KR20020009065A - Relaying system for broadcasting multi-channel internet television and networking method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A multichannel internet broadcasting relay system is provided to relay internet broadcasting, minimize installation and maintenance costs of a live server, and minimize a network bandwidth for transferring live data from a server. CONSTITUTION: A broadcast server(200) is connected to an internet service provider and encodes a data stream for internet broadcasting to provide a channel service. A plurality of relay servers are connected to the internet service provider and receive a data stream sent from the broadcast server(200). The relay servers copy a corresponding channel by a client number and provide the data stream to respective clients through an internet network. The relay servers receives the data stream through a local network from other relay server under the control of a relay management server(210), and transfer the received data stream to a client of requiring a corresponding channel via the internet network.

Description

Multi-channel internet broadcasting relay system and network method {RELAYING SYSTEM FOR BROADCASTING MULTI-CHANNEL INTERNET TELEVISION AND NETWORKING METHOD THEREOF}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a relay system and a network method for internet broadcasting, and in particular, to minimize the maintenance cost of a live server for multi-channel internet broadcasting. The present invention relates to a multimedia relay system and a network method for minimizing network bandwidth for data transmission from a server.

Along with the surge of Internet users, interest in Internet broadcasting is increasing. Currently, as the representative Internet video server, Microsoft's Windows Media Server and Real Network's Real Server are used.

1 is a diagram illustrating a client server type internet broadcasting system according to the related art. Referring to FIG. 1, the Internet broadcasting system according to the related art adopts a client 90 / server 20 structure as a basic structure for delivering a video between the server 20 and the user 90.

That is, for live webcasting, the video input from the camera is encoded and delivered to the client 90 in real time together with the audio data. For video on demand (VOD) service, the encoding is performed in advance. The server reads the stored data and delivers it to the client.

However, when a large number of clients are connected to one server providing a video, a huge load on the server and the network is increased. As a technique for solving the problem, Microsoft's clustering technology is known.

2 is a system configuration diagram showing a clustering technique according to the prior art. Referring to FIG. 2, the clustering method according to the related art operates a plurality of servers 100, 110, 111, 112, and 113 so that a client 90 connecting to the server 100 may have different servers 110, 111. Load balancing techniques are provided by distributing them to the

However, the above-described clustering method is possible only when each server 110, 111, 112, and 113 maintains the same data, and live webcasting that requires encoding and transmission of a video in real time. Not suitable for

Therefore, in order to carry out Internet real-time live broadcasting while accommodating many clients, a high-performance server for live broadcasting must be installed, and in order to maintain quality of real-time broadcasting, it is necessary to install a dedicated line having a large bandwidth.

However, it is not technically and economically easy for a content provider operating an internet broadcasting station to have a high performance server and a large capacity network to meet the above-mentioned problems.

Furthermore, in the case of a multi-channel broadcasting system that installs a live broadcasting server to monitor traffic on major roads across the country and relays traffic to clients in real time, all local live broadcasting servers are installed as high-performance servers, and high-capacity high-speed dedicated lines are installed. Maintaining is not easy in terms of cost. In this case, since one server may provide one channel, the server and line cost burden increases in proportion to the number of channels when the multi-channel is to be provided.

In addition, since the number of clients that one broadcast server can accommodate is limited, when a client requesting connection at any moment is congested, the server and the network are subjected to an unacceptable load.

However, in the case of increasing the number of servers by the clustering method according to the prior art, there is a cost burden to increase the line capacity of the local network, and moreover, the number of instantaneous clients temporarily increases. Therefore, installing a large number of high performance servers is not technically or economically easy.

Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide a relay system and method for relaying Internet broadcasts.

A second object of the present invention is to provide an internet broadcasting relay system and method which can minimize the installation and maintenance cost of a live broadcasting server in addition to the first object.

It is a third object of the present invention to provide an internet broadcast relay system and method capable of minimizing a network bandwidth for live data transmission from a server in addition to the first object.

The fourth object of the present invention is that, in addition to the first object, even if the number of clients connecting to the server requesting live broadcast data increases momentarily, the Internet broadcasting relay system is easy to expand the relay system without burdening the local network. And providing a method.

A fifth object of the present invention is an Internet broadcast relay system and method, in addition to the first object, that there is no deterioration of video quality or frames per second even when the number of clients connecting to the server and requesting live broadcast data is momentarily increased. To provide.

In addition to the first object, a sixth object of the present invention is to provide a local internet broadcasting system for providing video content and an internet relay system capable of always broadcasting in high quality to a client who wants to watch a channel transmitted by the local internet broadcasting station. It is to provide a business model between the providers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a client server type internet broadcasting system according to the prior art.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing a clustering method client server system configuration according to the prior art.

3 is a system configuration diagram showing a preferred embodiment of the Internet broadcasting relay system according to the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a first embodiment of a relaying method of an internet broadcasting relay system according to the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a working flowchart showing a second embodiment of the relay method of the internet broadcasting relay system according to the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a third embodiment of the relay method of the internet broadcasting relay system according to the present invention;

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

50: ISP

20, 200: live server

90: client

100, 220: web server

210: repeater management server (LRMS)

230, 231, 239: repeater server (LRS)

250: Frame Conversion Server (FCS)

260: Database Server (DBMS)

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a broadcast server 200 that is connected to an Internet service provider (ISP) and provides a channel service by encoding a data stream for Internet broadcasting; Receives a data stream transmitted by the broadcast server 200 connected to the ISP, duplicates the number of clients requesting the corresponding channel and provides the data stream to each client through an internet network, or a repeater And a plurality of relay servers receiving the data stream from another relay server through a local network under the control of a management server (LRMS) 210 and transmitting the data stream to a client requesting the corresponding channel through the internet network.

The present invention also provides a process for the relay server 230 to obtain a data stream for internet broadcasting from a broadcast server 200 providing a channel service requested by the client 90, and the plurality of clients requesting the channel. A repeater management server (LRMS) for performing a process of managing a distributed connection to any one of the repeater servers of the channel to watch the corresponding channel; It provides an Internet broadcast relay system comprising a web server 220 to provide an interface to a client connected to watch the Internet broadcast, and to provide a program to the client to access the relay management server.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention Preferred embodiments of the Internet broadcasting relay system and method according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a system configuration diagram showing a preferred embodiment of the Internet broadcasting relay system according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, in the Internet broadcast repeater system according to the present invention, a plurality of live servers 200 which perform live broadcast services by encoding video and audio data in real time are illustrated.

Each broadcast server 200 has a respective channel, and live video and audio data to multiple clients 90 through the repeater system (210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260) according to the present invention Internet broadcasting will be performed.

Each of the plurality of broadcast servers 200 shown in FIG. 3 can be thought of as a separate broadcast station for transmitting content with independent channels. In addition, each of the plurality of broadcast servers 200 shown in FIG. 3 may be understood as a local broadcast server installed with a camera in a major road network of the nation for traffic broadcasting.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the present invention is applied to a nationwide traffic broadcasting system, the number of clients connecting to a specific local broadcasting server varies according to seasons and times, so that the clustering technique according to the prior art is applied. In this case, it is impossible to flexibly provide high quality broadcast data to the client.

In the prior art, each broadcast server 200 has to have a high-performance server system and a network 290 for high-capacity high-speed communication in consideration of congestion of the client 90 that is instantaneously connected, but the broadcast server according to the present invention. Since the clients 90 are actually connected to the relay servers 230, 231, and 239 to receive the broadcast data stream, the client system 200 may provide a minimum system specification and one client (in this case, one channel). And a network 290 with a minimum bandwidth that satisfies the connection of the server.

The Internet repeater system according to the present invention may be referred to as a broadcast server ('live broadcast server'; 200), which replicates the real-time live video and audio data streams coming from the memory as many as the number of clients requesting a corresponding channel in memory. It is based on the function of transmitting to the client 90 of. The server having the above-described relay function is a live relay server (LRS) 230, 231, and 239 shown in FIG. 3.

The relay servers 230, 231, and 239 according to the present invention may be configured in plurality in consideration of the expected number of clients 90 and the number of clients actually requesting access.

Referring to FIG. 3 again, a task of obtaining data from the broadcast server 200 serving a specific channel to the plurality of relay servers (LRS) 230, 231, and 239, and the client 90 requesting an arbitrary channel service. The relay relay management server (LRMS) 210, which performs the task of distributing the data to the relay servers 230, 231, and 239 in an effective load balancing method, is performed by the multi-channel internet broadcasting according to the present invention. Configure the relay system.

In addition, the client 90 needs a dedicated client program that runs on an Internet web browser for receiving and playing broadcast data, and the system may include a web server 220 to enable automatic installation of such a program. Need.

On the other hand, considering that broadcast viewers do not want the service of all channels, and in fact, web pages are frequently overlooked during surfing, live broadcast service connects to the relay system for every visit of the broadcast viewer. There is no need to receive data, in which case only unnecessary loads are generated.

Therefore, the web server 220 of the Internet broadcasting relay system according to the present invention replaces the initial screen with a JPEG image containing the most recently broadcasted content, and then the client of the web browser only when the user has a continuous service request. The program can be connected to a relay system to receive video data.

Referring to FIG. 3 again, a frame conversion server (FCS) 250 and a database server (DBMS) 260 for storing JPG images and providing them to the web server 220 are provided for this purpose. Configure the relay system. Referring to FIG. 3, the repeater servers 230, 231, and 239, the repeater management server 210, and the web server 220 according to the present invention are each independently connected to an Internet dedicated line.

In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the repeater management server (LRMS) 210 and the web server 220 may be connected to the network of the T1 class bandwidth 280, 281, relay server 230 for relaying the actual video, The 231 and 239 may be connected to the networks 282, 283, and 284 having a T3-class bandwidth, respectively.

The network structure of the Internet broadcast repeater system according to the present invention allows each server (210, 220, 230, 231, 239, 250, 260) to have a dedicated line independent of each other, so that each server is required It has a technical feature that can handle the request itself and return it to the same leased line.

That is, the system network structure according to the present invention has an advantage of minimizing the inflow of data from the external network 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286 into the internal network 270 of the relay system. . As a result, even if the number of clients 90 increases so that the additional relay server 230 is installed, it does not cause a problem of reconfiguring the internal network 270 or increasing line capacity due to internal network traffic problems. .

The internal network 270 of the Internet broadcasting relay system according to the present invention can be sufficiently configured as a mega byte equipment, and the total system capacity can be expanded only by the addition of the repeater server 230.

In the network structure according to the present invention, the data passing through the internal network 270 includes intermittent MPEG frames transmitted from the relay server 230 to the frame conversion server 250 for conversion into JPEG images, and a database after conversion. JPEG image delivered to server 260, JPEG image transferred from database server 260 to web server 220 for web server 220 to provide to user, repeater server 230 and frame conversion server 250 ) Is a control signal of a few kilobytes (kilo byte) exchanged with the repeater management server 210 to manage.

Looking at the internal local network 270 under such a premise, when compared to the network system according to the prior art, in which the entire network structure has to be removed and changed in order to perform a large-scale service, the broadcast relay system according to the present invention has a megabyte class. Equipment is sufficient, and by adding only the repeater server 230, the total system capacity can be expanded.

On the other hand, the client program installed in the user host (90) connects to the repeater management server (LRMS) 210 first when requesting a live broadcast channel from the web server 220. The repeater management server 210 according to the present invention transmits data from the repeater server 230 to the client 90 when there is a repeater server 230 currently serving the corresponding channel for the request of the client 90. You can command to receive.

If no relay server 230, 231, 239 is currently serving the channel, the relay management server 210 according to the present invention provides the channel to the relay server 230 which is the least loaded at that time. It is instructed to connect to the broadcast server 200 that is being broadcast live, and the client program is instructed to receive data from the relay server 230.

The above-described process is a load balancing technique which is one of the main functions of the repeater management server 210 according to the present invention. At this time, if the number of users exceeds the capacity that can be accommodated by one repeater server 230, the repeater management server 210 according to the present invention is another repeater server (231) currently in service to the repeater server ( 230 to receive the video, and subsequent users receive the service from the second relay server 231.

Therefore, even when the client 90 temporarily requests a specific channel connection, the live broadcasting server 200 uses the load balancing relay server system according to the present invention so that the live broadcast server 200 is independent of the number of connected users. Only one connection with 230 may be broadcast. As a result, service providers who wish to provide multiple channels can save money by keeping systems and network specifications of the live broadcast server to a minimum.

For example, if the network 290 to which the broadcast server 200 is connected is a low-speed line of 256 KBPS, and if there is only one connection, one video stream uses all 256 KBPS of bandwidth. If the connection is increased in two, one video uses only 256 KBPS ÷ 2 = 128 KBPS of bandwidth, so the video quality and the number of frames per second are inevitably deteriorated.

However, the Internet broadcasting relay system according to the present invention is characterized by maintaining only one connection between the relay system 230 and the live broadcast server 200 regardless of the number of clients.

The Internet broadcasting relay system according to the present invention operates the relay system by calculating and imposing a relay fee according to the service line usage of the repeaters 230, 231 and 239 input for the corresponding channel relay broadcasting to the broadcaster of the local broadcasting server 200. You make money.

The Internet broadcasting relay system according to the present invention performs a function of a so-called exchange that connects the local broadcasting server 200 and the client 90 to each other, and the repeater is variable in proportion to the number of clients requesting a specific channel access. It is characterized by configuring a running system.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a first embodiment of a relaying method of an internet broadcasting relay system according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the client 90 who wants to watch the Internet broadcast requests a web page of the web broadcast server by accessing the web server 220 of the Internet broadcast relay station (step S400). Meanwhile, the web server 220 according to the present invention may transmit a web page in response (step S410), and as a preferred embodiment, may respond as a JPG image in the channel surfing step of the client.

Then, the user can request a client (Active X) dedicated program by clicking the JPG image file of the web page (step S420). The web server 220 according to the present invention makes a client response to the client 90 (step S430), and the client 90 performs a connection to the relay management server (LRMS) 210 according to the present invention (step S440). . At this time, the repeater management server 210 according to the present invention may be transmitted to the ID (ID) of the client 90, password, address information of the live broadcast server 200.

Subsequently, the repeater management server 210 according to the present invention allows the client 90 to log on (step S450), and instructs the relay server 230 to request a broadcast data stream (step S460). At this time, if there is no repeater server serving the channel, command the repeater server 230 with the least usage at this point to fetch data from the broadcast server 200 that broadcasts the channel. It may be (step S470).

Meanwhile, according to the present invention, the repeater server 230 receiving the data fetch command from the repeater management server 210 receives data from the broadcast server 200 (step S490) and relays the broadcast data stream to the client (step S495).

5 is a flowchart illustrating a second embodiment of the relaying method of the internet broadcasting relay system according to the present invention. The second embodiment of the present invention is a broadcast relay service method when there is a relay server 230 for broadcasting a corresponding channel requested by the client 90 and an access capacity is available.

In Fig. 5, the contents of operations from step S400 to step S450 are the same as in the case of the first embodiment of the present invention described above, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted. If there is a relay server 230 relaying a channel requested by the client 90 to the relay management server 210, and the number of clients currently being served by the relay server 230 does not exceed its capacity, The repeater management server 210 according to the present invention instructs the client 90 to access the relay server 230 that is currently relaying the corresponding channel (step S460), and the repeater server 230 receives broadcast data coming into the broadcast server. The number of clients requesting the corresponding channel is duplicated in memory and transmitted to each client 90 (step S496).

6 is a flowchart illustrating a third embodiment of the relay method of the internet broadcasting relay system according to the present invention. According to the third embodiment of the present invention, the first relay server 230 that broadcasts the corresponding channel requested by the client 90 exceeds the capacity, so that the second relay server 231 is local from the first relay server 230. Receiving the broadcast data via the network 270, characterized in that for configuring a scenario for performing a relay service to the client (90).

The operations from step S400 to step S450 in the Internet broadcasting relay method according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be referred to the detailed description of the above-described first embodiment and will be omitted herein. When the repeater management server 210 according to the present invention instructs the client 90 to access the second relay server 231 having the least load at the present time, the client 90 transmits a broadcast data stream to the second relay server. (Step S461).

Subsequently, the repeater management server 210 according to the present invention instructs the second repeater server 231 to receive data from the first repeater server 230 currently being broadcast (step S471). The second repeater server 231 according to the present invention requests data from the first repeater server 230 through the local network (step S481), receives the data stream (step S482) and connects the data to the client 90 connected thereto. Is sent in response (step S497).

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention to better understand the claims of the invention which will be described later. Additional features and advantages that make up the claims of the present invention will be described below. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiments of the invention disclosed may be readily used as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out similar purposes to the invention.

In addition, the inventive concepts and embodiments disclosed herein may be used by those skilled in the art as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. In addition, such modifications or altered equivalent structures by those skilled in the art may be variously changed, substituted, and changed without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention described in the claims.

As described above, the repeater server according to the present invention uses a single dedicated line for connecting each repeater server to the ISP network in the step of receiving the broadcast data stream from the broadcast server and relaying the broadcast to the client. In addition, the broadcast data stream transmitted from the broadcast server may be introduced into the relay system internal network to prevent the problem of the prior art, which increases the local network load.

Furthermore, the live broadcast server makes only one connection and transmits the broadcast data stream to the relay system regardless of the number of clients requesting connection. Therefore, the bandwidth of the leased line connected to the Internet without deterioration of video quality or frames per second can be obtained. It can be used to transfer data.

In addition, the Internet broadcasting system according to the present invention uses one repeater server for each channel, and the repeater management server relays broadcasts by mobilizing several repeater servers according to the number of instantaneous clients in a load balancing concept. This allows you to handle instantaneous bursts of client connections at no extra cost.

On the other hand, the Internet broadcast relay system according to the present invention can improve the relay capability of the multi-channel relay system by simply adding a repeater without changing the capacity or network structure of the local network even when increasing the number of repeaters.

Claims (10)

A broadcast server connected to an internet network and providing a channel service by encoding a data stream for internet broadcasting; Receives data streams transmitted by the broadcast server connected to the Internet network, duplicates the number of clients requesting the corresponding channel, and provides each client with the data stream through the Internet network, or controls the repeater management server. A plurality of relay servers receiving the data stream from another relay server through a local network and transmitting the data stream to a client requesting a corresponding channel through the Internet network; A process of causing the repeater server to obtain a data stream for internet broadcasting from a broadcast server providing a channel service requested by the client, and accessing the channel requesting client to any one of the plurality of repeater servers. A repeater management server for performing a process for viewing; A web server providing an interface to a client connected to watch the Internet broadcast, and providing a program to the client to access the relay management server Internet broadcasting relay system comprising a. The Internet broadcast relay system according to claim 1, wherein the repeater server, the repeater management server, and the web server are each connected to an internet network with independent internet dedicated lines. The Internet broadcasting relay system of claim 1, wherein the broadcast server maintains a single connection with the relay server independently of the number of clients requesting the channel reception. The method of claim 1, wherein the Internet broadcast relay system, In a step in which a client connected to the web server browses to watch any one of a plurality of channels, instead of connecting the client to a relay server corresponding to the channel, the client displays an image containing the latest broadcast contents of the channel. A frame conversion server for receiving an eye frame from the broadcast server and converting the image into an image file for providing to a client; And Database storing the image file Internet broadcasting relay system further comprising. According to claim 1, The repeater management server, In response to the internet broadcast request of the client, if there is a repeater server serving the channel, the client accesses the repeater server to receive data; If the repeater server serving the channel exceeds its capacity, another repeater server receives the corresponding channel data from the broadcast repeater server through the local network and transmits it to the client through the Internet network; If no relay server is currently serving the channel, it instructs the relay server, which is the least loaded at this point, to connect to the broadcast server broadcasting the channel, and the client is connected to the relay server. Distributed processing function Internet broadcasting relay system comprising a. (a) a client computer accessing an internet broadcasting web server and receiving a web page; (b) requesting a relay management server to request a specific channel connection by operating a dedicated client program in the web page; (c) checking, by the repeater management server, whether a repeater server serving the specific channel exists; (d) if there is a first repeater server for receiving and serving the specific channel data from the corresponding broadcast server in step (c), and the capacity of the client that the first repeater server can accommodate is not exceeded; The repeater management server instructing the client to access the first repeater server to receive the specific channel data; (e) if the first repeater server exists to receive and service the specific channel data from the corresponding broadcast server in step (c), and the capacity of the client that the first repeater server can accommodate is exceeded; The management server instructs a second repeater server having a low load among a plurality of repeater servers to receive the specific channel data from the first repeater server, and accesses the client to the second repeater server to receive the specific channel data. Commanding to receive; (f) If there is no repeater server for receiving and serving the specific channel data from the corresponding broadcast server in the checking step (c), the repeater management server may identify the repeater server with the least load among the plurality of repeater servers. Instructing a connection to a broadcast server broadcasting a channel, and instructing the client to access the relay server to receive the specific channel data. Internet broadcast relay method comprising a. In the method for relaying the multi-channel Internet broadcast to a plurality of clients that want to watch the channel in a multi-channel Internet broadcast that a plurality of broadcast servers each have a channel and performs Internet broadcasting, Transmitting, by the broadcast server connected to the Internet network through a first dedicated line, a broadcast data stream corresponding to its channel by accessing a repeater designated by the repeater management server; The first repeater server connected to the Internet network through a second dedicated line transmits the broadcast data received from the broadcast server to a client connected to the user under the control of the repeater management server, and when the load capacity is exceeded. Transmitting the broadcast data to a second repeater server connected to a local network under a command of a repeater management server; The client receiving broadcast data from the first repeater server or the second repeater server through an internet network; Internet broadcast relay method comprising a. 8. The internet broadcasting relay method according to claim 7, wherein a data transmission rate of the first dedicated line is lower than a data transmission rate of the second dedicated line. The method of claim 7, wherein the Internet broadcast relay method Converting, by the frame conversion server, a specific screen of each channel data broadcasted by the plurality of broadcast servers into an image file and storing in a database; In the process of surfing a plurality of channels by a client connected to a web server for interfacing the multi-channel internet broadcast, the repeater management server reads the image file corresponding to each channel from the database and transmits the image file to the client to display the image file. Internet broadcast relay method further comprising. 8. The method of claim 6 or 7, wherein the repeater management server notifies the broadcast server of the repeater usage history by managing the client connection data history of the repeater used for relaying the broadcast channel broadcasted by each broadcast server. Internet broadcast relay method further comprising.