Content awareness caching with network-aware geo-location protocol

• US 8,725,837 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2010
• Issued: 05/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Pacella, Dante J., Carney, Mark D., Schiller, Harold J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne, Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): Williams, Clayton R
• Application Number:
  US12/961,617
• Publication Number:
  US 20110078287A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,253 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/218
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0853 by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1094 Inter-user-equipment sessions transfer or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/756 adapting media to device capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23106 involving caching operations prefetching while addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means within memory systems or architectures G06F12/0862; caching at an intermediate stage in a data network H04L67/568
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25808 Management of client data terminal profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/303
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64761 directed to the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38

Abstract

A device receives subscriber information associated with user devices provided in a network, receives network information associated with the network, and receives user device information associated with the user devices. The device also determines content to cache based on the received information, and requests the determined content from a content provider device. The device further receives the determined content from the content provider device, and stores the determined content in a cache device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device, subscriber information associated with user devices coupled to a network, the subscriber information related to subscribers associated with the user devices;

receiving, by the computing device, network information associated with the network, wherein the network information comprises;

attachment point information associated with the user devices, wherein the attachment point information includes information about one or more network devices used to connect each of the user devices to the network,

bandwidth information associated with the network, wherein the bandwidth information includes an amount of bandwidth provisioned for each of the subscribers, a current bandwidth being used by each of the subscribers, or an amount of bandwidth available to each of the subscribers in the network, and

congestion information that identifies congested areas of the network;

receiving, by the computing device, user device information associated with the user devices;

determining, by the computing device, which items of content, of multiple items of content stored by a content provider device, to cache in a cache device physically located near the user devices based on the network information comprising the attachment point information, the bandwidth information and the congestion information, and further based on the subscriber information or the user device information;

requesting, by the computing device, the determined items of content from the content provider device;

receiving, by the computing device, the determined items of content from the content provider device; and

storing, by the computing device, the determined content in the cache device physically located near the user devices.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the network information, and the subscriber information or the user device information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the subscriber information comprises one or more of:

receiving names of the subscribers associated with the user devices,

receiving addresses of the subscribers associated with the user devices,

receiving demographics of the subscribers associated with the user devices, or

receiving content interests of the subscribers associated with the user devices.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving user device information comprises one or more of:

receiving link performance information associated with the user devices,

receiving capabilities associated with the user devices,

receiving player type information associated with the user devices,

receiving encoding information associated with the user devices,

receiving video format information associated with the user devices, or

receiving player file format information associated with the user devices.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request for an item of content from a particular user device of the user devices;

determining whether the requested item of content is stored in the cache device or the content provider device; and

streaming, when the requested item of content is stored in the cache device, the requested item of content directly from the cache device to the particular user device.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

retrieving, when the requested item of content is stored in the content provider device, the requested item of content from the content provider device; and

streaming the requested item of content, retrieved from the content provider device, to the particular user device.

7. The method of claim 5, where the computing device includes an index of content provided in the cache device, and where determining whether the requested item of content is stored in the cache device or the content provider device comprises:

performing a search of the index to determine whether the requested item of content is stored in the cache device;

determining that the requested item of content is stored in the cache device when the search provides a search result; and

determining that the requested item of content is stored in the content provider device when the search does not provide a search result.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device comprises a streamer device that transmits content in an active stream that does not require a complete file download in order to play the content.

9. A device, comprising:

a memory configured to store a plurality of instructions; and

a processor configured to execute instructions in the memory to;

receive subscriber information associated with user devices provided in a network, the subscriber information related to subscribers associated with the user devices,

receive network information associated with the network, wherein the network information comprises;

attachment point information associated with the user devices, wherein the attachment point information includes information about one or more network devices used to connect each of the user devices to the network,

bandwidth information associated with the network, wherein the bandwidth information includes an amount of bandwidth provisioned for each of the subscribers, a current bandwidth being used by each of the subscribers, or an amount of bandwidth available to each of the subscribers in the network, and

congestion information that identifies congested areas of the network;

store the subscriber information and the network information,

determine which items of content, of multiple items of content stored by a content provider device, to cache in a cache device physically located near the user devices based on the subscriber information and the network information comprising the attachment point information, the bandwidth information and the congestion information,

request the determined items of content from the content provider device,

receive the determined items of content from the content provider device, and

store the determined items of content in the cache device physically located near the user devices.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the subscriber information comprises one or more names of the subscribers, addresses of the subscribers, demographics of the subscribers, or content interests of the subscribers.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions in the memory to:

receive a request for an item of content from a particular user device of the user devices,

determine whether the requested item of content is stored in the cache device or the content provider device, and

stream, when the requested item of content is stored in the cache device, the requested item of content directly from the cache device to the particular user device.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions in the memory to:

retrieve, when the requested item of content is stored in the content provider device, the requested item of content from the content provider device, and

stream the requested item of content, retrieved from the content provider device, to the particular user device.

13. The device of claim 11, wherein the device includes an index of content stored in the cache device, and wherein, when determining whether the requested content is stored in the cache device or the content provider device, the processor is further configured to execute instructions in the memory to:

perform a search of the index to determine whether the requested item of content is stored in the cache device,

determine that the requested item of content is stored in the cache device when the search provides a search result, and

determine that the requested item of content is stored in the content provider device when the search does not provide a search result.

14. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions executable by one or more processors provided in a device, the media storing one or more instructions for:

receiving subscriber information associated with user devices coupled to a network, the subscriber information related to subscribers associated with the user devices;

receiving network information associated with the network, wherein the network information comprises;

attachment point information associated with the user devices, wherein the attachment point information includes information about one or more network devices used to connect each of the user devices to the network,

bandwidth information associated with the network, wherein the bandwidth information includes an amount of bandwidth provisioned for a subscriber associated with each of the user devices, a current bandwidth being used by the subscriber, or an amount of bandwidth available to the subscriber in the network, and

congestion information that identifies congested areas of the network;

determining which items of content, of multiple items of content stored by a content provider device, to cache in a cache device physically located near the user devices based on the subscriber information and the network information comprising the attachment point information, the bandwidth information and the congestion information;

requesting and receiving the determined items of content from the content provider device;

storing the determined items of content in the cache device physically located near the user devices;

receiving a request for an item of content from a particular user device of the user devices; and

streaming the requested item of content directly from the cache device to the particular user device.

15. The media of claim 14, further storing one or more instructions for:

retrieving, when the requested item of content is stored in the content provider device, the requested item of content from the content provider device; and

streaming the requested item of content, retrieved from the content provider device, to the particular user device.

16. The media of claim 15, wherein the device includes an index of content stored in the cache device, and wherein the one or more instructions for determining whether the requested item of content is stored in the cache device or the content provider device further comprise one or more instructions for:

performing a search of the index to determine whether the requested item of content is in the cache device;

determining that the requested item of content is stored in the cache device when the search provides a search result; and

determining that the requested item of content is stored in the content provider device when the search does not provide a search result.

17. The media of claim 14,

wherein the subscriber information comprises one or more of:

names of subscribers associated with the user devices,

addresses of the subscribers associated with the user devices,

demographics of the subscribers associated with the user devices, or content interests of the subscribers associated with the user devices.

18. The media of claim 14, the media further storing one or more instructions for:

receiving user device information associated with the user devices, wherein the user device information comprises one or more of;

link performance information associated with the user devices,

capabilities associated with the user devices,

player type information associated with the user devices,

encoding information associated with the user devices,

video format information associated with the user devices, or

player file format information associated with the user devices,

wherein the determining which items of the content to cache is further based on the user device information.