Techniques for upgrading software in a video content network
First Claim
1. A method comprising the steps of:
- determining that a substantial portion of set-top terminals connected to a video content network require a software upgrade;
allocating in-band video bandwidth for said software upgrade;
broadcasting said software upgrade to said set-top terminals from a carousel in a first remote node of said video content network, via said allocated in-band video bandwidth, until a predetermined number of said set-top terminals have received said software upgrade; and
subsequent to said predetermined number of said set-top terminals receiving said software upgrade, de-allocating said in-band video bandwidth and making said software upgrade available out-of-band, to a remaining portion of said set-top terminals, via individual sessions with an application server in a second remote node of said video content network,wherein said application server has a threshold capacity of a certain number of downloads of said software upgrade per unit time, further comprising monitoring, during said broadcasting step, a number of said set-top terminals downloading said software upgrade from said carousel per unit time, wherein said predetermined number corresponds to a number of said set-top terminals which have received said software upgrade from said carousel at a point in time when said number of said set-top terminals downloading said software upgrade from said carousel per unit time is no greater than said threshold capacity.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
It is determined that a substantial portion of set-top terminals connected to a video content network require a software upgrade. In-band video bandwidth (e.g., video-on-demand or switched digital video) is allocated for the software upgrade. The software upgrade is broadcast to the set-top terminals from a carousel in a first remote node of the video content network, via the allocated in-band video bandwidth, until a predetermined number of the set-top terminals have received the software upgrade. Subsequent to the predetermined number of set-top terminals receiving the software upgrade, the in-band video bandwidth is de-allocated and the software upgrade is made available out-of-band to the remaining portion of the set-top terminals, via individual sessions with an application server in a second remote node of the video content network. An exemplary system, which can implement the method, includes a controller, a dynamic bandwidth allocation device, the carousel, and the application server.
12 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method comprising the steps of:
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determining that a substantial portion of set-top terminals connected to a video content network require a software upgrade; allocating in-band video bandwidth for said software upgrade; broadcasting said software upgrade to said set-top terminals from a carousel in a first remote node of said video content network, via said allocated in-band video bandwidth, until a predetermined number of said set-top terminals have received said software upgrade; and subsequent to said predetermined number of said set-top terminals receiving said software upgrade, de-allocating said in-band video bandwidth and making said software upgrade available out-of-band, to a remaining portion of said set-top terminals, via individual sessions with an application server in a second remote node of said video content network, wherein said application server has a threshold capacity of a certain number of downloads of said software upgrade per unit time, further comprising monitoring, during said broadcasting step, a number of said set-top terminals downloading said software upgrade from said carousel per unit time, wherein said predetermined number corresponds to a number of said set-top terminals which have received said software upgrade from said carousel at a point in time when said number of said set-top terminals downloading said software upgrade from said carousel per unit time is no greater than said threshold capacity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A system for interacting with a plurality of set-top terminals over a video content network, said system comprising:
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a controller configured to facilitate determining that a substantial portion of the set-top terminals connected to the video content network require a software upgrade; a dynamic bandwidth allocation device, coupled to said controller, configured to allocate in-band video bandwidth on the video content network for said software upgrade; a carousel, coupled to said controller and said dynamic bandwidth allocation device, configured to broadcast said software upgrade to the set-top terminals, via said allocated in-band video bandwidth, until a predetermined number of the set-top terminals have received said software upgrade; and an application server coupled to said dynamic bandwidth allocation device and said controller; wherein said controller and said dynamic bandwidth allocation device are cooperatively configured such that, subsequent to said predetermined number of said set-top terminals receiving said software upgrade, said in-band video bandwidth is de-allocated and said software upgrade is made available out-of-band, to a remaining portion of said set-top terminals, via individual sessions with said application server over the video content network, wherein said application server has a threshold capacity of a certain number of downloads of said software upgrade per unit time, and wherein said controller is further configured to monitor, during said broadcasting, a number of the set-top terminals downloading said software upgrade from said carousel per unit time, wherein said predetermined number corresponds to a number of the set-top terminals which have received said software upgrade from said carousel at a point in time when said number of the set-top terminals downloading said software upgrade from said carousel per unit time is no greater than said threshold capacity. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus comprising:
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means for determining that a substantial portion of set-top terminals connected to a video content network require a software upgrade; means for allocating in-band video bandwidth for said software upgrade; means for broadcasting said software upgrade to said set-top terminals from a carousel in a first remote node of said video content network, via said allocated in-band video bandwidth, until a predetermined number of said set-top terminals have received said software upgrade; and means for, subsequent to said predetermined number of said set-top terminals receiving said software upgrade, de-allocating said in-band video bandwidth and making said software upgrade available out-of-band, to a remaining portion of said set-top terminals, via individual sessions with an application server in a second remote node of said video content network, wherein said application server has a threshold capacity of a certain number of downloads of said software upgrade per unit time, further comprising computer readable program code configured to monitor, during said broadcasting step, a number of said set-top terminals downloading said software upgrade from said carousel per unit time, wherein said predetermined number corresponds to a number of said set-top terminals which have received said software upgrade from said carousel at a point in time when said number of said set-top terminals downloading said software upgrade from said carousel per unit time is no greater than said threshold capacity; wherein said means for determining, said means for allocating, said means for broadcasting, and said means for de-allocating each comprise at least one of; hardware modules; and software modules, said software modules being; stored in a non-transitory manner in a tangible computer-readable recordable storage medium, loaded into a memory, and executed on at least one hardware processor coupled to said memory.
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12. A computer program product comprising a tangible computer readable recordable storage medium having computer readable program code stored thereon in a non-transitory manner, said computer readable program code comprising:
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computer readable program code configured to determine that a substantial portion of set-top terminals connected to a video content network require a software upgrade; computer readable program code configured to allocate in-band video bandwidth for said software upgrade; computer readable program code configured to broadcast said software upgrade to said set-top terminals from a carousel in a first remote node of said video content network, via said allocated in-band video bandwidth, until a predetermined number of said set-top terminals have received said software upgrade; and computer readable program code configured to, subsequent to said predetermined number of said set-top terminals receiving said software upgrade, de-allocate said in-band video bandwidth and making said software upgrade available out-of-band, to a remaining portion of said set-top terminals, via individual sessions with an application server in a second remote node of said video content network, wherein said application server has a threshold capacity of a certain number of downloads of said software upgrade per unit time, further comprising computer readable program code configured to monitor, during said broadcasting step, a number of said set-top terminals downloading said software upgrade from said carousel per unit time, wherein said predetermined number corresponds to a number of said set-top terminals which have received said software upgrade from said carousel at a point in time when said number of said set-top terminals downloading said software upgrade from said carousel per unit time is no greater than said threshold capacity. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification