CDN Content Delivery With Phased Authentication Tokens
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing content delivery systems face challenges in identifying unauthorized media players and managing authentication tokens, leading to unauthorized access and undesirable latency.
Innovation Solution
A client device generates a content-based authentication token during initial playback, allowing partial content access while ensuring subsequent requests include the token for continued playback, with the CDN verifying its authenticity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If content delivery systems perform authentication before allowing any content access, then unauthorized access is prevented, but latency increases due to authentication time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments content access into two phases: initial access without authentication and subsequent access with authentication. The content delivery network allows clients to access content initially without requiring authentication tokens, then requires tokens for continued access. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by enabling immediate access (reducing latency) while maintaining security through later authentication verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by allowing clients to access content before authentication is completed. The content delivery network permits initial content delivery and playback without requiring the client to first obtain and present authentication tokens, thereby eliminating authentication latency at the point of access while maintaining security through subsequent verification.
2Reliability
If content delivery systems require authentication tokens for every content request, then unauthorized access is prevented, but media player performance decreases due to additional processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments content requests into initial requests (without authentication tokens) and subsequent requests (with authentication tokens). This segmentation allows the media player to perform optimally during initial access without token processing overhead, while authentication verification occurs at the content delivery network level for subsequent access points.
Solution Approach 2:
The content delivery network acts as an intermediary that handles authentication token verification externally to the media player. By moving the authentication burden to the content delivery network infrastructure rather than requiring continuous token processing at the player level, the system maintains unauthorized access prevention while preserving media player performance.
3Reliability
If content delivery systems manage authentication tokens for each content request, then access control is maintained, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts authentication token management from the media player and relocates it to the content delivery network infrastructure. The media player simply requests content and receives tokens when needed, while the content delivery network handles token verification and access control decisions. This extraction significantly reduces the complexity at the media player level while maintaining robust access control.
Solution Approach 2:
The content delivery network provides self-service authentication where the system automatically manages token generation, verification, and access control without requiring complex client-side authentication logic. The infrastructure handles authentication autonomously, reducing system complexity at the client level while maintaining secure access control.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes receiving, by a content distribution network server, a first request for content, the first request for content comprising an identifier of a location of the content. Playback of the requested content is caused to begin at a client device. A content-based authentication token generated by the client device is received, wherein the content-based authentication token is associated with a second request for content that is initiated by the client device, and the content-based authentication token is sent for verification by a content sharing platform. Responsive to receiving an indication that the content-based authentication token is valid, playback of the requested content is caused to continue at the client device.