Satellite Content Delivery Network for Low Latency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Content delivery networks (CDNs) face limitations in reducing latency and points of failure due to geographical distance and reliance on land-based connectivity, which can lead to delayed content delivery and single-point failures.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a mesh content delivery network using satellites that communicate with ground stations to provide low-latency content and compute access to remote users, allowing for caching and compute functionality in satellites, and using protocols like SCPS-TP for efficient communication in space environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If land-based CDN locations are used to reduce latency, then content delivery speed improves, but geographical coverage is limited by network connectivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional land-based network connectivity to three-dimensional space-based satellite connectivity. By deploying CDNNs on satellites in orbit, the system overcomes the geographical limitations of terrestrial networks and provides global coverage including remote areas, oceans, and polar regions that are difficult to reach via land-based infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces satellites as intermediary nodes between content sources and end users. These satellite-based CDNNs act as mediators that receive, cache, and deliver content to users in remote locations, bridging the gap between land-based network infrastructure and users in areas with limited or no terrestrial network connectivity.
2Device complexity
If single computer systems host content to reduce complexity, then system complexity decreases, but reliability deteriorates due to single-point failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the content delivery system into multiple segmented nodes distributed across different satellite CDNNs. Instead of relying on a single host system, content is replicated and stored across multiple satellite-based CDNNs, ensuring that if one node fails, other nodes can continue to serve content, thereby improving reliability without significantly increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the deployment parameter from ground-based to space-based CDNNs. This parameter change enables the system to achieve both reduced complexity (by using standardized satellite platforms) and improved reliability (through inherent redundancy and fault tolerance in distributed satellite constellations).
3Speed
If content is cached in geographically distributed locations to reduce latency, then delivery speed improves, but infrastructure cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes satellite platforms universal and multi-functional by equipping them with CDNN capabilities. These satellites not only provide communication relay services but also function as content caching and delivery nodes. This multi-functionality allows the system to achieve geographic distribution for low-latency delivery without proportionally increasing infrastructure complexity, as the same satellite infrastructure serves multiple purposes.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for using a satellite as a part of a content delivery network are described. For example, in some instances a satellite is to receive a request for a resource hosted by the content delivery network, determine that the request for the resource cannot be served by the satellite, determine a first entity to ask for the resource, send a secondary request for the resource to the determined first entity, receive the resource from the determined first entity, respond, to a user of the content delivery network, to the request using the received resource for the resource, and respond to a subsequent request using the cached received resource.