Content sharing via multiple content distribution servers

• US 8,327,012 B1
• Filed: 02/16/2012
• Issued: 12/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Color Labs Inc. (Apple Inc.)
• Inventors: Mallet, Vincent, Cheng, Jessica, Chokshi, Sandip, Ramanarayanan, Ganesh, Nguyen, Bill, Woods, Nicholas, Streich, Megan
• Primary Examiner(s): Winder, Patrice
• Assistant Examiner(s): Golabbakhsh, Ebrahim
• Application Number:
  US13/398,296
• Time in Patent Office: 292 Days
• Field of Search: 709/226, 709231-232, 709/235, 709/242
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/06 Generation of reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/19 at layers above the network layer network arrangements for networked applications for scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1006 with static server selection, e.g. the same server being selected for a specific client
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1008 based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/101 based on network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1012 based on compliance of requirements or conditions with available server resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1019 Random or heuristic server selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 : Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 : Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23103 : using load balancing strategies, e.g. by placing or distributing content on different disks, different memories or different servers storage management G06F3/0604; allocation of resources considering the load in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/505; techniques for rebalancing the load in a distributed system G06F9/5083; access to distributed or replicated servers, e.g. load balancing, in data networks H04L67/1001
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 : Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2743 : Video hosting of uploaded data from client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 : embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 : for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 : for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 : communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/488 : Data services, e.g. news ticker systems specially adapted for using meteorological information in broadcast systems H04H60/71

Abstract

Example systems and methods of content sharing via multiple content distribution servers are presented. In one example, a media content stream is received at a first distribution server from a source device via a communication network. The received media content is transmitted from the first distribution server to a plurality of destination devices via the communication network. A traffic condition regarding the transmitting of the received media content stream is detected. An indication of the traffic condition is transmitted to a traffic management device. An instruction to assign at least one other distribution server to additional destination devices is received from the traffic management device in response to the indication of the traffic condition. In response to the instruction, the received media content stream is transmitted from the first distribution server to the at least one other distribution server for distribution to the additional destination devices.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a first distribution server, a live media content stream from a source device via a communication network;

transmitting the received live media content stream from the first distribution server to a plurality of destination devices via the communication network;

detecting, using at least one processor, a traffic condition regarding the transmitting of the received live media content stream;

transmitting an indication of the traffic condition to a traffic management device;

receiving an instruction from the traffic management device to assign at least one other distribution server to additional destination devices in response to the indication of the traffic condition;

transmitting the received live media content stream from the first distribution server to the at least one other distribution server for distribution to the additional destination devices in response to the instruction;

detecting a second traffic condition regarding the transmitting of the received live media content stream, the detecting of the second traffic condition comprising detecting a number of the additional destination devices falling below a second threshold;

transmitting an indication of the second traffic condition to the traffic management device;

receiving a second instruction from the traffic management device to cease the transmitting of the received live media content stream in response to the indication of the second traffic condition; and

ceasing the transmitting of the received live media content stream from the first distribution server to the at least one other distribution server in response to the second instruction.

2. The method of claim 1, the detecting of the traffic condition comprising detecting a number of the plurality of destination devices surpassing a threshold.

3. The method of claim 1, the instruction comprising an identification of the at least one other distribution server.

4. The method of claim 3, the identification of the at least one other distribution server being based on a random selection of the at least one other distribution server from a plurality of available distribution servers.

5. The method of claim 3, the identification of the at least one other distribution server being based on a selection of the at least one other distribution server from a plurality of available distribution servers, the selection being based at least on a current traffic level of the received live media content.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing a proxy connection from the first distribution server to the at least one other distribution server prior to the transmitting of the received live media content stream from the first distribution server to the at least one other distribution server.

7. The method of claim 1, the transmitting of the received live media content stream from the first distribution server to the at least one other distribution server employing a push data transfer model.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying the source device and the plurality of destination devices based on social network connections between a user of the source device and users of the plurality of destination devices.

9. The method of claim 1, the received live media content comprising at least one of a video content stream and an audio content stream.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a first distribution server, cause the first distribution server to perform operations comprising:

receiving a live media content stream from a source device via a communication network;

transmitting the received live media content stream to a plurality of destination devices via the communication network;

detecting a traffic condition regarding the transmitting of the received live media content stream;

transmitting an indication of the traffic condition to a traffic management device;

receiving an instruction from the traffic management device to assign at least one other distribution server to additional destination devices in response to the indication of the traffic condition;

transmitting the received live media content stream to the at least one other distribution server for distribution to the additional destination devices in response to the instruction;

detecting a second traffic condition regarding the transmitting of the received live media content stream, the detecting of the second traffic condition comprising detecting a number of the additional destination devices falling below a second threshold;

transmitting an indication of the second traffic condition to the traffic management device;

receiving a second instruction from the traffic management device to cease the transmitting of the received live media content stream in response to the indication of the second traffic condition; and

ceasing the transmitting of the received live media content stream from the first distribution server to the at least one other distribution server in response to the second instruction.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, the detecting of the traffic condition comprising detecting a number of the plurality of destination devices surpassing a threshold.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, the instruction comprising an identification of the at least one other distribution server.

13. A system comprising:

a first distribution server to;

receive a live media content stream from a source device via a communication network;

transmit the received live media content stream to a plurality of destination devices via the communication network;

detect a traffic condition regarding the transmitting of the received live media content stream;

transmit an indication of the traffic condition to a traffic management device;

receive an instruction from the traffic management device to assign at least one other distribution server to additional destination devices in response to the indication of the traffic condition;

transmit the received live media content stream to the at least one other distribution server for distribution to the additional destination devices in response to the instruction;

detect a second traffic condition regarding the transmitting of the received live media content stream, the detecting of the second traffic condition comprising detecting a number of the additional destination devices falling below a second threshold;

transmit an indication of the second traffic condition to the traffic management device;

receive a second instruction from the traffic management device to cease the transmitting of the received live media content stream in response to the indication of the second traffic condition; and

cease the transmitting of the received live media content stream from the first distribution server to the at least one other distribution server in response to the second instruction.

14. The system of claim 13, the first distribution server to detect the traffic condition by detecting a number of the plurality of destination devices surpassing a threshold.

15. The system of claim 13, further comprising the traffic management device, the instruction comprising an identification of the at least one other distribution server, the traffic management device generating the identification of the at least one other distribution server based on a selection of the at least one other distribution server from a plurality of available distribution servers, the selection being one of a random selection and a non-random selection based at least on a current traffic level of the received live media content.

16. The system of claim 13, further comprising a primary server to determine the source device and the plurality of destination devices based on social network connections between a user of the source device and users of the plurality of destination devices.

17. The system of claim 16, the primary server comprising the traffic management device.

18. The system of claim 16, the primary server to select the first distribution server for distribution of the received live media content stream from the source device to the plurality of destination devices via the communication network, and to transmit an indication of the first distribution server to the source device and each of the plurality of destination devices.