CDN Location Access Control Using Quantized Caching
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Content delivery networks (CDNs) lack fine-grained access control mechanisms, leading to inefficient content distribution and loss of control over location-based access.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where clients provide quantized and non-quantized location information in requests, allowing CDNs to cache content based on quantized data while origin servers maintain fine-grained access control using non-quantized data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If CDNs use quantized location information for caching, then content delivery efficiency and capacity are improved, but access control precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The location information is segmented into two versions: quantized location information for CDN caching operations and non-quantized location information for access control decisions. This segmentation allows each component to use the appropriate precision level without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The origin server acts as an intermediary that receives both quantized and non-quantized location information, makes access control decisions based on non-quantized data, and returns content delivery instructions based on quantized data. This intermediary role resolves the contradiction by coordinating the different precision requirements.
2Measurement precision
If CDNs forward all requests to origin servers for access control, then access control precision is maintained, but network latency and server load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The CDN performs preliminary actions by using quantized location information to determine cacheability and serving content directly from cache when available. This preliminary processing eliminates the need to forward all requests to the origin server, reducing latency while maintaining access control through the origin server's verification of non-quantized location data.
3Adaptability or versatility
If CDNs implement fine-grained access control, then location-based control is improved, but device complexity and system overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a copy of location information in quantized form for CDN operations and preserves the original non-quantized form for access control. This copying approach allows the CDN to operate with simplified quantized data while the origin server maintains the full precision data for fine-grained control, distributing complexity appropriately.
Data Source
AI summary
Mechanisms are provided to allow efficient delivery of content through a content delivery network (CDN) without taxing an origin server while maintaining fine grained location based access control. Requests to a CDN are augmented with quantized and non-quantized versions of location information. A CDN can use quantized location information in a URI to identify and return content if content corresponding to the URI is available in cache. If the content is not available in cache, the CDN can contact an origin server to obtain a result for the request using non-quantized location information. The origin server examines the non-quantized location information to determine whether to respond to the client request with content. The origin server examines the area corresponding to the quantized location information to determine whether the content should be cached at the CDN.