Premises Security Streaming Channel Load Balancing

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing streaming media systems for premises security face delays in startup due to random server selection and lack of efficient load balancing, leading to suboptimal performance in distributing video streaming workloads among multiple servers.

Innovation Solution

A playback device configures a streaming channel to a specific media server early in the process by using a hash function to select a server based on a unique identifier, such as a MAC address, to reduce startup delay and implement load balancing among media servers.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If random server selection is used for load balancing, then server availability is improved, but streaming start-up delay increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveserver availabilityVSAvoidstreaming start-up delay

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing streaming channels from the client device to selected media servers before actual streaming requests are made. The load balancer proactively creates and maintains these channels based on server capacity and request patterns, so when a streaming request arrives, the channel is already ready to transmit data immediately, eliminating start-up delay while maintaining load distribution across servers

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Productivity

If multiple media servers are used for load balancing, then system capacity is improved, but channel establishment complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem capacityVSAvoidchannel establishment complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The load balancer serves as an intermediary between client devices and media servers, centralizing the complexity of managing multiple server connections. It maintains a pool of available servers and automatically selects and establishes channels to appropriate servers based on current system state, shielding clients from the complexity of multi-server architecture while enabling efficient load distribution across multiple servers

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Use of energy by moving object

If streaming channels are established on-demand, then server resource usage is optimized, but streaming start-up delay increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveserver resource usageVSAvoidstreaming start-up delay

Core Design Contradiction:

Use of energy by moving objectVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements dynamic channel management where the load balancer continuously monitors server capacity, active streams, and request patterns to adaptively adjust channel establishment. Channels are proactively created when server capacity indicates availability and demand is anticipated, but not unnecessarily maintained when resources are constrained, creating a dynamic balance between resource efficiency and immediate streaming capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS12114031B2Streaming media associated with a premises security system

Publication Date: 2024.10.08 THE ADT SECURITY CORPORATION

AI summary

A user interface device associated with a premises security system that is configured to monitor a premises using a plurality of premises devices is provided. The user interface device includes processing circuitry configured to receive a request to stream video from a premises device of the plurality of premises devices, select one of a plurality of media servers to use to stream the video from the premises device, initiate a streaming channel to the selected media server to initiate the video streaming process with the selected media server, and receive, from the selected media server, the video stream associated with the premises device for playback.