Ring Network Content Distribution via Segmented Client Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional in-flight entertainment systems face challenges in providing cost-effective content distribution that ensures quality of service while managing high storage and data path capacity requirements, often resulting in underutilization of resources and increased costs due to the need for high-capacity servers and redundant data paths.
Innovation Solution
A content distribution method that configures clients in a bi-directional loop to store and distribute content files based on a theoretical symmetric system, minimizing duplication and maximizing the use of existing data paths, with real-time feedback adjustments to optimize storage and streaming capacity, allowing clients to share content files and reduce reliance on central servers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all content is stored at head-end servers, then content availability and redundancy are improved, but server cost and performance requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments content storage by dividing the ring network into segments where each segment stores a portion of content locally. This allows content to be distributed across multiple nodes rather than concentrated at central servers, reducing individual server performance requirements while maintaining content availability through local storage at various points in the ring.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements copying by having multiple nodes in the ring network store copies of content files. Each node maintains local copies of content that can be accessed independently, providing redundancy without requiring a single high-performance server to handle all requests. This copying approach distributes the storage burden across the network.
2Reliability
If all content is stored locally at each client, then content availability is improved, but storage cost per client becomes prohibitive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments content storage across the ring network such that each node stores only a portion of total content rather than all content. This segmentation allows each client to have reasonable local storage requirements while still providing content availability through the distributed architecture where any node can serve content requests from its local storage or from neighboring nodes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the storage function across multiple nodes in the ring network. Instead of requiring each client to store all content independently, the system combines the storage capacity of multiple nodes to serve the entire client base. This merging approach reduces individual storage requirements while maintaining overall content availability through the collective storage resources of the ring.
3Device complexity
If hybrid implementation is used with popular data stored locally and infrequently accessed data at server, then server performance requirement is reduced, but development cost increases due to new functional requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments content into different types based on access patterns and stores them at appropriate locations in the ring network. Popular content is stored at multiple nodes for local access, while less frequently accessed content is stored at fewer nodes. This segmentation can be implemented using existing storage and networking infrastructure without requiring complex new functional developments, as it leverages the natural distributed architecture of the ring network.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for distributing content in an entertainment system are provided. The entertainment system includes a plurality of clients connected in a bi-directional loop configuration. Each of the plurality of clients has at least one associated video display unit. The method includes deriving a content distribution plan for distributing content files to the plurality of clients based on a theoretical symmetric system where each of the plurality of clients in the symmetric system is configured to store at least a fraction of each of the content files; and applying the derived content distribution plan for distributing content files to an actual entertainment system wherein each of the content files are stored in full in at least one of the plurality of clients of the system to provide an actual content distribution plan for the actual entertainment system. Related entertainment systems and content distribution modules are also provided.