Partitioned Serialized Caching for Large File Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Content delivery networks (CDNs) face inefficiencies when caching large sized content due to limited cache footprints, leading to unbalanced server performance, inefficient cache usage, and potential single points of failure, as well as the need to cache entire files despite users only requesting segments.
Innovation Solution
Implementing partitioned serialized caching and delivery through a collective cache formed by cooperative content servers and a request management server, which partitions large content requests into segment requests distributed across multiple servers, allowing caching and delivery of content segments rather than entire files, thus avoiding single points of failure and optimizing cache utilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single server caches entire large sized content, then the cache can be simplified to store complete files, but the server becomes a single point of failure and cannot serve different segments independently
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides large content files into multiple segments that can be cached and served independently across different servers. Each segment can be requested and delivered separately, eliminating the single point of failure issue while maintaining cache effectiveness. The system partitions content at the byte range level, allowing selective caching of only the segments actually requested by users.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-server monolithic caching approach to a multi-server distributed segmentation approach. By adding the dimension of server distribution and segment partitioning, the system achieves both reliability through redundancy and flexibility through independent segment serving, while managing complexity through request management server coordination.
2Productivity
If the PoP server caches entire large files, then users can access any segment, but users only request specific segments making most cached content unused
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments content into requestable units that can be independently cached and served. Instead of caching entire large files, the system caches only the specific segments that users actually request, significantly reducing unnecessary content storage while maintaining high cache hit ratios for requested segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by caching only the portions of content that are actually requested rather than the entire file. The request management server coordinates to ensure that only necessary segments are retrieved and cached, avoiding the excessive action of storing complete files when only partial content is needed.
3Speed
If the CDN caches large sized content at multiple PoPs, then content delivery performance improves, but the limited cache footprint at each PoP reduces available space for other content
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments large content files into smaller units that can be distributed across multiple PoPs more efficiently. Each PoP can cache only the segments it needs based on local request patterns, optimizing the use of limited cache footprint while maintaining fast delivery through distributed caching architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by allowing each PoP to selectively cache segments based on its specific user request patterns rather than uniformly caching entire files. This enables optimization of cache content at each location according to actual demand, maximizing the utility of limited cache space at each PoP.
4Productivity
If the CDN uses persistent request distribution to forward requests to the same server, then cache footprint utilization is maximized, but server load becomes unbalanced when handling large content
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments content delivery into independent segment requests that can be distributed across different servers. The request management server routes different segments to different PoPs based on availability and load conditions, achieving balanced server utilization while maintaining effective cache footprint utilization through coordinated segment distribution.
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments provide partitioned serialized caching and delivery of large sized content and files. Some embodiments partition requests for large sized content into segment requests with each segment request identifying a different byte range of the requested content. Each segment request is hashed to identify a particular server from a set of servers tasked with caching and delivering a different segment of the requested content. In this manner, no single server caches or delivers the entirety of large sized content. The segment requests are distributed serially across the set of servers so that the segments are passed in order, wherein the serial distribution involves handing-off the requesting user's connection serially to each server of the set of server in the order with which the set of servers deliver the content segments.