Opportunistic block transmission with time constraints

• US 8,898,391 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2013
• Issued: 11/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Numecent Holdings Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Numecent Holdings Incorporated
• Inventors: DeVries, Jeffrey, Hitomi, Arthur
• Primary Examiner(s): DOAN, DUC T
• Application Number:
  US13/962,554
• Publication Number:
  US 20140047192A1
• Time in Patent Office: 474 Days
• US Class Current: 711/118
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0802 Addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means, e.g. caches
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0862 with prefetch
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0864 using pseudo-associative means, e.g. set-associative or hashing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/1673 using buffers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics

Abstract

A technique for determining a data window size allows a set of predicted blocks to be transmitted along with requested blocks. A stream enabled application executing in a virtual execution environment may use the blocks when needed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a request for a requested block in executing a stream-enabled application on a streaming playback device;

predicting one or more blocks that are associated with resources of the stream-enabled application that will be requested by the streaming playback device in executing the stream-enabled application based on the requested block;

adding the requested block and predicted blocks to an output buffer in order of probability of the predicted blocks being requested by the streaming playback device after requesting the requested block of the stream-enabled application until the output buffer has reached a data window size that is continuously updated based on network latency and network throughput of an interface through which the blocks are sent to the streaming playback device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data window size is continuously updated based on an interactivity threshold.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a predicted block of the predicted blocks is the same as the requested block.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the probability of a predicted block being requested is based on whether the predicted block is requested by the stream-enabled application when an error condition occurs in executing the stream-enabled application on the streaming playback device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

continuously sending test buffers to the streaming playback device;

determining the network throughput based on a time required to transmit a test buffer of the test buffers and a data size of the test buffer of the test buffers.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising determining an average network throughput by continuously running determined network throughputs through a low pass filter, the average network throughput being used as the network throughput in determining the data window size.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending the blocks in the output buffer, including the predicted blocks and the requested block, to the streaming playback device;

storing the blocks received from the output buffer in a cache of the streaming playback device.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

intercepting a block request for a resource created in executing the stream-enabled application on the streaming playback device from a virtual execution environment;

checking to see if the blocks stored in the cache of the streaming playback device can satisfy the block request for the resource;

if it is determined that the blocks stored in the cache of the streaming playback device can completely satisfy the intercepted block request for the resource, fetching the blocks stored in the cache to satisfy the block request for the resource;

if it is determined that the blocks stored in the cache of the streaming playback device cannot completely satisfy the block request for the resource, generating and sending a request for blocks needed to completely satisfy the intercepted block request for the resource to the interface.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the generated and sent request for blocks is a modified block request that includes all of the blocks needed to completely satisfy the intercepted block request for the resource that are not stored in the cache of the streaming playback device.

10. A system comprising:

a data window engine configured to continuously determine a data window size of an output buffer based on network latency and network throughput of an interface through which blocks associated with resources of a stream-enabled application in executing the stream-enabled application on a streaming playback device are sent;

a predictor configured to determine a probability of predicted blocks being requested by the streaming playback device in executing the stream-enabled application based on a requested block received in executing the stream-enabled application;

a predicted block aggregation engine configured to add the predicted blocks to the output buffer that includes the requested block in order of the probability of being requested by the streaming playback device after requesting the requested block of the stream-enabled application until the output buffer has reached the data window size.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the data window engine is configured to continuously determine the data window size based on an interactivity threshold.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein a predicted block of the predicted blocks is the same as the requested block.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the probability of a predicted block being requested is based on whether the predicted block is requested by the stream-enabled application when an error condition occurs in executing the stream-enabled application on the streaming playback device.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the data window engine is further configured to:

continuously send test buffers to the streaming playback device;

determine the network throughput based on a time required to transmit a test buffer of the test buffers and a data size of the test buffer of the test buffers.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the data window engine is further configured to determine an average network throughput by continuously running determined network throughputs through a low pass filter, the average network throughput being used as the network throughput in determining the data window size.

16. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

a block granularity caching engine configured to;

receive the blocks sent to the streaming playback device from the output buffer, including the predicted blocks and the requested block;

store the blocks received from the output buffer in a cache of the streaming playback device.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the block granularity caching engine is further configured to:

intercept a block request for a resource created in executing the stream-enabled application on the streaming playback device from a virtual execution environment;

check to see if the blocks stored in the cache of the streaming playback device can satisfy the block request for the resource;

if it is determined that the blocks stored in the cache of the streaming playback device can completely satisfy the intercepted block request for the resource, fetching the blocks stored in the cache to satisfy the block request for the resource;

if it is determined that the blocks stored in the cache of the streaming playback device cannot completely satisfy the block request for the resource, generating and sending a request for blocks needed to completely satisfy the intercepted block request for the resource to the interface.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the generated and sent request for blocks is a modified block request that includes all of the blocks needed to completely satisfy the intercepted block request for the resource that are not stored in the cache of the streaming playback device.

19. A system comprising:

means for receiving a request for a requested block in executing a stream-enabled application on a streaming playback device;

means for predicting one or more blocks that are associated with resources of the stream enabled application that will be requested by the streaming playback device in executing the stream-enabled application based on the requested block;

means for adding the requested block and predicted blocks to an output buffer in order of probability of the predicted blocks being requested by the streaming playback device after requesting the requested block of the stream-enabled application until the output buffer has reached a data window size that is continuously updated based on network latency and network throughput of an interface through which the blocks are sent to the streaming playback device.