CDN Selection via Cache Node Status Aggregation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current content delivery networks (CDNs) face challenges in selecting the optimal CDN for routing traffic due to insufficient granularity in determining the status of individual cache nodes, leading to potential misselection of CDNs that may be impaired or overloaded, affecting user experience and content delivery.
Innovation Solution
A method that involves determining the geographic service region for a content request, aggregating the status of cache nodes within that region, and selecting an active CDN based on the availability and resource utilization of cache nodes, ensuring that only operational nodes are chosen for content delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If CDN selection is based on overall network status without granular cache node information, then the selection process is simpler, but the accuracy of CDN selection deteriorates leading to potential misselection of impaired or overloaded CDNs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the CDN assessment into individual cache node evaluations. Instead of treating each CDN as a monolithic entity, the system assesses the status of each cache node separately by receiving indicator values from multiple sources (CDN entities, monitoring systems, etc.) and determining individual node statuses. This granular segmentation enables precise identification of operational versus impaired nodes, resolving the contradiction between simple selection processes and accurate status assessment.
2Reliability
If the system aggregates status of multiple cache nodes to select CDNs, then the reliability of content delivery improves, but the computational complexity and data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges status information from multiple cache nodes within the same CDN by receiving indicator values from various sources (CDN entities, monitoring systems, third-party sources) and aggregating them to determine the overall status of each CDN. This merging approach consolidates granular node-level data into CDN-level assessments, enabling reliable content delivery decisions while managing system complexity through unified status determination logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary assessment layer that processes raw indicator values from multiple sources and transforms them into determined status values for cache nodes and CDNs. This intermediary status determination mechanism acts as a mediator between raw data collection and final CDN selection, simplifying the complexity by providing a standardized status assessment framework that handles multiple input sources systematically.
3Ease of operation
If real-time status monitoring of individual cache nodes is implemented, then the user experience improves by avoiding impaired nodes, but the data collection and processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential status indicator values needed for CDN selection from the broader data environment. Instead of collecting and processing all possible cache node data, the system selectively extracts relevant indicator values from CDN entities, monitoring systems, and other sources that directly impact content delivery reliability. This extraction approach maintains high user experience quality by focusing on critical status information while reducing unnecessary data collection overhead.
Data Source
AI summary
A method is provided in one example embodiment and includes receiving a request for content from a source in a network; determining a geographic service region for the source; determining a status of a plurality of content delivery networks in the service region. The status is indicative of at least whether each of the plurality of content delivery networks is active or impaired. The method can also include selecting a particular one of the content delivery networks having a corresponding status as active to service the request for content.