Rendezvous Service for Adaptive Bit Rate Manifest Routing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In Multicast Adaptive Bit Rate (MABR) systems, the derivation of common parameters for content delivery is inefficient, relying on URL formats and regex-based parsing or URL prefix configurations, which can lead to loss of CDN information and security concerns in unicast-based content delivery.
Innovation Solution
The integration of a rendezvous service that modifies and translates initial manifest requests by adding channel ID and CDN base URL information as query parameters, allowing MABR client devices to efficiently retrieve and cache media segments, while maintaining secure communication using HTTPS and unique digital certificates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If URL format-based parameter derivation is used, then parameter retrieval can be implemented, but CDN information is lost and security concerns arise
Solution Approach 1:
A rendezvous service is introduced as an intermediary component between the client and the content delivery network. This service receives manifest requests, extracts necessary parameters (channel ID, representation ID, CDN base URL), and translates them into properly formatted URLs for the ABR player. The rendezvous service preserves CDN information that would otherwise be lost in traditional URL parsing approaches.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts essential parameters from the manifest request URL using regex-based extraction within the rendezvous service. By isolating and extracting channel ID, representation ID, and CDN base URL as separate parameters, the system can reconstruct complete URLs without relying on fragile URL format assumptions, thereby preventing information loss.
2Reliability
If regex-based parsing is used to retrieve parameters, then parameter extraction can be performed, but security vulnerabilities and reliability issues occur
Solution Approach 1:
The rendezvous service acts as a secure intermediary that handles parameter extraction and URL construction centrally. This centralized approach eliminates the need for clients to perform insecure regex parsing on their own, reducing security vulnerabilities while improving reliability through standardized parameter handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the rendezvous service validates extracted parameters and provides corrected URLs back to the ABR player. This feedback loop ensures parameter retrieval reliability by catching and correcting extraction errors before they affect content delivery security.
3Loss of information
If URL prefix configuration is used to map parameters, then parameter retrieval can be achieved, but CDN information is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The rendezvous service preserves CDN base URL information by extracting it from the manifest request and incorporating it into the translated URL. This intermediary approach maintains the ease of parameter derivation while preventing CDN information loss, as the service automatically retains and reuses the original CDN base URL from the request.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary extraction of CDN base URL information from the manifest request before URL translation occurs. By capturing this information upfront, the system ensures it is available for subsequent URL construction, preventing information loss while maintaining operational simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure recites techniques for content delivery in an MABR system.