Edge Web Server Video Streaming Caching for Mobile Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data deployment methods for video streaming to mobile devices are inefficient, requiring large storage resources and increasing network latency and traffic, especially when mobile clients move between cell sites, as they need to fetch individual video chunks and update playlists, leading to potential interruptions and increased storage demands.
Innovation Solution
A method where a web server at the edge of a wireless network receives a video request, sends a playlist to the mobile device, and simultaneously requests the video from a database as a sequence of blocks, decompresses and stores the blocks, allowing for efficient caching and reducing network chatter, while also exchanging security credentials to ensure seamless video playback across different cell sites.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If video is stored on local servers at each cell site to ensure seamless playback, then video streaming reliability is improved, but storage requirements and network traffic increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-loads video data into blocks and transmits them to the mobile device before they are needed for playback. The playlist is generated in advance with block identifiers, allowing the device to request and receive video blocks proactively, ensuring continuous playback without waiting for individual chunk requests to be fulfilled.
Solution Approach 2:
The video is divided into blocks, where each block contains multiple chunks. This segmentation allows the system to manage and transmit video data in larger, more efficient units rather than individual chunks, reducing the overhead of multiple small transactions while maintaining the ability to selectively load and play specific portions.
2Quantity of substance
If video chunks are fetched individually from the database, then storage requirements are reduced, but network latency and traffic increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple video chunks are merged into larger blocks for transmission. Instead of fetching and transmitting individual chunks separately, the system combines multiple chunks into a single block that can be transmitted in one network operation, reducing the total number of transactions and associated latency.
Solution Approach 2:
Video blocks are pre-loaded and cached on the mobile device before playback begins. The system anticipates which blocks will be needed and retrieves them in advance, so that when playback reaches a particular point, the corresponding blocks are already available locally, eliminating network latency during actual playback.
3Reliability
If playlist updates are checked frequently to maintain seamless playback, then video streaming reliability is improved, but network traffic increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic playlist updates rather than continuous checking. The mobile device checks for playlist updates at predetermined intervals or when specific conditions are met (such as when a block is fully downloaded), reducing the frequency of network communications while still maintaining playback continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile device autonomously manages its own playlist and block downloading based on local conditions. The device can determine when it has sufficient data to continue playback without needing to frequently query the server, making intelligent decisions about when to check for updates based on its current buffer state and playback position.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, system, and computer program product for deploying data to a web server for streaming video to a mobile device. The method can include receiving a request for streaming video from a mobile device upon the resolving of the request by a DNS. The method can further include simultaneously sending both a request to a database for the video requested and a playlist for the video to the mobile device. The method can then include receiving the video from the database. The video received is sent as a sequence of blocks, where each block can further be comprised of a sequence of chunks. The method can even further include decompressing each block and storing each chunk on a web server. The method can further include an exchange of a security credential.