Broadcast Recording Storage Allocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing content management systems face scalability limitations due to the need for individual private copies of broadcast content, leading to high compute and I/O resource consumption, which restricts subscriber growth and increases costs.
Innovation Solution
The method optimizes storage efficiency by selectively dropping requests for private-copy replicas of broadcast content that are unlikely to be viewed, allowing the system to operate with lower capacity while ensuring subscriber access to requested recordings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If individual private copies of broadcast content are stored for each subscriber, then subscriber access to recordings is ensured, but storage capacity and I/O resource consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies selective copying by creating private replicas only for a subset of broadcast content based on predicted subscriber viewing behavior. Instead of copying all content for all subscribers, the system identifies high-probability viewing content and creates replicas only for those, thereby reducing storage requirements while maintaining reliable access when needed
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary analysis of subscriber viewing patterns and content popularity before creating replicas. By predicting which content is likely to be viewed in advance, the system pre-positions only the necessary replicas in storage, avoiding the need to store all possible combinations of subscriber-content pairs
2Reliability
If private copies are created for all requested content, then subscriber access is guaranteed, but compute and I/O resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial action by creating replicas for only a portion of requested content - specifically those with high predicted viewing probability. This selective approach ensures reliable access for the most likely scenarios while avoiding the excessive resource consumption of creating all possible replicas
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of replica creation from a binary all-or-nothing approach to a probabilistic threshold-based approach. By introducing a probability threshold parameter, the system dynamically determines which content warrants replica creation based on predicted viewing behavior, thereby optimizing resource utilization
3Adaptability or versatility
If storage capacity is increased to accommodate all private copies, then subscriber growth is supported, but system costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary prediction of viewing behavior to determine which content will be accessed, allowing the storage system to be sized appropriately for actual usage patterns rather than maximum theoretical demand. This enables the system to support subscriber growth without proportionally increasing storage capacity
Data Source
AI summary
A method comprises: receiving from media devices requests to record program content broadcast in a given time window on a given channel; determining a number of requests for recording the program content based at least on a total number of the requests and a likelihood that playback of a recordal will be requested by a media device; requesting a storage system to make the requests for recording; receiving from the storage system identifiers corresponding to the determined number, each identifier identifying a location in the storage system of a respective recording of the program content; responsive to receiving a request from a media device for playback of the program content, allocating an identifier from the identifiers to the media device and removing the identifier from the identifiers available for subsequent playback requests; and providing the identifier to the media device so that the media device can retrieve the recording.