Distributed Split Edge Architecture for Content Delivery Bottlenecks
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In traditional content delivery networks (CDNs), popular content requested by multiple devices simultaneously leads to significant data transmission bottlenecks, as content must be retrieved from upstream sources and delivered to edge cluster servers and then to end-user devices.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a distributed split edge architecture, where an application device manages application-layer requests and instructs split edge devices to store and deliver content, reducing the need for repeated data transmissions and conserving network resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If content is retrieved from upstream sources and delivered to each requesting device individually, then content delivery is achieved, but data transmission load increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by caching content at edge cluster servers before actual user requests arrive. When content is predicted to be popular or pre-fetched based on usage patterns, it is stored in advance at the edge, so that when multiple devices request the same content simultaneously, the data is already locally available and can be distributed without repeated upstream transmissions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies copying by creating local replicas of content at edge cluster servers. Instead of transmitting the same content multiple times from upstream sources to multiple edge servers and then to multiple devices, the system creates copies at the edge level, allowing multiple devices to receive content from the local edge server without requiring repeated upstream data transmission
2Loss of energy
If content is cached at split edge devices, then data transmission load is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the edge server functionality into two separate components: the application device that handles application-layer requests and content retrieval logic, and the split edge device that handles transport-layer operations and local caching. This segmentation allows the split edge device to have simplified responsibilities focused only on data storage and transmission, reducing its operational complexity while still achieving the bandwidth savings of edge caching
Data Source
AI summary
In an embodiment, application delivery to end-user devices may be handled by a combination of an application device and a distributed set of split edge devices located closer to the end-user device within a network. The split edge devices are instructed by the application device about how to manage traffic to and from the end-user devices. The application device determines whether content is stored to content cache of a split edge device. The application device, when the content is stored to the split edge device, refrains from sending the content and instead sends instructions to the split edge device that include reference to a location of the content, and instruct the split edge device to send the content to an application and/or device. The application device, when the content is not stored to the split edge device, sends the content with instructions to store the content locally.