Systems and methods for billing content providers for designated content delivered over a data network

• US 8,862,516 B2
• Filed: 03/06/2012
• Issued: 10/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Edgio Incorporated
• Original Assignee: EdgeCast Networks (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Fan, Jerry, Lientz, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Zeender, Ryan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wilder, Hunter
• Application Number:
  US13/412,850
• Publication Number:
  US 20130238473A1
• Time in Patent Office: 952 Days
• Field of Search: 705/34, 705/52, 705/77, 705/412, 705/909, 705/32
• US Class Current: 705/52
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing

Abstract

Some embodiments provide multi-tenant billing systems and methods whereby data network usage fees that are associated with delivering select content of different content providers over a data network are passed to the content provider that originates or is the source for that select content instead of the end users that request and receive the select content. A deep packet inspection server or a billing server may be configured with a list of identifiers to distinguish between the network usage that is related to the delivery of the designated free content from the network usage that is not related to the delivery of the designated free content. The network usage can be distinguished by filtering or processing usage logs that track the network usage using the configured list of identifiers. Such filtering or processing can be done in real-time or in a delayed manner in a standalone or integrated system.

Claims

1. An internal data network that provides a plurality of end users metered access to content from an external data network that is communicably coupled to the internal data network, the internal data network comprising:

a configuration server comprising a processor, the configuration server, by operation of the processor, i) providing an interactive online interface with which a content provider configures designated content that is delivered through the internal data network to the plurality of end users without the plurality of end users incurring data network usage fees for delivery of the designated content and ii) generating a configuration based on content provider input to the interactive online interface, the configuration comprising at least one identifier identifying the designated content without identifying other content of the content provider that has not been designated for free delivery to the plurality of end users;

a caching server comprising a processor and memory, the caching server, by operation of the processor, i) storing a copy of the designated content in said memory, ii) serving to at least one particular end user of the plurality of end users the designated content on behalf of the content provider from within the internal data network without accessing the external data network by serving the designated content from said memory in response to a request for the designated content from the particular end user, and iii) tracking data network usage that is related to serving the designated content to the particular end user;

a deep packet inspection (DPI) server comprising a processor, the DPI server configured with the at least one identifier from the configuration, the DPI server, by operation of the processor, inspecting content that is passed to the plurality of end users and logging usage of the data network by the particular end user that is not related to delivery of the designated content; and

a billing server i) compiling the data network usage that is related to serving the designated content to the particular end user from the caching server and the usage of the data network by the particular end user that is not related to delivery of the designated content from the DPI server, ii) assessing a usage fee to the particular end user for data network usage by the particular end user that is not related to the delivery of the designated content to the particular end user and iii) assessing a usage fee to the content provider for data network usage that is related to delivery of the designated content to the at least one particular end user.

2. The data network of claim 1, wherein the caching server tracks to a server log, the data network usage that is related to serving the designated content.

3. The data network of claim 2, wherein the DPI server is further configured to track to a particular end user usage log, the usage of the data network by the particular end user that is not related to the delivery of the designated content.

4. The data network of claim 3, wherein the billing server assesses the usage fee to the particular end user based on the particular end user usage log.

5. The data network of claim 4, wherein the billing server assesses the usage fee to the content provider based on the server log.

6. The data network of claim 1, wherein the at least one identifier comprises at least one of i) an identifier for identifying the content provider that provides the designated content, ii) an identifier for identifying an application for accessing the designated content from a network enabled device of the particular end user, iii) a DNS request for the designated content, and iv) a URL identifying the designated content.

7. For an internal first data network that provides a plurality of end users metered access to content from an external second data network that is communicably coupled to the first data network, a billing system comprising a microprocessor and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium with an executable program stored thereon for billing for usage of the data network by the plurality of end user subscribers, wherein the program instructs the microprocessor to perform sets of instructions for:

receiving at least one identifier identifying designated content, wherein the designated content is content that a particular content provider designates for delivery to the plurality of end user subscribers with network usage fees associated with delivery of said content being incurred by the particular content provider rather than an end user to which the designated content is delivered;

caching the designated content in the internal first data network by retrieving a copy of the designed content from the particular content provider and storing a copy of the designated content at a caching server of the billing system within the internal first data network;

tracking data network usage that is related to content that is delivered to the plurality of end users from the external second data network;

responding to a request for the designated content by serving the designated content from the caching server of the billing system rather than a destination in the external second data network and by tracking data network usage that is related to delivery of the designated content;

determining billable data network usage by a particular end user of the plurality of end users by filtering data network usage that is related to delivery of the designated content to the particular end user from overall data network usage by the particular end user; and

billing the particular end user for the billable data network usage, wherein the billable data network usage includes data network usage by the particular end user that is not related to delivery of the designated content and does not include data network usage by the particular end user that is related to the delivery of the designated content.

8. The billing system of claim 7, wherein the program further comprises a set of instructions for billing the particular content provider for usage of the data network that is related to delivery of the designated content.

9. The billing system of claim 7, wherein the set of instructions for billing the particular end user comprises i) a set of instructions for deducting the data network usage by the particular end user that is not related to the delivery of the designated content from an allotted amount of usage that is provided as part of a data network access plan subscribed to by the particular end user and ii) a set of instructions for not deducting from the allotted amount of usage for the data network usage by the particular end user that is related to the delivery of the designated content.

10. The billing system of claim 7, wherein the set of instructions for billing the particular end user comprises i) a set of instructions for billing the particular end user on a per increment amount for the data network usage by the particular end user that is not related to the delivery of the designated content and ii) a set of instructions for not billing the particular end user for the data network usage by the particular end user that is related to the delivery of the designated content.

11. The billing system of claim 7, wherein the program further comprises a set of instructions for intercepting a request for the designated content that is directed to a destination in the external second data network and rerouting the request from the destination to the caching server in the internal first data network.

12. The billing system of claim 11, wherein the set of instructions for rerouting the request comprising the at least one identifier comprises forwarding the request to the caching server instead of the destination.

13. The billing system of claim 11, wherein the set of instructions for rerouting the request comprising the at least one identifier comprises redirecting the request to the caching server instead of the destination.

14. A data network that provides a plurality of end user subscribers of the data network metered access to content from an external data network, wherein the external data network is communicably coupled to the data network, the data network comprising:

a caching server comprising a processor and memory, the caching server, by operation of the processor, i) storing a copy of select content of a content provider in said memory, ii) responding to a request for the select content that at least one particular end user subscriber of the plurality of end user subscribers directs to a destination in the external data network by serving a copy of the select content from said memory to the particular end user subscriber, and iii) tracking to a server log, data network usage that is related to serving the select content to the particular end user subscriber;

a deep packet inspection (DPI) server comprising a processor, the DPI server, by operation of the processor, tracking usage of the data network by each end user subscriber of the plurality of end user subscribers to an end user usage log of a plurality of end user usage logs; and

a billing server comprising a processor, the billing server, by operation of the processor, assessing a first fee to a particular end user subscriber of the plurality of end user subscribers based on billable data network usage that is derived from delivery of content other than the select content to the particular end user subscriber and assessing a second fee to the content provider based on non-billable data network usage that is derived from delivery of the select content to the plurality of end user subscribers based on a particular end user usage log from the plurality of end user usage logs used to track data network usage of the particular end user subscriber and the server log.

15. The data network of claim 14, wherein the billing server further aggregates the particular end user log from the DPI server.

16. The data network of claim 14, wherein the billing server determines the billable data network usage by removing the data network usage that is related to delivery of the select content from the particular end user log.

17. The data network of claim 14, wherein the billing server determines the billable data network usage by zeroing out the data network usage that is related to delivery of the select content from the particular end user log.

18. The data network of claim 14, wherein the billing server determines the billable data network usage by crediting the particular end user subscriber for the data network usage that is related to delivery of the select content.