Managing content distribution in a wireless communications environment

• US 9,749,403 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2012
• Issued: 08/29/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Agrawal, Dakshi, Lee, Sihyung, Pappas, Vasileios, Srivatsa, Mudhakar
• Primary Examiner(s): Colin, Carl
• Assistant Examiner(s): LAVELLE, GARY E
• Application Number:
  US13/370,935
• Publication Number:
  US 20130208888A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,027 Days
• Field of Search: 380255
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0806 Multiuser, multiprocessor or multiprocessing cache systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1837 Management specially adapted to peer-to-peer storage networks topology management mechanisms of peer-to-peer networks H04L67/1042
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18584 Arrangements for data networking, i.e. for data packet routing, for congestion control data switching networks H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10015 Access to distributed or replicated servers, e.g. using brokers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1014 based on the content of a request
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1021 based on client or server locations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/288 Distributed intermediate devices, i.e. intermediate devices for interaction with other intermediate devices on the same level
• 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 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5683 Storage of data provided by user terminals, i.e. reverse caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A method, system and computer program product for managing content distribution in a mobile communications environment. The communications environment includes a core network and a multitude of end-user devices. In one embodiment, the method comprises downloading content from the core network to the end-user devices; and maintaining a map between the end-user devices, the content downloaded to the end-user devices, and the locations of the end-user devices. When a first of the end-user devices requests a specified content, this map and one or more rules are used to identify a second of the end-user devices having the specified content. The first of the end-user devices fetches the specified content from this identified second of the end-user devices. In one embodiment, object location descriptors embedded in the content are rewritten when the content is downloaded to the end-user devices.

Claims

1. A method of managing content distribution in a mobile communications environment comprising a core network and a multitude of end-user devices, the method comprising:

downloading content from the core network to the end-user devices;

maintaining a map between the end-user devices, the content downloaded to the end-user devices, and the locations of the end-user devices;

when a first of the end-user devices requests a specified content, using said map and one or more given rules to identify a second of the end-user devices having the specified content for downloading the specified content to said first of the end-user devices, including receiving the request at a network element having knowledge of the location of the content, and the network element rewriting the request so that the specified content is downloaded to the first of the end-user devices from the second of the end-user devices, the rewriting including

extracting an embedded content descriptor from the request,

selecting a location of the specified content, including inputting the content descriptor to a content lookup module, and based on output from the content lookup module and a network congestion monitoring module, calculating a content retrieval location, and

rewriting the embedded content descriptor to enable the first of the end-user devices to fetch the specified content from the second of the end-user devices;

returning the re-written embedded content descriptor to the first of the end-user devices; and

said first of the end-user devices fetching the specified content from the identified second of the end-user devices; and

wherein

the downloading content includes pre-pushing the specified content, before the specified content is requested, to one of a group of locations based on a classification of the specified content; and

the pre-pushing the specified content includes determining when and where to pre-push the specified content, and how long to keep the specified content in storage, by correlating spatio-temporal patterns over multiple users, and correlating the spatio-temporal patterns over multiple servers at different locations of the mobile communications environment.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the maintaining a map includes rewriting object location descriptors embedded in the content when the content is downloaded to the end-user devices.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the downloading content from the core network to the end-user devices includes:

monitoring the downloading of the content from the core network to the end-user devices; and

using said monitoring to identify patterns of requests for the content by selected ones of the end-user devices.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein:

the content includes a multitude of content items;

the identified patterns include a pattern by the first of the end-user devices; and

the downloading includes downloading a particular one of the content items to the second of the end-user devices based on the pattern by the first of the end-user devices, before the first of the end-user devices requests said particular one of the content items, for subsequent fetching by the first of the end-user devices.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

encrypting the specified content on said second of the end-user devices; and

sending to said first of the end-user devices a key for decrypting the encrypted specified content.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

a plurality of communication modes are used to communicate between the end-user devices;

one of the communication modes is selected as a preferred mode; and

the second of the end-user devices is identified by identifying the end-user device that is the closest of the end-user devices to said first of the end-user devices that communicates with the first of the end-user devices through said preferred mode.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

a plurality of communication modes are used to communicate between the end-user devices;

one of the communication modes is identified as a least used mode; and

one of the rules used to identify said second of the end-user devices is that the second of the end-user devices communicates with the first of the end-user devices using said identified least used mode.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the downloading content from the core network to the end-user devices includes:

identifying an anticipated demand for the content; and

downloading the content to one or more defined locations based on the identified anticipated demand.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein:

the downloading the content from the core network to the end-user devices includes downloading the content to a multitude of defined locations dispersed throughout the core network.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein:

the identified anticipated demand is by a community of the end-user devices; and

the downloading the content to a multitude of defined locations includes identifying one or more defined community service locations for serving said community of the end-user devices, and downloading the content to said one or more defined community service locations.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the network element is in each of one or more of the user end-devices;

the re-writing the embedded content descriptor includes rewriting an object location descriptor to identify a selected location;

the rewriting the request further includes rewriting the request so that the content is downloaded to the first of the end user devices through a selected one of a plurality of modalities; and

the selected location is the closest location given said selected one of the modalities.

12. A system for managing content distribution in a mobile communications environment comprising a core network and a multitude of end-user devices, the system comprising one or more hardware processing units configured for:

downloading content from the core network to the end-user devices;

maintaining a map between the end-user devices, the content downloaded to the end-user devices, and the locations of the end-user devices;

when a first of the end-user devices requests a specified content, using said map and one or more rules to identify a second of the end-user devices having the specified content for downloading the specified content to said first of the end-user devices, including receiving the request at a network element having knowledge of the location of the content, and the network element rewriting the request so that the specified content is downloaded to the first of the end-user devices from the second of the end-user devices, the rewriting including

extracting an embedded content descriptor from the request,

selecting a location of the specified content, including inputting the content descriptor to a content lookup module, and based on output from the content lookup module and a network congestion monitoring module, calculating a content retrieval location, and

rewriting the embedded content descriptor to enable the first of the end-user devices to fetch the specified content from the second of the end-user devices;

returning the re-written embedded content descriptor to the first of the end-user devices; and

said first of the end-user devices fetching the specified content from the identified second of the end-user devices; and

wherein

the downloading content includes pre-pushing the specified content, before the specified content is requested, to one of a group of locations based on a classification of the specified content; and

the pre-pushing the specified content includes determining when and where to pre-push the specified content, and how long to keep the specified content in storage, by correlating spatio-temporal patterns over multiple users, and correlating the spatio-temporal patterns over multiple servers at different locations of the mobile communications environment.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the maintaining a map includes rewriting object location descriptors embedded in the content when the content is downloaded to the end-user devices.

14. The system according to claim 12, wherein the downloading content from the core network to the end-user devices includes:

monitoring the downloading of the content from the core network to the end-user devices; and

using said monitoring to identify patterns of requests for the content by selected ones of the end-user devices.

15. The system according to claim 12, wherein the one or more hardware processing units are further configured for:

encrypting the specified content on said second of the end-user devices; and

sending to said first of the end-user devices a key for decrypting the encrypted specified content.

16. The system according to claim 12, wherein:

a plurality of communication modes are used to communicate between the end-user devices;

one of the communication modes is selected as a preferred mode; and

the second of the end-user devices is identified by identifying the end-user device that is the closest of the end-user devices to said first of the end-user devices that communicates with the first of the end-user devices through said preferred mode.

17. An article of manufacture comprising:

at least one tangible computer readable hardware medium having computer readable program code logic tangibly embodied therein for managing content distribution in a mobile communications environment comprising a core network and a multitude of end-user devices, said program code logic, when executing in one or more processing units, performing the following;

downloading content from the core network to the end-user devices;

maintaining a map between the end-user devices, the content downloaded to the end-user devices, and the locations of the end-user devices;

when a first of the end-user devices requests a specified content, using said map and one or more given rules to identify a second of the end-user devices having the specified content for downloading the specified content to said first of the end-user devices, including receiving the request at a network element having knowledge of the location of the content, and the network element rewriting the request so that the specified content is downloaded to the first of the end-user devices from the second of the end-user devices, the rewriting including

extracting an embedded content descriptor from the request,

selecting a location of the specified content, including inputting the content descriptor to a content lookup module, and based on output from the content lookup module and a network congestion monitoring module, calculating a content retrieval location, and

rewriting the embedded content descriptor to enable the first of the end-user devices to fetch the specified content from the second of the end-user devices; and

returning the re-written embedded content descriptor to the first of the end-user devices; and

wherein

the downloading content includes pre-pushing the specified content, before the specified content is requested, to one of a group of locations based on a classification of the specified content; and

the pre-pushing the specified content includes determining when and where to pre-push the specified content, and how long to keep the specified content in storage, by correlating spatio-temporal patterns over multiple users, and correlating the spatio-temporal patterns over multiple servers at different locations of the mobile communications environment.

18. The article of manufacture according to claim 17, wherein the maintaining a map includes rewriting object location descriptors embedded in the content when the content is downloaded to the end-user devices.

19. The article of manufacture according to claim 17, wherein the downloading content from the core network to the end-user devices includes:

monitoring the downloading of the content from the core network to the end-user devices; and

using said monitoring to identify patterns of requests for the content by selected ones of the end-user devices.

20. A method of managing content distribution in a mobile, wireless communications environment including a core network and a multitude of end-user devices, the method comprising:

downloading content from the core network to the end-user devices;

rewriting object location descriptors embedded in the content when the content is downloaded to the end-user devices;

when a first of the end-user devices requests a specified content, using one or more rules to identify a second of the end-user devices having the specified content, including receiving the request at a network element having knowledge of the location of the content, and the network element rewriting the request so that the specified content is downloaded to the first of the end-user devices from the second of the end-user devices, the rewriting including

extracting an embedded content descriptor from the request,

selecting a location of the specified content, including inputting the content descriptor to a content lookup module, and based on output from the content lookup module and a network congestion monitoring module, calculating a content retrieval location, and

rewriting the embedded content descriptor to enable the first of the end-user devices to fetch the specified content from the second of the end-user devices;

returning the re-written embedded content descriptor to the first of the end-user devices; and

said first of the end-user devices fetching the specified content from the second of the end-user devices; and

wherein

the downloading content includes pre-pushing the specified content, before the specified content is requested, to one of a group of locations based on a classification of the specified content; and

the pre-pushing the specified content includes determining when and where to pre-push the specified content, and how long to keep the specified content in storage, by correlating spatio-temporal patterns over multiple users, and correlating the spatio-temporal patterns over multiple servers at different locations of the mobile communications environment.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the downloading content from the core network to the end-user devices includes:

monitoring the downloading of the content from the core network to the end-user devices;

using said monitoring to identify patterns of requests for the content by selected ones of the end-user devices; and

based on said patterns, downloading identified content items to some of said devices for said selected ones of the end-user device, prior to said selecting ones of the end-users fetching said identified content items.

22. The method according to claim 20, further comprising:

encrypting the specified content; and

sending to said first of the end-user devices a key for decrypting the encrypted specified content.

23. The method according to claim 20, wherein:

a plurality of communication modes are used to communicate between the end-user devices;

one of the communication modes is selected as a preferred mode; and

the second of the end-user devices is identified by identifying the end-user device that is the closest of the end-user devices to said first of the end-user devices that communicates with the first of the end-user devices through said preferred mode.

24. The method according to claim 20, wherein the downloading content from the core network to the end-user devices includes:

identifying an anticipated demand for the content by a defined group of the end-users; and

downloading the content to one or more defined locations based on the identified anticipated demand before said content is fetched by any of the defined group of the end user devices.