Methods and systems for content access and distribution

• US 8,649,382 B2
• Filed: 10/07/2009
• Issued: 02/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ramakrishnan, Kadangode, Fenner, William, Rabinovich, Michael, Srivastava, Divesh, Zhang, Yin
• Primary Examiner(s): LEWIS, ALICIA M
• Application Number:
  US12/575,016
• Publication Number:
  US 20100023512A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,588 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/395.32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

Distribution of content between publishers and consumers is accomplished using an overlay network that may make use of XML language to facilitate content identification. The overlay network includes a plurality of routers that may be in communication with each other and the publishers and consumers on the Internet. Content and queries are identified by content descriptors that are routed from the originator to a nearest router in the overlay network. The nearest router, for each unique content descriptor, generates a hash identification of the content descriptor which is used by remaining routers in the overlay network to provide the appropriate functions with respect to the content descriptor. In particular, this allows all routers in the overlay network except the nearest router to properly route content without processing every content descriptor.

Claims

1. A method for disseminating content over an overlay network having a plurality of routers in communication with providers and consumers of content, the method comprising:

receiving, at a first router in the overlay network, a first content descriptor corresponding to a first content published by a first publisher;

generating, at the first router, a first hash of the first content descriptor;

generating, at the first router, a first publisher interface list, wherein the first publisher interface list includes a first link to the first publisher;

generating, at the first router, a tuple comprising the first hash, the first content descriptor and the first publisher interface list;

transmitting the tuple to a plurality of subsequent routers in the overlay network, wherein queries received by the subsequent routers that correspond to the first content descriptor will be routed to the first router based on the first publisher interface list;

receiving, at one of the plurality of subsequent routers, a second content descriptor corresponding to a second content from a second publisher, wherein the second content descriptor, the second content from the second publisher, and a second hash of the second content descriptor are the same as the first content descriptor, the first content from the first publisher, and the first hash; and

updating the first publisher interface list in only the one of the plurality of subsequent routers to create a second publisher interface list including a second link to the second publisher.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

updating the first publisher interface list in the first router to include a third link to the one of the plurality of subsequent routers based on the second content descriptor corresponding to the second content from the second publisher.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving, at the one of the plurality of subsequent routers, a third content descriptor corresponding to a third content from a third publisher, wherein the third content descriptor, the third content from the third publisher, and a third hash of the third content descriptor are the same as the first content descriptor, the first content from the first publisher, and the first hash; and

updating only the second publisher interface list in the one of the plurality of subsequent routers to create a third publisher interface list including a third link to the third publisher.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the first publisher interface list at the first router and the second publisher interface list at the second router create a tree of publishers in the overlay network.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the one of the plurality of subsequent routers is an on-tree node in the overlay network.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the content descriptor comprises a hierarchical series of keywords.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the first router is a coordinator router for the content descriptor.

8. A method for disseminating content over an overlay network having a plurality of routers in communication with providers and consumers of content, the method comprising:

receiving, at a router in the overlay network, a first content descriptor corresponding to a first query for content from a node;

generating, at the router, a first hash of the first content descriptor;

generating, at the router, a subscriber interface list based on receiving the first query for the content from the node;

generating, at the first router, a tuple comprising the first hash, the first content descriptor and the subscriber interface list;

transmitting the tuple to a plurality of subsequent routers in the overlay network, wherein a content identified by the subsequent routers that correspond to the first query will be routed to the router based on the subscriber interface list;

receiving, at one of the subsequent routers, a second content descriptor corresponding to a second query for the content from a second node, wherein the first content descriptor, the first query from the first node, and the first hash are the same as the second content descriptor, the second query from the second node, and a second hash of the second content descriptor;

updating the subscriber interface list only in the one of the subsequent routers based on receiving the second content descriptor corresponding to the second query from the second node;

receiving, at the router, first and second documents corresponding to the first query for the content from the node;

determining whether the second document is a duplicate of the first document; and

if the second document is the duplicate, then deleting the second document and transmitting the first document to the node, if the second document is not the duplicate, then transmitting both the first and second documents to the node.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein determining whether the second document is the duplicate further comprises:

generating a first Message Digest 5 hash of content in the first document;

generating a second Message Digest 5 hash of content in the second document; and

comparing the first Message Digest 5 hash and the second Message Digest 5 hash.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein determining whether the second document is the duplicate further comprises:

comparing a first date, a first title, and a first author of the first document respectively to a second date, a second title, and a second author of the second document.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the first content descriptor comprises a hierarchical series of keywords.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein the first router is a coordinator router for the first content descriptor.

13. A method for disseminating content over an overlay network having a plurality of routers in communication with providers and consumers of content, the method comprising:

receiving, at a first router in the overlay network, a first content descriptor corresponding to a first content published by a first publisher, wherein the first content descriptor includes keywords associated with the first content;

generating, at the first router, a publisher interface list, wherein the publisher interface list includes a first link to the first publisher;

generating, at the first router, a tuple comprising a hash of the first content descriptor, the first content descriptor, and the publisher interface list;

transmitting the tuple to second and third routers in the overlay network;

receiving, at the second router, a second content descriptor corresponding to a second content from a second publisher, wherein the second content descriptor and the second content from the second publisher are the same as the first content descriptor and the first content from the first publisher;

updating the publisher interface list in the first router to include a second link to the second router based on the second content descriptor corresponding to the second content from the second publisher;

receiving, at the third router, a query for the first content descriptor from a first node;

transmitting the query to the first router based on the publisher interface list stored in the third router; and

transmitting the query from the first router to the first publisher and to the second router based on the updated publisher interface list stored in the first router.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

updating the publisher interface list in the second router to include a third link to the second publisher.

15. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

receiving, at the second router, a third content descriptor corresponding to a third content from a third publisher, wherein the third content descriptor and the third content from the third publisher are the same as the first content descriptor and the first content from the first publisher; and

updating only the publisher interface list in the second router to include a third link to the third publisher.

16. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

generating a Message Digest 5 hash of the content descriptor.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein the keywords comprise a hierarchical series of keywords.

18. The method of claim 13 wherein the first router is a coordinator router for the content descriptor.