Centrally coordinated peer assignment

• US 8,458,333 B1
• Filed: 08/30/2007
• Issued: 06/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Conviva Inc.
• Original Assignee: Conviva Inc.
• Inventors: Stoica, Ion, Zhang, Hui, McCanne, Steven R., Zhan, Jibin, Ganjam, Aditya R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ibrahim, Mohamed
• Assistant Examiner(s): RICHARDSON, THOMAS W
• Application Number:
  US11/897,953
• Time in Patent Office: 2,105 Days
• Field of Search: 709/226
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/11 Identifying congestion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/101 based on network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1042 using topology management mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1063 Discovery through centralising entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1085 involving dynamic management of active down- or uploading connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104

Abstract

Delivering information over a distribution network using a distribution manager is disclosed. A first source peer is designated at the distribution manager to function as a first content source for a first destination peer. A second source peer is designated at the distribution manager to function as a second content source for a second destination peer. The designation at the distribution manager of the second source peer to function as a second content source for the second destination peer is dependent on an anticipated effect of the designation at the distribution manager of the first content source for the first destination peer.

Claims

1. A system for delivering information over a distribution network using a distribution manager, including:

a processor; and

a memory coupled with the processor, wherein the memory is configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to;

receive a first request for content from a first destination peer;

designate at the distribution manager a first source peer to function as a first content source for the first destination peer;

receive a second request for the content from a second destination peer;

determine an anticipated effect that the designation at the distribution manager of the first source peer to function as a first content source for the first destination peer has on the ability of the first source peer to function as a content source for the second destination peer;

determine whether to designate the first source peer as a content source for the second destination peer based at least in part on the determined anticipated effect; and

in the event that it is determined not to designate the first source peer as a content source for the second destination peer;

designate at the distribution manager a second source peer to function as a second content source for the second destination peer; and

in the event that it is determined to designate the first source peer as a content source for the second destination peer;

designate at the distribution manager the first source peer to function as a content source for the second destination peer.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the designation of the first source peer is dependent on the anticipated effect of the designation at the distribution manager of the second source peer.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the anticipated effect relates to the implementation of a content delivery policy.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the content delivery policy is a network policy.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein the content delivery policy is a provider policy.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein the content delivery policy is a client policy.

7. The system of claim 3 wherein the content delivery policy is specified by an administrator.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the first source peer and the first destination peer are in an affinity group.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the designation at the distribution manager of the first source peer and the second source peer occurs substantially concurrently.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the designation at the distribution manager of the first source peer occurs before the designation at the distribution manager of the second source peer.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the first content source and the second content source are sources of portions of the same content.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the first content source and the second content source are sources of portions of different content.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the designation at the distribution manager of the first source peer to function as a first content source for the first destination peer is dependent on an anticipated effect of the designation at the distribution manager of the second content source for the second destination peer.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to detect at least one of a change in a network condition and a policy change.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to determine that at least one change should be made to a first assignment and send an updated assignment to the first destination peer.

16. A method of delivering information over a distribution network using a distribution manager, including:

receiving a first request for content from a first destination peer;

designating at the distribution manager a first source peer to function as a first content source for the first destination peer;

receiving a second request for the content from a second destination peer;

determining an anticipated effect that the designation at the distribution manager of the first source peer to function as a first content source for the first destination peer has on the ability of the first source peer to function as a content source for the second destination peer;

determining whether to designate the first source peer as a content source for the second destination peer based at least in part on the determined anticipated effect; and

in the event that it is determined not to designate the first source peer as a content source for the second destination peer;

designating at the distribution manager a second source peer to function as a second content source for the second destination peer; and

in the event that is it determined to designate the first source peer as a content source for the second destination peer;

designating at the distribution manager the first source peer to function as a content source for the second destination peer.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the designation of the first source peer is dependent on the anticipated effect of the designation at the distribution manager of the second source peer.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the anticipated effect relates to the implementation of a content delivery policy.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the first content source and the second content source are sources of portions of different content.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the designation at the distribution manager of the first source peer to function as a first content source for the first destination peer is dependent on an anticipated effect of the designation at the distribution manager of the second content source for the second destination peer.

21. The method of claim 16 further comprising detecting at least one of a change in a network condition and a policy change.

22. The method of claim 16 further comprising determining that at least one change should be made to the first assignment and sending an updated assignment to a first destination peer.

23. A computer program product for delivering information over a distribution network using a distribution manager, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving a first request for content from a first destination peer;

designating at the distribution manager a first source peer to function as a first content source for the first destination peer;

receiving a second request for the content from a second destination peer;

determining an anticipated effect that the designation at the distribution manager of the first source peer to function as a first content source for the first destination peer has on the ability of the first source peer to function as a content source for the second destination peer;

determining whether to designate the first source peer as a content source for the second destination peer based at least in part on the determined anticipated effect; and

in the event that it is determined not to designate the first source peer as a content source for the second destination peer;

designating at the distribution manager a second source peer to function as a second content source for the second destination peer; and

in the event that it is determined to designate the first source peer as a content source for the second destination peer;

designating at the distribution manager the first source peer to function as the content source for the second destination peer.