Techniques for distributing network provider digital content to customer premises nodes

• US 8,824,464 B2
• Filed: 06/09/2011
• Issued: 09/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Nadeau, Thomas David, Townsley, William Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): TOWFIGHI, AFSHAWN M
• Application Number:
  US13/157,160
• Publication Number:
  US 20110238791A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,181 Days
• Field of Search: 370/386, 709/226, 709/227
• US Class Current: 370/386
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26241 involving the time of distribution, e.g. the best time of the day for inserting an advertisement or airing a children program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4335 Housekeeping operations, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions storage management, e.g. defragmentation G06F3/0604; unloading stored programs G06F9/445; storage management in file systems G06F16/10; buffering arrangements in a network node or in an end terminal in packet networks H04L49/90
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 Unicasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8355 involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

Techniques for distributing digital content include receiving provider content over a network connection at a customer premises node located on premises of a first customer. The provider content is offered by a network service provider different from the first customer. Provider data based on the provider content is stored in non-volatile storage on the customer premises node of the first customer. It is determined whether conditions are satisfied for sending the provider content to a second customer different from the first customer. If it is determined that such conditions are satisfied, then the provider data is retrieved from the non-volatile storage, and data based on the provider data is sent over the network connection for receipt by the second customer. Thereby a customer premises node serves as a cache of provider content for other customer premises nodes on the same last mile segment or access network.

Claims

1. One or more physical, non-transitory computer readable storage media encoded with software comprising computer executable instructions and when the software is executed operable to:

receive unsolicited content from a digital content provider including policy data comprising release data indicating that the content is to be broadcast, multicast or unicast at a particular time;

store digital content provider data in non-volatile storage based on the unsolicited content on a first customer premises node in a last-mile network;

determine whether conditions are satisfied to release the digital content for sending the provider digital content data to a second customer premises node in the same last-mile network, in response to determining that the conditions are satisfied for sending the provider digital content data;

retrieve the provider data from the non-volatile storage, wherein the provider data is encrypted;

send the provider data from the first customer premises node to the second customer premises node in the same last-mile network; and

distribute a decryption key to the second customer premises node at the particular time.

2. The one or more computer readable storage media of claim 1, wherein the first customer premises node is not authorized to delete the provider data.

3. The one or more computer readable storage media of claim 1, wherein the first customer premises node is not authorized to delete the provider data without sending a notice to the service provider of such deletion.

4. The one or more computer readable storage media of claim 1, wherein when the software is executed is further operable to receive second content that is to be distributed on demand.

5. The one or more computer readable storage media of claim 4 wherein the second content is received responsive to a request for the content.

6. The one or more computer readable storage media of claim 1 wherein the second content is received from a different customer premises node.

7. The one or more computer readable storage media of claim 1, wherein the first customer premises node and the second customer premises node are respective end nodes in the last-mile network.

8. A method comprising:

receive provider content policy data associated with provider content;

receiving customer data that identifies a customer set of one or more customer premises nodes (CPNs) in a last-mile network and configured for hosting the provider content;

sending instructions for hosting and serving the provider content to the customer set;

sending the provider content policy data to the customer set;

determine if conditions are satisfied at one or more CPNs of the customer set for archiving the provider content, wherein if the conditions are satisfied for archiving then sending the provider content and an archival flag to the one or more CPNs of the customer set, wherein the provider content is to be archived;

determine if the conditions are satisfied at one or more CPNs for the seeding content, wherein if the conditions are satisfied for seeding the provider content then sending the provider content and release conditions to the one or more CPNs of the customer set, wherein the provider content and the release conditions are to be stored on the one or more CPNs of the customer set;

determine if conditions are satisfied at one or more CPNs of the customer set for responding to a request for the provider content; and

sending a message, to a requesting CPN in the same last-mile network, identifying the one or more CPNs satisfying the conditions for responding to the request, enabling the requesting CPN in the same last-mile network to obtain the provider content from the one or more CPNs identified in the message.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the policy data includes provider rules governing the maximum age to keep stored provider content data, peer to peer demand, archival and seeding functions, or combinations thereof.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising sending archiving instructions to the one or more CPNs of the customer set satisfying the conditions for archiving, wherein the archiving instructions identify that the provider content is to be archived until failure of the corresponding node or further instructions from a content manager are received.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein seed provider content comprises pre-recorded programming that is to be widely distributed in a small time window.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the release data identifies authorized receivers for the seeded provider content and when provider content should be released.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising determining if the requested provider content is already stored at one or more CPNs in the customer set closer in proximity to the requester than the than a provider or a distribution hub on the provider network.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more CPNs identified in the message and the requesting CPN are respective end nodes in the last-mile network.

15. An apparatus comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory coupled to the one or more processors comprising instructions executable by the processors, the processors when executing the instructions configured to;

receive unsolicited content from a digital content provider comprising release data, the release data indicating that content is to be broadcast, multicast or unicast at a particular time;

store digital content provider data in non-volatile storage based on the unsolicited content on a first customer premises node in a last-mile network, wherein the first customer premises node is not authorized to delete the provider data;

determine whether conditions are satisfied to release the digital content for sending the provider digital content data to a second customer premises node in the same last-mile network;

in response to determining that the conditions are satisfied for sending the provider digital content data;

retrieve the provider data from the non-volatile storage, wherein the provider data is encrypted; and

send the provider data from the first customer premises node to the second customer premises node; and

distribute a decryption key to the second customer premises node at the particular time.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the first customer premises node is not authorized to delete the provider data.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the first customer premises node is not authorized to delete the provider data without sending a notice to the service provider of such deletion.

18. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein when the software is executed is further operable to receive second content that is to be distributed on demand.

19. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the second content is received from a different customer premises node.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first customer premises node and the second customer premises node are respective end nodes in the last-mile network.