Byte Range Caching via Content Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing caching systems face challenges in efficiently handling byte range requests, leading to high latency and increased burden on origin servers, as they often require downloading the entire content resource to serve partial requests and struggle with cache hits when only partial content is stored.
Innovation Solution
A caching system that segments content into chunks, allowing for low-latency byte range requests by remapping client requests to align with a configurable chunk size, caching partial content, and serving overlapping requests from the cache while minimizing duplicate requests to the origin server.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the cache retrieves content from the beginning to satisfy a byte range request, then the request can be fulfilled, but the latency increases relative to the byte range offset
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the content resource into multiple discrete ranges, allowing the cache to store and retrieve specific byte ranges independently. When a byte range request arrives, the cache can directly serve the requested segment without retrieving content from the beginning, thus reducing latency while maintaining efficient request fulfillment.
2Quantity of substance
If the cache stores only partial content to reduce memory usage, then resource consumption decreases, but cache hits cannot occur unless the full content resource is stored
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the content resource into multiple byte ranges that can be cached independently. The cache can store partial content (specific byte ranges) rather than requiring the full resource, yet still achieve cache hits when requested ranges are already present in the cache.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial action by caching only the specific byte ranges that are actually requested and stored in the cache memory, rather than caching entire content resources. This allows the cache to operate effectively with partial content, achieving cache hits for requested ranges while consuming less memory.
3Reliability
If the cache sends a second request for full content after an initial byte range cache miss, then the full content can be cached for future requests, but the origin server burden increases and overall data retrieval increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the content retrieval process into specific byte range requests rather than requiring full content downloads. When a cache miss occurs, the cache requests only the specific byte range needed from the origin server, stores it, and serves it directly. This eliminates the need for second requests for full content, reducing network traffic and origin server burden while maintaining adequate cache coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and caches only the specific byte ranges that are actually needed and requested, rather than extracting and caching entire content resources. This selective caching approach reduces the amount of data transferred to and from the origin server, lowering network traffic and server burden while still providing effective cache coverage for subsequent requests.
Data Source
AI summary
A caching system segments content into multiple, individually cacheable chunks cached by a cache server that caches partial content and serves byte range requests with low latency and fewer duplicate requests to an origin server. The system receives a request from a client for a byte range of a content resource. The system determines the chunks overlapped by the specified byte range and sends a byte range request to the origin server for the overlapped chunks not already stored in a cache. The system stores the bytes of received responses as chunks in the cache and responds to the received request using the chunks stored in the cache. The system serves subsequent requests that overlap with previously requested ranges of bytes from the already retrieved chunks in the cache and makes requests to the origin server only for those chunks that a client has not previously requested.