural segments in a signal; and
transmitting, by the transmission apparatus, the sequence of packets, wherein the sequence of packets comprises;
(a) a header of a first packet of the sequence of packets, the header including a program identifier field containing a program identifier which uniquely identifies the program of the sequence of packets, and(b) a payload containing one or more data triplets, each data triplet including a tag, a length and a value field, the tag uniquely identifying the value in the value field and the length indicating an offset in data words to an immediately following data triplet, a length of zero indicating that no data triplet follows, the value fields of the sequence of data triplets containing information for uniquely correlating file data in each packet of the sequence to a respective file of one of the best-effort programs,wherein the sequence of packets contains two or more packets, wherein the first packet of the sequence has a payload with no data of the file and wherein each other packet of the sequence has a payload with data of the file.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system is provided for controlling the transmission of best-effort filed data or programs on channels from one of plural controllers to one or more client nodes. A program is a group of files and has program information indicating to a client node how to use the files of the program. A channel is a virtual path, wherein a client node can receive program files from different channels in a separable fashion. Channels also have channel information. Multiple controllers are provided which self configure in rank order to control the scheduled transmission of programs files on channels. Client nodes receive announcements of programs and channels from the controllers and selectively subscribe to the channels and programs. Client nodes can be instructed to positively acknowledge receipt of programs and also send back negative acknowledgements for ranges of data words in program files not received. The negative acknowledgements can be consolidated to reduce the number of packets on the network. The format of packets carrying program files and acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement messages are specified.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method of transmitting information, comprising the steps of:
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generating, in a transmission apparatus, a sequence of one or more packets for carrying file data of one of a plurality of programs, each program carrying data of one or more files to be used by a recipient node in a similar fashion each packet of the sequence being transferred from source node to recipient node in whole or as plural segments in a signal; and transmitting, by the transmission apparatus, the sequence of packets, wherein the sequence of packets comprises; (a) a header of a first packet of the sequence of packets, the header including a program identifier field containing a program identifier which uniquely identifies the program of the sequence of packets, and (b) a payload containing one or more data triplets, each data triplet including a tag, a length and a value field, the tag uniquely identifying the value in the value field and the length indicating an offset in data words to an immediately following data triplet, a length of zero indicating that no data triplet follows, the value fields of the sequence of data triplets containing information for uniquely correlating file data in each packet of the sequence to a respective file of one of the best-effort programs, wherein the sequence of packets contains two or more packets, wherein the first packet of the sequence has a payload with no data of the file and wherein each other packet of the sequence has a payload with data of the file. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of transmitting information, comprising the steps of:
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generating, in a transmission apparatus, a sequence of one or more packets for carrying file data of one of a plurality of programs, each program carrying data of one or more files to be used by a recipient node in a similar fashion each packet of the sequence being transferred from source node to recipient node in whole or as plural segments in a signal; and transmitting, by the transmission apparatus, the sequence of packets, wherein the sequence of packets comprises; (a) a header of a first packet of the sequence of packets, the header including a program identifier field containing a program identifier which uniquely identifies the program of the sequence of packets, and (b) a payload containing one or more data triplets, each data triplet including a tag, a length and a value field, the tag uniquely identifying the value in the value field and the length indicating an offset in data words to an immediately following data triplet, a length of zero indicating that no data triplet follows, the value fields of the sequence of data triplets containing information for uniquely correlating file data in each packet of the sequence to a respective file of one of the best-effort programs, wherein the header further comprises a key index in a key index field, wherein the key index indexes a key corresponding to the program which can be used to decrypt the payload of the packet. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method, operative in a communication network including a source node, for transmitting from the source node a sequence of one or more packets containing best-effort file data for one or more programs on one or more channels to one or more recipient nodes, a program being a signal containing one or more files that can be used by the recipient nodes in a similar fashion, a channel being a distinct virtual path by which a recipient node can receive data separately from data carried on other channels, the sequence of packets comprising:
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(a) a header of a first packet of the sequence of packets, the header including a program identifier field containing a program identifier which uniquely identifies the program of the sequence of packets, and (b) a payload containing one or more data triplets, each data triplet including a tag, a length and a value field, the tag uniquely identifying the value in the value field and the length indicating an offset in data words to an immediately following data triplet, a length of zero indicating that no data triplet follows, the value fields of the sequence of data triplets containing information for uniquely correlating file data in each packet of the sequence to a respective file of one of the best-effort programs, wherein the sequence of packets contains two or more packets, wherein the first packet of the sequence has a payload with no data of the file and wherein each other packet of the sequence has a payload with data of the file, said method comprising the steps of; providing, in the source node, the sequence of packets; and transmitting, by the source node, the sequence of packets from the source node. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A method, operative in a communication network including a source node, for transmitting from the source node a sequence of one or more packets containing best-effort file data for one or more programs on one or more channels to one or more recipient nodes, a program being a signal containing one or more files that can be used by the recipient nodes in a similar fashion, a channel being a distinct virtual path by which a recipient node can receive data separately from data carried on other channels, the sequence of packets comprising:
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(a) a header of a first packet of the sequence of packets, the header including a program identifier field containing a program identifier which uniquely identifies the program of the sequence of packets, and (b) a payload containing one or more data triplets, each data triplet including a tag, a length and a value field, the tag uniquely identifying the value in the value field and the length indicating an offset in data words to an immediately following data triplet, a length of zero indicating that no data triplet follows, the value fields of the sequence of data triplets containing information for uniquely correlating file data in each packet of the sequence to a respective file of one of the best-effort programs, wherein the header further comprises a key index in a key index field, wherein the key index indexes a key corresponding to the program which can be used to decrypt the payload of the packet, said method comprising the steps of; providing, in the source node, the sequence of packets; and transmitting, by the source node, the sequence of packets from the source node. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A method, operative in a communication network including a recipient node, for receiving a sequence of one or more packets containing best-effort file data for one or more programs on one or more channels from one or more source nodes, a program being a signal containing one or more files that can be used by recipient nodes in a similar fashion, a channel being a distinct virtual path by which a recipient node can receive data separately from data carried on other channels, the sequence of packets comprising:
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(a) a header of a first packet of the sequence of packets, the header including a program identifier field containing a program identifier which uniquely identifies the program of the sequence of packets, and (b) a payload containing one or more data triplets, each data triplet including a tag, a length and a value field, the tag uniquely identifying the value in the value field and the length indicating an offset in data words to an immediately following data triplet, a length of zero indicating that no data triplet follows, the value fields of the sequence of data triplets containing information for uniquely correlating file data in each packet of the sequence to a respective file of one of the best-effort programs, wherein the sequence of packets contains two or more packets, wherein the first packet of the sequence has a payload with no data of the file and wherein each other packet of the sequence has a payload with data of the file, said method comprising the steps of; receiving the sequence of packets at the recipient node; and processing, in the recipient node, the sequence of packets.
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19. A method, operative in a communication network including a recipient node, for receiving a sequence of one or more packets containing best-effort file data for one or more programs on one or more channels from one or more source nodes, a program being a signal containing one or more files that can be used by recipient nodes in a similar fashion, a channel being a distinct virtual path by which a recipient node can receive data separately from data carried on other channels, the sequence of packets comprising:
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(a) a header of a first packet of the sequence of packets, the header including a program identifier field containing a program identifier which uniquely identifies the program of the sequence of packets, and (b) a payload containing one or more data triplets, each data triplet including a tag, a length and a value field, the tag uniquely identifying the value in the value field and the length indicating an offset in data words to an immediately following data triplet, a length of zero indicating that no data triplet follows, the value fields of the sequence of data triplets containing information for uniquely correlating file data in each packet of the sequence to a respective file of one of the best-effort programs, wherein the header further comprises a key index in a key index field, wherein the key index indexes a key corresponding to the program which can be used to decrypt the payload of the packet, said method comprising the steps of; receiving the sequence of packets at the recipient node; and processing, in the recipient node, the sequence of packets.
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20. Apparatus for transmitting information, comprising:
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a generator for generating a sequence of one or more packets for carrying file data of one of a plurality of programs, each program carrying data of one or more files to be used by a recipient node in a similar fashion each packet of the sequence being transferred from source node to recipient node in whole or as plural segments in a signal; and a transmitter for transmitting the sequence of packets, wherein the sequence of packets comprises; (a) a header of a first packet of the sequence of packets, the header including a program identifier field containing a program identifier which uniquely identifies the program of the sequence of packets, and (b) a payload containing one or more data triplets, each data triplet including a tag, a length and a value field, the tag uniquely identifying the value in the value field and the length indicating an offset in data words to an immediately following data triplet, a length of zero indicating that no data triplet follows, the value fields of the sequence of data triplets containing information for uniquely correlating file data in each packet of the sequence to a respective file of one of the best-effort programs, wherein the sequence of packets contains two or more packets, wherein the first packet of the sequence has a payload with no data of the file and wherein each other packet of the sequence has a payload with data of the file. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. Apparatus for transmitting information, comprising:
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a generator for generating a sequence of one or more packets for carrying file data of one of a plurality of programs, each program carrying data of one or more files to be used by a recipient node in a similar fashion each packet of the sequence being transferred from source node to recipient node in whole or as plural segments in a signal; and a transmitter for transmitting the sequence of packets, wherein the sequence of packets comprises; (a) a header of a first packet of the sequence of packets, the header including a program identifier field containing a program identifier which uniquely identifies the program of the sequence of packets, and (b) a payload containing one or more data triplets, each data triplet including a tag, a length and a value field, the tag uniquely identifying the value in the value field and the length indicating an offset in data words to an immediately following data triplet, a length of zero indicating that no data triplet follows, the value fields of the sequence of data triplets containing information for uniquely correlating file data in each packet of the sequence to a respective file of one of the best-effort programs, wherein the header further comprises a key index in a key index field, wherein the key index indexes a key corresponding to the program which can be used to decrypt the payload of the packet. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. In a communication network, a system including a source node for transmitting a sequence of one or more packets containing best-effort file data for one or more programs on one or more channels to one or more recipient nodes, a program being a signal containing one or more files that can be used by the recipient nodes in a similar fashion, a channel being a distinct virtual path by which a recipient node can receive data separately from data carried on other channels, the sequence of packets comprising:
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(a) a header of a first packet of the sequence of packets, the header including a program identifier field containing a program identifier which uniquely identifies the program of the sequence of packets, and (b) a payload containing one or more data triplets, each data triplet including a tag, a length and a value field, the tag uniquely identifying the value in the value field and the length indicating an offset in data words to an immediately following data triplet, a length of zero indicating that no data triplet follows, the value fields of the sequence of data triplets containing information for uniquely correlating file data in each packet of the sequence to a respective file of one of the best-effort programs, wherein the sequence of packets contains two or more packets, wherein the first packet of the sequence has a payload with no data of the file and wherein each other packet of the sequence has a payload with data of the file. - View Dependent Claims (34)
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35. In a communication network, a system including a recipient node for receiving a sequence of one or more packets containing best-effort file data for one or more programs on one or more channels from one or more source nodes, a program being a signal containing one or more files that can be used by recipient nodes in a similar fashion, a channel being a distinct virtual path by which a recipient node can receive data separately from data carried on other channels, the sequence of packets comprising:
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(a) a header of a first packet of the sequence of packets, the header including a program identifier field containing a program identifier which uniquely identifies the program of the sequence of packets, and (b) a payload containing one or more data triplets, each data triplet including a tag, a length and a value field, the tag uniquely identifying the value in the value field and the length indicating an offset in data words to an immediately following data triplet, a length of zero indicating that no data triplet follows, the value fields of the sequence of data triplets containing information for uniquely correlating file data in each packet of the sequence to a respective file of one of the best-effort programs, wherein the sequence of packets contains two or more packets, wherein the first packet of the sequence has a payload with no data of the file and wherein each other packet of the sequence has a payload with data of the file.
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36. In a communication network, a system including a source node for transmitting a sequence of one or more packets containing best-effort file data for one or more programs on one or more channels to one or more recipient nodes, a program being a signal containing one or more files that can be used by the recipient nodes in a similar fashion, a channel being a distinct virtual path by which a recipient node can receive data separately from data carried on other channels, the sequence of packets comprising:
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(a) a header of a first packet of the sequence of packets, the header including a program identifier field containing a program identifier which uniquely identifies the program of the sequence of packets, and (b) a payload containing one or more data triplets, each data triplet including a tag, a length and a value field, the tag uniquely identifying the value in the value field and the length indicating an offset in data words to an immediately following data triplet, a length of zero indicating that no data triplet follows, the value fields of the sequence of data triplets containing information for uniquely correlating file data in each packet of the sequence to a respective file of one of the best-effort programs, wherein the header further comprises a key index in a key index field, wherein the key index indexes a key corresponding to the program which can be used to decrypt the payload of the packet. - View Dependent Claims (37)
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38. In a communication network, a system including a recipient node for receiving a sequence of one or more packets containing best-effort file data for one or more programs on one or more channels from one or more source nodes, a program being a signal containing one or more files that can be used by recipient nodes in a similar fashion, a channel being a distinct virtual path by which a recipient node can receive data separately from data carried on other channels, the sequence of packets comprising:
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(c) a header of a first packet of the sequence of packets, the header including a program identifier field containing a program identifier which uniquely identifies the program of the sequence of packets, and (d) a payload containing one or more data triplets, each data triplet including a tag, a length and a value field, the tag uniquely identifying the value in the value field and the length indicating an offset in data words to an immediately following data triplet, a length of zero indicating that no data triplet follows, the value fields of the sequence of data triplets containing information for uniquely correlating file data in each packet of the sequence to a respective file of one of the best-effort programs, wherein the header further comprises a key index in a key index field, wherein the key index indexes a key corresponding to the program which can be used to decrypt the payload of the packet.
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Specification