Content delivery network system and method

Abstract

Novelty-based CDN architecture provides CDN systems and methods of access and better user experience, where each edge server can be outside of an internet data center that can be fixed or mobile, can be intermittently connected to a multi-tiered content delivery network, can be connected to the last mile through Wi-Fi, and can be physically located in a place of interest.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for transmitting data required for the operation of digital services (mobile applications / websites / games / software applications), as well as architectures for transmitting data in the last mile. Background Technology

[0002] like Figure 1 As shown, the internet and associated networks used by consumers / consumer devices to access digital services are well-known. The internet allows for the use of last-mile networks to deliver different pieces of content / data required for digital services to function to devices, such as... Figure 1 The smartphone shown. Figure 1 The Internet, as illustrated, is a combination of all physical units distributed across the globe, housing all the world's information. An Internet Data Center (IDC) is a series of distributed physical units housing all networked and computing devices, including redundancy and backup components, power infrastructure, data communication connections, environmental controls, and various security devices. A CDN (Content Delivery Network) infrastructure is a geographically distributed network of servers housed within an Internet Data Center, which provides most of today's Internet content, particularly web objects (text, graphics, scripts), downloadable objects (media files, software, documents), applications, live streaming, video-on-demand streaming, and social media, whose architecture and operation are well-known. The Internet, together with Internet Data Centers and CDN infrastructure, is referred to as Internet infrastructure. Digital service providers include all individuals / companies / entities that use Internet infrastructure to provide services to consumers. A consumer platform is any interface through which a mobile application / website / user accesses the services of a digital service provider. Telecommunication infrastructure is infrastructure established by telecommunications companies that use licensed wireless frequencies to access the Internet (2G / 3G / 4G / LTE - collectively referred to as cellular data connections), while Wi-Fi infrastructure is infrastructure established by Internet service providers to provide broadband / leased line connectivity to access the Internet, or one or more access points that can be attached to the infrastructure to use unlicensed frequencies to wirelessly access the Internet.

[0003] use Figure 1 The conventional system shown Figure 1 The service (mobile application) shown works in the following way: All information available to the digital service provider is stored / provided via one or more servers hosted by the digital service provider or via a CDN. Based on data access patterns (where and what data is consumed), the CDN infrastructure caches specific data (a subset of all information) across multiple servers distributed across various geographical locations. CDN edge servers ( Figure 1The edge 1, ..., edge n) are globally distributed and housed in globally distributed third-party internet data centers and data centers operated by internet service providers and telecommunications service providers. When a consumer needs to access the service, the service needs to access one or more servers hosted by digital service providers and CDNs via the "last mile," which is the consumer (e.g., ..., edge n). Figure 1 The data connection between smartphones (and other mobile devices) and the internet infrastructure (via internet service providers, telecommunications service providers, or any other form of internet connectivity option) is crucial. A consumer's ability to access a service depends on its availability at the last mile, and the consumer experience of the service depends on the reliability and throughput available at that last mile. More importantly, as the number of users and the data consumption per user increase, the load on existing internet infrastructure increases exponentially, impacting the user experience in densely populated areas.

[0004] Using current conventional systems, service access occurs as follows: When a user activates a digital service on a device (such as a smartphone), the digital service attempts to access the internet infrastructure using the last-mile connectivity available to the device at that moment. (Consumer's smartphone (see...)) Figure 1 The operating system (OS) of a cellular network (such as, as in) uses cellular data connections. Figure 1 The OS detects connectivity availability using either 4G / LTE or Wi-Fi. If only one connection is available, the OS uses that connection for routing. If both connectivity options are available, the OS detects which connection offers more stable and faster bandwidth availability and uses that connection to process packets, with priority assigned to Wi-Fi. If any of these scenarios change, the OS automatically switches between the two unless the user manually connects to or disconnects from either available option. The user can access the service as long as one of the two connections is available. The user's experience with the service depends on the stability and available bandwidth on these connections. In the event that the user loses connectivity to both connections, the service stops functioning, except for any functionality that might be cached on the user's device (downloading in the case of streaming services).

[0005] Figure 2 The diagram illustrates how a typical CDN operates. For example... Figure 2 As shown, a traditional CDN typically forms a multi-layered network of storage and compute servers. It is usually a pull-based CDN, where the response to a requester's unique request is cached at the point closest to the requester—the CDN edge server, which is the last layer of the CDN network. When a requester makes its first request for a file, the CDN edge server caches the file from the CDN origin server (e.g., ...) while simultaneously delivering the file to the requester. Figure 2 (As shown at the top). When the next requester makes the same request, instead of serving it from the CDN origin server from which the response originated, it is served from the cache (CDN edge server), thus reducing the time spent serving the next requester's request. This action also reduces the overall load on the origin server and the internet bandwidth requirements for the origin server. Figure 2 As shown, CDNs typically use multiple geographically distributed edge servers to serve a large number of requesters. CDN edge servers are usually located in the data centers of ISPs or telecommunications infrastructure. When serving cached content, this also translates to saving internet bandwidth for ISPs or telecommunications companies. In a typical infrastructure:

[0006] 1. CDN source connected to the Internet

[0007] 2. The edge server connects to the CDN source via the Internet.

[0008] 3. CDN edge servers are located in the ISP / telecom operator's data center and therefore have connectivity to the ISP / telecom infrastructure.

[0009] 4. When requester 1 requests a piece of content, the CDN edge server caches the response on its own while serving requester 1's request.

[0010] 5. When requester 2 requests the same content, serve it directly from the CDN edge server.

[0011] Therefore, existing systems suffer from the technical problem of data / service access being entirely dependent on the last mile; without the last mile, servers or CDNs hosted by digital service providers cannot deliver any data to the service / requester. Desirably, a technological solution is needed that provides a novel CDN with edge devices closer to each requester, is self-sufficient, and uses different connection paths to deliver data to users, resulting in faster data delivery independent of the user's access to the last-mile connection. Summary of the Invention

[0012] This disclosure relates to a data delivery system comprising: a multi-tiered content delivery network having a source server at a first tier, one or more intermediate servers at a second tier connected to the source server, and a plurality of edge servers at a third tier connected to the one or more intermediate servers, and a plurality of computing devices making requests to the content delivery network using cellular data connections and WiFi connections; wherein each edge server is capable of intermittently connecting to the multi-tiered content delivery network outside of an internet data center that is either fixed or mobile, and a particular edge server is physically located at a location of interest, which would allow the particular edge server to cache based on user demographics and service access patterns associated with the location of interest. The content and each edge server operates with or without connectivity to the multi-layer content delivery network; and the content delivery network enables a hybrid push and pull content model, wherein each edge server pulls content from the content delivery network for a location of interest and pushes the content to a computing device, which may or may not be connected to the Internet, when requested by that computing device; wherein the particular edge server is configured to generate a content list based on user demographics and service access patterns associated with the location of interest, cache the content in the generated content list, and pull content fragments from the multi-layer content delivery network of the location of interest.

[0013] This disclosure relates to a method for accessing digital data, comprising: providing a multi-tiered content delivery network having a source server at a first tier, one or more intermediate servers at a second tier connected to the source server, and a plurality of edge servers at a third tier connected to the one or more intermediate servers, and a plurality of computing devices making requests to the content delivery network using cellular data connections and WiFi connections, wherein each edge server is capable of intermittently connecting to the multi-tiered content delivery network outside of an internet data center that is either fixed or mobile, and a particular edge server is physically located at a location of interest, which would allow the particular edge server to cache content based on user demographics and service access patterns associated with the location of interest; The method involves each edge server obtaining multiple pieces of content for a location of interest associated with each edge server from a higher layer of the multi-layer content delivery network; and performing a hybrid push and pull content delivery model, wherein each edge server pulls content for the location of interest from the content delivery network and pushes the content to each computing device, whether or not it has connectivity to the multi-layer content delivery network, when requested by each computing device; wherein a particular edge server is configured to generate a content list based on user demographics and service access patterns associated with the location of interest, cache the content in the generated content list, and pull content fragments from the multi-layer content delivery network of the location of interest. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 The diagram illustrates how internet infrastructure works.

[0015] Figure 2 This diagram illustrates how a typical CDN works.

[0016] Figure 3 The diagram illustrates how digital services operate using internet infrastructure; a typical CDN is an integral part of this infrastructure.

[0017] Figure 4 The illustration depicts a novel CDN system where CDN servers are deployed outside the internet infrastructure, enabling last-mile connections to the CDN servers.

[0018] Figure 5 The diagram illustrates the architecture and functions of the novel CDN system.

[0019] Figure 6 The illustration shows something similar to Figure 5 In this scenario, how do digital services operate using a novel CDN system (where both the CDN server and the user device have internet connectivity)?

[0020] Figure 7 The illustration shows how a novel CDN system works when a conventional CDN system is not functioning. This illustration is for a scenario where the user device lacks internet connectivity, but the novel CDN system server does have that connectivity.

[0021] Figure 8 The illustration shows how a novel CDN system works when a conventional CDN system is not functioning. This illustration is for a scenario where the CDN server lacks internet connectivity, but the user device does have that connectivity.

[0022] Figure 9 The illustration shows how a novel CDN system works when a conventional CDN system is not functioning. This illustration is for a scenario where neither the CDN server nor the user device has internet connectivity. Detailed Implementation

[0023] This disclosure is particularly applicable to digital services (mobile applications / websites / games / software applications) installed on computing devices (smartphones / tablet PCs / laptops / desktops / smartwatches, etc.) used in conjunction with content delivery systems and methods as shown in the figures, and it is in this context that this disclosure will be described. However, it will be appreciated that the disclosed systems and methods have greater utility, such as being implemented on a variety of different computing devices that can be used to access content from digital service providers. Furthermore, the exemplary CDN system can also be used to optimize the delivery of content or data from other systems, and can be used in any system in which optimizing consumer access to the service and the experience is desirable. For the purposes of this disclosure, a “service” provided to a consumer can be a piece of content (audio, video, and / or text) or any piece of digital data delivered to the consumer through any interface including browsers, mobile applications, software applications, etc.

[0024] Figure 3 The illustration shows further details of the novel CDN system 300. System 300 may further include one or more SugarBox chip hardware 402, 404, 406, which can be connected to the internet infrastructure in an internet data center and can also be coupled to each of the computing devices 302 via a wide local area network (WLAN) providing an additional communication path for each application request. Each SugarBox chip hardware (referred to as a SugarBox CDN server) can be implemented as one or more server computers, which are also equipped with a dedicated last mile at each CDN edge via Wi-Fi, providing the following key functions:

[0025] • SugarBox CDN connects to existing internet infrastructure and acts as a supplementary infrastructure to the internet. However, in cases with a dedicated last mile connected via Wi-Fi, data from SugarBox CDN is transmitted over this last mile, outside the range of the existing internet infrastructure (LAN), thus:

[0026] o Free up bandwidth on existing internet infrastructure, especially in the last mile provided by internet service providers / telecom operators

[0027] o Does not load the last mile of existing internet infrastructure as the number of user visits or the consumption per user increases.

[0028] SugarBox CDN enables users who do not have access to the Internet using any existing connectivity options (Internet Service Provider or Telecom Operator) to experience any service, in whole or in part.

[0029] • SugarBox CDN can continue to operate even when connectivity from the CDN edge server to the CDN infrastructure is unavailable, because the last mile exposes data cached at the CDN edge to the service, thereby allowing access to the service in areas without reliable and continuous connectivity (traffic, remote locations, etc.).

[0030] • Compared to traditional CDN edges, SugarBox CDN edges are always one hop away from the user (because they are available to the user via the local area network), thus providing faster data delivery and promoting a better user experience.

[0031] SugarBox CDN uses a dedicated last mile, whereas the last mile in existing internet infrastructure is shared by the CDN and all other services running on the internet, thus providing faster data delivery and promoting a better user experience.

[0032] SugarBox CDN operates on the last mile of unlicensed bandwidth, making last-mile scalability virtually unlimited. This allows the service to provide consumers with guarantees regarding availability, reliability, and bandwidth availability when using the service.

[0033] • SugarBox CDN Edge can be placed in places of interest (buses, trains, airplanes, shopping malls, business centers, airports, cafes, restaurants, bars, hotels, educational institutions, hospitals, clinics, residential areas, corporate parks, public parks, theme parks, public places, etc.), providing a service that makes the experience relevant to the user based on their proximity to the place of interest without using the location of the device.

[0034] SugarBox CDN optimizes and revolutionizes the way the internet works. This ecosystem ensures that services do not add load to existing internet infrastructure, regardless of the number of users or the consumption of each user, thus making the internet more efficient.

[0035] More specifically, the novel CDN system 300 can have the following elements:

[0036] • SugarBox origin and intermediate servers 402 reside within internet data centers and are part of the existing internet infrastructure. These servers operate similarly to origin servers in a typical CDN.

[0037] • The SugarBox static edge 404 connects to the SugarBox source using physical high-speed connectivity (P2P / MPLS) and exposes the attached Wi-Fi configuration to the user.

[0038] • The SugarBox Mobile Edge 406 is identical to the SugarBox Static Edge from a hardware and software stack perspective, but instead of having physical connectivity to the SugarBox CDN infrastructure, it uses one of two routes for wireless connectivity:

[0039] o Use MPLS / cellular data connectivity over telecommunications networks (which may be intermittent and may not be high-speed)

[0040] o Uses Wi-Fi from the SugarBox edge and corresponding physical connectivity (always intermittent and high-speed when a mobile edge enters the network of a static edge).

[0041] The service requires access to the following 6 key elements to function:

[0042] • API requests / HTTP requests

[0043] • Security requirements – DRM / AES / SSL

[0044] • Analysis Request

[0045] • Content Request – Content / Downloadable Object / Web Object

[0046] • Advertising requests

[0047] • Payment request.

[0048] Typically, analytics, payment, and security requests are handled directly by the service provider through its own / third-party servers. All other requests are handled by the CDN, such as... Figure 4 As shown in the image.

[0049] SugarBox CDN works in the following detailed manner:

[0050] In the absence of SugarBox CDN, the service uses last-mile connectivity (Internet service provider facilities, via Ethernet or Wi-Fi, or cellular data service) to access all requests.

[0051] • When a user enters the Wi-Fi network range of the SugarBox CDN edge server

[0052] The service uses the user's cellular data connectivity to handle all requests served directly by the service provider.

[0053] SugarBox CDN replaces traditional CDNs to handle all requests that would otherwise be handled by a traditional CDN.

[0054] SugarBox edge servers can support certain functions that are served locally on the edge server, such as DRM and local payments.

[0055] In one example, a novel CDN system can be implemented in hardware and software in the following ways:

[0056] Hardware Overview:

[0057] • SugarBox Source and Intermediary

[0058] o Computing server

[0059] o Storage server

[0060] o Networked devices

[0061] • SugarBox static and moving edges

[0062] o Compute + Storage Server

[0063] o Networked devices

[0064] o Wi-Fi devices

[0065] Software stack overview:

[0066] • SugarBox Source and Intermediary

[0067] o Content service software

[0068] o DNS

[0069] o DHCP

[0070] o Recording and monitoring

[0071] o database

[0072] • SugarBox Static and Mobile

[0073] o Content service software

[0074] o DNS

[0075] o DHCP

[0076] o Recording and monitoring

[0077] o Database.

[0078] How the service operates using existing internet infrastructure:

[0079] To better understand the operation of novel CDNs and their elements, refer to... Figure 4 This describes how services operate today using existing internet infrastructure and traditional CDNs. Services require responses to various types of requests to function. These requests are made via any connection the device has to the internet. By their very nature, requests are either cacheable by a CDN or not cacheable at all. Cacheable requests are cached via a CDN to ensure reduced load on servers in the data center and to serve requests from the point closest to the subscriber, optimizing delivery speed and cost.

[0080] This service uses existing internet infrastructure in the following ways:

[0081] 1. There is a cellular data connection between the user equipment and the Internet (the last mile of telecommunications).

[0082] 2. There is a WiFi connection between the user device and the Internet (ISP last mile).

[0083] 3. CDN edge servers also have internet connectivity.

[0084] 4. The server receiving the analysis request also needs internet connectivity.

[0085] 5. The server that accepts payment requests also needs internet connectivity.

[0086] 6. The server that provides the key used to decrypt the content (DRM key) also needs internet connectivity.

[0087] 7. Content, text, graphics, etc., are served by servers in Internet Data Centers (IDCs). These requests are typically handled by CDNs with appropriate Time-to-Live (TTL) for the specific content. This is to ensure content is available closer to where it is consumed.

[0088] 8. Advertising services from servers in the IDC are also served by the CDN to ensure that advertising content is available closer to where it will be consumed.

[0089] 9. The “advertising tag” service is handled by a CDN with TTL to ensure fast tag delivery.

[0090] 10. Responses to non-user-specific API requests are cached in a CDN with TTL to ensure reduced load on the API server. User-specific API requests are either cached on the user's device or delivered directly through the API server.

[0091] In traditional CDNs, users rely on the availability of last-mile connectivity to access the internet, through which the service gains access to all requests in order to provide users with functionality and access to the service. Furthermore, both users and the service depend on the throughput available on the user's last-mile connectivity, and its reliability, which determines the user's experience with the service.

[0092] How SugarBox CDN works:

[0093] Figure 5 The diagram illustrates how the service operates using the SugarBox CDN system and how SugarBox CDN works. SugarBox CDN is a multi-layered CDN architecture, where SugarBox CDN source 402 forms the first layer, SugarBox CDN intermediate server 402 forms the second layer, and SugarBox edge server 404 forms the third layer.

[0094] SugarBox edge servers can be of two types—static or mobile. Static edge servers have a wired high-speed connection to the SugarBox CDN infrastructure. Mobile edge servers do not have a wired high-speed connection to the SugarBox CDN infrastructure. Instead, they obtain intermittent high-speed connectivity to the SugarBox CDN infrastructure via a dedicated WiFi SSID at each static edge server, and also obtain intermittent (not necessarily high-speed) connectivity to the SugarBox infrastructure using cellular data services provided by a telecommunications provider.

[0095] Unlike conventional CDNs that operate on a pull-based caching model, SugarBox CDN operates on a hybrid pull and push model. SugarBox edge servers (static and mobile) can co-locate in a Point of Interest (POI), which is characterized by specific user demographics and service access patterns.

[0096] Based on the above, edge servers within the SugarBox CDN can be commanded to retrieve the list of content they need to cache. Whenever an edge server has high-speed connectivity to the SugarBox CDN infrastructure, it begins downloading content from the previous layer, updating internal data structures to indicate that content has been downloaded, and also updating various other telemetry information. As each edge server begins serving data to users, the consumed data is fed into machine learning algorithms to generate a content list based on user demographics and service access patterns at the edge server.

[0097] Each of the SugarBox edge servers also has a last mile via Wi-Fi, configured to cover the entire POI, which is used to serve subscribers content cached on the edge server. The SugarBox CDN edge servers create local networks with independent DNS and DHCP services to enable subscriber mobile devices to connect to SugarBox.

[0098] 1. SugarBox feeds are hosted within ISP / telecom data centers, such as... Figure 5 As shown, it connects to the existing internet infrastructure.

[0099] 2. SugarBox is also hosted in an ISP / telecom data center and connected to the existing internet infrastructure and SugarBox feed.

[0100] 3. Each static edge server has a high-speed wired connection to SugarBox.

[0101] 4. Each static edge server also provides last-mile connectivity via Wi-Fi, which users connect to when using the service.

[0102] 5. Each static edge server also has a dedicated SSID, which other mobile edge servers use to connect to the static edge server and leverage the high-speed connectivity available at the static edge server to communicate with the SugarBox CDN infrastructure.

[0103] 6. Each mobile edge server also utilizes a telecom operator's cellular data connection to have connectivity to the SugarBox CDN infrastructure. However, this connectivity is intermittent and may not be high-speed.

[0104] 7. Each mobile edge server also provides last-mile connectivity via Wi-Fi, which users connect to when using the service.

[0105] How the service works with SugarBox CDN:

[0106] When a subscriber initiates a SugarBox CDN-supported service at a Point of Interest (POI) where a static or intermediate edge server is installed, the following four scenarios may occur:

[0107] Scenario 1 – The user has cellular data, and the SugarBox edge server also has access to the SugarBox CDN infrastructure. High-speed connectivity of the facility Figure 6 (as shown)

[0108] The edge server must have connectivity to the SugarBox infrastructure and the user must have cellular data connectivity, which is used to process analytics and payment requests. The edge server also runs a native DRM solution. For security requests, the request is either served locally on the edge server or using the user's cellular data connectivity. All other requests are served by the edge server. If a subscriber requests content that is not present on the edge server, the request is served as a traditional CDN, where the content is cached on the edge server and then served to the subscriber. This ensures that the subscriber experiences the full service they intended to receive.

[0109] This service can operate as follows:

[0110] 1. Users connect to the Internet via cellular data.

[0111] 2. Users simultaneously utilize last-mile connections provided via Wi-Fi and SSID to the edge server, exposing them to services supported by SugarBox CDN.

[0112] 3. The edge server has high-speed connectivity to the SugarBox private cloud.

[0113] 4. SB CDN source / intermediate has high-speed access to edge servers via SugarBox private cloud.

[0114] 5. The service provider's analytics server is connected to the Internet.

[0115] 6. The service provider's payment server is connected to the Internet.

[0116] 7. The service provider's security server is connected to the Internet.

[0117] 8. SugarBox CDN source caches all content from the service provider's content servers.

[0118] 9. SugarBox CDN source caches all ads from the service provider's ad server.

[0119] 10. SugarBox CDN source caches all ad tags from the service provider's ad server.

[0120] 11. SugarBox CDN source caches all non-user-specific API requests from the service provider's API server. For all user-specific API requests, the SugarBox CDN infrastructure simply acts as a conduit for transmitting data from the service provider's API server to the user.

[0121] Scenario 2 – The user does not have cellular data, but the SugarBox edge server has access to the SugarBox CDN infrastructure. High-speed connectivity of the facility Figure 7 (as shown)

[0122] In this scenario, everything works the same as in scenario 1 described above, except for the following:

[0123] • SugarBox CDN infrastructure acts as a conduit for sending data from the service provider's analytics servers to users and vice versa.

[0124] • SugarBox CDN infrastructure acts as a conduit for sending data from the service provider's payment server to the user and vice versa.

[0125] • For all security requests that edge servers cannot fulfill locally, the SugarBox CDN infrastructure acts as a conduit for sending data from the service provider's security servers to the user and vice versa.

[0126] Scenario 3 – The user has cellular data, but the SugarBox edge server does not have access to the SugarBox CDN infrastructure. High-speed connectivity of the facility Figure 8 )

[0127] In this case, the service works exactly the way it would work if SugarBox were not present, except for the following:

[0128] • All content requests cached on the SugarBox edge server are served using SugarBox.

[0129] • All ad and ad tag requests cached on the SugarBox edge server are served through SugarBox.

[0130] • All non-user-specific API requests cached on SugarBox are served through SugarBox.

[0131] All DRM / security requests that can be generated locally on the SugarBox edge server are served through SugarBox.

[0132] Scenario 4 – The user does not have cellular data, and the SugarBox edge server does not have access to the SugarBox CDN. High-speed connectivity of infrastructure ( Figure 9 )

[0133] This is the only scenario where subscribers do not gain full access to the service's functionality. However, even in this scenario, SugarBox CDN ensures that users can continue to use the service. In this case, the following limitations will apply to users:

[0134] • Only APIs cached on the user's device or cached on SugarBox will be available to the user.

[0135] • Only content cached on the user's device or cached on SugarBox will be available to the user.

[0136] • Only ads cached on SugarBox will be available to users.

[0137] • All analytics requests will be buffered by the service on the user's device. This does not affect user functionality in any way.

[0138] • Only offline payment options (prepaid vouchers purchased at POIs via cash payment or offline credit card transactions, if supported) will be available to users.

[0139] For purposes of explanation, the foregoing description has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussion above is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. In view of the above teachings, many modifications and variations are possible. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present disclosure and its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to best utilize the present disclosure and various embodiments with various modifications as suited to the particular uses contemplated.

[0140] The systems and methods disclosed herein can be implemented via one or more components, systems, servers, appliances, other sub-components, or distributed among such elements. When implemented as a system, such a system may, among other things, include and / or involve components such as software modules, one or more OS libraries, firmware, etc., found in general-purpose computers. In implementations where innovation resides on a server, such a server may include or involve components such as software modules, one or more OS libraries, firmware (such as those found in general-purpose computers).

[0141] Additionally, the systems and methods described herein can be implemented using entirely different or completely different software, hardware, and / or firmware components beyond those set forth above. Such other components (e.g., software, processing components, etc.) and / or computer-readable media associated with or embodying the invention, such as aspects of the invention's innovations, can be implemented consistent with many general-purpose or special-purpose computing systems or configurations. Various exemplary computing systems, environments, and / or configurations suitable for use with the innovations described herein may include, but are not limited to: software or other components embodied in or on a personal computer, server, or server computing device, such as routing / connectivity components, handheld or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set-top boxes, consumer electronics devices, network PCs, other existing computer platforms, distributed computing environments including one or more of the above systems or devices, etc.

[0142] In some instances, aspects of the system and method may be implemented or executed via logical instructions and / or logic including program modules, for example, in association with such components or circuits. Generally, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., which perform a specific task or implement specific instructions herein. The invention can also be practiced in the context of distributed software, computer, or circuit settings where circuits are connected via communication buses, circuits, or links. In a distributed setting, control / instructions can originate from both local and remote computer storage media, including memory storage devices.

[0143] The software, circuits, and components described herein may also include and / or utilize one or more types of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media can be any available medium residing on, associated with, or accessible by such circuits and / or computing components. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable media may include computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented using any method or technology for storing information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other storage technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD) or other optical storage devices, magnetic tape, disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired information and can be accessed by computing components. Communication media may include computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and / or other components. Furthermore, communication media may include wired media, such as wired networks or direct wired connections; however, no medium of any type herein includes transient media. Any combination of the above is also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0144] In this description, the terms component, module, device, etc., can refer to any type of logical or functional software element, circuit, block, and / or process that can be implemented in various ways. For example, the functions of various circuits and / or blocks can be combined with each other to form any other number of modules. Each module can even be implemented as a software program stored on tangible memory (e.g., random access memory, read-only memory, CD-ROM memory, hard disk drive, etc.), which will be read by the central processing unit to implement the functions of the innovations described herein. Alternatively, a module can include programming instructions transmitted via a transmission carrier to a general-purpose computer or processing / graphics hardware. Furthermore, a module can be implemented as a hardware logic circuit that implements the functions contained in the innovations described herein. Finally, modules can be implemented using dedicated instructions (SIMD instructions), field-programmable logic arrays, or any combination thereof, which provides the desired level of performance and cost. In addition to the implementation of settings / rules, codes, and configurations in the application as described above in the NCO, settings / rules, codes, and configurations can be implemented at the network level as network-level elements performing the same processes as described above.

[0145] As disclosed herein, features consistent with this disclosure can be implemented via computer hardware, software, and / or firmware. For example, the systems and methods disclosed herein can be embodied in various forms, including, for example, data processors, and computers that also include databases, digital electronic circuits, firmware, software, or combinations thereof. Furthermore, while some of the disclosed implementations describe specific hardware components, systems and methods consistent with the innovations herein can be implemented using any combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware. Moreover, the features and other aspects and principles of the innovations herein can be implemented in various environments. Such environments and related applications can be specifically constructed to perform the various routines, processes, and / or operations according to the invention, or they can include general-purpose computers or computing platforms selectively activated or reconfigured by code to provide necessary functionality. The processes disclosed herein are not inherently associated with any particular computer, network, architecture, environment, or other device, and can be implemented by suitable combinations of hardware, software, and / or firmware. For example, various general-purpose machines can be used with programs written according to the teachings of the invention, or it may be more convenient to construct dedicated devices or systems to perform the required methods and techniques.

[0146] The aspects of the methods and systems described herein, such as logic, can also be implemented as functions programmable into any circuit of various types, including programmable logic devices (“PLDs”), such as field-programmable gate arrays (“FPGAs”), programmable array logic (“PAL”) devices, electrically programmable logic and memory devices, and standard cell-based devices, as well as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Some other possibilities for implementing the aspects include: memory devices, microcontrollers with memory (such as EEPROMs), embedded microprocessors, firmware, software, etc. Furthermore, the aspects can be embodied in microprocessors with software-based circuit simulation, discrete logic (sequential and combinational), custom devices, fuzzy (neural) logic, quantum devices, and hybrids of any of the above device types. The underlying device technologies can be provided in various component types, such as metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (“MOSFET”) technologies like complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (“CMOS”), bipolar technologies like emitter-coupled logic (“ECL”), polymer technologies (e.g., silicon-conjugated polymers and metal-conjugated polymer-metal structures), hybrid analog and digital, etc.

[0147] It should also be noted that the various logics and / or functions disclosed herein can be implemented using any number of combinations of hardware, firmware, and / or as data and / or instructions embodied in various machine-readable or computer-readable media, depending on their behavior, register transfers, logical components, and / or other characteristics. Computer-readable media in which such formatted data and / or instructions can be embodied include, but are not limited to, various forms of non-volatile storage media (e.g., optical, magnetic, or semiconductor storage media), although again, transient media are excluded. Unless the context explicitly requires it, throughout this description, the words “comprising,” “including,” etc., will be interpreted in an inclusive sense (as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense); that is, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” Use of singular or plural terms also includes both singular and plural, respectively. Additionally, the words “this article,” “below,” “above,” “below,” and similar terms refer to the application as a whole, and not to any particular part of the application. When the word “or” is used in reference to a list of two or more items, the word encompasses all of the following interpretations: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.

[0148] Although certain currently preferred implementations of the invention have been specifically described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variations and modifications can be made to the various implementations shown and described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention is intended to be limited to the scope required by applicable legal rules.

[0149] While the foregoing has referenced specific embodiments of this disclosure, those skilled in the art will appreciate that changes can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of this disclosure, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A data transmission system, comprising: A multi-layer content delivery network has a source server at the first layer, one or more intermediate servers at the second layer connected to the source server, and multiple edge servers at the third layer connected to the one or more intermediate servers, as well as multiple computing devices that make requests to the content delivery network using cellular data connections and WiFi connections. Each edge server is able to intermittently connect to the multi-tiered content delivery network outside of either a fixed or mobile internet data center, and the specific edge server is physically located at a point of interest. This will allow the specific edge server to cache content based on user demographics and service access patterns associated with the point of interest, and each edge server can operate with or without connectivity to the multi-tiered content delivery network. and The content delivery network enables a hybrid push and pull content model, where each edge server pulls content from the content delivery network for areas of interest and pushes the content to each computing device, which may or may not be connected to the Internet, when requested by that computing device. The specific edge server is configured to generate a content list based on user demographics and service access patterns associated with the location of interest, cache the content in the generated content list, and pull content fragments from the generated content list from the multi-tiered content delivery network of the location of interest.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of edge servers may further include a static edge server having a Wi-Fi interface and a wired high-speed connection to the one or more intermediate servers.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the plurality of edge servers may further include a mobile edge server, the mobile edge server being connected to the static edge server via a Wi-Fi SSID for high-speed communication, and also being connected to a multi-layer content delivery network infrastructure via a cellular data network or other wireless means.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein each edge server has an attached WiFi circuit covering the area of ​​interest, the attached WiFi circuit being configured to transmit content hosted by the edge server to users in the area of ​​interest via a local area network (LAN).

5. The system of claim 4, wherein each edge server can continue to operate even without connectivity to the multi-tier content delivery network, because the last mile can expose data cached on the edge server to digital services.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein each edge server further performs one or more of the following processes: generating a security key, generating an advertising tag, and generating an API response.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein each edge server is always one hop away from the computing device, thereby providing faster data transfer and promoting a better user experience.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the multi-layer content delivery network uses a dedicated last mile that is not shared with other services running on the Internet, thereby providing faster data delivery and promoting a better user experience.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein when an edge server is connected to the multi-layer content delivery network infrastructure, each edge server enables users who do not have access to the last mile of the Internet to experience the full functionality of the digital services.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein when the edge server is not connected to a multi-tiered content delivery network infrastructure, each edge server enables users who do not have access to the last mile of the Internet to experience digital services, albeit with some limited functionality.

11. The system according to any one of claims 9-10, wherein the last mile of the Internet is either cellular data or Wi-Fi.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein each data block transmitted from each edge server does not add load to the Internet infrastructure or the last mile of the Internet, thereby freeing up bandwidth on the existing Internet infrastructure.

13. A method for accessing digital data, comprising: A multi-tiered content delivery network is provided, comprising source servers at a first tier, one or more intermediate servers at a second tier connected to the source servers, and multiple edge servers at a third tier connected to the one or more intermediate servers, as well as multiple computing devices that make requests to the content delivery network using cellular data connections and WiFi connections. Each edge server is capable of intermittently connecting to the multi-tiered content delivery network outside of an internet data center that is either fixed or mobile, and a particular edge server is physically located at a location of interest. This allows the particular edge server to cache content based on user demographics and service access patterns associated with the location of interest. and Each edge server obtains multiple pieces of content for the location of interest associated with each edge server from a higher layer of the multi-layer content delivery network; and A hybrid push and pull content delivery model is implemented, wherein each edge server pulls content from the content delivery network for the area of ​​interest, and pushes the content to each computing device, whether or not it is connected to the multi-layer content delivery network, when requested by each computing device. The specific edge server is configured to generate a content list based on user demographics and service access patterns associated with the location of interest, cache the content in the generated content list, and pull content fragments from the generated content list from the multi-tiered content delivery network of the location of interest.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of edge servers may further include a static edge server having a Wi-Fi interface and a wired high-speed connection to the one or more intermediate servers.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the plurality of edge servers may further include a mobile edge server connected to the static edge server via a Wi-Fi SSID for high-speed communication, and also connected to a multi-layer content delivery network infrastructure via a cellular data network or other wireless means.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising covering the area of ​​interest by each edge server having an attached WiFi circuit configured to transmit content hosted by the edge server to a user at the area of ​​interest via a local area network (LAN).

17. The method of claim 16, wherein each edge server can continue to operate even without connectivity to the multi-tier content delivery network, because the last mile can expose data cached on the edge server to digital services.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein each edge server further performs one of a plurality of the following processes: generating a security key, generating an advertising tag, and generating an API response.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein each edge server is always one hop away from the computing device, thereby providing faster data transfer and promoting a better user experience.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the multi-layer content delivery network uses a dedicated last mile that is not shared with other services running on the Internet, thereby providing faster data delivery and promoting a better user experience.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein when the edge server is connected to the multi-layer content delivery network infrastructure, each edge server enables users who do not have access to the last mile of the Internet to experience the full functionality of the digital services.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein when the edge server is not connected to a multi-tiered content delivery network infrastructure, each edge server enables users who do not have access to the last mile of the Internet to experience digital services, albeit with certain limited functionality.

23. The method according to any one of claims 21-22, wherein the last mile of the Internet is either cellular data or Wi-Fi.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein each data block transmitted from each edge server does not add load to the Internet infrastructure or the last mile of the Internet, thereby freeing up bandwidth on the existing Internet infrastructure.

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