Using mobile devices of a user as an edge cache to stream video files

• US 8,954,394 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2014
• Issued: 02/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Razer (Asia-Pacific) Pte. Ltd. (Razer Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Nextbit Systems, Inc. (Razer Incorporated)
• Inventors: Chan, Michael A., Quan, Justin, Bornstein, Daniel R., Moss, Tom, Tong, Linda
• Primary Examiner(s): Casanova, Jorge A
• Application Number:
  US14/275,475
• Publication Number:
  US 20140289203A1
• Time in Patent Office: 274 Days
• Field of Search: 707/652
• US Class Current: 707/652
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7867 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, title and artist information, manually generated time, location and usage information, user ratings
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1094 Inter-user-equipment sessions transfer or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5683 Storage of data provided by user terminals, i.e. reverse caching

Abstract

Technology is disclosed for using computing devices (“the devices”) of a user as an edge cache of a distributed backup system to stream video files. In the distributed backup system, the user can store different data files of the user at different devices of the user and/or at a server. For example, the user may store video files at one of the devices of the user (“a first device”) in addition to storing at the server. When the user requests to stream a particular video file to a particular device, the technology streams the video file to the particular device either from the server or from the first device. If the first device is in proximity to the particular device, the video file is streamed from the first device instead of from the server, thereby minimizing the latency involved in streaming the video file from the server.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of using one of a plurality of computing devices of a user as an edge cache of a distributed backup system for streaming a video file of the user, the method comprising:

receiving, at a data backup application in a first computing device of the computing devices, a request to stream the video file stored in the distributed backup system to the first computing device, the distributed backup system storing at least a subset of a plurality of data files of the user at a cloud storage service, the video file being one of the data files, the distributed backup system storing different subsets of the data files at different computing devices of the user based on a plurality of data backup policies, wherein the video file is stored in a specific computing device of the computing devices based on a data backup policy of the data backup policies;

confirming, by the data backup application, that the cloud storage service contains the video file and is available to stream the video file to the first computing device;

determining, by the data backup application and based on the data backup policy, whether a second computing device of the computing devices contains the video file;

responsive to a determination that the second computing device contains the video file, determining, by the data backup application, whether the second computing device is available as the edge cache of the distributed computing system to stream the video file to the first computing device, the determining including;

determining, by the data backup application, whether the second computing device is in proximity to the first computing device, and

responsive to a determination that the second computing device is in proximity, determining that the second computing device is available as the edge cache of the distributed backup system to stream the video file of the first computing device;

responsive to a determination that the second computing device is available as the edge cache of the distributed backup system, requesting, by the first computing device, the second computing device to stream the video file to the first computing device; and

receiving, by the first computing device, a stream of the video file from the second computing device via short range wireless communication.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the edge cache of the distributed backup system for streaming the video file is any of the computing devices that contains the video file, is more proximate to the first computing device than the cloud storage service, and streams the video file over short range wireless communication.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the edge cache of the distributed backup system for streaming the video file is any of the computing devices from which streaming the video file to the first computing device consumes less computing resources than that of streaming the video file from the cloud storage service.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

responsive to a determination that the second computing device is not available as the edge cache;

requesting the cloud storage service to stream the video file to the first computing device, and

receiving, at the first computing device, the stream of the video file from the cloud storage service.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first computing device and the second computing device are in proximity to each other if the first computing device and the second computing device can communicate with each other over the short range wireless communication.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the short range wireless communication includes communicating via common wireless network.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the short range wireless communication includes communicating using at least one of (a) Bluetooth, (b) WiFi direct, (c) NFC, (d) AirDrop, (e) Infrared, or (f) DLNA.

8. A computing device for retrieving a video file from a distributed backup system, comprising:

a processor;

a network component that works in cooperation with the processor to receive a streaming request from a user of the computing device to stream the video file to the computing device, the distributed backup system storing at least a subset of a plurality of data files of the user at a cloud storage service, the distributed backup system storing different subsets of the data files at different computing devices of the user based on a plurality of data backup policies, wherein the video file is stored in the cloud storage service and in one of the computing devices based on a data backup policy of the data backup policies, the network component further configured to confirm that the cloud storage service is available to serve the streaming request;

a device identification module to identify, based on the data backup policy, a second computing device of the computing devices that contains the video file;

a device proximity determination module to determine whether the second computing device is available as an edge cache of the distributed computing system to stream the video file to the computing device, the determining including;

determining whether the second computing device is in proximity to the computing device, and

responsive to a determination that the second computing device is in proximity, determining that the second computing device is available as the edge cache of the distributed backup system to stream the video file of the computing device; and

an access redirection module to transmit the streaming request to the computing device instead of the cloud storage service, the streaming request requesting the second computing device to stream the video file to the computing device over short range wireless communication.

9. The computing device of claim 8, wherein the computing device and the second computing device are in proximity to each other if the computing device and the second computing device can communicate with each other over the short range wireless communication.

10. The computing device of claim 8, wherein the short range wireless communication includes communicating via a common wireless network.

11. The computing device of claim 8, wherein the short range wireless communication includes a communicating using at least one of (a) Bluetooth, (b) WiFi direct, (c) NFC, (d) AirDrop, (e) Infrared, or (f) DLNA.

12. A computer-implemented method of using one of a plurality of computing devices of a user as an edge cache of a distributed backup system for streaming a video file of the user, the method comprising:

receiving, at a server in the distributed backup system, a request to stream the video file stored at the server to a first computing device of the computing devices, the distributed backup system storing at least a subset of a plurality of data files of the user at the server, the distributed backup system storing different subsets of the data files at different computing devices of the user based on a plurality of data backup policies;

determining, by the server and based on the data backup policies, whether a second computing device of the computing devices contains the video file;

responsive to a determination that the second computing device contains the video file, determining, by the server, whether the second computing device is available as the edge cache of the distributed computing system to stream the video file to the first computing device, the determining including;

determining, by the server, whether the second computing device is in proximity to the first computing device, and

responsive to a determination that the second computing device is in proximity, determining that the second computing device is available as the edge cache of the distributed backup system to stream the video file of the first computing device;

responsive to a determination that the second computing device is available as the edge cache of the distributed backup system, instructing the second computing device to stream the video file to the first computing device; and

causing, by the server, the first computing device to receive a stream of the video file from the second computing device via short range wireless communication.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the edge cache of the distributed backup system for streaming the video file is any of the computing devices that contains the video file, is more proximate to the first computing device than the server, and streams the video file over short range wireless communication.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the edge cache of the distributed backup system for streaming the video file is any of the computing devices that contains the video file and streams the video file to the first computing device by consuming less computing resources than when streamed from the server.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 further comprising:

responsive to a determination that the second computing device is not available as the edge cache, streaming, by the server, the video file to the first computing device.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein determining if the second computing device is in proximity to the first computing device includes:

determining, by the server, that the first computing device and the second computing device are in proximity to each other if the first computing device and the second computing device can communicate with each other over short range wireless communication.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein communicating over short range wireless communication includes communicating over a common wireless network.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein the short range wireless communication includes a communication via at least one of (a) Bluetooth, (b) WiFi direct, (c) NFC, (d) AirDrop, (e) Infrared, or (f) DLNA.

19. A server for using one of a plurality of computing devices of a user as an edge cache of a distributed backup system for streaming a video file of the user, the server comprising:

a processor;

a network component that works in cooperation with the processor to receive a request to stream the video file stored at the server to a first computing device of the computing devices, the distributed backup system storing at least a subset of a plurality of data files of the user at the server, the distributed backup system storing different subsets of the data files at different computing devices of the user based on a plurality of data backup policies;

a device identification module to determine based on the data backup policies whether a second computing device of the computing devices contains the video file;

a device proximity determination module to determine whether the second computing device is available as an edge cache of the distributed computing system to stream the video file to the first computing device, the determining including;

determining whether the second computing device is in proximity to the first computing device, and

responsive to a determination that the second computing device is in proximity, determining that the second computing device is available as the edge cache of the distributed backup system to stream the video file of the first computing device; and

an access redirection module to instruct, responsive to a determination that the second computing device is available as the edge cache of the distributed backup system, the second computing device to stream the video file to the first computing device via short range wireless communication.

20. The server of claim 19, wherein the edge cache of the distributed backup system for streaming the video file is any of the computing devices that contains the video file, is more proximate to the first computing device than the server, and streams the video file over short range wireless communication.

21. The server of claim 19, wherein the edge cache of the distributed backup system for streaming the video file is any of the computing devices that contains the video file and streams the video file to the first computing device by consuming less computing resources than the server.

22. The server of claim 19, wherein the network component is further configured to stream, responsive to a determination that the second computing device is not available as the edge cache, the video file to the first computing device.

23. The server of claim 19, wherein the short range wireless communication includes communicating over a common wireless network.

24. The server of claim 19, wherein the short range wireless communication includes communicating via at least one of (a) Bluetooth, (b) WiFi direct, (c) NFC, (d) AirDrop, (e) Infrared, or (f) DLNA.