Edge Server Streaming and Caching for Content Delivery Latency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional content delivery methods, such as progressive download over HTTP, require users to wait for the entire content to be downloaded before accessing specific parts, limiting the ability to stream content efficiently, especially since network providers often opt for cost-effective solutions that do not support media streaming servers.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that allow streaming content to a requester while simultaneously retrieving it from a media access server, using a media streaming module and stream caching server to store and manage content segments, enabling immediate access to any part of the content by storing and retrieving segments based on metadata and location-specific requests.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If progressive download is used to deliver content, then users can access content using existing HTTP infrastructure, but users must wait for the entire content to be downloaded before accessing specific parts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides content into segments that can be independently retrieved and streamed. The media streaming server segments content files into manageable portions, allowing the client to request and receive only the specific segments needed for playback, rather than waiting for the entire content file to be downloaded. This segmentation enables parallel retrieval of multiple segments, significantly reducing content access time while maintaining operational simplicity through standardized HTTP protocols.
2Loss of time
If media streaming servers are deployed to enable streaming content, then users can access any portion of content immediately, but network providers face increased costs and potential disruption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables existing HTTP web servers to perform media streaming functions by implementing a media streaming server component that works with standard HTTP infrastructure. The system uses universal HTTP protocols and mechanisms that existing servers already support, allowing them to handle both traditional web content delivery and media streaming simultaneously. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate specialized streaming servers, reducing infrastructure complexity and costs while maintaining immediate content access capability.
3Speed
If content is copied onto multiple non-originating servers throughout the network, then content delivery speed improves, but storage capacity requirements become impractical
Solution Approach 1:
The patent shifts the content distribution model from horizontal replication across multiple servers to a hierarchical structure with origin servers, media streaming servers, and edge servers. Instead of copying entire content files across the network, the system stores content segments at edge servers closer to users and retrieves them on-demand from media streaming servers. This dimensional change in the distribution architecture enables fast content delivery through proximity while avoiding the impractical storage requirements of full content replication across all network nodes.
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment of a method includes receiving a request for the content from a requester, retrieving the content from a media access server, and while retrieving the content from the media access server, simultaneously streaming the content to the requester. An embodiment of a system includes an edge server having a media streaming server configured to receive the request and stream the specified content to a requester from a local memory, and a stream caching server configured to retrieve the requested content from a media access server while the media streaming server is streaming at least a specified portion of the content, and wherein the stream caching server is further configured to store the retrieved content in a local cache and notify the media streaming server that content is stored in local cache.