Method and apparatus for hierarchical distribution of video content for an interactive information distribution system

• US 8,191,097 B1
• Filed: 11/23/1999
• Issued: 05/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Comcast IP Holdings I LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast IP Holdings I LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Armstrong, James B., Goode, Christopher W. B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lonsberry, Hunter
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chowdhury, Sumaiya A
• Application Number:
  US09/447,472
• Time in Patent Office: 4,571 Days
• Field of Search: 725/91, 725/92, 725/114, 725/115, 725/145, 725/93, 725/94, 725/87, 709213-216, 709/231, 709/235, 711/117, 711/159, 711/165, 711/170, 711/173
• US Class Current: 725/91
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5632 Bandwidth allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23106 involving caching operations prefetching while addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means within memory systems or architectures G06F12/0862; caching at an intermediate stage in a data network H04L67/568
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/232 Content retrieval operation locally within server, e.g. reading video streams from disk arrays storage management G06F3/0604; details of querying and searching of video data from a database G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26208 the scheduling operation being performed under constraints
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method and apparatus for storing and distributing video information in an interactive information distribution system by storing video information on either a centralized or de-centralized secondary storage partition in a network of provider and subscriber equipment, and therein distributing the video information to a subscriber having made a request for such video information.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a server configured to distribute requested video assets to requesting user equipment via an access network, the server comprising;

a storage medium comprising a primary storage partition configured to store frequently requested video assets and a secondary storage partition configured to store infrequently requested video assets;

a manager configured to manage migration of video assets, wherein the manager is configured to track asset request rates and threshold rates of respective video assets;

wherein the manager, in response to an infrequently requested video asset becoming frequently requested, is configured to select and transmit the frequently requested video asset to at least one primary partition of each of at least two servers;

wherein the manager, in response to a frequently requested video asset becoming infrequently requested, is configured to select and transmit the infrequently requested video asset to at least one secondary partition of at least one, but less than the all of, the at least two servers and removing the infrequently requested video asset from the primary partitions.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the manager is configured to identify an infrequently requested video asset as becoming frequently requested when the asset request rate crosses above the threshold rate; and

the manager is configured to identify a frequently requested video asset as becoming infrequently requested when the asset request rate crosses below the threshold rate.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein:

in response to receiving a request for a video asset from requesting user equipment, the manager is configured to control distribution of the requested video asset from one of the servers identified as storing the requested video asset to the requesting user equipment.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the server is a local server and is operatively connected to a remote server comprising a storage medium having a primary partition and a secondary partition, the apparatus further comprising:

a content manager configured to receive the request for the video asset and determine whether the requested video asset is stored locally in the storage medium of that local server at which the video asset request is received or stored remotely in the storage medium of the remote server;

a stream session manager configured to direct a server to distribute streams of video assets to user equipment requesting the video assets; and

a content session manager configured to respond to video asset requests forwarded from managers of other servers.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the content manager of the local server at which a video asset request is received, in response to determining that a requested video asset is stored locally, is configured to notify the stream session manager to deliver the requested video asset by the local server to the requesting user equipment via the access network.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the content manager of the local server at which a video asset request is received, in response to determining that a requested video asset is stored remotely in the storage of a remote server, is configured to instruct the stream session manager of the local server to contact a content session manager of the remote server.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the content session manager of the remote server is configured to identify the requested video asset in the storage of the remote server, allocate bandwidth for transmitting the requested video asset, and, in response to a determination that the requested video asset is to be provided from the remote server to the requesting user equipment via the local server, notify a server of the remote server to transmit the requested video asset to the local server using the access network.

8. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving at a server, an indication whether asset request rates for a plurality of video assets stored in a plurality of servers exceeds respective threshold rates for the plurality of the video assets;

in response to an infrequently requested video asset becoming frequently requested, selecting and transmitting the frequently requested video asset to at least one primary partition of each of the plurality of servers, wherein each server serves as a local server to a respective group of user equipment devices via an access network and a remote server to at least one other group of user equipment devices; and

in response to a frequently requested video asset becoming infrequently requested, selecting and transmitting the infrequently requested video asset to at least one secondary partition of at least one, but less than all of, the plurality of servers, and removing the infrequently requested video asset from the primary partitions.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

for each infrequently requested video asset that becomes a frequently requested video asset, removing the infrequently requested video asset from a secondary storage partition.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving, at one of the servers, a request for a video asset;

identifying a server storing the requested video asset, wherein the identified server comprises one of the local servers at which the video asset request is received or one of the other servers remote from the server at which the video asset request is received;

causing the identified server storing said requested video asset to begin providing the requested video asset; and

transmitting the requested video asset through an access network to the user equipment device initiating the video asset request.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, when the identified server is the local server coupled directly to the requesting user equipment device, the local server provides the requested video asset to the requesting user equipment device via the access network.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, when the identified server is one of the remote servers, the local server requests the requested video asset from the remote server and the remote server provides the requested video asset to the local server via an inter-server network.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a storage medium having a primary storage partition for storing frequently requested video assets and a secondary storage partition for storing a portion of infrequently requested video assets that are selectively distributed amongst a plurality of servers comprising at least a local first server and a remote second server; and

a manager configured to control processing of video asset requests from a first group of user equipment and distribution of video assets to the requesting user equipment, wherein the manager comprises;

a content manager configured to receive a request for a video asset from the requesting user equipment in the first group of user equipment and determine whether the requested video asset is stored locally in the storage of the first server or stored remotely in the storage of the remote second server configured to control processing of video asset requests from a second group of user equipment;

a stream session manager configured to direct the apparatus to distribute requested video assets to the requesting user equipment; and

a content session manager configured to receive asset requests forwarded from the plurality of servers, identify and retrieve requested video assets requested by content managers of the plurality of servers, and provide requested video assets to the plurality of servers,

wherein the manager, in response to an infrequently requested video asset becoming frequently requested, is configured to select and transmit the frequently requested video asset to at least one primary partition of at least the local first server and the remote second server;

wherein the manager, in response to a frequently requested video asset becoming infrequently requested, is configured to select and transmit the infrequently requested video asset to at least one secondary partition of at least one server, but less than all, of the plurality of servers.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the content manager, in response to determining that the requested video asset is stored locally, is configured to notify the stream session manager to deliver the requested video asset to a local server for transmission by the local server to the requesting user equipment.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the content manager, in response to determining that the requested video asset is stored remotely in the storage of a different server, is configured to instruct the stream session manager of a local server to contact a content session manager of the remote server.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the content session manager of the remote server is configured to identify the requested video asset in the storage of the remote second server and allocate bandwidth for transmitting the requested video asset.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein, in response to a determination that the requested video asset is to be provided from the remote second server to the requesting user equipment via the first local server, the content session manager of the remote server is configured to notify the server of the remote second server to transmit the requested video asset to the first local server.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein, in response to a determination that a server of the local first server is available to receive the requested video asset from the remote second server, a server of the remote second server is configured to stream the requested video asset to the local first server over an inter-server network.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein a server of the local first server is configured to receive the requested video asset from a server of the remote second server, wherein the received video asset is stored in the storage of the local first server.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein, in response to a determination that the requested video asset is to be provided directly from the remote second server to the requesting user equipment, the content session manager of the remote second server is configured to request a stream session manager of the remote second server to allocate bandwidth for providing the requested video asset to the requesting user equipment.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the stream session manager of the remote second server is configured to notify a server of the remote second server to stream the requested video asset to the requesting user equipment.