Distributed content discovery for in-network caching

• US 10,298,713 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2015
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Li, Xu, Dao, Ngoc-Dung
• Primary Examiner(s): Rubin, Blake J
• Application Number:
  US14/673,624
• Publication Number:
  US 20160294971A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,513 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 Configuration setting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/125 by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

Network caching performance can be improved by allowing users to discover distributed cache locations storing content of a central content server. Specifically, retrieving the content from a distributed cache proximately located to the user, rather than from the central content server, may allow for faster content delivery, while also consuming fewer network resources. Content can be associated with distributed cache locations storing that content by cache location tables, which may be maintained at intermediate network nodes, such as border routers and other devices positioned in-between end-users and central content servers. Upon receiving a query, the intermediate network nodes may determine whether the content requested by the query is associated with a cache location in the cache location table, and if so, provide the user with a query response identifying the associated cache location.

Claims

1. A method for deploying cache location services, the method comprising:

selecting, by a controller, a subset of candidate nodes to provide the cache location services for a content server based on a criteria; and

sending, by the controller, a configuration message to nodes in the subset of candidate nodes, wherein the configuration message instructs the nodes in the subset of candidate nodes to maintain distributed cache location tables for content of the content server, the nodes in the subset of candidate nodes comprising a first node and a second node different from the controller, wherein a first cache location table of the distributed cache location tables maps a first segment of the content to a first set of one or more cache locations, and a second cache location table of the distributed cache location tables maps a second segment of the content to a second set of one or more cache locations, the first segment of the content and the second segment of the content comprising at least one piece of the content, and the first set of one or more cache locations and the second set of one or more cache locations identifying a same content node storing the at least one piece of the content.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration message further comprises information to indicate a logical topology.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the logical topology defines logical interconnections between the subset of candidate nodes or relative topological properties of the subset of candidate nodes.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the distributed cache location tables identify cache nodes storing content currently reposited in the content server.

5. The method of claim 1, before selecting the subset of candidate nodes further comprising:

identifying, by the controller, the candidate nodes in a network based on a rule; and

receiving, by the controller, a message including information of the selected subset of candidate nodes from a network entity.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending, by the controller, a message to a traffic engineering controller, the message indicating that the subset of candidate nodes are maintaining cache location tables for content of the content server.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the criteria comprises at least one of the following:

an available bandwidth of the candidate nodes, available storing space of the candidate nodes, network loads on the candidate nodes, or cost of maintaining cache location tables at the candidate nodes.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration message instructs the subset of candidate nodes to associate content identifiers or content segment information with cache identifiers in the distributed cache location tables.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the configured message comprises at least one of the following:

a list of at least some of the subset of candidate nodes;

or

a list of two or more content servers.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein logical interconnections between the subset of candidate nodes are configured to transport content discovery messages between the subset of candidate nodes during content cache discovery, and wherein the logical interconnections are configured to transport cache location table maintenance messages between the subset of candidate nodes when information of a content cache is added, deleted, or updated in a cache location table.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the first segment of the content is different from the second segment of the content.

11. An apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the processor, the programming including instructions to;

select a subset of candidate nodes to provide cache location services for a content server based on a criteria; and

send a configuration message to nodes in the subset of candidate nodes, wherein the configuration message instructs the nodes in the subset of candidate nodes to maintain distributed cache location tables for content of the content server, the nodes inn the subset of candidate nodes comprising a first node and a second node different from the apparatus, wherein a first cache location table of the distributed cache location tables maps a first segment of the content to a first set of one or more cache locations, and a second cache location table of the distributed cache location tables maps a second segment of the content to a second set of one or more cache locations, the first segment of the content and the second segment of the content comprising at least one piece of the content, and the first set of one or more cache locations and the second set of one or more cache locations identifying a same content node storing the at least one piece of the content.

12. A method for discovering cached content, the method comprising:

receiving, by a first node in a subset of candidate nodes, a query from a requesting device and a stop forwarding condition, the query comprising information requesting caching locations of content reposited in a content server of a network, wherein the first node in the subset of candidate nodes maintains a first cache location table, wherein the first cache location table maps at least a segment of the content to one or more content nodes;

forwarding, by the first node in the subset of candidate nodes based on the first cache location table maintained by the first node, the query to at least one of the subset of candidate nodes configured to maintain distributed cache location tables for the content server if the stop forwarding condition is not satisfied, wherein the at least one of the subset of candidate nodes is different than the content server; and

stopping, by the first node in the subset of candidate nodes, further query operation if the stop forwarding condition is satisfied.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving a stop forwarding condition comprises:

receiving, the stop forwarding condition from the requesting device.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving a stop forwarding condition comprises:

receiving, the stop forwarding condition from a network controller.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the stop forwarding condition comprises at least one of the following:

query lifetime, query width, or query depth.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein a stop forwarding condition is embedded in the query, and wherein candidate nodes in the subset of candidate nodes are configured to cease forwarding the query to further candidate nodes in the subset of candidate nodes when the stop forwarding condition is satisfied.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein forwarding rules are embedded in the query, and wherein candidate nodes in the subset of candidate nodes are configured to forward the query to further candidate nodes in the subset of candidate nodes in accordance with the forwarding rules embedded in the query.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the forwarding rules instruct candidate nodes in the subset of candidate nodes to forward the query on a path.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein a query response identifying cache nodes storing the requested content is transmitted to the requesting device.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the query response prompts the requesting device to retrieve the requested content from one of the cache nodes storing the requested content.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein the query comprises a content identifier and a content server identifier.

22. The method of claim 12, wherein the query is forwarded over virtual connections extending between network nodes configured to maintain the distributed cache location tables.

24. The method of claim 12, wherein the forwarding comprises forwarding the query to the at least one of the subset of candidate nodes identified by at least one cache location of the first cache location table.

23. An apparatus in a subset of candidate nodes, the apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the processor, the programming including instructions to;

receive a query from a requesting device, the query requesting caching locations of content reposited in a content server of a network from a requesting device, wherein the apparatus in the subset of candidate nodes maintains a first cache location table, wherein the first cache location table maps at least a segment of the content to one or more content nodes;

determine whether the first cache location table identifies a caching location storing the requested content;

forward, based on the first cache location table maintained by the apparatus, the query to at least one of the subset of candidate nodes configured to maintain distributed cache location tables for the content server if the first cache location table does not identify at least one cache location storing the requested content, wherein the at least one of the subset of candidate nodes is different than the content server; and

send a query response to the requesting device if the first cache location table identifies one or more cache locations storing the requested content, wherein the query response indicates the one or more cache locations storing the requested content.