Uniform Transport Processing System Redundant IP Multicast Failover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Prior art transport processing systems in satellite broadcast systems fail to provide efficient failover capabilities, support new conditional access configurations, insert new data services, and offer error reporting and video/audio monitoring, due to inefficient data duplication and lack of IP-based traffic flow.
Innovation Solution
A uniform transport processing system (UTPS) employing Internet Protocol (IP) as the transport mechanism, utilizing virtual local area networks (VLANs) for redundant active/standby configurations, enabling seamless failover and supporting advanced encryption, data service insertion, and monitoring through IP multicast and transcoding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If prior art TPS systems output two redundant video streams via physical interconnection and MPEG over IP multicast, then redundancy is provided, but failover capabilities are inefficient and system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the primary and backup transport processing functions into a single UTPS device with VLAN-based logical separation. Instead of maintaining separate physical systems for primary and backup operations, the invention combines both functions in one device, using VLAN 10 for primary processing and VLAN 20 for backup processing, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining redundancy and failover capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the single UTPS device into distinct virtual processing paths using VLANs. The primary processing path (VLAN 10) and backup processing path (VLAN 20) are logically separated within the same physical device, allowing independent operation and failover while simplifying the overall system architecture
2Adaptability or versatility
If prior art TPS systems use dual output streams for redundancy, then backup capability is provided, but support for new conditional access configurations and data services is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The UTPS device is designed with universal processing capabilities that can handle multiple conditional access configurations and data service formats simultaneously. The device can process different encryption schemes (e.g., DCES 1.2, DCES 2.0, DCES 3.0, DCES 4.0) and data service formats (e.g., 8VSB, QAM, OFDM) within a single system, eliminating the need for separate dedicated systems for each function while maintaining redundancy
3Reliability
If prior art TPS systems duplicate data streams physically, then redundancy is achieved, but error reporting and monitoring capabilities are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The UTPS device incorporates comprehensive feedback mechanisms that monitor the health and performance of both primary and backup processing paths. The system provides real-time error reporting, performance metrics, and status information for VLAN 10 and VLAN 20 operations, enabling proactive issue detection and resolution while simplifying monitoring through centralized management
Data Source
AI summary
A system, apparatus, and method provide the ability to process media content streams. A primary and backup multiplexer are each configured to receive and multiplex multiple video streams to output IP multicast streams with unique unicast addresses. A primary and backup uniform transport processing system (UTPS) join the IP multicast streams and output each stream using a unique multicast group. Multiple virtual local area networks (VLANs) separate the joins of the primary UTPS from the joins of the backup UTPS. Primary and backup modulators join the IP multicast streams output from the primary or backup UTPS and convert the joined stream to radio frequency for uplink to a broadcast distribution network.