Blockchain Content Delivery Network Access Rights Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Content delivery networks face limitations in managing content access rights, tracking storage, and resolving disputes due to incomplete information and lack of centralized metadata, especially when network availability is compromised.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a blockchain network to manage content access rights, track storage, and resolve disputes by using decentralized and distributed databases to record transactions, allowing access rights to be specified and reconciled locally when the network is unavailable, and providing different content copies based on efficiency and cost considerations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a centralized content delivery network is used to manage content access rights, then access right management can be performed, but the system becomes vulnerable to network unavailability and single point of failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a blockchain network where multiple nodes store copies of the distributed ledger. Each node maintains a local copy of the blockchain, enabling the system to continue operating even if some nodes or the central authority fail. This copying mechanism eliminates single point of failure and improves system reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a blockchain as an intermediary between content delivery network nodes and content access devices. The blockchain mediates access right verification by providing a decentralized, trustless mechanism that doesn't require continuous communication with a central authority, reducing network dependency.
2Reliability
If blockchain technology is implemented to manage content access rights, then access right management and dispute resolution are improved, but hardware and network resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary functionality from a full blockchain implementation - specifically, the distributed ledger structure for storing access rights and the consensus mechanism for verifying transactions. By taking out only these essential components, the system achieves reliable access right management while minimizing hardware and network resource consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial blockchain functionality focused specifically on access right management rather than a complete blockchain ecosystem. This partial action approach allows the system to achieve the necessary reliability for content access control without the full resource overhead of implementing all blockchain features.
3Productivity
If a local copy of blockchain is stored for offline operation, then system operation continues during network unavailability, but data synchronization and reconciliation become complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the content access device automatically synchronizes its local blockchain copy with the main blockchain network when connectivity is restored. The device receives feedback about new blocks or updates and automatically reconciles its state, simplifying the synchronization process while enabling continuous operation during network outages.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by storing a local copy of the blockchain before network unavailability occurs. This pre-loaded local copy enables the system to operate independently during outages, and the reconciliation process is simplified because the device already has the baseline state needed for synchronization when connectivity restores.
4Speed
If multiple copies of content are stored and managed, then faster and more efficient content delivery is achieved, but tracking and managing these copies becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses blockchain copying to create multiple verifiable copies of content metadata and access rights across different nodes. This allows the system to track and manage multiple content copies efficiently, as each copy's authenticity and access rights are verified through the decentralized ledger, simplifying management despite the increased number of copies.
Data Source
AI summary
A content delivery network uses blockchain to manage content. In various implementations, the content delivery network may specify access rights to content in a blockchain network and allow a content access device to access content when the blockchain network is unavailable using a local copy of the blockchain and reconciling upon reconnection. In some implementations, the content delivery network may track storage of available content in a blockchain and use the blockchain to provide different copies of requested items when the different copies can be provided faster, more efficiently, at a lower cost, and so on. In yet other implementations, the content delivery network may record changes to properties of content in a blockchain and evaluate received disputes by using the blockchain to determine whether a change to the properties of the content occurred prior to the dispute.