KR100873788B1 - Method of configuring a multimedia content distribution network and a method of multimedia content service using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

1. TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for constructing a multimedia content distribution network, a method for providing a multimedia content using the same, and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for realizing the method.

2. The technical problem to be solved by the invention

The present invention provides a method for constructing an efficient and stable large-capacity multimedia content distribution network for removing bottlenecks in the Internet middle mile, which has been pointed out as a problem in providing high-quality multimedia services despite the proliferation of high-speed subscriber networks and a tower using the same. To provide a top-down content service method and a computer-readable recording medium recording a program for realizing the method.

3. Summary of Solution to Invention

The present invention provides a method for configuring a multimedia content distribution network, comprising: a satellite network or an asynchronous delivery mode (ATM) network capable of Internet protocol (IP) multicasting, and a dual content distribution network using the Internet or a private line that is not IP multicasting enabled. To distribute the content from the service main node to each distributed node in a top-down manner using IP multicasting or file transfer protocol (FTP) according to the number of distributed nodes to receive the content. Characterized in that.

4. Important uses of the invention

The present invention is used for high-quality mass multimedia content services.

Description

Network construction method for multimedia contents distribution and multimedia contents service method using it}             

1 is a diagram illustrating a conventional multimedia content service method.

2 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a multimedia content service method according to the present invention;

3 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method for configuring a multimedia content distribution network according to the present invention;

4 is an exemplary configuration diagram of a content management system to which the present invention is applied.

5 is a detailed flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a content registration process for a multimedia content service according to the present invention;

6 is a detailed flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a content distribution process for a multimedia content service according to the present invention;

7 is a detailed flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process for distributing user access for a multimedia content service according to the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

21,31,41: service main node 22,32,42: distributed node

23: Domain Name Server (DNS)

The present invention relates to a large-capacity multimedia content management technology field including contents distribution and subscriber access distribution technology of a content delivery network (CDN), and more particularly, to a method for constructing a multimedia content distribution network for providing a multimedia content service online. A top-down multimedia content service method using the same, and a computer-readable recording medium recording a program for realizing the method.

CDN service transmits contents through internet servers strategically located in a number of ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and Internet Data Centers (IDCs), and distributes them to e-Biz providers such as Content Providers (CP). It is an Internet service that efficiently accepts Internet users and delivers high quality content.

Related prior art for providing a content service on-line is "brokering device and method of online content (Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-0035031, published May 7, 2001)", which is a CDN related prior art. "Web Content Delivery System and Its Delivery Control Method (Korean Patent Publication No. 2000-0064071, Nov. 6, 2000)", "Contents Active Synchronization System and Internet Content Delivery Network Service Method Using the System (Korean Patent Publication 2002) -0004899, published Jan. 16, 2002).

"Brokering apparatus and method of online content (Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-0035031, published May 7, 2001)" is to provide a brokering apparatus and method of online content, the content control unit, a web server And a multimedia streaming unit and a database to generate content and to be connected with a plurality of content servers and a plurality of content servers to perform a content providing service, and to provide a content brokering service including a content brokering management unit, a web server, and a database. It is configured with a brokering server to make a network with a content provider so that content can be actively distributed, provide massive and continuously updated content, and classify and rearrange the content according to the feedback of the user so that consumers can have high quality. The content is provided automatically.

On the other hand, "Web content delivery system and its delivery control method (Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-0064071, published November 6, 2000)" distributes multiple web cache clusters locally, intelligent domain name server (DNS) or redirector The present invention relates to a web content transmission technique that provides a high-speed web document service by eliminating bottlenecks in a web server and a network through a method of connecting a client to an adjacent web cache cluster.                         

On the other hand, "Content Active Synchronization System and Internet Content Delivery Network Service Method Using the System (Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-0004899, published on Jan. 16, 2002)" modified the content freshness guarantee algorithm in the existing CDN method. By providing a content active synchronization system that changes the contents of the cache server at the time when the contents of the CP web server are changed, it reduces the time taken to check the freshness of the contents after the demand of the Internet user. The present invention relates to a method of providing a CDN service that can be transmitted to a user more quickly.

However, the existing CDN service that distributes content by installing a cache server at the edge of the Internet and distributes user access using local domain server information by applying Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) It is designed to solve web server and network bottlenecks, and can be used as a cache server or replication server that accepts the needs of Internet users, network equipment for load balancing multiple cache servers, and services of Internet users. It consists of network equipment for global server load balancing for optimal server search. The conventional web cache server operating method having such a configuration has a number of problems in managing large-scale multimedia contents and providing high-quality multimedia services, which are emerging due to the expansion of user's demand for high-quality multimedia services such as video on demand (VOD). In other words, when a user requests a content that is not stored in the cache, the time required to provide a service to the user is increased, and the existing Internet is responsible for transmitting a multimedia file having a large capacity. This creates a load problem on the Internet backbone (which reduces traffic over traditional client server environments, but increases the load on the backbone with more distributed caches). Depending on how you set up, you may not be able to find the best server.

As an example, a content service procedure of a conventional CDN service will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, a service node 11 including a DNS server for GSLB for web server, media server and user access distribution, a cache node 12 including a web cache and a media cache, and a local DNS 13 ), The user is connected via the Internet.

In the process of providing a multimedia content service to a user, if there is a request for resolving a specific URL by a user (201), the local DNS 13 searches for a GSLB server that is responsible for resolving a domain name of a web server, and searches for the found GSLB. Request a URL resolution query from the server (202).

Thereafter, the GSLB server determines the web cache 12 that is close to the local DNS 13, transfers the determined IP address of the web cache 12 to the local DNS 13 (203), and the local DNS 13 receives the received DNS. The IP address is transmitted to the user (204).

Next, when the user accesses the web cache 12 based on the received IP address (205), if the web document requested by the user is not stored in the cache, the web cache 12 is sent to the web server via the Internet. The web document is requested, and the requested web document is delivered to the user (206).

Subsequently, when the user requests the multimedia content to the web cache 12 through the web document (207), the web cache 12 transmits the content to the media server via the Internet if the content requested by the user is not stored in the cache. In response to the request, the requested content is delivered to the user (208).

In the conventional CDN service procedure as described above, different network equipment and servers may be added according to the type of solution of a company that provides the actual service. The conventional CDN service procedure described above corresponds to a case in which the web cache 12 has a cache function for a media file.

As described above, since the CDN service was designed for web contents from the beginning, the cache function was expanded to accommodate the user's requirements to enable the media content service, but various vulnerabilities appeared to provide high quality multimedia contents service. . In other words, when a user requests a content that is not stored in the cache, the time required to provide a service to the user is increased, and the existing Internet is responsible for transmitting a multimedia file having a large capacity. This reduces traffic over traditional client server environments, but increases the load on the Internet backbone, which increases the load of the backbone in proportion to the number of distributed caches. According to how to set up domain server, there was a problem that exact optimal server search could not be achieved.

The present invention has been proposed to solve the above problems, an efficient and stable large-capacity multimedia for removing the bottleneck of the Internet Middle Mile, which has been pointed out as a problem in providing high-quality multimedia services despite the proliferation of high-speed subscriber networks. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for constructing a content distribution network, a top-down content service method using the same, and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for realizing the method.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for constructing a multimedia content distribution network, comprising: a satellite network or an asynchronous delivery mode (ATM) network capable of internet protocol (IP) multicasting, and an internet capable of IP multicasting or A dual content distribution network using a leased line is configured, and each of the service main nodes is a top-down method using IP multicasting or file transfer protocol (FTP) according to the number of distributed nodes to which content is distributed. Distribute the content to the distributed nodes of the.

On the other hand, another method of the present invention, in the method of serving multimedia content, a dual network using a satellite network or an asynchronous delivery mode (ATM) network capable of Internet Protocol (IP) multicasting, and the Internet or a private line that is not IP multicasting possible A distribution step in which a content distribution network is configured, wherein a service main node on the dual content distribution network distributes multimedia content files to each distributed node in a top-down manner; And searching for the corresponding distributed node based on an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the user terminal when the service main node receives a content service request from the user terminal, and providing the corresponding multimedia content file to the user terminal through the retrieved distributed node. Providing a step of providing.

In addition, the other method of the present invention, the service main node further comprises the step of generating statistical data on the service usage behavior (content usage history of the user per distributed node) for the user.

On the other hand, the present invention, a multimedia content service system having a processor, dual content distribution using a satellite network or asynchronous delivery mode (ATM) network capable of Internet Protocol (IP) multicasting, and the Internet or a private line that is not IP multicasting possible A network configured, wherein a service main node on the dual content distribution network distributes multimedia content files to each distributed node in a top-down manner; And searching for the corresponding distributed node based on an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the user terminal when the service main node receives a content service request from the user terminal, and providing the corresponding multimedia content file to the user terminal through the retrieved distributed node. Provided is a computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for realizing a function of enabling the same.

In addition, the present invention is a computer-readable recording of a program for further realizing the function of the service main node to create statistical data on the service usage behavior (content of the user's content usage by each distributed node) for the user. Provide the medium.

In order to solve the problems of the conventional CDN service, the present invention configures hierarchical distributed nodes according to the density of users, distributes media servers locally in a network, and selectively distributes contents to distributed nodes by CPs. It distributes by down method and distributes user access to broker server of service main node so that it can search for optimal distributed server.

The present invention provides a distribution network configuration method for distributing large-capacity multimedia content files stably and efficiently while minimizing network loads, a distributed node configuration method for providing high-quality services without delay, and top-down using the same. We present a method of multimedia content management.

To this end, the present invention distributes a plurality of media servers locally in a network, and configures a dual content distribution network for content distribution, so that a large amount of multimedia content files are top-down to a media server located closer to the user. In this way, when a request for a content service is received from a user, a content security function and service log are created through a broker server, and the content server is provided by searching for the most optimal media server by analyzing it based on the user's IP address. do. In addition, the bottlenecks in the server and the network are eliminated, and statistics on the service usage behavior of the user are prepared.

As such, the present invention is a platform for providing a high-quality, high-capacity multimedia content service, and can be used for a web TV service, an internet broadcast service, and a content delivery service using multimedia content.

The above objects, features and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a multimedia content service method according to the present invention.

The present invention provides a distributed distribution network for distributing content and installing multiple media servers locally in a network. After distributing large-capacity multimedia content files to a media server located closer to the user in a top-down manner, when a request for a content service is received from the user, a content security function and a service log are created through the broker server. It provides the content service by searching the most optimal media server based on the user's IP address.

Referring to the content management system to which the present invention is applied, a service main node 21 including a web server, a media server, a broker server, and a content management server, a distributed node 22 including a media server, a DNS 23, and a user Is connected via the internet. If necessary, the distributed node 22 may be provided with a web cache.

As shown in FIG. 2, the multimedia content service method according to the present invention delivers the IP address of the web server determined by resolving a URL in the DNS 23 when a request for resolving a specific URL is received from the user 201. (202).

Then, when the user connects to the web server (203), the web server delivers the information about the user's requested content to the broker server (204), the broker server resolves the user's IP address after processing information related to the content management server and The optimal media server is determined and the IP address for the determined media server is passed to the user (205).                     

Next, when the user accesses the media server based on the received link information (206), the media server delivers the content to the user (207).

In the above process, the information processing step related to the content management server in the broker server may add various functions such as user authentication, content billing and payment, content security processing, and statistics log generation according to service needs.

3 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method for configuring a multimedia content distribution network according to the present invention.

In order to construct a distribution network for distributing large-capacity multimedia content files stably and efficiently while minimizing network load, a satellite network / ATM network (3a) capable of IP multicasting and an existing Internet / dedicated line (not capable of IP multicasting) 3b) is used to construct a dual content distribution network.

Referring to FIG. 3, the distribution of the content file is performed through the content delivery network 3a and 3b by the distribution server of the service main node 31 and the distribution server agent of the distribution node 32, and the distribution node to receive the content. According to the number of (32), it is distributed using the IP multicasting scheme 3a and the FTP (File Transfer Protocol) scheme 3b. In other words, the IP multicasting delivery cost and the FTP delivery cost are calculated to find the threshold N at which the IP multicasting delivery cost becomes smaller than the FTP delivery cost, and then the content is distributed to more than N distributed nodes 32. In case of distribution, IP multicasting delivery method (3a) is adopted, otherwise FTP method (3b) is used.

6 is a detailed flowchart illustrating a content distribution process for a multimedia content service according to the present invention, and illustrates a procedure of distributing content through content delivery networks 3a and 3b.

Referring to FIG. 6, the service main node 31 and the distribution servers of the distribution node 32 periodically exchange information on content distribution / deletion lists for each node to perform a content distribution operation, and the work history is displayed on the service main node 31. ) Is reflected in the content DB.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the content distribution process for the multimedia content service according to the present invention, a content distribution list for each node group is inquired by a distribution server of the service main node 31 (601), and content distribution for each node / A delete list is created (602). After packaging the distributed content for each node group (603), the number of distributed node groups to be received for the packaged content is checked (604), and if the number is N or more, the content is distributed through the IP multicasting method (3a). (605), if less than N, the content is transmitted to the distribution node 32 by FTP method 3b (606).

Thereafter, the distribution server agent of each distributed node 32 receives the content file (607), and checks for an error on the received content file (608).

If the result of the check is normal, the content file is stored in the distributed node storage, and the service main node 31 is requested to change the content DB (610), and the service main node 31 modifies the content DB (611).

As a result of the check, if an error is found, the number of retransmissions of the content file is checked (612), and if the retransmission failure is more than m times, the content distribution is failed (613). If the retransmission failure is less than m times, the service main node ( 31, request to retransmit the content (614). At this time, the distribution server of the service main node 31 receives the retransmission request of the distributed nodes 32 and retransmits the content.

As such, by utilizing the redundant content delivery network through the IP multicasting method 3a and the FTP method 3b, it is possible to effectively deliver a large amount of multimedia content at a minimum transmission cost.

Next, the content management function of the service main node 31 and the distributed node 32 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 4, the service main node 41 may include a content DB 411 and content DB information for storing information about content such as metadata information about registered content, distribution / deletion information, and billing information for a distributed node. Content management server 412 in charge of overall content management, distribution server 413 in charge of content distribution and deletion management for each distributed node 42, security and optimal node search of content, billing and payment, etc. It is composed of a broker server 414 that plays a role, a file server 415 that manages content files stored in actual mass storage, a web server 417 that serves a service, and a media server 416.

In addition, the distributed nodes 42 which are hierarchically configured according to the degree of crowding of users are distributed server agents 421 corresponding to distribution servers 413 of the service main node 41, and media servers 422 in charge of actual services. And mass storage.

The size of the media server 422 and the capacity of the mass storage of the distributed node 42 may be configured differently according to the degree of service user density and content service usage pattern, and may be a simple service main node as needed to form another distributed node. It is also possible.

FIG. 5 is a detailed flowchart illustrating a content registration process for a multimedia content service according to the present invention, and illustrates a multimedia content registration procedure when multiple CPs share a service main node. Referring to FIG. This will be described based on FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 5, when CPs want to register new content, they first access a file server 415 in charge of content file management of the service main node 41 (501).

Thereafter, the file server 415 checks the authority of the CP once (502), and if the normal CP is authorized, the multimedia file upload request by the CP is performed (503). However, if an error occurs as a result of the CP authority check, an error message is output (511) and terminated.

Next, the file server 415 of the service main node 41 receiving the multimedia file upload request analyzes the header of the content file to be registered (504) and checks the validity of the content (505).

As a result of the inspection, when the content is found to be valid content, the capacity of the storage is checked by comparing the free storage capacity with the file size (506).

In step 506 and 507, if an error occurs, the corresponding error reason is output (511) and ends.

In step 506, if the storage capacity check is also successfully performed, the multimedia file is stored in the mass storage of the service main node 41 and the analyzed content information is stored in the content DB 411 (507). It is determined whether to distribute to 42 (508). In the case where the content is determined to be distributed to the distributed node in step 508, the distributed node group to be distributed is selected and the content file information is added to the distribution list for each distributed node.

Subsequently, in step 507, a service broker link for enabling a user's access to content stored in the mass storage and registered in the content DB 411 is created (509), and the generated broker link is transmitted to the CP. Deliver 510 and end.

7 is a detailed flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process for distributing user access for a multimedia content service according to the present invention. This will be described based on FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 7, a user who wants to use a multimedia content service first accesses a web server 417 (701) and requests multimedia content (702).

Thereafter, the content management server 412 of the service main node 41 inquires the requested content information (703), and checks whether the content is distributed to the distribution node 42 (704).

As a result of the inspection, if the distributed content is not distributed, a link of the media server 416 of the service main node 41 is transmitted (708). If the distributed content is distributed, the IP address to which the user is connected is interpreted (705) to obtain an optimal distributed node. Search 706 and forward 707 the link to the retrieved optimal distributed node 42.

According to the present invention, by centrally managing the content management function centered on the service main node and redundant operation of the content distribution network, unlike the other CDN services, unlike the other network equipment such as intelligent DNS without the installation of a high-speed subscriber network environment It is possible to provide effective and stable high quality multimedia contents service to users.

The method of the present invention as described above may be implemented as a program and stored in a computer-readable recording medium (CD-ROM, RAM, ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, etc.).

The present invention described above is not limited to the above-described embodiments and the accompanying drawings, and various substitutions, modifications, and changes are possible in the art without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. It will be clear to those of ordinary knowledge.

According to the present invention as described above, in terms of ISP, it is possible to upgrade the network to provide an effective CDN service for high-quality multimedia content services without the addition of additional network equipment, and to minimize the network cost to users with high-speed subscriber networks. There is an effect that can provide a high quality multimedia content service at a management cost. In addition, by concentrating the content management function on the service main node and sharing the service main node and the distributed nodes with multiple CPs, there is an effect of reducing the system investment cost of the CPs.

Claims (13)

In the method for configuring a multimedia content distribution network, A dual content distribution network using an Internet protocol (IP) multicasting capable satellite network or an asynchronous delivery mode (ATM) network and an IP multicasting enabled Internet or leased line can be used. And distributing content from a service main node to each of the distributed nodes in a top-down manner using a multicasting or file transfer protocol (FTP) scheme. The method of claim 1, Each distributed node, The multimedia content is hierarchically configured on the dual content distribution network according to the density of users, and the content distribution process is performed by periodically exchanging information with the service main node through a content distribution list and a content deletion list. How to configure a distribution network. The method of claim 1, Each distributed node, The multimedia content distribution network configuration method, characterized in that it is hierarchically configured on the dual content distribution network according to the density of users, each media server. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The process of distributing content from a service main node to each distributed node in a top-down manner using IP multicasting or FTP according to the number of distributed nodes to receive the content, Threshold (N) for the number of distributed nodes for which the content delivery cost of the IP multicasting method and the content delivery cost of the FTP method are calculated by calculating the content delivery cost of the IP multicasting method and smaller than the content delivery cost of the FTP method. Finding a first process; And A second process of distributing content from the service main node to each distributed node using either IP multicasting or FTP based on a comparison between the number of distributed nodes to receive the content and the found threshold value N; Multimedia content distribution network configuration method comprising a. The method of claim 4, wherein The second process, If the number of distributed nodes to receive the content is larger than the found threshold (N), the content is distributed from the service main node to each distributed node by IP multicasting, and the number of distributed nodes to receive the content is the found threshold. If less than (N), the content distribution network configuration method characterized in that the content distribution to each distributed node in the service main node by FTP method. In the method of serving multimedia content, It consists of a satellite network or an asynchronous delivery mode (ATM) network capable of Internet protocol (IP) multicasting, and a dual content distribution network using the Internet or a private line, which is not capable of IP multicasting. A distribution step of distributing multimedia content files in a top-down manner to each distributed node by a service main node on the dual content distribution network; And When the service main node receives a content service request from a user side terminal, the distributed node is searched based on an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the user side terminal so that the corresponding multimedia content file is provided to the user side terminal through the searched distributed node. Offer stage Multimedia content service method comprising a. The method of claim 6, Generating, by the service main node, statistical data on service usage behavior (user's content usage for each distributed node) regarding the user; Multimedia content service method further comprising. The method according to claim 6 or 7, The distribution step, The service main node distributes multimedia content files to each distributed node in a top-down manner using IP multicasting or file transfer protocol (FTP) according to the number of distributed nodes. Multimedia content service method. The method of claim 8, The distribution step, The service main node calculates the content delivery cost of the IP multicasting method and the content delivery cost of the FTP method, and relates to the number of distributed nodes such that the calculated content delivery cost of the IP multicasting method is smaller than the content delivery cost of the FTP method. Finding a threshold value N; And The service main node distributing multimedia content files to each distributed node using either IP multicasting or FTP based on a comparison between the number of distributed nodes and the found threshold N; Multimedia content service method comprising a. The method of claim 9, The providing step, Checking whether the requested content file is a content file that has been distributed to a distributed node when the service main node receives a multimedia content file from a user terminal; And As a result of the checking, as a result of the distribution of the distributed content file to the distributed node, the service main node searches for the distributed node based on the IP address of the user terminal, and transmits the searched distributed node link to the user terminal. Multimedia content service method comprising a. The method of claim 9, At least one content provider (CP) registers the multimedia content file with the service main node to distribute the multimedia content files to each distributed node, When the service main node receives the multimedia content file registration request from the CP, the service main node stores the registered multimedia content file in its free storage and adds the information about the stored multimedia content file to a content distribution (distribution) list. Multimedia content service method, characterized in that. In a multimedia content service system having a processor, It consists of a satellite network or an asynchronous delivery mode (ATM) network capable of Internet protocol (IP) multicasting, and a dual content distribution network using the Internet or a private line, which is not capable of IP multicasting. A service main node on the dual content distribution network distributing multimedia content files to each distributed node in a top-down manner; And When the service main node receives a content service request from a user side terminal, the distributed node is searched based on an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the user side terminal so that the corresponding multimedia content file is provided to the user side terminal through the searched distributed node. Function A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for realizing this. The method of claim 12, A function of the service main node to create statistical data on service usage behavior (user's content usage for each distributed node) for the user. A computer-readable recording medium that records a program for further realization.

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