US20020129116A1 - Network broadcasting system and method of distrituting information from a master cache to local caches - Google Patents

Network broadcasting system and method of distrituting information from a master cache to local caches Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US20020129116A1
US20020129116A1 US09/267,658 US26765899A US2002129116A1 US 20020129116 A1 US20020129116 A1 US 20020129116A1 US 26765899 A US26765899 A US 26765899A US 2002129116 A1 US2002129116 A1 US 2002129116A1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
cache
information
local
internet
master
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
US09/267,658
Other versions
US6434609B1 (en
Inventor
Douglas E. Humphrey
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Cidera Inc
Original Assignee
Cidera Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Cidera Inc filed Critical Cidera Inc
Priority to US09/267,658 priority Critical patent/US6434609B1/en
Assigned to SKYCACHE, INC. reassignment SKYCACHE, INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: HUMPHREY, DOUGLAS EDWARD
Assigned to CIDERA, INC. reassignment CIDERA, INC. INVALID DOCUMENT. SEE RECORDING ON REEL 011084, FRAME 0525. (DOCUMENT RE-RECORDED TO CORRECT THE NUMBER OF MICROFILM PAGES FROM 4 TO 22). Assignors: SKYCACHE, INC.
Assigned to CIDERA, INC. reassignment CIDERA, INC. CHANGE OF NAME (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: SKYCACHE, INC.
Priority to US10/172,513 priority patent/US20030005084A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US6434609B1 publication Critical patent/US6434609B1/en
Publication of US20020129116A1 publication Critical patent/US20020129116A1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06FELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F13/00Interconnection of, or transfer of information or other signals between, memories, input/output devices or central processing units
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04BTRANSMISSION
    • H04B7/00Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field
    • H04B7/14Relay systems
    • H04B7/15Active relay systems
    • H04B7/185Space-based or airborne stations; Stations for satellite systems
    • H04B7/18578Satellite systems for providing broadband data service to individual earth stations
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04BTRANSMISSION
    • H04B7/00Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field
    • H04B7/14Relay systems
    • H04B7/15Active relay systems
    • H04B7/185Space-based or airborne stations; Stations for satellite systems
    • H04B7/18578Satellite systems for providing broadband data service to individual earth stations
    • H04B7/18582Arrangements for data linking, i.e. for data framing, for error recovery, for multiple access
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04LTRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L67/00Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
    • H04L67/2866Architectures; Arrangements
    • H04L67/289Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04LTRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L67/00Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
    • H04L67/50Network services
    • H04L67/56Provisioning of proxy services
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04LTRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L67/00Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
    • H04L67/50Network services
    • H04L67/56Provisioning of proxy services
    • H04L67/568Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
    • H04L67/5682Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04LTRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L67/00Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
    • H04L67/01Protocols
    • H04L67/10Protocols in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network
    • H04L67/1001Protocols in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04LTRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L69/00Network arrangements, protocols or services independent of the application payload and not provided for in the other groups of this subclass
    • H04L69/30Definitions, standards or architectural aspects of layered protocol stacks
    • H04L69/32Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level
    • H04L69/322Intralayer communication protocols among peer entities or protocol data unit [PDU] definitions
    • H04L69/329Intralayer communication protocols among peer entities or protocol data unit [PDU] definitions in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Definitions

  • This invention pertains to global information networks, currently referred to as the Internet or Internet systems, and in particular, to a system for providing a comprehensive global information network broadcasting system and the methods of implementing the same using broadcast links to overcome the limitations in network distribution and caching systems inherent in conventional designs.
  • IP Internet Protocol
  • the areas which are experiencing this communication and application explosion may include any IP network or Internet, public or private, or any group of computers connected together.
  • the present invention has particular application in the current system referred to as the Internet.
  • the performance demands on the network are further compounded by the inherent limitations in the IP network architecture and the popularity of certain applications on the network.
  • Some of the most popular applications on the Internet such as the web browser, construct, or attempt to construct, a point-to-point or end-to-end connection across the network.
  • the Internet browser application the Internet participant “points” the web browser to a universal resource location (“URL”) address which, in turn, the browser uses to attempt to connect to the network and display the information at the URL address.
  • URL universal resource location
  • An end-to-end connection across the network makes network performance parameters such as latency and network queuing delays into factors that dependent, at least in part, on each link in the point-to-point chain of connection.
  • IP also has inherent data concentration characteristics
  • the performance of the network may be significantly degraded by traffic concentration on the network backbones.
  • network performance e.g., network latency
  • network latency is often dominated by the latency of the most congested link.
  • a problem in the conventional IP network is that “end-to-end” latency may be dominated by the link with the greatest congestion. Data concentration may cause a high latency on over-subscribed backbone links.
  • a problem related to network congestion and data concentration is the present rate of growth in the popularity of the Internet and it's applications.
  • the present rate of growth makes increases in network performance, or even maintaining network performance, simply by increasing backbone size a problematic solution, e.g., at the current rate of growth in Internet usage, backbones and communication equipment may require replacement before their costs can be recovered.
  • the conventional architecture and pricing structure for Internet service may not be self financing in some instances.
  • Another systemic source for network demand is the increase in the number of times that the network is being called upon to move the same data to multiple users. In practice this may be caused by the increasing popularity of particular website or the so called web portals.
  • Network caches store data inside the network and service the user demand for data from data stored in the cache.
  • network caches may reduce the number of identical items which are being passed end-to-end through the network by locally servicing the request for data from the local cache.
  • the success of the network cache is hampered by the fact that the ideal location, or optimal position, for the cache (or caches), is at the edge of the network infrastructure as close as possible to the end user.
  • the optimal positioning of caches, near the edge of the network inherently presents communication and coordination challenges.
  • Caching at the edges of the network is further complicated by the fact that the small caches may have a limited cache community size.
  • a limited or small cache community size means that there are few users using any one cache.
  • a small cache community size is typically associated with a small number of request for information which makes it difficult, if not impossible, to mathematically achieve a high cache hit rate.
  • the cache hit rate is a mathematical term that expresses the number of hits encountered in the use of the cache per 100 requests for information.
  • a high cache hit rate means that a high percentage of user requests are serviced by the cache. This means that the cache is working to reduce the load on the network.
  • the cache hit rate is dependent upon the number of users of the cache or members of the cache community. Thus, an engineering trade-off exists in the conventional cache design, i.e., a cache is more useful at improving latency at the edge of a network but the cache will, on average, have a lower hit rate because of the small cache community size.
  • Another problem in the conventional network is the level of general broadcasting that can be accomplished within the conventional architecture.
  • the vast majority of network traffic was point to point in nature.
  • broadcast data on the network has surpassed other forms of traffic in terms of volume, but the network continues to have a point to point architecture which does not provide the physical medium or logical structure to implement broadcast within the network.
  • the result is that the Internet is choking itself with replicated data, moving thousands of copies of the same data around at any given moment in time.
  • the major difference now and when the network originated is the increased size of the transmission lines and switch capacity which are able to move more data.
  • the IP network is still using the same basic architecture as was found in the original system.
  • Another factor that effects network performance is that most of the data on the Internet is accessed infrequently. A small proportion of the data available on the Internet is receiving the majority of the inquiries or “hits” on the system.
  • a first object of the present invention is to achieve real improvement in the performance over conventional caching system design through the use of a novel and nonobvious scheme to increase the local cache hit rates by employing methods and apparatus to improve the selection of data for storage in a local cache.
  • Another object of the present invention is a way to mesh a broadcast architecture into the point-to-point architecture of the Internet to enable the network to achieve the advantages of a broadcast architecture while maintaining the benefits of a point-to-point network.
  • Another object of the present invention is to combine the methods and apparatus for improved cache performance with the methods and apparatus used to mesh a broadcast architecture onto the point-to-point network architecture to achieve a complementary result.
  • Another object of the present invention is to extrapolate global demand for information into a tangible and practical solution to select data for storage into local cache devices thereby improving cache performance for caches with a small cache community size.
  • Another object of the present invention is the extrapolation of a statistically relevant sample from a list of requests for information that may modify a threshold of interest parameter for the selection of information into a local cache.
  • Another object of the present invention is to modify a threshold of interest in the selection of data of interest for input into a local cache based at least in part on historical interest in local demand for said data over a predetermined window of time.
  • Another object of the present invention is the employment of a proactive way to select data for input into a local cache in anticipation of network demand for said data of interest.
  • Another object of the present invention is the directed selection of information into particular local cache to achieve improvements in local cache performance.
  • Yet another object of the present invention is the deployment of a fee based broadcast service that improves local cache performance which in turn allows Internet service providers to achieve a greater return on investment in communication equipment and frees up network capacity to add additional Internet subscribers.
  • a way to improve the Internet's performance is to improve the cache hit rate for at least some of the caches in the network.
  • the network conserves capacity because an end-to-end connection is not required to service the request.
  • a novel way to improve the selection of data for storage in a local cache is to determine the interest in the data on the network as a whole or as a sample determining the popularity as a whole. This may be accomplished by a system that measures the number of access requests for information and the type of information that were not available on the local caches. These can be called local cache miss information. The system may then examine the local cache miss information from some or all of the local sites and determine what information is of global interest to the Internet community. The system may then determine by a variety of ways discussed further below what information is a good selection for storage into local caches. Thus, the system provides a way to determine the selection of information for storage into a local cache from a pool of local cache miss information.
  • a second element that may improve the operation of the Internet is a broadcast system which takes the information or data that has been determined to be of sufficient interest that it is useful to input into local caches and broadcast that information and data to the local cache systems. This action may relieve the network from the identified problem of transporting replicated data and redundant information across network backbones. This high speed cache update or broadcast channel provides the network with fast relief from redundant data transport and will quickly reduce congestion across the entire Internet system.
  • satellite communications to provide a broadcast medium to the Internet may be accomplished by orbital satellites which allow a single signal to be sent up to a satellite and the resulting signal to be sent down to large geographic areas.
  • a conventional satellite broadcast settles from the fact that all users may not want to use the broadcast information at exactly the same time.
  • the store and forward capability of a caches such that it accepts information and then store it for a time so that it can be used at times other than the exact time that it is broadcast, solves the major difficulty with satellite one-way broadcast.
  • This invention teaches a method for combining the capabilities of satellite communications and caching servers to overcome the disadvantages of each and, at the same time, improve the levels of hit rate that may be achieved by caching servers thereby saving bandwidth and other valuable resources within the Internet and other data networks which can use these technologies.
  • This invention further teaches how to construct a selection system which uses one-way satellite communications in order to build a true broadcast capability as an addition to the existing point to point Internet network, and to use this broadcast capability to aggregate the cache community size, thus increasing the hit rates of caches on all caches which subscribe to the service without regard to a number of members of the individual cache server cache community size.
  • the present invention provides a complete comprehensive Internet broadcasting system that employs a caching system that is positioned close to the end user while still being part of the shared infrastructure and achieving a high cache hit rate.
  • the system further provides a complete comprehensive Internet broadcasting system which seamlessly overlays a capability on the existing Internet that may allow a real broadcast so that the data or information can be transmitted once and received at the local caching systems.
  • This hybrid broadcast/cache architecture is very adaptable. Furthermore, the system is easy to install and readily available to all customers and Internet service providers. The system works with conventional cache systems, such as those available from Inktomi, Inc. and with conventional commercial satellite services such as GTE Spacenet or Hughes Satellite Systems.
  • this invention teaches a method for implementing a comprehensive global information network broadcasting system, for use in overcoming inherent limitations in current global information network systems including the requirement for multiple copies of the same information or data being moved around the Internet to serve individual users along with the point to point nature of the infrastructure, comprising the steps of providing a master caching center for receiving information requests and sending out information and data; installing local caching systems for Internet service providers and customers sites; providing a satellite broadcast linking system to the local caching system for providing nearly instantaneous information from the master caching center to the local caching systems; disseminating a program for selecting data elements for storage in the local caching systems; and distributing data and information updates for the local caching systems as predetermined by the master caching center.
  • This invention also teaches a method of operating a comprehensive global information network broadcasting system, for use in overcoming inherent limitations in current global information network systems including the requirement for multiple copies of the same information or data being moved around the Internet to serve individual users along with the point to point nature of the infrastructure, comprising the steps of receiving a request for information or data from a customer to the local cache site; determining the location of the requested information or data among a number of location sources; notifying the master cache center of the lack of success in finding the requested data or information in the local cache system; analyzing the number of requests that the master cache center has received on a particular piece of information or data; retrieving the data or information from the Internet once the level of interest has been achieved; and sending the requested information or data through the satellite broadcasting system to all local cache sites once the data or information requests have reached a predetermined level.
  • This invention further teaches a comprehensive global information network broadcasting system, for use in overcoming inherent limitations in current global information network systems including the requirement for multiple copies of the same information or data being moved around the Internet to serve individual users along with the point to point nature of the infrastructure, comprising a master caching center for receiving information requests and sending out information and data; local cache systems positioned at customer and Internet service provider sites for sending out information and data requests and receiving and storing the information requested; means for connecting said master caching center with said local cache systems; and means for determining the level and interest in a particular piece of information or data and allowing the information and data to be sent from the master caching center to the local cache systems.
  • FIG. 1 is a system diagram for the current Internet system
  • FIG. 2 is a system diagram for the novel comprehensive global information network broadcasting system
  • FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a method of implementing a comprehensive global information network broadcasting system.
  • FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a method of operating a comprehensive global information network broadcasting system.
  • FIG. 5 is a representative block diagram of the cache update procedures.
  • the conventional Internet system 10 may be composed of an Internet highway 11 having a number of clients or Internet participants 12 , 12 a, 12 b and 12 c.
  • the clients can be an Internet service providers or corporate customers and each one of these customers can have a large number of their own clients or internet participants shown as 13 through 13 h.
  • a participant for example participant 13
  • This request for information may originate at an application such as a web browser at the participant's 13 equipment.
  • a URL request from the web browser may be output from the participant 13 and input into the participant Internet service provider 12 c.
  • the Internet service provider may then pass the request to another Internet service provider 12 b.
  • This Internet service provider 12 b may pass the request through cache 15 to the Internet highway 11 .
  • the Internet highway 11 may then pass the URL request to the information source 14 .
  • the information source 14 may then formulate a response to the URL request from the participant 13 and send the response back over the network 11 through cache 15 , through Internet service provider 12 b, through Internet service provider 12 c and to the user or participant requesting the information 13 .
  • this end-to-end transmission of URL and URL response may be reported for each and every participant on the network.
  • information from information source 14 may be redundantly transported to each participant.
  • caches are activated and employed on the network 15 , 15 a and 15 b, they may reduce the information flow across the network 11 .
  • internet participant 13 may request information from information source 14 as described above.
  • Active cache 15 may store the information response from the information source 14 locally at the cache 15 .
  • the request for information may be satisfied by the information stored in the cache 15 .
  • the request for information from the second participant 13 a may be terminated and satisfied at cache 15 , thereby reducing traffic across the network 11 .
  • caches 15 through 15 b are located at positions around the net it may reduce the number of messages sent across the network.
  • a problem occurs in small systems, because caches in these small systems have very few (relatively) information requests. In order to work efficiently, cache's need to have cache community size large enough to have a substantial hit rate. The costs associated with conventional cache equipment prohibits cost effective implementation in small cache community applications.
  • Another difficulty of the conventional system design is the network infrastructure. Given the fact that the information has to travel over point-to-point links, the only other way of speeding up the service, is to widen the lines or bandwidth. This solution, although feasible, has a finite limit and diminishing returns.
  • FIG. 2 An embodiment of the comprehensive Internet broadcasting system 20 is shown in FIG. 2.
  • the system may be comprised of a master cache center 21 that is operationally connected to the Internet 22 and a satellite uplink transmitter 23 that may, in turn, uplink data to a geosynchronous satellite 24 .
  • a satellite uplink transmitter 23 may be duplicated for each of the geosynchronous satellites employed for coverage.
  • a land line not shown, may transport the present data to a remote uplink site to provide access to other satellite regions.
  • the system may have a plurality of clients comprising Internet service providers or customers.
  • Each of the clients may have a local cache system 25 through 25 c which may be comprised of a satellite broadcast receiving system 26 through 26 c, a cache adapter 27 through 27 c and a cache 28 through 28 c .
  • the cache 28 through 28 c may have a cache disk or cache storage device 29 through 29 c for the storing of information and data received from the Internet or the broadcast system.
  • the system of the present invention may also be employed over high speed land lines and wireless terrestrial links.
  • the system may maintain the advantages of a point-to-multipoint configuration through the use of high speed half duplex or asymetric communication equipment.
  • the system may also benefit from direct connection into the high speed links available from network switches operators such as the SONET and/or DS-3 connections.
  • network switches operators such as the SONET and/or DS-3 connections.
  • the improved system may function by a customer 31 of the Internet service provider sending a message or a URL request to the local Internet service provider's cache system 25 requesting information or data.
  • the Internet service provider's cache 28 may determine whether it has the current version of the information or data stored on its cache. The cache 28 may then check whether the information or data is located in the cache adapter 27 .
  • the cache adapter in this illustrative example does not have the material because it does not yet store the information.
  • the cache adapter 27 responds negatively to the request notifying the cache 28 to search elsewhere.
  • the local cache 28 may then search other caches or the Internet for the requested information.
  • the cache adapter 27 may send a message over the Internet to the master caching center 21 reporting the “miss” of the requested information.
  • the master cache 21 may then record the information regarding the cache miss and measure the amount of interest in the information or data from the local caching systems 25 through 25 c .
  • the master cache 21 may employ a variety of methods described further below to determine at what point the level of interest is sufficient to broadcast the information or data to the Internet service providers caches.
  • the master cache 21 may obtain the requested information or data from a source 30 via the Internet 22 .
  • the master cache 21 may then compress the information for storage or transmission.
  • the master cache 21 may assign a priority to the information based upon the levels of interest and a predetermined transmission formula as described below.
  • the information or data may be broadcast to the satellite 24 which may, in turn, broadcast to the satellite receivers 26 through 26 c of the Internet service providers or customers.
  • After the information is received by the satellite receiver 26 it may be passed to the cache adapters 27 through 27 c .
  • the cache adapters 27 through 27 c may then formulate a user request for the data for the local cache 28 through 28 c to find the information. This action may cause the local cache 28 through 28 c to search for the data.
  • the local cache may find the information or data at the cache adapter 27 through 27 c .
  • the local cache 28 through 28 c may then transfer and store the information on the cache storage disk or storage device 29 through 29 c .
  • the cache adapter 27 may directly transfer information to the cache file system.
  • the novel method for implementing a complete comprehensive Internet broadcasting system 40 may be comprised of the following steps: providing a master cache center for receiving information requests and sending out information and data 41 ; installing local caching systems for Internet service provider and customers sites 42 ; providing a satellite or wideband broadcast linking system for connecting the local caching systems in order to provide nearly instantaneous information and data from the master cache center to the local caching systems 43 ; disseminating a program for selecting data elements for storage in the local caching systems 44 ; and distributing data and information updates for the local caching systems as predetermined by the master caching center 45 .
  • a novel method of operating a complete comprehensive Internet broadcasting system 50 may employ the following steps in its process: receiving a request for information and data from a customer to the local cache site 51 ; determining the location by the local cache site of the requested information or data from a number of locations sources 52 ; notifying the master cache center of the lack of success in finding the requested data or information in the local cache 53 ; analyzing the number of requests that the master cache has received for a particular piece of information or data 54 ; retrieving the data or information from the Internet 55 ; and sending the requested information or data through the satellite broadcasting system to all the local cache sites once the data or information requested has reached a predetermined level 56 .
  • FIG. 5 depicts a representative block diagram of the procedures and methods that may be used to determine cache update priority.
  • the procedure may receive cache miss information from the network cache adapters 100 .
  • cache adapters 27 may be deployed as part of a subscription service to the cache update broadcast of the present invention.
  • Each site is not required to have a cache adapter that reports to the master cache. So long as enough cache adapters are deployed and reporting cache miss information to the master cache to provide a statistically relevant sample of Internet participant demand for Internet information, or through some other feedback methodology, it is within the scope of the present invention.
  • the system may store the miss information in a volatile or non-volatile storage device 104 . This may provide a non-volatile storage record for the threshold calculations described below.
  • the first threshold of interest factor that may be employed by the present invention is determining whether requests for information exceed a predetermined rate 106 .
  • the rate of request for information can be determined by collecting information as to the time at which the request for information was received by the system. When the rate of requests for information exceeds a predetermined number over a predetermined time, for example 1 0 minutes, the system may designate the information for broadcast 120 . If the rate of the requests for information does not exceed the predetermined threshold, the system may pass the request for information to the next rule 114 .
  • the next rule the system may use to determine whether to broadcast the information to the subscriber caches is to determine whether the request for information exceeds a global demand threshold 108 .
  • the system may determine whether the request for information exceeds a predetermined number for overall demand. This parameter may identify web pages that provide a consistent long term level of interest. If the request for information exceeds this threshold, then the information is designated for broadcast to the subscriber caches 122 . If the request for information does not exceed this predetermined threshold then the system may pass the request for information to the next rule.
  • the next rule determines whether to designate the information for broadcast to a local cache based on localized demand for the information. It is within the scope of the present invention to store cache miss information that identifies which subscriber cache is reporting the cache miss information. The system may then use a predetermined threshold for localized demand. For example, from the rules described above, which are herein incorporated by reference, to designate whether the information should be broadcast to a local subscriber cache 124 . Thus, it is within the scope of the present invention to update a local subscriber cache by uniquely addressing a local cache adapter for the broadcast cache update. In a first unique addressing mode, a conventional satellite receiver may be addressed to receive a unique satellite broadcast. In a second unique addressing mode, the present invention may address the cache adapter through conventional protocol addressing techniques. If the local information threshold rule 110 is not exceeded, then the system may pass the information request to the next exemplary rule 118 .
  • the next exemplary rule 112 may determine whether the request for information is subject to a heuristic override 112 .
  • the heuristic override rule may determine whether a system operator has manually designated information for broadcast. If the information has been designated for broadcast, the system will schedule the information for broadcast 128 . If the information has not been designated for broadcast, the system may procedure terminate and return 132 . the system may execute an override rule that does not pertain to the request for information passed via the other rules. It is understood that the system override rule may immediately schedule information for broadcast to the local subscriber caches.
  • the system may employ a priority scheme to broadcast cache update data 140 .
  • the priority scheme may use a first in first out rule or a weighted priority scheme to allow higher priority updates such as information designated from 120 , which may designate a rapid increase in demand, for broadcast to the subscriber caches.
  • the above described methods and technologies improve the operation of the Internet by increasing the hit rate of the local cache sites by combining them into a single cache community which can then aggregate its usage and significantly improve the hit rates to the benefit of the Internet service provider or end user organization.
  • the elements designed into the system that result in the improvements include the use of a cache adapter at each of the local cache sites. This adapter is informed when the local cache site has been asked for information or data and is also informed that the local cache site did not have the information and data. This is important because if a local cache site doesn't have the information or data, it requires the local cache sites to seek the information in the Internet and then to place that information in the local cache site.
  • the adapter communicates the miss information with the master cache center.
  • the master cache center analyzes the miss data from all the local cache sites and determines the information and data that are of a sufficient interest to the Internet community, using the companion software program described below to do so. This determines the information and data that warrants having the information and data sent by means of the satellite connection and thus being placed in all of the local cache sites in the system.
  • Controlling the amount of information and data being sent to the local caching sites may be useful because of the nature of the information and data being delivered. Much, if not a majority of the information and data available on the Internet may be considered archival or data which is accessed so seldom as to make it not desirable to have cached in multiple locations. Active material are items that have a regular level of interest and is of some benefit to have some degree of local site caching. Popular material which is accessed regularly is worth caching. Intensive (frequently updated) material is of questionable value caching because it is changed so often. The factor that is under the control of the software program described below is that the material being sent to the local caching sites should provide value to the Internet service providers or end user.
  • a number of processes can be used to improve the system. This could include having the master cache center pre-stage information or data that has been requested. This process allows the master cache server to obtain the information or data even before the evaluation has been done to determine whether it will be sent up to the satellite. This will minimize the time delay experienced once the determination has been made that the information or data meets the criteria to be transmitted to all local caching sites.
  • the system would also use a predictive model to position large information items that do not change frequently and have regular levels of interest.

Abstract

The comprehensive global information network broadcasting system and implementation thereof is designed to be used to provide a plurality of, what is commonly referred to as, Internet service providers with updated information through the use of high speed satellite links directly to the local Internet service provider from a centralized location. The satellite broadcasting system is combined with servers known as caching or proxy servers located at the client site which serve to store web and other data until the end user needs to access the data and a master cache center which coordinates the selection and transmission of information to those client sites via the satellite broadcasting system. The caching of data objects as close to the end user as possible will require less data to transit the backbones networks. The client site cache communicates to the master cache center via a connection to the Internet and the client site cache receives from the master cache center via the satellite broadcasting system and, in some cases, the Internet connection. Upon the receipt of a request from an Internet service provider, the information at the master cache will be transmitted from a ground station to a satellite and will be broadcast to all receiving Internet service providers using the broadcast system which overlays a capability onto the existing Internet that will allow real broadcast so that the data object can be transmitted once and received at all subscriber locations. Internet service providers will need to subscribe to the service to be able to receive these satellite transmissions, and in order to register their cache misses which is a way in which a subscriber indicates interest in a data item. A method of implementing this is disclosed using software for updating and optimizing of the local cache sites and capturing and processing the information through the receivers.

Description

  • This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/039,710, filed Mar. 15, 1998, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.[0001]
  • TECHNICAL FIELD
  • This invention pertains to global information networks, currently referred to as the Internet or Internet systems, and in particular, to a system for providing a comprehensive global information network broadcasting system and the methods of implementing the same using broadcast links to overcome the limitations in network distribution and caching systems inherent in conventional designs. [0002]
  • BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  • The explosion of the use of Internet and other similar systems has created massive performance demands on the Internet Protocol (IP) and the communication infrastructure associated with the Internet. The areas which are experiencing this communication and application explosion may include any IP network or Internet, public or private, or any group of computers connected together. The present invention has particular application in the current system referred to as the Internet. [0003]
  • The performance demands on the network are further compounded by the inherent limitations in the IP network architecture and the popularity of certain applications on the network. Some of the most popular applications on the Internet, such as the web browser, construct, or attempt to construct, a point-to-point or end-to-end connection across the network. With the Internet browser application, the Internet participant “points” the web browser to a universal resource location (“URL”) address which, in turn, the browser uses to attempt to connect to the network and display the information at the URL address. [0004]
  • An end-to-end connection across the network makes network performance parameters such as latency and network queuing delays into factors that dependent, at least in part, on each link in the point-to-point chain of connection. Since IP also has inherent data concentration characteristics, the performance of the network may be significantly degraded by traffic concentration on the network backbones. Thus, network performance, e.g., network latency, is often dominated by the latency of the most congested link. Thus, a problem in the conventional IP network is that “end-to-end” latency may be dominated by the link with the greatest congestion. Data concentration may cause a high latency on over-subscribed backbone links. [0005]
  • A problem related to network congestion and data concentration is the present rate of growth in the popularity of the Internet and it's applications. The present rate of growth makes increases in network performance, or even maintaining network performance, simply by increasing backbone size a problematic solution, e.g., at the current rate of growth in Internet usage, backbones and communication equipment may require replacement before their costs can be recovered. Thus, the conventional architecture and pricing structure for Internet service may not be self financing in some instances. [0006]
  • Another systemic source for network demand is the increase in the number of times that the network is being called upon to move the same data to multiple users. In practice this may be caused by the increasing popularity of particular website or the so called web portals. [0007]
  • The transport of redundant date problem has been addressed, in part, through the use of network caches. Network caches store data inside the network and service the user demand for data from data stored in the cache. Thus, network caches may reduce the number of identical items which are being passed end-to-end through the network by locally servicing the request for data from the local cache. The success of the network cache, however, is hampered by the fact that the ideal location, or optimal position, for the cache (or caches), is at the edge of the network infrastructure as close as possible to the end user. Thus, the optimal positioning of caches, near the edge of the network, inherently presents communication and coordination challenges. [0008]
  • Caching at the edges of the network, e.g., using many small caches at the network edges rather than a few large central caches at the center of the network, is further complicated by the fact that the small caches may have a limited cache community size. A limited or small cache community size means that there are few users using any one cache. A small cache community size is typically associated with a small number of request for information which makes it difficult, if not impossible, to mathematically achieve a high cache hit rate. [0009]
  • The cache hit rate is a mathematical term that expresses the number of hits encountered in the use of the cache per 100 requests for information. A high cache hit rate means that a high percentage of user requests are serviced by the cache. This means that the cache is working to reduce the load on the network. The cache hit rate, however, is dependent upon the number of users of the cache or members of the cache community. Thus, an engineering trade-off exists in the conventional cache design, i.e., a cache is more useful at improving latency at the edge of a network but the cache will, on average, have a lower hit rate because of the small cache community size. [0010]
  • Another problem in the conventional network is the level of general broadcasting that can be accomplished within the conventional architecture. As the Internet was established, the vast majority of network traffic was point to point in nature. In the present network, however, broadcast data on the network has surpassed other forms of traffic in terms of volume, but the network continues to have a point to point architecture which does not provide the physical medium or logical structure to implement broadcast within the network. The result is that the Internet is choking itself with replicated data, moving thousands of copies of the same data around at any given moment in time. The major difference now and when the network originated is the increased size of the transmission lines and switch capacity which are able to move more data. The IP network, however, is still using the same basic architecture as was found in the original system. [0011]
  • Another factor that effects network performance is that most of the data on the Internet is accessed infrequently. A small proportion of the data available on the Internet is receiving the majority of the inquiries or “hits” on the system. [0012]
  • There have been a number of attempts to improve network performance. One way of approaching the problem is by employing larger capacity storage equipment and/or faster communication equipment. This may provide faster network response time and/or ameliorate network congestion and delays in the short term. Indeed, the continuing availability of larger capacity and lower cost storage technology have made this a cost effective short term, however, stop gap, approach to network congestion. As discussed above, the rate of growth in the Internet's popularity may require equipment replacement before equipment costs can be recovered. Also, a number of United States Patents describe attempts to improve speed and storage capacity of interactive networks through a number of different methods—those patents include U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,771 issued to Robert Filepp et al. for a “Method For Storing Data In A Interactive Computer Network” and the patent issued to Ashar Aziz, U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,060 for a “Method And Apparatus For A Key Management Scheme For Internet Protocols.”[0013]
  • SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
  • It is the goal of the present invention to address these short falls and problem areas to improve performance of the Internet. Thus, a first object of the present invention is to achieve real improvement in the performance over conventional caching system design through the use of a novel and nonobvious scheme to increase the local cache hit rates by employing methods and apparatus to improve the selection of data for storage in a local cache. [0014]
  • Another object of the present invention is a way to mesh a broadcast architecture into the point-to-point architecture of the Internet to enable the network to achieve the advantages of a broadcast architecture while maintaining the benefits of a point-to-point network. [0015]
  • Another object of the present invention is to combine the methods and apparatus for improved cache performance with the methods and apparatus used to mesh a broadcast architecture onto the point-to-point network architecture to achieve a complementary result. [0016]
  • Another object of the present invention is to extrapolate global demand for information into a tangible and practical solution to select data for storage into local cache devices thereby improving cache performance for caches with a small cache community size. [0017]
  • Another object of the present invention is the extrapolation of a statistically relevant sample from a list of requests for information that may modify a threshold of interest parameter for the selection of information into a local cache. [0018]
  • Another object of the present invention is to modify a threshold of interest in the selection of data of interest for input into a local cache based at least in part on historical interest in local demand for said data over a predetermined window of time. [0019]
  • Another object of the present invention is the employment of a proactive way to select data for input into a local cache in anticipation of network demand for said data of interest. [0020]
  • Another object of the present invention is the directed selection of information into particular local cache to achieve improvements in local cache performance. [0021]
  • Yet another object of the present invention is the deployment of a fee based broadcast service that improves local cache performance which in turn allows Internet service providers to achieve a greater return on investment in communication equipment and frees up network capacity to add additional Internet subscribers. [0022]
  • These and other objects of the present invention, as discussed in detail below, will become apparent to those skilled in the relevant art upon disclosure of the inventions and teachings contained herein. [0023]
  • A way to improve the Internet's performance is to improve the cache hit rate for at least some of the caches in the network. When a cache services the user's request for information, the network conserves capacity because an end-to-end connection is not required to service the request. A novel way to improve the selection of data for storage in a local cache is to determine the interest in the data on the network as a whole or as a sample determining the popularity as a whole. This may be accomplished by a system that measures the number of access requests for information and the type of information that were not available on the local caches. These can be called local cache miss information. The system may then examine the local cache miss information from some or all of the local sites and determine what information is of global interest to the Internet community. The system may then determine by a variety of ways discussed further below what information is a good selection for storage into local caches. Thus, the system provides a way to determine the selection of information for storage into a local cache from a pool of local cache miss information. [0024]
  • A second element that may improve the operation of the Internet is a broadcast system which takes the information or data that has been determined to be of sufficient interest that it is useful to input into local caches and broadcast that information and data to the local cache systems. This action may relieve the network from the identified problem of transporting replicated data and redundant information across network backbones. This high speed cache update or broadcast channel provides the network with fast relief from redundant data transport and will quickly reduce congestion across the entire Internet system. [0025]
  • The two methodologies of local cache sampling and broadcast cache updates complement and provide a synergistic solution to each others individual weaknesses thereby allowing the two technologies to blend into a single unique solution to the problems described herein. For the problem of multiple identical data elements traversing the Internet, caching represents a good solution but because of the tradeoff issue of small cache community sizes not providing high hit rates and the optimal positioning of the cache, caching is limited in its practical application. Satellite one-way broadcasting addresses this problem by, when combined with the data evaluation and selection that is described herein, aggregating cache community elements from all cache clients into one single cache community and thus allowing high hit rates to be achieved. [0026]
  • The use of satellite communications to provide a broadcast medium to the Internet may be accomplished by orbital satellites which allow a single signal to be sent up to a satellite and the resulting signal to be sent down to large geographic areas. A conventional satellite broadcast, however, settles from the fact that all users may not want to use the broadcast information at exactly the same time. The store and forward capability of a caches such that it accepts information and then store it for a time so that it can be used at times other than the exact time that it is broadcast, solves the major difficulty with satellite one-way broadcast. [0027]
  • This invention, inter alia, teaches a method for combining the capabilities of satellite communications and caching servers to overcome the disadvantages of each and, at the same time, improve the levels of hit rate that may be achieved by caching servers thereby saving bandwidth and other valuable resources within the Internet and other data networks which can use these technologies. This invention, inter alia, further teaches how to construct a selection system which uses one-way satellite communications in order to build a true broadcast capability as an addition to the existing point to point Internet network, and to use this broadcast capability to aggregate the cache community size, thus increasing the hit rates of caches on all caches which subscribe to the service without regard to a number of members of the individual cache server cache community size. [0028]
  • Thus, the present invention provides a complete comprehensive Internet broadcasting system that employs a caching system that is positioned close to the end user while still being part of the shared infrastructure and achieving a high cache hit rate. The system further provides a complete comprehensive Internet broadcasting system which seamlessly overlays a capability on the existing Internet that may allow a real broadcast so that the data or information can be transmitted once and received at the local caching systems. [0029]
  • This hybrid broadcast/cache architecture is very adaptable. Furthermore, the system is easy to install and readily available to all customers and Internet service providers. The system works with conventional cache systems, such as those available from Inktomi, Inc. and with conventional commercial satellite services such as GTE Spacenet or Hughes Satellite Systems. [0030]
  • Particularly, this invention, inter alia, teaches a method for implementing a comprehensive global information network broadcasting system, for use in overcoming inherent limitations in current global information network systems including the requirement for multiple copies of the same information or data being moved around the Internet to serve individual users along with the point to point nature of the infrastructure, comprising the steps of providing a master caching center for receiving information requests and sending out information and data; installing local caching systems for Internet service providers and customers sites; providing a satellite broadcast linking system to the local caching system for providing nearly instantaneous information from the master caching center to the local caching systems; disseminating a program for selecting data elements for storage in the local caching systems; and distributing data and information updates for the local caching systems as predetermined by the master caching center. [0031]
  • This invention, inter alia, also teaches a method of operating a comprehensive global information network broadcasting system, for use in overcoming inherent limitations in current global information network systems including the requirement for multiple copies of the same information or data being moved around the Internet to serve individual users along with the point to point nature of the infrastructure, comprising the steps of receiving a request for information or data from a customer to the local cache site; determining the location of the requested information or data among a number of location sources; notifying the master cache center of the lack of success in finding the requested data or information in the local cache system; analyzing the number of requests that the master cache center has received on a particular piece of information or data; retrieving the data or information from the Internet once the level of interest has been achieved; and sending the requested information or data through the satellite broadcasting system to all local cache sites once the data or information requests have reached a predetermined level. [0032]
  • This invention, inter alia, further teaches a comprehensive global information network broadcasting system, for use in overcoming inherent limitations in current global information network systems including the requirement for multiple copies of the same information or data being moved around the Internet to serve individual users along with the point to point nature of the infrastructure, comprising a master caching center for receiving information requests and sending out information and data; local cache systems positioned at customer and Internet service provider sites for sending out information and data requests and receiving and storing the information requested; means for connecting said master caching center with said local cache systems; and means for determining the level and interest in a particular piece of information or data and allowing the information and data to be sent from the master caching center to the local cache systems.[0033]
  • DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
  • Further objects and features of this invention will become ore apparent by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the following figures, in which: [0034]
  • FIG. 1 is a system diagram for the current Internet system; [0035]
  • FIG. 2 is a system diagram for the novel comprehensive global information network broadcasting system; [0036]
  • FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a method of implementing a comprehensive global information network broadcasting system; and [0037]
  • FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a method of operating a comprehensive global information network broadcasting system. [0038]
  • FIG. 5 is a representative block diagram of the cache update procedures. [0039]
  • DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
  • As shown in the figures, the conventional Internet system [0040] 10 (shown in FIG. 1) may be composed of an Internet highway 11 having a number of clients or Internet participants 12, 12 a, 12 b and 12 c. The clients can be an Internet service providers or corporate customers and each one of these customers can have a large number of their own clients or internet participants shown as 13 through 13 h. In a typical Internet application, a participant, for example participant 13, may request information from an information source 14. This request for information may originate at an application such as a web browser at the participant's 13 equipment. A URL request from the web browser may be output from the participant 13 and input into the participant Internet service provider 12 c. The Internet service provider may then pass the request to another Internet service provider 12 b. This Internet service provider 12 b may pass the request through cache 15 to the Internet highway 11. The Internet highway 11 may then pass the URL request to the information source 14. The information source 14 may then formulate a response to the URL request from the participant 13 and send the response back over the network 11 through cache 15, through Internet service provider 12 b, through Internet service provider 12 c and to the user or participant requesting the information 13. In the conventional network, this end-to-end transmission of URL and URL response may be reported for each and every participant on the network. Thus, information from information source 14 may be redundantly transported to each participant.
  • If caches are activated and employed on the [0041] network 15, 15 a and 15 b, they may reduce the information flow across the network 11. In a simple illustrative example, internet participant 13 may request information from information source 14 as described above. Active cache 15 may store the information response from the information source 14 locally at the cache 15. When internet participant 13 a, for example, requests the same information from information source 14, the request for information may be satisfied by the information stored in the cache 15. Thus, the request for information from the second participant 13 a may be terminated and satisfied at cache 15, thereby reducing traffic across the network 11.
  • If [0042] caches 15 through 15 b are located at positions around the net it may reduce the number of messages sent across the network. A problem, however, occurs in small systems, because caches in these small systems have very few (relatively) information requests. In order to work efficiently, cache's need to have cache community size large enough to have a substantial hit rate. The costs associated with conventional cache equipment prohibits cost effective implementation in small cache community applications. Another difficulty of the conventional system design is the network infrastructure. Given the fact that the information has to travel over point-to-point links, the only other way of speeding up the service, is to widen the lines or bandwidth. This solution, although feasible, has a finite limit and diminishing returns.
  • An embodiment of the comprehensive [0043] Internet broadcasting system 20 is shown in FIG. 2. The system may be comprised of a master cache center 21 that is operationally connected to the Internet 22 and a satellite uplink transmitter 23 that may, in turn, uplink data to a geosynchronous satellite 24. Typically, four geosynchronous satellites are employed to effect planetary coverage low and near earth orbiting satellites, however, are within the scope of the present invention. The uplink transmitter 23 may be duplicated for each of the geosynchronous satellites employed for coverage. Thus, a land line, not shown, may transport the present data to a remote uplink site to provide access to other satellite regions.
  • The system may have a plurality of clients comprising Internet service providers or customers. Each of the clients may have a [0044] local cache system 25 through 25 c which may be comprised of a satellite broadcast receiving system 26 through 26 c, a cache adapter 27 through 27 c and a cache 28 through 28 c . The cache 28 through 28 c may have a cache disk or cache storage device 29 through 29 c for the storing of information and data received from the Internet or the broadcast system.
  • The system of the present invention may also be employed over high speed land lines and wireless terrestrial links. The system may maintain the advantages of a point-to-multipoint configuration through the use of high speed half duplex or asymetric communication equipment. The system may also benefit from direct connection into the high speed links available from network switches operators such as the SONET and/or DS-3 connections. Thus, it is within the scope of the present invention to establish the high speed connection from the master cache to local caches through terrestrial communication methods. [0045]
  • By way of illustrative example, the improved system may function by a [0046] customer 31 of the Internet service provider sending a message or a URL request to the local Internet service provider's cache system 25 requesting information or data. The Internet service provider's cache 28 may determine whether it has the current version of the information or data stored on its cache. The cache 28 may then check whether the information or data is located in the cache adapter 27. The cache adapter in this illustrative example, does not have the material because it does not yet store the information. The cache adapter 27 responds negatively to the request notifying the cache 28 to search elsewhere. The local cache 28 may then search other caches or the Internet for the requested information. The cache adapter 27 may send a message over the Internet to the master caching center 21 reporting the “miss” of the requested information. The master cache 21 may then record the information regarding the cache miss and measure the amount of interest in the information or data from the local caching systems 25 through 25 c . The master cache 21 may employ a variety of methods described further below to determine at what point the level of interest is sufficient to broadcast the information or data to the Internet service providers caches.
  • The [0047] master cache 21 may obtain the requested information or data from a source 30 via the Internet 22. The master cache 21 may then compress the information for storage or transmission. The master cache 21 may assign a priority to the information based upon the levels of interest and a predetermined transmission formula as described below. The information or data may be broadcast to the satellite 24 which may, in turn, broadcast to the satellite receivers 26 through 26 c of the Internet service providers or customers. After the information is received by the satellite receiver 26, it may be passed to the cache adapters 27 through 27 c. The cache adapters 27 through 27 c may then formulate a user request for the data for the local cache 28 through 28 c to find the information. This action may cause the local cache 28 through 28 c to search for the data. This time, the local cache may find the information or data at the cache adapter 27 through 27 c. The local cache 28 through 28 c may then transfer and store the information on the cache storage disk or storage device 29 through 29 c. In another interface made of the invention, the cache adapter 27 may directly transfer information to the cache file system.
  • Referring now to FIG. 3, the novel method for implementing a complete comprehensive [0048] Internet broadcasting system 40 may be comprised of the following steps: providing a master cache center for receiving information requests and sending out information and data 41; installing local caching systems for Internet service provider and customers sites 42; providing a satellite or wideband broadcast linking system for connecting the local caching systems in order to provide nearly instantaneous information and data from the master cache center to the local caching systems 43; disseminating a program for selecting data elements for storage in the local caching systems 44; and distributing data and information updates for the local caching systems as predetermined by the master caching center 45.
  • Referring now to FIG. 4, a novel method of operating a complete comprehensive [0049] Internet broadcasting system 50 may employ the following steps in its process: receiving a request for information and data from a customer to the local cache site 51; determining the location by the local cache site of the requested information or data from a number of locations sources 52; notifying the master cache center of the lack of success in finding the requested data or information in the local cache 53; analyzing the number of requests that the master cache has received for a particular piece of information or data 54; retrieving the data or information from the Internet 55; and sending the requested information or data through the satellite broadcasting system to all the local cache sites once the data or information requested has reached a predetermined level 56.
  • FIG. 5 depicts a representative block diagram of the procedures and methods that may be used to determine cache update priority. The procedure may receive cache miss information from the [0050] network cache adapters 100. It is understood that cache adapters 27 may be deployed as part of a subscription service to the cache update broadcast of the present invention. Each site, however, is not required to have a cache adapter that reports to the master cache. So long as enough cache adapters are deployed and reporting cache miss information to the master cache to provide a statistically relevant sample of Internet participant demand for Internet information, or through some other feedback methodology, it is within the scope of the present invention.
  • Once the system receives the cache miss [0051] information 100 the system may store the miss information in a volatile or non-volatile storage device 104. This may provide a non-volatile storage record for the threshold calculations described below.
  • The first threshold of interest factor that may be employed by the present invention is determining whether requests for information exceed a predetermined [0052] rate 106. The rate of request for information can be determined by collecting information as to the time at which the request for information was received by the system. When the rate of requests for information exceeds a predetermined number over a predetermined time, for example 1 0 minutes, the system may designate the information for broadcast 120. If the rate of the requests for information does not exceed the predetermined threshold, the system may pass the request for information to the next rule 114.
  • The next rule the system may use to determine whether to broadcast the information to the subscriber caches is to determine whether the request for information exceeds a [0053] global demand threshold 108. In this rule, the system may determine whether the request for information exceeds a predetermined number for overall demand. This parameter may identify web pages that provide a consistent long term level of interest. If the request for information exceeds this threshold, then the information is designated for broadcast to the subscriber caches 122. If the request for information does not exceed this predetermined threshold then the system may pass the request for information to the next rule.
  • The next rule determines whether to designate the information for broadcast to a local cache based on localized demand for the information. It is within the scope of the present invention to store cache miss information that identifies which subscriber cache is reporting the cache miss information. The system may then use a predetermined threshold for localized demand. For example, from the rules described above, which are herein incorporated by reference, to designate whether the information should be broadcast to a [0054] local subscriber cache 124. Thus, it is within the scope of the present invention to update a local subscriber cache by uniquely addressing a local cache adapter for the broadcast cache update. In a first unique addressing mode, a conventional satellite receiver may be addressed to receive a unique satellite broadcast. In a second unique addressing mode, the present invention may address the cache adapter through conventional protocol addressing techniques. If the local information threshold rule 110 is not exceeded, then the system may pass the information request to the next exemplary rule 118.
  • The next [0055] exemplary rule 112 may determine whether the request for information is subject to a heuristic override 112. The heuristic override rule may determine whether a system operator has manually designated information for broadcast. If the information has been designated for broadcast, the system will schedule the information for broadcast 128. If the information has not been designated for broadcast, the system may procedure terminate and return 132. the system may execute an override rule that does not pertain to the request for information passed via the other rules. It is understood that the system override rule may immediately schedule information for broadcast to the local subscriber caches.
  • The system may employ a priority scheme to broadcast [0056] cache update data 140. The priority scheme may use a first in first out rule or a weighted priority scheme to allow higher priority updates such as information designated from 120, which may designate a rapid increase in demand, for broadcast to the subscriber caches.
  • The above described methods and technologies improve the operation of the Internet by increasing the hit rate of the local cache sites by combining them into a single cache community which can then aggregate its usage and significantly improve the hit rates to the benefit of the Internet service provider or end user organization. The elements designed into the system that result in the improvements include the use of a cache adapter at each of the local cache sites. This adapter is informed when the local cache site has been asked for information or data and is also informed that the local cache site did not have the information and data. This is important because if a local cache site doesn't have the information or data, it requires the local cache sites to seek the information in the Internet and then to place that information in the local cache site. [0057]
  • The adapter communicates the miss information with the master cache center. The master cache center analyzes the miss data from all the local cache sites and determines the information and data that are of a sufficient interest to the Internet community, using the companion software program described below to do so. This determines the information and data that warrants having the information and data sent by means of the satellite connection and thus being placed in all of the local cache sites in the system. [0058]
  • Controlling the amount of information and data being sent to the local caching sites may be useful because of the nature of the information and data being delivered. Much, if not a majority of the information and data available on the Internet may be considered archival or data which is accessed so seldom as to make it not desirable to have cached in multiple locations. Active material are items that have a regular level of interest and is of some benefit to have some degree of local site caching. Popular material which is accessed regularly is worth caching. Intensive (frequently updated) material is of questionable value caching because it is changed so often. The factor that is under the control of the software program described below is that the material being sent to the local caching sites should provide value to the Internet service providers or end user. [0059]
  • A number of processes can be used to improve the system. This could include having the master cache center pre-stage information or data that has been requested. This process allows the master cache server to obtain the information or data even before the evaluation has been done to determine whether it will be sent up to the satellite. This will minimize the time delay experienced once the determination has been made that the information or data meets the criteria to be transmitted to all local caching sites. The system would also use a predictive model to position large information items that do not change frequently and have regular levels of interest. [0060]
  • While I have described my invention in connection with specific embodiments thereof, it is clearly to be understood that this is done only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of my invention as set forth in the objects thereof and in the appended claims. [0061]

Claims (18)

1. A method for reducing network congestion through a direct broadband network architecture that overlays a point-to-point internet architecture comprising:
receiving a URL request from a network participant at an internet service provider;
determining whether a response to said URL request can be generated from a local cache at said internet service provider;
directing information about said URL request to a master cache when said response to said URL request could not be generated from said local cache; and
receiving information for storage at said local cache from a master cache, said information for storage selected by said master cache.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
a broadband connection between said master cache and said local cache, said broadband connection transporting at least said information for storage in said local cache from said master cache.
3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:
a point-to-multipoint broadband channel between said master cache and said local cache, said point-to-multipoint channel connecting at least one more local cache to said master cache, said point-to-multipoint broadband channel transporting at least said information for storage in said local cache from said master cache.
4. The method of claim 2 wherein said broadband connection is via a satellite communication link.
5. The method of claim 3 wherein said point-to-multipoint broadband channel is a satellite communication link.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
receiving communication via a cache adapter operationally connected to said local cache, said cache adapter receiving information from said master cache for storage in said local cache.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
transmitting said URL request to the internet from said internet service provider if said URL request is not satisfied with information from said local cache.
8. A method for reducing network traffic through a master cache directing the content of a plurality of local caches comprising:
receiving information about a cache miss from a local cache at a master cache;
retrieving information from a URL identified in said cache miss information;
storing said retrieved information in said master cache; and
transmitting said retrieved information from said master cache to at least one local cache.
9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:
transmitting said retrieved information from said master cache to said local cache via a direct communication link.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein:
said direct communication link is a high speed communication link that is external to the communication path through which said master cache retrieved information from said URL identified in said cache miss information.
11. The method of claim 9 wherein said direct communication link is via a satellite link.
12. The method of claim 8 further comprising:
transmitting said retrieved information from said master cache to said local cache via a satellite communication link, said satellite communication link providing access to a plurality of local caches that are programmed with information, at least in part, from said master cache.
13. A system for easing network congestion on the internet comprising:
a plurality of local caches operationally connected to internet participants at a plurality of local hubs;
a plurality of network adapters, at least one said network adapter operationally connected to at least one of said plurality of local caches, each said network adapter for receiving data for storage in said cache;
a master cache in communication with said plurality of local caches, said master cache receiving information about requests for information from said internet participants that are not satisfied by data in at least one local cache, said master cache sending said information requested by said internet participant to each of said plurality of caches.
14. The system of claim 13 further comprising:
a high speed data connection operationally linking said master cache with said plurality of local caches, said high speed data connection for transporting said information requested by said internet participant from said master cache to said plurality of caches.
15. The system of claim 14 further comprising:
said high speed data connection operationally linking said master cache with said plurality of local caches is a point-to-multipoint broadcast connection.
16. The system of claim 15 where said point-to-multipoint broadcast connection is a satellite based communication link.
17. The system of claim 13 wherein said master cache selects whether to propagate said information requested by said internet participant to said plurality of local caches.
18. The system of claim 17 further comprising:
a predetermined criteria employed at said master cache to select whether to propagate said information requested by said internet participant to said plurality of local caches, said predetermined criteria determining network demand for said information requested by said internet participant.
US09/267,658 1998-03-16 1999-03-15 Comprehensive global information network broadcasting system and methods of distributing information Expired - Fee Related US6434609B1 (en)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US09/267,658 US6434609B1 (en) 1998-03-16 1999-03-15 Comprehensive global information network broadcasting system and methods of distributing information
US10/172,513 US20030005084A1 (en) 1998-03-16 2002-06-17 Network broadcasting system and method for distributing information from a master cache to local caches

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US09/039,710 US5987233A (en) 1998-03-16 1998-03-16 Comprehensive global information network broadcasting system and implementation thereof
US09/267,658 US6434609B1 (en) 1998-03-16 1999-03-15 Comprehensive global information network broadcasting system and methods of distributing information

Related Parent Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US09/039,710 Continuation US5987233A (en) 1998-03-16 1998-03-16 Comprehensive global information network broadcasting system and implementation thereof
US09/039,710 Continuation-In-Part US5987233A (en) 1998-03-16 1998-03-16 Comprehensive global information network broadcasting system and implementation thereof

Related Child Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US10/172,513 Continuation US20030005084A1 (en) 1998-03-16 2002-06-17 Network broadcasting system and method for distributing information from a master cache to local caches

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
US6434609B1 US6434609B1 (en) 2002-08-13
US20020129116A1 true US20020129116A1 (en) 2002-09-12

Family

ID=21906969

Family Applications (3)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US09/039,710 Expired - Fee Related US5987233A (en) 1998-03-16 1998-03-16 Comprehensive global information network broadcasting system and implementation thereof
US09/267,658 Expired - Fee Related US6434609B1 (en) 1998-03-16 1999-03-15 Comprehensive global information network broadcasting system and methods of distributing information
US10/172,513 Abandoned US20030005084A1 (en) 1998-03-16 2002-06-17 Network broadcasting system and method for distributing information from a master cache to local caches

Family Applications Before (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US09/039,710 Expired - Fee Related US5987233A (en) 1998-03-16 1998-03-16 Comprehensive global information network broadcasting system and implementation thereof

Family Applications After (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US10/172,513 Abandoned US20030005084A1 (en) 1998-03-16 2002-06-17 Network broadcasting system and method for distributing information from a master cache to local caches

Country Status (10)

Country Link
US (3) US5987233A (en)
EP (1) EP1073962A1 (en)
JP (1) JP2002507791A (en)
KR (1) KR20010072557A (en)
AU (1) AU2905599A (en)
BR (1) BR9908772A (en)
CA (1) CA2322430A1 (en)
IL (1) IL138372A0 (en)
MX (1) MXPA00009006A (en)
WO (1) WO1999048009A1 (en)

Cited By (24)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20020059334A1 (en) * 1999-05-07 2002-05-16 Richard Jelbert Graphical data within documents
US20020083148A1 (en) * 2000-05-12 2002-06-27 Shaw Venson M. System and method for sender initiated caching of personalized content
US20020092026A1 (en) * 2001-01-09 2002-07-11 International Business Machines Corporation Method and apparatus for broadcast delivery of content to a client-side cache based on user preferences
US20020091792A1 (en) * 2001-01-09 2002-07-11 International Business Machines Corporation Method and apparatus for client sharing of cached content
US20040024837A1 (en) * 1999-06-30 2004-02-05 International Business Machines Corporation Document shadowing intranet server, memory medium and method
US6704781B1 (en) * 2000-06-27 2004-03-09 Intel Corporation System and method for content caching implementing compensation for providing caching services
US20040260597A1 (en) * 2002-02-22 2004-12-23 Tokyo Electron Limited Optimum service selection assisting system
US20050021446A1 (en) * 2002-11-08 2005-01-27 Whinston Andrew B. Systems and methods for cache capacity trading across a network
US6879808B1 (en) * 2000-11-15 2005-04-12 Space Systems/Loral, Inc Broadband communication systems and methods using low and high bandwidth request and broadcast links
US7124203B2 (en) * 2000-07-10 2006-10-17 Oracle International Corporation Selective cache flushing in identity and access management systems
US20080216142A1 (en) * 2006-08-17 2008-09-04 Goldberg Brett M System and method of digital media distribution
US20090106358A1 (en) * 2007-10-23 2009-04-23 Fujitsu Limited Cache control program, storage medium storing cache control program, and cache control apparatus
US20090228588A1 (en) * 1999-11-22 2009-09-10 Akamai Technologies, Inc. Performance computer network method
US20100057894A1 (en) * 2008-08-27 2010-03-04 At&T Corp. Targeted Caching to Reduce Bandwidth Consumption
US20100257236A1 (en) * 2002-02-15 2010-10-07 Agnoli Giovanni M System, method, and computer program product for media publishing request processing
US7814536B2 (en) 2000-07-10 2010-10-12 Oracle International Corporation User authentication
WO2011012416A1 (en) * 2009-07-29 2011-02-03 Eutelsat Sa Method for a server to broadcast data to user terminals
US20130080701A1 (en) * 2011-09-23 2013-03-28 Gilat Satellite Networks, Ltd. Decentralized Caching System
US8935418B2 (en) 2001-02-26 2015-01-13 Oracle International Corporation Access system interface
US9276984B2 (en) 2000-12-22 2016-03-01 Sony Corporation Distributed on-demand media transcoding system and method
US9521176B2 (en) 2014-05-21 2016-12-13 Sony Corporation System, method, and computer program product for media publishing request processing
US9674180B2 (en) 2006-01-11 2017-06-06 Oracle International Corporation Using identity/resource profile and directory enablers to support identity management
US9723055B2 (en) 2000-02-15 2017-08-01 Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. System and method for acceleration of a secure transmission over satellite
US9930134B2 (en) 2015-11-25 2018-03-27 International Business Machines Corporation File replication on location-aware devices

Families Citing this family (114)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6202567B1 (en) * 1994-06-10 2001-03-20 Krueger International, Inc. Modular table system with cable management
US6047284A (en) 1997-05-14 2000-04-04 Portal Software, Inc. Method and apparatus for object oriented storage and retrieval of data from a relational database
US6243760B1 (en) 1997-06-24 2001-06-05 Vistar Telecommunications Inc. Information dissemination system with central and distributed caches
US6385647B1 (en) * 1997-08-18 2002-05-07 Mci Communications Corporations System for selectively routing data via either a network that supports Internet protocol or via satellite transmission network based on size of the data
US6128623A (en) * 1998-04-15 2000-10-03 Inktomi Corporation High performance object cache
US6289358B1 (en) 1998-04-15 2001-09-11 Inktomi Corporation Delivering alternate versions of objects from an object cache
US6311216B1 (en) 1998-05-29 2001-10-30 Microsoft Corporation Method, computer program product, and system for client-side deterministic routing and URL lookup into a distributed cache of URLS
US6377991B1 (en) * 1998-05-29 2002-04-23 Microsoft Corporation Method, computer program product, and system for migrating URLs within a dynamically changing distributed cache of URLs
US6341311B1 (en) 1998-05-29 2002-01-22 Microsoft Corporation Directing data object access requests in a distributed cache
SE512880C2 (en) * 1998-07-03 2000-05-29 Ericsson Telefon Ab L M A cache server network
AU2497700A (en) * 1999-02-04 2000-08-25 Cyberstar, L.P. Internet service provider refresh via satellite
US6434608B1 (en) * 1999-02-26 2002-08-13 Cisco Technology, Inc. Methods and apparatus for caching network traffic
JP4299911B2 (en) * 1999-03-24 2009-07-22 株式会社東芝 Information transfer system
US6427172B1 (en) * 1999-07-20 2002-07-30 Cyberstar, L.P. Method and apparatus for internet cache content delivery via a data distribution system
US6674994B1 (en) 1999-12-01 2004-01-06 Panamsat Corporation Pickup and delivery of data files
US6564064B1 (en) * 1999-12-01 2003-05-13 Trimble Navigation Limited Cellular telephone using pseudolites for determining location
US20020073167A1 (en) * 1999-12-08 2002-06-13 Powell Kyle E. Internet content delivery acceleration system employing a hybrid content selection scheme
US6826612B1 (en) * 1999-12-21 2004-11-30 Alcatel Canada Inc. Method and apparatus for an improved internet group management protocol
US7051118B2 (en) * 1999-12-22 2006-05-23 Tibo Software, Inc. Method and apparatus for anonymous subject-based addressing
WO2001055879A1 (en) * 2000-01-28 2001-08-02 Ibeam Broadcasting Corporation A system and method for determining optimal server in a distributed network for serving content streams
US20030088878A1 (en) * 2000-03-25 2003-05-08 Karl Rogers System and method for integration of high quality video multi-casting service with an interactive communication and information environment using internet protocols
US6963897B1 (en) * 2000-03-30 2005-11-08 United Devices, Inc. Customer services and advertising based upon device attributes and associated distributed processing system
USRE42153E1 (en) 2000-03-30 2011-02-15 Hubbard Edward A Dynamic coordination and control of network connected devices for large-scale network site testing and associated architectures
US8010703B2 (en) * 2000-03-30 2011-08-30 Prashtama Wireless Llc Data conversion services and associated distributed processing system
US20010039497A1 (en) * 2000-03-30 2001-11-08 Hubbard Edward A. System and method for monitizing network connected user bases utilizing distributed processing systems
US7092985B2 (en) * 2000-03-30 2006-08-15 United Devices, Inc. Method of managing workloads and associated distributed processing system
US20090216641A1 (en) 2000-03-30 2009-08-27 Niration Network Group, L.L.C. Methods and Systems for Indexing Content
US7257611B1 (en) * 2000-04-12 2007-08-14 Oracle International Corporation Distributed nonstop architecture for an event processing system
JP3440998B2 (en) * 2000-04-18 2003-08-25 日本電気株式会社 Satellite communication system for data distribution
AU2001263118A1 (en) * 2000-05-15 2001-11-26 Innovative Communications Technologies, Inc. A system and method for an internet cache
US6839809B1 (en) 2000-05-31 2005-01-04 Cisco Technology, Inc. Methods and apparatus for improving content quality in web caching systems
IL153298A0 (en) * 2000-06-20 2003-07-06 Nds Ltd Unicast/multicast architecture
US6671731B1 (en) * 2000-06-21 2003-12-30 Mediaone Group, Inc. Generic proxy service for docsis-enabled set top devices
US7281046B1 (en) 2000-06-30 2007-10-09 Covad Communications Company Application program interface for automating high speed network access ordering and provisioning processes
US6810413B1 (en) 2000-06-30 2004-10-26 Covad Communitions Group, Inc. System and method for providing internet content using hybrid wireless and wire technologies at the end user site
US20020010765A1 (en) * 2000-07-21 2002-01-24 John Border Method and system for prioritizing traffic in a network
US7039683B1 (en) 2000-09-25 2006-05-02 America Online, Inc. Electronic information caching
US7590558B2 (en) * 2000-09-26 2009-09-15 I2 Technologies Us, Inc. System and method for facilitating electronic commerce transactions
US20020111870A1 (en) * 2000-09-26 2002-08-15 I2 Technologies, Inc. System and method for identifying a product
US7299255B2 (en) * 2000-09-26 2007-11-20 I2 Technologies Us, Inc. System and method for migrating data in an electronic commerce system
US7117262B2 (en) * 2000-11-01 2006-10-03 Inktomi Corporation Cooperative management of distributed network caches
US6609126B1 (en) 2000-11-15 2003-08-19 Appfluent Technology, Inc. System and method for routing database requests to a database and a cache
EP1346289A1 (en) * 2000-11-30 2003-09-24 Appfluent Technology, Inc. System and method for delivering dynamic content
US6795864B2 (en) * 2000-12-28 2004-09-21 Sun Microsystems, Inc. System using lookup service proxy object having code and request rate for managing rate at which client can request for services from server are transmitted
US7035911B2 (en) 2001-01-12 2006-04-25 Epicrealm, Licensing Llc Method and system for community data caching
US7188145B2 (en) 2001-01-12 2007-03-06 Epicrealm Licensing Llc Method and system for dynamic distributed data caching
US20020133398A1 (en) * 2001-01-31 2002-09-19 Microsoft Corporation System and method for delivering media
US20020107835A1 (en) * 2001-02-08 2002-08-08 Coram Michael T. System and method for adaptive result set caching
US6886029B1 (en) 2001-03-13 2005-04-26 Panamsat Corporation End to end simulation of a content delivery system
US7130908B1 (en) 2001-03-13 2006-10-31 Intelsat Ltd. Forward cache management between edge nodes in a satellite based content delivery system
US7237017B1 (en) 2001-03-13 2007-06-26 Panamsat Corporation Micronode in a satellite based content delivery system
US20020131428A1 (en) * 2001-03-13 2002-09-19 Vivian Pecus Large edge node for simultaneous video on demand and live streaming of satellite delivered content
US7174373B1 (en) 2001-03-13 2007-02-06 Panamsat Corporation Self-contained demonstration node in a satellite based content delivery system
US7215648B2 (en) * 2001-05-11 2007-05-08 Varitek Industries, Inc. Apparatus and method for efficient live webcasting and network connectivity
US6983276B2 (en) * 2001-05-15 2006-01-03 I2 Technologies Us, Inc. Facilitating electronic commerce transactions using buyer profiles
US7349868B2 (en) 2001-05-15 2008-03-25 I2 Technologies Us, Inc. Pre-qualifying sellers during the matching phase of an electronic commerce transaction
US7475030B1 (en) 2001-05-16 2009-01-06 I2 Technologies Us, Inc. Facilitating electronic commerce transactions using a shared product data repository
US7263515B1 (en) 2001-06-18 2007-08-28 I2 Technologies Us, Inc. Content enhancement in an electronic marketplace
US7127416B1 (en) 2001-06-18 2006-10-24 I2 Technologies Us, Inc. Distributed processing of sorted search results in an electronic commerce system and method
US7330829B1 (en) * 2001-06-26 2008-02-12 I2 Technologies Us, Inc. Providing market feedback associated with electronic commerce transactions to sellers
US7809672B1 (en) 2001-06-28 2010-10-05 I2 Technologies Us, Inc. Association of data with a product classification schema
US8086643B1 (en) 2001-06-28 2011-12-27 Jda Software Group, Inc. Translation between product classification schemas
US7346560B1 (en) 2001-06-29 2008-03-18 I2 Technologies Us, Inc. Protecting content from unauthorized reproduction
US7162453B1 (en) 2001-06-29 2007-01-09 I2 Technologies Us, Inc. Protecting content from unauthorized reproduction
US7562112B2 (en) * 2001-07-06 2009-07-14 Intel Corporation Method and apparatus for peer-to-peer services for efficient transfer of information between networks
US7546363B2 (en) * 2001-07-06 2009-06-09 Intel Corporation Adaptive route determination for peer-to-peer services
US7440994B2 (en) * 2001-07-06 2008-10-21 Intel Corporation Method and apparatus for peer-to-peer services to shift network traffic to allow for an efficient transfer of information between devices via prioritized list
US7032048B2 (en) * 2001-07-30 2006-04-18 International Business Machines Corporation Method, system, and program products for distributed content throttling in a computing environment
US20040255007A1 (en) * 2001-08-03 2004-12-16 Juha Salo Method, system and terminal for data networks with distributed caches
US20030055911A1 (en) * 2001-09-17 2003-03-20 Peterson Erik Lawrence System and method for retrieving data over a network
EP1308853A1 (en) * 2001-10-30 2003-05-07 Hewlett-Packard Company Data caching
EP1309147A1 (en) * 2001-10-30 2003-05-07 Hewlett-Packard Company, A Delaware Corporation Method and apparatus for managing profile information in a heterogeneous or homogeneous network environment
US20030126162A1 (en) * 2002-01-03 2003-07-03 Yohe Thomas Patrick System and method for synchronizing databases in a secure network environment
US7412424B1 (en) 2002-03-19 2008-08-12 I2 Technologies Us, Inc. Third party certification of content in electronic commerce transactions
US8099393B2 (en) 2002-03-22 2012-01-17 Oracle International Corporation Transaction in memory object store
US7039672B2 (en) * 2002-05-06 2006-05-02 Nokia Corporation Content delivery architecture for mobile access networks
JP2005149029A (en) * 2003-11-13 2005-06-09 Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd Content delivery system, content server, content receiving device, content delivery method, program and recording medium
JP4094538B2 (en) * 2003-12-11 2008-06-04 三菱電機株式会社 Air-fuel ratio sensor failure diagnosis device
US20070204005A1 (en) * 2004-06-17 2007-08-30 Eubanks Thomas M Multicast peering
WO2006035450A1 (en) * 2004-09-29 2006-04-06 Hewlett-Packard Development Company L.P. Systems and methods for soliciting feedback using print-augmented broadcast signal
US8223935B2 (en) 2005-04-30 2012-07-17 Oracle International Corporation Revenue management systems and methods
FR2887301B1 (en) * 2005-06-16 2007-08-31 Aircelle Sa ELECTRONIC CONTROL SYSTEM FOR NACELLE
EP1935152A4 (en) 2005-06-28 2010-08-04 Oracle Int Corp Revenue management system and method
CN101233497B (en) 2005-07-28 2013-01-30 甲骨文国际公司 Revenue management system and method
US8223777B2 (en) * 2005-11-15 2012-07-17 Oracle International Corporation Gateway for achieving low latency and high availability in a real time event processing system
US9049268B2 (en) 2006-05-05 2015-06-02 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Global provisioning of millions of users with deployment units
US20070288662A1 (en) * 2006-06-12 2007-12-13 Telepaq Technology Inc. Distributed push-pull information service system
US20070288962A1 (en) * 2006-06-13 2007-12-13 Michael Pierre Carlson Generation and selection of entertainment programming channels
US20080056189A1 (en) * 2006-08-29 2008-03-06 Wildblue Communications, Inc. Network-Access Satellite Communication System
US7831431B2 (en) * 2006-10-31 2010-11-09 Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Voice recognition updates via remote broadcast signal
US20080243847A1 (en) * 2007-04-02 2008-10-02 Microsoft Corporation Separating central locking services from distributed data fulfillment services in a storage system
US8433693B2 (en) * 2007-04-02 2013-04-30 Microsoft Corporation Locking semantics for a storage system based on file types
US7873656B1 (en) * 2007-09-25 2011-01-18 Trend Micro Incorporated Apparatus and methods to reduce proxy overhead in a gateway
US8730086B2 (en) * 2008-08-26 2014-05-20 Viasat, Inc. Weather detection using satellite communication signals
US8538328B2 (en) * 2008-09-11 2013-09-17 Viasat, Inc. Antenna and satellite alignment using beam projections
US8660142B2 (en) * 2008-09-25 2014-02-25 Viasat, Inc. Scheduling virtual bandwidth requests
US8411798B2 (en) * 2008-11-05 2013-04-02 Viasat, Inc. Reducing receiver power dissipation
US8103768B2 (en) * 2009-04-14 2012-01-24 At&T Intellectual Property I, Lp Network aware forward caching
US8000259B2 (en) 2009-09-04 2011-08-16 Viasat, Inc. Distributed cache—adaptive multicast architecture for bandwidth reduction
US8478836B1 (en) * 2010-06-07 2013-07-02 Purplecomm Inc. Proxy cache technology
US8457010B2 (en) 2010-11-16 2013-06-04 Edgecast Networks, Inc. Request modification for transparent capacity management in a carrier network
US20130219021A1 (en) * 2012-02-16 2013-08-22 International Business Machines Corporation Predictive caching for telecommunication towers using propagation of identification of items of high demand data at a geographic level
US20140045475A1 (en) 2012-08-08 2014-02-13 International Business Machines Corporation Techniques for Improving Cache Effectiveness of Caches with Low User Population
US20150120370A1 (en) * 2013-10-31 2015-04-30 Steelwedge Software, Inc. Advanced planning in a rapidly changing high technology electronics and computer industry through massively parallel processing of data using a distributed computing environment
US10951705B1 (en) 2014-12-05 2021-03-16 EMC IP Holding Company LLC Write leases for distributed file systems
US10430385B1 (en) 2014-12-05 2019-10-01 EMC IP Holding Company LLC Limited deduplication scope for distributed file systems
US10445296B1 (en) 2014-12-05 2019-10-15 EMC IP Holding Company LLC Reading from a site cache in a distributed file system
US10452619B1 (en) 2014-12-05 2019-10-22 EMC IP Holding Company LLC Decreasing a site cache capacity in a distributed file system
US10021212B1 (en) 2014-12-05 2018-07-10 EMC IP Holding Company LLC Distributed file systems on content delivery networks
US10423507B1 (en) 2014-12-05 2019-09-24 EMC IP Holding Company LLC Repairing a site cache in a distributed file system
US10936494B1 (en) * 2014-12-05 2021-03-02 EMC IP Holding Company LLC Site cache manager for a distributed file system
US9888274B2 (en) 2015-04-21 2018-02-06 Edge2020, Llc Price driven multimedia content reception
US10021509B2 (en) 2016-03-25 2018-07-10 At&T Mobility Ii Llc Methods and apparatus to provide an update via a satellite connection
CN107468401A (en) * 2017-08-10 2017-12-15 深圳市中医院 spinal treatment system

Family Cites Families (23)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH0648811B2 (en) * 1986-04-04 1994-06-22 株式会社日立製作所 Complex network data communication system
CA1337132C (en) * 1988-07-15 1995-09-26 Robert Filepp Reception system for an interactive computer network and method of operation
DE69330981T2 (en) * 1992-04-20 2002-06-27 3Com Corp Device for expanding network means to remote networks
US5548724A (en) * 1993-03-22 1996-08-20 Hitachi, Ltd. File server system and file access control method of the same
US5619654A (en) * 1993-07-05 1997-04-08 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. System for implementing user request by dividing the retrieved corresponding procedure into first command to obtain apparatus name and second command to obtain operation content
US5644714A (en) * 1994-01-14 1997-07-01 Elonex Plc, Ltd. Video collection and distribution system with interested item notification and download on demand
US5592626A (en) * 1994-02-07 1997-01-07 The Regents Of The University Of California System and method for selecting cache server based on transmission and storage factors for efficient delivery of multimedia information in a hierarchical network of servers
US5434994A (en) 1994-05-23 1995-07-18 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for maintaining replicated data coherency in a data processing system
US5588060A (en) * 1994-06-10 1996-12-24 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Method and apparatus for a key-management scheme for internet protocols
US5623656A (en) 1994-12-15 1997-04-22 Lucent Technologies Inc. Script-based data communication system and method utilizing state memory
US5649103A (en) * 1995-07-13 1997-07-15 Cabletron Systems, Inc. Method and apparatus for managing multiple server requests and collating reponses
US5657450A (en) * 1995-11-15 1997-08-12 Xerox Corporation Method and apparatus for time estimation and progress feedback on distal access operations
US5781909A (en) * 1996-02-13 1998-07-14 Microtouch Systems, Inc. Supervised satellite kiosk management system with combined local and remote data storage
US5727129A (en) * 1996-06-04 1998-03-10 International Business Machines Corporation Network system for profiling and actively facilitating user activities
SE507138C2 (en) 1996-10-14 1998-04-06 Mirror Image Internet Ab Procedure and apparatus for information transmission on the Internet
US5924116A (en) * 1997-04-02 1999-07-13 International Business Machines Corporation Collaborative caching of a requested object by a lower level node as a function of the caching status of the object at a higher level node
US6243760B1 (en) * 1997-06-24 2001-06-05 Vistar Telecommunications Inc. Information dissemination system with central and distributed caches
DE19737855A1 (en) 1997-08-29 1999-03-04 Internet Skyway Ges Fuer Satel Data transmission system and method for transmitting real-time data and / or storage data in data communication networks
US6038594A (en) 1998-02-02 2000-03-14 Loral Cyberstar, Inc. Internet communication system and method with asymmetric terrestrial and satellite links
US20020069416A1 (en) 1998-11-18 2002-06-06 Herschel W. Stiles Methods and apparatus for multipoint-to-multipoint hierarchical redistribution of multimedia content
WO2000042519A1 (en) 1999-01-11 2000-07-20 Edgix Corporation Internet content delivery acceleration system
AU2497700A (en) 1999-02-04 2000-08-25 Cyberstar, L.P. Internet service provider refresh via satellite
US6233252B1 (en) 1999-02-16 2001-05-15 Cyberstar, L.P. Transfer of very large digital data files via a fragmentation and reassembly methodology

Cited By (33)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20020059334A1 (en) * 1999-05-07 2002-05-16 Richard Jelbert Graphical data within documents
US7734734B2 (en) 1999-06-30 2010-06-08 International Business Machines Corporation Document shadowing intranet server, memory medium and method
US20040024837A1 (en) * 1999-06-30 2004-02-05 International Business Machines Corporation Document shadowing intranet server, memory medium and method
US7426547B2 (en) * 1999-06-30 2008-09-16 International Business Machines Corporation Document shadowing intranet server, memory medium and method
US20090228588A1 (en) * 1999-11-22 2009-09-10 Akamai Technologies, Inc. Performance computer network method
US9723055B2 (en) 2000-02-15 2017-08-01 Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. System and method for acceleration of a secure transmission over satellite
US20020083148A1 (en) * 2000-05-12 2002-06-27 Shaw Venson M. System and method for sender initiated caching of personalized content
US6704781B1 (en) * 2000-06-27 2004-03-09 Intel Corporation System and method for content caching implementing compensation for providing caching services
US7124203B2 (en) * 2000-07-10 2006-10-17 Oracle International Corporation Selective cache flushing in identity and access management systems
US7814536B2 (en) 2000-07-10 2010-10-12 Oracle International Corporation User authentication
US6879808B1 (en) * 2000-11-15 2005-04-12 Space Systems/Loral, Inc Broadband communication systems and methods using low and high bandwidth request and broadcast links
US9276984B2 (en) 2000-12-22 2016-03-01 Sony Corporation Distributed on-demand media transcoding system and method
US20020091792A1 (en) * 2001-01-09 2002-07-11 International Business Machines Corporation Method and apparatus for client sharing of cached content
US20020092026A1 (en) * 2001-01-09 2002-07-11 International Business Machines Corporation Method and apparatus for broadcast delivery of content to a client-side cache based on user preferences
US8935418B2 (en) 2001-02-26 2015-01-13 Oracle International Corporation Access system interface
US20100257236A1 (en) * 2002-02-15 2010-10-07 Agnoli Giovanni M System, method, and computer program product for media publishing request processing
US8788575B2 (en) * 2002-02-15 2014-07-22 Sony Corporation System, method, and computer program product for media publishing request processing
US8527314B2 (en) * 2002-02-22 2013-09-03 Tokyo Electron Limited Optimum service selection assisting system
US20040260597A1 (en) * 2002-02-22 2004-12-23 Tokyo Electron Limited Optimum service selection assisting system
US20050021446A1 (en) * 2002-11-08 2005-01-27 Whinston Andrew B. Systems and methods for cache capacity trading across a network
US9674180B2 (en) 2006-01-11 2017-06-06 Oracle International Corporation Using identity/resource profile and directory enablers to support identity management
US20080216142A1 (en) * 2006-08-17 2008-09-04 Goldberg Brett M System and method of digital media distribution
US20090106358A1 (en) * 2007-10-23 2009-04-23 Fujitsu Limited Cache control program, storage medium storing cache control program, and cache control apparatus
US20100057894A1 (en) * 2008-08-27 2010-03-04 At&T Corp. Targeted Caching to Reduce Bandwidth Consumption
US8954548B2 (en) * 2008-08-27 2015-02-10 At&T Intellectual Property Ii, L.P. Targeted caching to reduce bandwidth consumption
WO2011012416A1 (en) * 2009-07-29 2011-02-03 Eutelsat Sa Method for a server to broadcast data to user terminals
FR2948836A1 (en) * 2009-07-29 2011-02-04 Eutelsat Sa METHOD FOR DATA DISTRIBUTION BY A PUSH SERVER TO USER TERMINALS VIA AN INTERFACE DEVICE
US9241041B2 (en) 2009-07-29 2016-01-19 Eutelsat S A Method for a push server to broadcast data to user terminals via an interface device
US20130080701A1 (en) * 2011-09-23 2013-03-28 Gilat Satellite Networks, Ltd. Decentralized Caching System
US9564960B2 (en) 2011-09-23 2017-02-07 Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. Decentralized caching system
US9094090B2 (en) * 2011-09-23 2015-07-28 Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. Decentralized caching system
US9521176B2 (en) 2014-05-21 2016-12-13 Sony Corporation System, method, and computer program product for media publishing request processing
US9930134B2 (en) 2015-11-25 2018-03-27 International Business Machines Corporation File replication on location-aware devices

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP1073962A1 (en) 2001-02-07
BR9908772A (en) 2000-12-05
AU2905599A (en) 1999-10-11
MXPA00009006A (en) 2002-04-09
US6434609B1 (en) 2002-08-13
CA2322430A1 (en) 1999-09-23
WO1999048009A1 (en) 1999-09-23
IL138372A0 (en) 2001-10-31
US20030005084A1 (en) 2003-01-02
US5987233A (en) 1999-11-16
JP2002507791A (en) 2002-03-12
KR20010072557A (en) 2001-07-31

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US6434609B1 (en) Comprehensive global information network broadcasting system and methods of distributing information
US6427172B1 (en) Method and apparatus for internet cache content delivery via a data distribution system
Rodriguez et al. Parallel-access for mirror sites in the internet
US9065809B2 (en) Method and node for distributing electronic content in a content distribution network
US7526564B2 (en) High quality streaming multimedia
US6175869B1 (en) Client-side techniques for web server allocation
EP3398333B1 (en) Apparatus and method for broadcast/multicast content delivery and opportunistic caching in a broadband communications network
US20030005152A1 (en) Content-request redirection method and system
US20020073167A1 (en) Internet content delivery acceleration system employing a hybrid content selection scheme
US20020198937A1 (en) Content-request redirection method and system
US7523217B2 (en) System and method having improved efficiency and reliability for distributing a file among a plurality of recipients
JP2010108508A (en) Satellite anticipatory bandwidth acceleration
US20030055910A1 (en) Method and apparatus to manage data on a satellite data server
US20030236885A1 (en) Method for data distribution and data distribution system
US20040215806A1 (en) On the fly offering and allocation of bandwidth on demand
KR100643834B1 (en) Method, system and terminal for data networks with distributed caches
Liu et al. Design and analysis of cooperative multicast-unicast transmission scheme in hybrid satellite-terrestrial networks
Rodriguez et al. Bringing the Web to the network edge: Large Caches and Satellite Distribution
Rodriguez et al. Bringing the web to the network edge: Large caches and satellite distribution
Naor et al. Content Placement for Video-on-Demand Services Over Cellular Networks
CN116367222A (en) Wireless edge caching method based on full duplex relay in heterogeneous wireless network
Rodriguez et al. A more Attractive and Interactive TV
EP3437316A1 (en) Satellite-based communication network for reducing bandwidth use and communication latency
Basu et al. A multicast push caching system over a UDLR satellite link

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: SKYCACHE, INC., MARYLAND

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:HUMPHREY, DOUGLAS EDWARD;REEL/FRAME:010261/0215

Effective date: 19990921

AS Assignment

Owner name: CIDERA, INC., MARYLAND

Free format text: INVALID DOCUMENT;ASSIGNOR:SKYCACHE, INC.;REEL/FRAME:011044/0314

Effective date: 20000111

Owner name: CIDERA, INC., MARYLAND

Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:SKYCACHE, INC.;REEL/FRAME:011084/0525

Effective date: 20000111

REMI Maintenance fee reminder mailed
FPAY Fee payment

Year of fee payment: 4

SULP Surcharge for late payment
REMI Maintenance fee reminder mailed
LAPS Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees
STCH Information on status: patent discontinuation

Free format text: PATENT EXPIRED DUE TO NONPAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEES UNDER 37 CFR 1.362

FP Lapsed due to failure to pay maintenance fee

Effective date: 20100813