Demand-based edge caching video content system and methods

• US 9,241,174 B1
• Filed: 11/18/2014
• Issued: 01/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vecima Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Concurrent Computer Corporation
• Inventors: Rogers, Thomas J.
• Primary Examiner(s): HANCE, ROBERT J
• Application Number:
  US14/546,632
• Time in Patent Office: 427 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/20 Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21 Server components or server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2181 comprising remotely distributed storage units, e.g. when movies are replicated over a plurality of video servers distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/222 Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23103 using load balancing strategies, e.g. by placing or distributing content on different disks, different memories or different servers storage management G06F3/0604; allocation of resources considering the load in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/505; techniques for rebalancing the load in a distributed system G06F9/5083; access to distributed or replicated servers, e.g. load balancing, in data networks H04L67/1001
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2408 Monitoring of the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. client requests monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60

Abstract

A video-on-demand system includes a resource manager (501) in communication with a central storage server (502), a back office system (503), and a plurality of edge servers (504). The resource manager can receive (523) a video-on-demand session request 524) requesting delivery of content (529), read (525) a content allocation register (520) that includes a popular asset list (301) with a plurality of content assets ranked (314) by highest demand (314) within a predetermined past usage window (316) and an edge server list (302) indicating which edge servers have delivered each content asset of the popular asset list. The resource manger can then Select (526) a selected edge server (527) from the content allocation register as a function of the popular asset list and the edge server list and cause (528) the selected edge server to deliver (529) the content in response to the video-on-demand session request.

Claims

1. A method of delivering resources of an edge server selected from a plurality of edge servers disposed across a network and in communication with a central server, comprising:

storing content at the central server;

marking, with a back office manager, that the content is ready for usage in response to the storing;

receiving a demand for the content at a resource manager operable with the back office manager;

in response to the receiving, reading, with the resource manager, a content allocation register, the content allocation register comprising;

a popular asset list comprising a plurality of content assets stored at the central server, the plurality of content assets ranked by highest demand; and

an edge server list indicating which edge servers have delivered each content asset in the popular asset list;

selecting, with the resource manager, a selected edge server as a function of the content allocation register; and

causing, with the resource manager, the selected edge server to deliver the content.

2. The method of claim 1, the plurality of content assets limited to only those assets requested within a predetermined past usage window.

3. The method of claim 2, the predetermined past usage window comprising a period of twenty-four hours.

4. The method of claim 2, the plurality of content assets comprising one thousand or fewer content assets.

5. The method of claim 2, the plurality of content assets comprising less than twenty percent of a total number of content assets stored at the central server.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising delivering the content from the selected edge server to a streaming server to fulfill a video-on-demand session request.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the content allocation register to include the content and the selected edge server.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving another demand for another content;

selecting another edge server as the function of the popular asset list; and

updating the content allocation register to include the another content and the another edge server.

9. The method of claim 1, the edge server list further comprising a timestamp indicating when each edge server delivered the each content asset in the popular asset list.

10. The method of claim 9, the selecting comprising selecting the edge server as a function of the timestamp.

11. The method of claim 10, the selecting comprising selecting edge servers having delivered the content more recently before other edge servers having delivered the content less recently.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising updating the edge server list to include a time when the content was delivered from the selected edge server.

13. A video-on-demand system, comprising:

a resource manager in communication with a central storage server, a back office system, and a plurality of edge servers disposed distally across a network from the central storage server, the resource manager to;

receive a video-on-demand session request requesting delivery of content;

read a content allocation register comprising;

a popular asset list comprising a plurality of content assets stored at the central storage server ranked by highest demand within a predetermined past usage window; and

an edge server list indicating which edge servers have delivered each content asset of the popular asset list;

select a selected edge server from the content allocation register as a function of the popular asset list and the edge server list; and

cause the selected edge server to deliver the content in response to the video-on-demand session request.

14. The video-on-demand system of claim 13, the edge server list further comprising a timestamp indicating when the edge servers delivered the each content asset of the popular asset list.

15. The video-on-demand system of claim 14, the selected edge server having a more recent timestamp than at least some other edge servers of the plurality of edge servers.

16. The video-on-demand system of claim 14, the plurality of content assets less than a predefined content asset limit.

17. The video-on-demand system of claim 16, the predefined content asset limit comprising a portion of a total number of content assets stored at the central storage server.

18. The video-on-demand system of claim 13, the resource manager further to update the content allocation register with each video-on-demand session request fulfilled within the predefined past usage window.

19. The video-on-demand system of claim 18, the selected edge server to fulfill the each video-on-demand session request by delivering the content a streaming server.

20. The video-on-demand system of claim 18, the predefined past usage window less than or equal to twenty-four hours.