Proxy cache technology

• US 8,478,836 B1
• Filed: 06/07/2010
• Issued: 07/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: PurpleComm Incorporated
• Original Assignee: PurpleComm Incorporated
• Inventors: Tuan, Sherman, Chang, Jack H., Sheu, William H.
• Primary Examiner(s): GEORGANDELLIS, ANDREW C
• Application Number:
  US12/794,981
• Time in Patent Office: 1,121 Days
• Field of Search: 709/213, 709/203, 709217-219, 709/224, 711/118, 711/122, 711/130, 711/133, 725/109
• US Class Current: 709/213
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1076 Resource dissemination mechanisms or network resource keeping policies for optimal resource availability in the overlay network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1091 Interfacing with client-server systems or between P2P systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data

Abstract

Proxy cache technology, in which a system determines a subset of content files to include in a proxy cache maintained by a network service provider that provides network service to user downloader devices included in a content delivery network. The system controls the network service provider to store the subset of content files in the proxy cache. The system also controls the user downloader devices to attempt to use the proxy cache as a peer to download a content file prior to using an external peer.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a media device to access content from a cache, the method comprising:

determining, for each of multiple content files, a metric indicative of anticipated availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within a network of a network service provider, the network service provider using less bandwidth to service content requests to internal peers that are within the network of the network service provider as compared to servicing content requests to external peers that are outside of the network of the network service provider;

determining, for each of the multiple content files, a cache benefit score based on the determined metric indicative of anticipated availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within the network of the network service provider;

determining, based on the cache benefit score determined for each of the of the multiple content files, a subset of the multiple content files to include in a proxy cache maintained by the network service provider that provides network service to a user media device included in a content delivery network;

controlling the network service provider to store the subset of content files in the proxy cache; and

controlling the user media device to attempt to use the proxy cache as a peer to access a content file prior to using an external peer that is outside of the network of the network service provider and accessible, to the user media device, on an external network through the network service provider,

wherein determining, for each of the multiple content files, the metric indicative of anticipated availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within the network of the network service provider comprises;

determining, for each of the multiple content files, a percentage of access requests for the corresponding content file that were serviced from an external peer that is outside of the network of the network service provider relative to access requests for the corresponding content file that were serviced from the proxy cache maintained by the network service provider, from an internal peer that is inside of the network of the network service provider, and from a content and directory database; and

based on the determined percentage of access requests for the corresponding content file that were serviced from an external peer that is outside of the network of the network service provider, determining, for each of the multiple content files, the metric indicative of anticipated availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within the network of the network service provider.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the cache benefit score for each of the of the multiple content files comprises:

monitoring access requests of multiple, different user media devices serviced by the network service provider;

based on the monitoring of the access requests of multiple, different user media devices, determining, for each of the multiple content files, an actual access score that is indicative of bandwidth being used in servicing access requests for the corresponding content file; and

determining the cache benefit score for each of the of the multiple content files based on the determined actual access scores.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein determining, for each of the multiple content files, the actual access score that is indicative of bandwidth being used in servicing access requests for the corresponding content file comprises:

determining, for each of the multiple content files, a frequency of requests for the corresponding content file received from media devices;

identifying, for each of the multiple content files, a size of the corresponding content file; and

determining, for each of the multiple content files, an actual access score that is indicative of bandwidth being used in servicing access requests for the corresponding content file based on the determined frequency and the identified size of the corresponding content file.

4. The method of claim 3:

wherein determining, for each of the multiple content files, the frequency of requests for the corresponding content file received from media devices comprises;

identifying, for each of the multiple content files and from among access requests received from media devices serviced by multiple, different network service providers, access requests for the corresponding content file received from media devices serviced by a particular network service provider, and

determining, for each of the multiple content files, an access frequency of the identified access requests for the corresponding content file received from media devices serviced by the particular network service provider; and

wherein determining, for each of the multiple content files, the actual access score that is indicative of bandwidth being used in servicing access requests for the corresponding content file based on the determined frequency and the identified size of the corresponding content file comprises;

determining, for each of the multiple content files, an actual access score that is indicative of bandwidth being used by the particular network service provider in servicing access requests for the corresponding content file based on the determined access frequency of the identified access requests and the identified size of the corresponding content file.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein determining, for each of the multiple content files, the access frequency of the identified access requests for the corresponding content file received from media devices serviced by the particular network service provider comprises:

determining, for each of the identified access requests, a type of peer handling the corresponding access request, the type of peer including at least one of an internal peer that is within a network of the particular network service provider and an external peer that is outside of the network of the particular network service provider; and

determining, for each of the multiple content files, an external access frequency of the identified access requests for the corresponding content file received from media devices serviced by the particular network service provider based on the identified access requests and the determination of the type of peer handling each of the identified access requests, the determination of the external access frequency placing a higher value on access requests for which the type of peer handling the corresponding access request was determined to be an external peer than access requests for which the type of peer handling the corresponding access request was determined to be an internal peer.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the cache benefit score for each of the of the multiple content files comprises:

monitoring additions of content files to channels offered by the content delivery network;

based on the monitoring of the additions of content files to channels offered by the content delivery network, determining, for each of the multiple content files, an anticipated access score indicative of bandwidth anticipated to be used in servicing access requests for the corresponding content file; and

determining the cache benefit score for each of the of the multiple content files based on the determined anticipated access scores.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein determining, for each of the multiple content files, the anticipated access score that is indicative of bandwidth anticipated to be used in servicing access requests for the corresponding content file comprises:

identifying, for each of the multiple content files, subscribers that are serviced by a particular network service provider and that subscribe to a channel to which the corresponding content file has been added;

identifying, for each of the multiple content files, a size of the corresponding content file; and

determining, for each of the multiple content files, an anticipated access score that is indicative of bandwidth anticipated to be used by the particular network service provider in servicing access requests for the corresponding content file based on the identified subscribers that subscribe to the channel to which the corresponding content file has been added and the identified size of the corresponding content file.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein determining, for each of the multiple content files, the anticipated access score that is indicative of bandwidth anticipated to be used by the particular network service provider in servicing access requests for the corresponding content file based on the identified subscribers that subscribe to the channel to which the corresponding content file has been added and the identified size of the corresponding content file comprises:

determining, for each of the multiple content files, an anticipated access score that is indicative of bandwidth anticipated to be used by the particular network service provider in servicing access requests for the corresponding content file based on the identified subscribers that subscribe to the channel to which the corresponding content file has been added, the identified size of the corresponding content file, and the determined metric indicative of anticipated availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the cache benefit score for each of the of the multiple content files comprises:

monitoring access requests of multiple, different user media devices serviced by the network service provider;

based on the monitoring of the access requests of the multiple, different user media devices serviced by the network service provider, determining, for each of the multiple content files, an actual access score that is indicative of bandwidth being used in servicing access requests for the corresponding content file;

monitoring additions of content files to channels offered by the content delivery network;

based on the monitoring of the additions of content files to channels offered by the content delivery network, determining, for each of the multiple content files, an anticipated access score that is indicative of bandwidth anticipated to be used in servicing access requests for the corresponding content file; and

determining, for each of the multiple content files, a cache benefit score based on the actual access score for the corresponding content file and the anticipated access score for the corresponding content file.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein determining, based on the cache benefit score determined for each of the of the multiple content files, the subset of the multiple content files to include in the proxy cache maintained by the network service provider comprises:

accessing, from electronic storage, a threshold cache benefit score;

comparing each of the determined cache benefit scores to the accessed threshold cache benefit score;

determining whether each of the determined cache benefit scores indicates a cache benefit that exceeds a cache benefit indicated by the accessed threshold cache benefit score; and

based on determination results, selecting one or more content files having a cache benefit score that indicates a cache benefit that exceeds a cache benefit indicated by the accessed threshold cache benefit score.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein determining, based on the cache benefit score determined for each of the of the multiple content files, the subset of the multiple content files to include in the proxy cache maintained by the network service provider comprises:

identifying, from among the multiple content files for which a cache benefit score was determined, a threshold number of content files having cache benefit scores that indicate a highest cache benefit; and

selecting the threshold number of content files having cache benefit scores that indicate a highest cache benefit.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the subset of content files to include in the proxy cache comprises:

monitoring actual and anticipated access information across multiple, different network service providers;

grouping the monitored actual and anticipated access information by network service provider;

determining, for each of the multiple, different network service providers, cache benefit scores for content files based on the grouped actual and anticipated access information for the corresponding network service provider; and

selecting, for each of the multiple, different network service providers, content files to cache based on the determined cache benefit scores, the selected content files being different among the multiple, different network service providers with content files selected for a first network service provider being different than content files selected for a second network service provider.

14. The method of claim 1:

wherein determining, for each of the multiple content files, the metric indicative of anticipated availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within the network of the network service provider comprises determining, for each of the multiple content files, a metric indicative of anticipated download availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within a network of a network service provider;

wherein determining, for each of the multiple content files, the cache benefit score based on the determined metric indicative of anticipated availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within the network of the network service provider comprises determining, for each of the multiple content files, a cache benefit score based on the determined metric indicative of anticipated download availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within the network of the network service provider;

wherein determining, based on the cache benefit score determined for each of the of the multiple content files, the subset of the multiple content files to include in the proxy cache maintained by the network service provider that provides network service to the user media device included in the content delivery network comprises determining, based on the cache benefit score determined for each of the of the multiple content files, a subset of the multiple content files to include in the proxy cache maintained by the network service provider that provides network service to a user downloader device included in the content delivery network; and

wherein controlling the user media device to attempt to use the proxy cache as a peer to access a content file prior to using an external peer that is outside of the network of the network service provider and accessible, to the user media device, on an external network through the network service provider comprises controlling the user downloader device to attempt to use the proxy cache as a peer to download a content file prior to using an external peer that is outside of the network of the network service provider and accessible, to the user downloader device, on an external network through the network service provider.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein determining, for each of the multiple content files, the percentage of access requests for the corresponding content file that were serviced from an external peer that is outside of the network of the network service provider relative to access requests for the corresponding content file that were serviced from the proxy cache maintained by the network service provider, from an internal peer that is inside of the network of the network service provider, and from a content and directory database comprises:

determining, for each of the multiple content files, a total number of requests for the corresponding content file;

determining, for each of the multiple content files, a number of requests for the corresponding content file that have been handled by an external peer that is outside of the network of the network service provider; and

calculating, for each of the multiple content files, a ratio of the number of requests for the corresponding content file that have been handled by an external peer that is outside of the network of the network service provider and the total number of requests for the corresponding content file; and

determining, for each of the multiple content files, the percentage of access requests for the corresponding content file that were serviced from an external peer that is outside of the network of the network service provider relative to access requests for the corresponding content file that were serviced from the proxy cache maintained by the network service provider, from an internal peer that is inside of the network of the network service provider, and from a content and directory database based on the calculated ratio.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein determining, for each of the multiple content files, the cache benefit score based on the determined metric indicative of anticipated availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within the network of the network service provider comprises decreasing, for a particular content file included in the multiple content files, the cache benefit score for the particular content file based on the determined metric indicative of anticipated availability of the particular content file from an internal peer that is within the network of the network service provider indicating increased availability of the particular content file from an internal peer that is within the network of the network service provider.

13. A system comprising:

at least one computer; and

at least one computer-readable medium coupled to the at least one computer having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the at least one computer, causes the at least one computer to perform operations comprising;

determining, for each of multiple content files, a metric indicative of anticipated availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within a network of a network service provider, the network service provider using less bandwidth to service content requests to internal peers that are within the network of the network service provider as compared to servicing content requests to external peers that are outside of the network of the network service provider;

determining, for each of the multiple content files, a cache benefit score based on the determined metric indicative of anticipated availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within the network of the network service provider;

determining, based on the cache benefit score determined for each of the of the multiple content files, a subset of the multiple content files to include in a proxy cache maintained by the network service provider that provides network service to a user media device included in a content delivery network;

controlling the network service provider to store the subset of content files in the proxy cache; and

controlling the user media device to attempt to use the proxy cache as a peer to access a content file prior to using an external peer that is outside of the network of the network service provider and accessible, to the user media device, on an external network through the network service provider,

wherein determining, for each of the multiple content files, the metric indicative of anticipated availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within the network of the network service provider comprises;

determining, for each of the multiple content files, a percentage of access requests for the corresponding content file that were serviced from an external peer that is outside of the network of the network service provider relative to access requests for the corresponding content file that were serviced from the proxy cache maintained by the network service provider, from an internal peer that is inside of the network of the network service provider, and from a content and directory database; and

based on the determined percentage of access requests for the corresponding content file that were serviced from an external peer that is outside of the network of the network service provider, determining, for each of the multiple content files, the metric indicative of anticipated availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within the network of the network service provider.

16. A method of controlling a media device to access content from a cache, the method comprising:

determining, for each of multiple content files, a metric indicative of anticipated availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within a network of a network service provider, the network service provider using less bandwidth to service content requests to internal peers that are within the network of the network service provider as compared to servicing content requests to external peers that are outside of the network of the network service provider;

determining, for each of the multiple content files, a cache benefit score based on the determined metric indicative of anticipated availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within the network of the network service provider;

determining, based on the cache benefit score determined for each of the of the multiple content files, a subset of the multiple content files to include in a proxy cache maintained by the network service provider that provides network service to a user media device included in a content delivery network;

controlling the network service provider to store the subset of content files in the proxy cache; and

controlling the user media device to attempt to use the proxy cache as a peer to access a content file prior to using an external peer that is outside of the network of the network service provider and accessible, to the user media device, on an external network through the network service provider,

wherein determining, for each of the multiple content files, the metric indicative of anticipated availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within the network of the network service provider comprises;

querying historical logs to determine, for each of the multiple content files, a percentage of access requests for the corresponding content file that were serviced from an internal peer within the network of the network service provider relative to access requests serviced from the proxy cache maintained by the network service provider, from an external peer that is outside of the network of the network service provider, and from a content and directory database; and

based on the determined percentage of access requests for the corresponding content file that were serviced from an internal peer that is within the network of the network service provider, determining, for each of the multiple content files, the metric indicative of anticipated availability of the corresponding content file from an internal peer that is within the network of the network service provider.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein querying historical logs to determine, for each of the multiple content files, a percentage of access requests for the corresponding content file that were serviced from an internal peer within the network of the network service provider comprises excluding, from the access requests serviced from an internal peer within the network of the network service provider, access requests serviced from the proxy cache maintained by the network service provider, access requests serviced from an external peer that is outside of the network of the network service provider, and access requests serviced from a content and directory database.