Optimized delivery techniques

• US 9,888,295 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2015
• Issued: 02/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Brown, Tom, Gasloli, Rick
• Primary Examiner(s): Liu, Jung-Jen
• Application Number:
  US14/854,483
• Publication Number:
  US 20160080827A1
• Time in Patent Office: 875 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2385 Channel allocation H04N21/266 takes precedence; Bandwidth allocation H04N21/24 takes precedence ; allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users in time-division multiplex systems H04J3/1682; admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896; negotiating bandwidth in wireless networks H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64723 Monitoring of network processes or resources, e.g. monitoring of network load traffic related reporting in data switching networks H04L43/062
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64738 Monitoring network characteristics, e.g. bandwidth, congestion level data switched network analysis H04L41/14; monitoring functioning in data switched networks H04L43/0817; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10

Abstract

Systems and methods are described that relate to on-demand compression for electronic data, such as media content, through a communication pathway. The communication pathway may be a configured to multicast media content to a plurality of end-users in a service group. In certain embodiments, the service group may comprise a service group node having a quadrature amplitude modulation device. In one exemplary method, it may be determined whether the amount of media content being transmitted meets a first utilization threshold. The determination may be based on, at least in part, by measurements taken at one or more electronic devices located throughout a network or system. If the first bandwidth utilization threshold is not met, media content may be transmitted in a first format. If the first bandwidth utilization threshold is met, at least a portion of the media content may be transmitted in a first optimized delivery technique.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device and via a first network, data from a data source;

transmitting, to an end device and via a second network, at least a portion of the data;

determining whether a first quantity of data, transmitted via the second network during a first time period, satisfies a first threshold value associated with the second network;

upon determining that the first threshold value is not satisfied;

continuing to transmit the data via the second network, and

upon determining that the first threshold value is satisfied;

requesting that first optimized data be delivered from the data source; and

responsive to receiving the first optimized data, transmitting, to the end device and via the second network, at least a portion of the first optimized data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first optimized data is an optimized version of an additional portion of the data.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after transmitting the portion of the first optimized data, determining whether a second quantity of data, transmitted via the second network during a second time period, satisfies the first threshold value;

upon determining that the first threshold value is satisfied;

continuing to transmit the first optimized data; and

upon determining that the first threshold value is not satisfied;

requesting that non-optimized data be delivered from the data source; and

transmitting, to the end device and via the second network, at least a portion of the non-optimized data.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after transmitting the portion of the first optimized data, determining whether a second quantity of data transmitted via the second network during a second time period, satisfies a second threshold value for the second network;

upon determining that the second threshold value is not satisfied;

continuing to transmit the first optimized data; and

upon determining that the second threshold value is satisfied;

requesting that second optimized data be delivered from the data source; and

transmitting, to the end device and via the second network, at least a portion of the second optimized data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the requesting that the first optimized data be delivered from the data source comprises:

requesting engagement of a compression protocol.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the requesting that the first optimized data be delivered from the data source comprises:

requesting delivery of at least one file previously stored in a compressed format.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device comprises a service group node.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the data from the data source comprises receiving the data from the data source via a multicast transmission.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the data comprises data in a first format and wherein the first optimized data comprises data in a second format.

10. A method comprising:

receiving a first indication of whether a quantity of data, transmitted by a device via a first network to at least a portion of a plurality of locations within a service group of the first network during a first time period, satisfies a first threshold value, the device having received the data from a data source via a second network;

upon determining that the first threshold value is satisfied;

causing the data to be delivered to the device via the second network using a first optimized delivery technique;

upon determining that the first threshold value is not satisfied;

causing the data to be delivered to the device via the second network without the first optimized delivery technique;

receiving a second indication of whether a quantity of data transmitted by the device via the first network during a second time period, satisfies the first threshold value;

upon determining that the first threshold value is satisfied during the second time period;

causing at least an additional portion of the data to be delivered to the device via the second network using the first optimized delivery technique; and

upon determining that the first threshold value is not satisfied;

causing at least the additional portion of the data to be delivered to the device via the second network without using the first optimized delivery technique.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the causing the data to be delivered to the device comprises causing the data to be delivered to the device via a multicast transmission.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the causing the data to be delivered to the device via the second network using the first optimized delivery technique comprises:

causing engagement of a compression engine configured to compress the data.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the causing the data to be delivered to the device via the second network using the first optimized delivery technique comprises:

causing delivery of at least one file previously stored in a compressed format.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

after causing the additional portion of the data to be delivered to the device via the second network using the first optimized delivery technique, receiving a third indication of whether a quantity of data, transmitted by the device via the first network during a third time period, satisfies a second threshold value; and

upon determining that the second threshold value is satisfied during the third time period;

causing at least an additional portion of the data to be delivered to the device via the second network using a second optimized delivery technique; and

upon determining that the second threshold value is not satisfied;

causing at least the additional portion of the data to be delivered to the device via the second network using the first optimized delivery technique.

15. A method comprising:

measuring a quantity of data transmitted, by a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) device, via a first network, in a first format, and during a first time period, the QAM device having received the data from a data source via a second network;

upon determining that the quantity of data transmitted satisfies a first threshold value, requesting that the data be provided to the QAM device, via the second network, using a first optimized delivery technique;

measuring a quantity of data transmitted via the first network during a second time period; and

upon determining that a second threshold value for the first network is not satisfied during the second time period;

requesting that the data be provided to the QAM device via the second network without using the first optimized delivery technique.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first threshold value corresponds to 80% bandwidth utilization and the second threshold value corresponds to 55% bandwidth utilization.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining that a third threshold value, which is between the first threshold value and the second threshold value, is satisfied during the second time period; and

requesting that the data be provided to the QAM device via the second network using a second optimized delivery technique.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first threshold value corresponds to 80% bandwidth utilization, the second threshold value corresponds to 55% bandwidth utilization, and the third threshold value corresponds to between 75% and 65% bandwidth utilization.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the requesting that the data be provided to the QAM device via the second network using the first optimized delivery technique comprises requesting engagement of a compression protocol configured to compress at least a portion of the data in the first format to a first compressed format.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the requesting that the data be provided to the QAM device via the second network using the first optimized delivery technique comprises requesting delivery of at least one file previously stored in a compressed format.