EP3162032A1

EP3162032A1 - Orchestration of physical and virtual resources for digital content delivery

Info

Publication number: EP3162032A1
Application number: EP15732860.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gaël FROMENTOUX; Frédéric FIEAU
Original assignee: Orange SA
Current assignee: Orange SA
Priority date: 2014-06-30
Filing date: 2015-06-11
Publication date: 2017-05-03
Also published as: US11178062B2; FR3023108A1; US20170142024A1; WO2016001502A1

Abstract

The orchestration device (13) includes: - a module (13A) for receiving, from a device (15) for managing a digital content delivery service, a request (REQ") to assign content delivery resources, and a characteristic representing a service level assigned to a content provider for content delivery; - a verification module (13B) capable of verifying if resources enabling delivery of content in accordance with said service level characteristic are available among a predetermined resource set containing physical resources, already deployed from a physical content delivery network, and virtual resources, already instantiated for the provider; and - an allocation module (13C), activated if it is detected that the available resources are insufficient and capable of requesting allocation of new physical resources in the physical content delivery network and/or capable of instantiating new virtual resources for content delivery.

Description

Orchestration of physical and virtual resources for the delivery of digital content

Background rinenvention

The invention relates to the general field of telecommunications.

It relates more particularly to the delivery (i.e. distribution) of digital content such as video files, audio files, digital television streams, etc., in a telecommunications network.

In view of the large volumes of digital content that are now being sold over the Internet Protocol (IP) telecommunications networks and the resulting massive increase in traffic, the operators of these networks have deployed hierarchical and organized architectures to manage the delivery of content. relying on various networked hardware resources. By material resources is meant, for example, storage spaces and physical content servers deployed in the network. Such architectures are, for example, content delivery network (CDN) architectures, described in TS 182.019 "Telecommunications and Internet Converged Services and Protocols for Advanced Networking (TISPAN): Content Delivery Network (CDN)". Architecture ", v3.1.1 June 2011, published by ETSI. They are based on a collaborative set of components including including so-called original servers on which the content is hosted, as well as hardware nodes "mirrors" (eg content servers) geographically distributed at the edge of the network, and at the level of which the contents are replicated. This architecture makes it possible to transparently and effectively distribute the contents hosted by the original servers to the users by defining a routing mechanism allowing a user to be served by the mirror node of the nearest network geographically.

At the same time, we are witnessing the virtualization (that is, the dematerialization) of most of the functions used in telecommunication networks, subsequently designated by "telecom" functions. These telecom functions designate, for example, a backbone, a gateway, a firewall, etc. This virtualization is performed in particular by so-called cloud computing systems, also more commonly referred to as "clouds", which implement and host these functions on virtual machines accessible by their clients, for example via a network application. These virtual machines use remote computing resources and hardware networks (eg network connectivity, computing power, storage space, servers, applications, etc.), managed by the cloud computing system, and pooled among its different clients according to their respective needs. As a result, customers can access these resources in a scalable manner without having to administer the underlying infrastructure for managing these resources, which is often complex.

Many work is currently underway in standardization bodies to frame this major technological change that is the virtualization of telecom functions. Content delivery as envisioned today in CDN network architectures is also targeted by this effort. Thus, content delivery can be done at term not only from CDN network hardware architectures as deployed today, but also from cloud-like infrastructures. By taking advantage of the virtual resources offered by "cloud" infrastructures, the CDN service is intended to evolve towards a service called CDaaS or "Content Delivery as a Service" which will allow not only the delivery of content, but also the increase the capabilities offered today by CDN infrastructures by relying on cloud resources made available to users almost in real time.

The standardization of the integration of these services is, however, still little advanced, as evidenced by the document published by ETSI GS NFV 009 vOll, July 2013 entitled "Network Function Virtualization; Use Cases ".

There is therefore a need to define an architecture to frame the virtualization of digital content delivery functions in parallel content delivery networks already deployed. Object and summary of the invention

The invention responds in particular to this need by proposing a hybrid architecture of delivery (ie distribution) of digital contents taking advantage of, on the one hand, infrastructure of delivery networks of hierarchical contents already deployed (infrastructures of the CDN type for example), which rely on specific physical resources (eg on physical servers and / or storage space deployed at the edge of the network and close to the user who requested the content), and on the other hand, virtualization of functions delivery of content through "cloud" infrastructures, which provide their customers with dematerialized resources (such as virtual content servers) in real time. This architecture proposed by the invention allows the two aforementioned infrastructures to coexist and provide a response adapted in real time to the needs of operators of telecommunications networks.

To this end, to manage the physical and virtual resources made available to the users by the content delivery networks and by the "cloud" type computer systems respectively, and to respond efficiently to the requests of the users, the proposed architecture the invention relies advantageously on several entities interacting with each other, and more specifically on a management device of a digital content delivery service and on a device orchestration device for the delivery of these contents. .

The invention therefore relates to a resource orchestration device comprising:

A reception module, originating from a management device for a digital content delivery service:

o a resource allocation request for the delivery of at least one digital content; and o at least one characteristic representative of a level of service attributed to a provider of said at least one digital content for the delivery of content;

A verification module capable of verifying whether resources enabling delivery of said at least one digital content in accordance with said at least one service level characteristic are available from a set of determined resources comprising physical resources already deployed from a network physical delivery of digital content and virtual resources already instantiated for the content provider; and

An allocation module, activated if the verification module detects that the available resources are not sufficient, able to require the allocation of new physical resources in the physical network for delivery of digital contents and / or to instantiate new resources virtual delivery of said at least one content.

Correlatively, it also aims at a method of orchestrating resources comprising:

A reception step, originating from a management device of a digital content delivery service:

o a resource allocation request for the delivery of at least one digital content; and

o at least one characteristic representative of a level of service attributed to a provider of said at least one digital content for the delivery of content; A verification step during which it is verified whether resources allowing delivery of said at least one digital content in accordance with said at least one service level characteristic are available from a set of determined resources comprising physical resources already deployed; a physical delivery network for digital content and virtual resources already instantiated for the content provider; and

If the available resources are insufficient, a step of allocating new physical resources in the physical network for delivering digital contents and / or instantiating new virtual resources for the delivery of said at least one content.

The invention also relates to a management device of a digital content delivery service comprising:

A module for obtaining at least one service level characteristic attributed to a digital content provider for the delivery of these digital contents;

A module for sending said at least one service level characteristic to a resource orchestration device according to the invention, these resources comprising physical resources of at least one physical network for delivering content and virtual resources ;

A sending module, activated on receipt of a request in connection with a delivery of at least one said digital content offered by the content provider, able to send to the device orchestration a resource allocation request for the delivery of said at least one content in accordance with the service level.

Correlatively, the invention also relates to a management method of a digital content delivery service comprising:

A step of obtaining at least one service level characteristic attributed to a digital content provider for the delivery of these digital contents;

A module sending step of sending said at least one service level characteristic to a resource orchestration device for content delivery, these resources comprising physical resources of at least one physical content delivery network and virtual resources; and

- upon receipt of a request in connection with a delivery of at least one said digital content offered by the content provider, a step of sending to the orchestration device a resource allocation request for the delivery of said content at least one content in accordance with the level of service.

No limitation is attached to the digital contents that can be delivered through the invention. This may be for example audio, video, files, photographs, etc.

The orchestration device and the management device according to the invention thus organize (and facilitate) the cooperation between one (or more) physical delivery network (s) such as CDN networks which do not conventionally call on virtual resources but only physical resources, and one (or more) computer system (s) making available to a digital content provider a set of virtual resources for the delivery of its contents. The combined action of these two devices makes it possible to manage resources offered by heterogeneous network infrastructures for the delivery of digital content to users, namely on the one hand physical resources such as content servers deployed on the edge of the network. and on the other hand virtual resources such as a virtual content delivery function implemented on virtual machines and reproducing a virtual content server.

The management device manages the actual deployment of the content delivery service by ensuring in particular that the delivery of digital content is in accordance with an agreed level of service or previously allocated to the provider of such content. This level of service is established taking into account various factors, such as an operator policy (typically that of the operator of the cloud computing system), a service level agreement agreed with the content provider (or SLA for Service). Level Agreement) translating the technical requirements of the latter for the delivery of its content (eg in terms of bandwidth, quality of service, latency, load, depending on the type of client terminals or digital content envisaged, etc.). ), etc. This level of service can evolve possibly over time and require a reallocation of resources for the delivery of contents of the content provider.

It is transmitted by the management device to the orchestration device, which is responsible for the allocation of physical and / or virtual resources for the delivery of content. The orchestration device thus allocates on the fly, in response to a request from a user or the service provider, resources for the delivery of content in accordance with the requirements defined by the level of service transmitted by the device. management. Depending on this level of service, the orchestration device may, for example, privilege the allocation of physical resources deployed in the physical physical content delivery network, or the reservation of virtual resources (possibly new ones) with one or more cloud computing systems, or allocate both physical and virtual resources suitable for delivering content. No limitation is attached to the type of resources allocated for content distribution: it can be content servers as well as storage space, computing power, and so on.

The allocation of resources is advantageously carried out in real time by the orchestration device according to existing and available physical and / or virtual resources and while leaving the possibility of reserving new virtual resources with the cloud infrastructure. For the content provider if the resources already made available to it are insufficient. The action of the orchestration device thus makes it possible to exploit the virtualization potential of the content delivery resources offered by the cloud infrastructure almost in real time.

It should be noted that the invention is not limited to the allocation of new virtual resources. The orchestration device may also, in certain contexts, decide to deploy new physical resources in the physical physical delivery network and request the allocation of these new resources to the physical physical delivery network. Although this option is more complex to implement and results in longer response times, it may be relevant for longer-term management of physical delivery network resources.

Other parameters can also be taken into account by the orchestration device during the allocation of resources, and in particular the geographical location of a user device (eg terminal of the user at the origin of the request ) and the availability of resources near this location to ensure a fast and reliable content delivery service.

In a particular embodiment, the allocation module of the orchestration device is able to assign new instantiated virtual resources for the delivery of said at least one content to the physical digital content delivery network, this orchestration device comprising in in addition to an information module to inform a device for processing access requests to digital content of this network of this allocation. This processing device is for example a controller of the physical content delivery network.

In other words, in this embodiment, the physical content delivery network that relies conventionally on physical resources can integrate, thanks to the invention, virtual resources instantiated by the orchestration device for the delivery of content. from the service provider. New resources are allocated on demand for the delivery of these contents and attached to the physical content delivery network which can take them into account among its available resources, and thus route the requests of the user terminals or the terminals themselves to these resources. Although attached to the physical content delivery network, these virtual resources nevertheless remain preferentially managed by the orchestration device.

Conversely, it can also be envisaged, in an alternative embodiment, that the orchestration device attaches to the computer system that conventionally offers virtual resources physical resources of a physical physical content delivery network.

In other words, by creating a gateway between the content distribution network and the orchestration device, the invention advantageously allows an "overflow" of resources enabling the delivery of content from the physical content delivery network or the cloud computing system.

In a particular embodiment, the information module of the orchestration device is also able to send the processing device at least one update information of a topology of the physical resources deployed in the physical delivery network of the device. content and virtual resources allocated to said physical network content delivery, and / or updating a routing table based on this topology.

This embodiment allows on-the-fly updating of the routing rules applied by the processing device to the access requests it receives, and thus facilitates and speeds up the processing of future access requests addressed to the processing device. , taking into account the physical and virtual resources already deployed for the delivery of content.

According to another embodiment, the orchestration device comprises:

A module, activated when new virtual resources are instantiated for the delivery of digital content, capable of supplying to said virtual resources an identifier of a device for processing a request for access to the digital content transmitted by the terminal; that these virtual resources register with the processing device; and

A module for warning the processing device of an upcoming recording of these virtual resources with this processing device.

As mentioned above, the processing device may be, in a particular embodiment, a controller of the physical physical content delivery network. According to this embodiment, the content delivery service provided by the invention is set implemented in the perimeter of the physical content delivery network. The controller then plays the role of portal entry of the access request to the hybrid architecture proposed by the invention.

The use of a device for processing third party access requests, that is to say distinct from the management device and the orchestration device, advantageously allows not to overload them. In addition, the processing device can advantageously be configured to address the processing requests to the content distribution service management device only if it detects that it is not possible for it to satisfy this request within the physical network of the content distribution service. content delivery.

As a variant, the access request is sent directly to the management device.

In yet another variant, the access request is addressed to a cloud computing system making available to the content provider the virtual resources orchestrated by the orchestration device.

Different triggers for the allocation (or reallocation) of resources by the orchestration device can be envisaged. These triggers are detected preferentially by the management device of the content delivery service. They are manifested by the receipt of a request by the management device of the content delivery service, in connection with the delivery of at least one digital content. This request is for example:

A resource allocation request for the delivery of digital content required by a user device, transmitted by an access request processing device of the physical digital content delivery network;

- a resource allocation for the delivery of digital content required by a user device, transmitted by a resource virtualization computer system;

- a request from the content provider in relation to the delivery of content (eg change of level of service, allocation of more resources, etc.).

No limitation is attached to user devices that may require the delivery of content. It may be as well as user terminals, such as mobile phones, digital tablets, computers (fixed or portable), servers or other entities likely to communicate over a telecommunications network.

In a particular embodiment, the sending module of the management device is able to send to the orchestration device information data relating to a digital content required by a user device and / or to the provider of this content and / or the user device, these information data having been extracted from a request for access to the digital content transmitted by the user device.

This information data is for example a domain name to identify the content provider, an address such as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) to identify the content required by the user device, a user agent to identify the type of user device that wants to access the content, or an IP address designating the user device and making it possible to locate it. They can be extracted from the header of the access request by the management device itself if the access request is addressed directly to it by the user device, or alternatively it can be transmitted, if necessary, by a device of the access device. processing this request.

The orchestration device can advantageously take account of this information data for the allocation of resources.

According to another aspect, the invention also provides a device for processing requests for access to digital contents, this processing device comprising:

A module for receiving an access request coming from a user device;

A module for sending, to a management device for a digital content delivery service according to the invention, a resource allocation request for the delivery of this content, this request comprising information data; extracted from the access request and relating to the content and / or to a provider of this content and / or to the user device;

A module for receiving at least one piece of information enabling the processing device to identify physical resources of a physical network for delivering allocated digital contents and / or instantiated virtual resources for delivery of the content; and

A module for redirecting the access request or the user device to the resources identified for the delivery of the content.

Correlatively, the invention also provides a method for processing requests for access to digital content by a device for processing access requests belonging to a physical digital content delivery network, this processing method comprising:

A step of communication with a resource orchestration device during which the processing device receives information from the orchestration device according to which the orchestration device has allocated the virtual content delivery network virtual resources for the delivery of at least one said digital content; and

A step of processing an access request to said at least one digital content received from a user device during which the processing device takes into account the virtual resources allocated to the physical content delivery network for routing the request; access or the user device to a resource adapted for delivery of said at least one required digital content.

The information received by the resource orchestration device processing device can directly identify the resources allocated by the orchestration device to the physical content delivery network for delivering content offered by the content provider, or alternatively concern the forthcoming registration of these resources with the treatment device.

The physical content delivery network thus benefits from new virtual resources allocated by the orchestration device for the delivery of digital content. In being aware of these resources, he can take them into account for the routing of the access requests he receives from different user devices. The resources of the physical content delivery network are thus virtually increased.

For this purpose, in a particular embodiment, the communication module is capable of receiving from the orchestration device information for updating a topology of physical resources deployed in the physical network for delivering content and virtual resources. assigned by the orchestration device to the physical content delivery network, and / or update information of a routing table maintained by the processing device and based on this topology.

This resource topology indicates for example a way in which resources (eg content servers) are organized and prioritized within the physical content delivery network, one or more groupings of these resources in a geographical area, technical characteristics, geographical and / or related to the services supported by these resources (eg capacity of servers, type of content distributed by them or user devices to which they can deliver content), etc.

This update of the topology of the resources of the routing table facilitates the processing of subsequent access requests addressed to the processing device.

In a particular embodiment, the treatment device comprises:

A verification module, activated upon receipt of an access request from a user device to a said digital content, of the availability of resources allocated to the physical content delivery network for the delivery of this content to the user device, among physical resources already deployed in the physical content delivery network and / or virtual resources allocated by the orchestration device to the physical content delivery network;

A sending module, activated if the available resources of the physical content delivery network are insufficient, able to send to a management device of a digital content delivery service according to the invention, a request for allocation of resources for delivering the content to the user device, this request comprising information data extracted from the access request of the user device and relating to the content and / or to a provider of this content and / or to the user device.

In other words, the processing device only requests the management device, and possibly the allocation of virtual resources, if it determines that the hardware resources that it manages for the delivery of contents are insufficient to satisfy the request. of the user.

The processing device acts as an intermediary between the user device and the management device of the content delivery service. It serves as an access portal to the hybrid content delivery service offered by the invention, and thus avoids direct access of users to the management device and the orchestration device. Given the volume 1 important requests for access to digital content likely to be transmitted in a telecommunications network, this embodiment advantageously allows to limit the burden of management and orchestration devices, and keep them operational.

In addition, this embodiment provides an interface to the management service that is transparent to the user device. In the exemplary embodiment where the processing device is a controller of the physical physical delivery network, the user device continues to conventionally address the physical content delivery network to access a content, which loads itself. to solicit itself the management device to determine which resources to route the request of the user so that it can actually access the required digital content.

In a particular embodiment, the different steps of the orchestration method and / or the management method and / or the processing method are determined by instructions of computer programs.

Consequently, the invention also aims at:

A computer program on an information or recording medium, this program being capable of being implemented in an orchestration device or more generally in a computer, this program comprising instructions adapted to the implementation of performing the steps of an orchestration method as described above;

A computer program on an information or recording medium, this program being capable of being implemented in a management device or more generally in a computer, this program comprising instructions adapted to the implementation steps of a management method as described above; and

A computer program on an information or recording medium, this program being capable of being implemented in a processing device or more generally in a computer, this program including instructions adapted to the implementation steps of a method of treatment as described above.

Each of these programs can use any programming language, and be in the form of source code, object code, or intermediate code between source code and object code, such as in a partially compiled form, or in any form what other form is desirable.

The invention also relates to a computer-readable information medium, comprising instructions of a computer program as mentioned above.

The information carrier may be any entity or device capable of storing the program. For example, the medium may comprise storage means, such as a ROM, for example a CD ROM or a microelectronic circuit ROM, or a magnetic recording medium, for example a floppy disk or a disk. hard.

On the other hand, the information medium can be a transmissible medium such as an electrical or optical signal, which can be conveyed via an electrical or optical cable, by radio or by other means. The program according to the invention can be downloaded in particular on an Internet type network.

Alternatively, the information carrier may be an integrated circuit in which the program is incorporated, the circuit being adapted to execute or to be used in the execution of the method in question.

According to another aspect, the invention is directed to a digital content distribution system comprising:

At least one physical digital content delivery network comprising physical resources;

At least one computer system capable of providing virtual content providers with virtual resources for the delivery of these contents to user devices;

A management device for a digital content delivery service according to the invention; and

A resource orchestration device according to the invention, able to allocate resources for the distribution of at least one of said content among the physical resources of the physical content delivery network and the virtual resources made available to the computer system .

In an alternative embodiment, the system further comprises a processing device according to the invention.

This system has the same advantages as the management device, the orchestration device and the treatment device mentioned above.

It is also possible to envisage, in other embodiments, the orchestration method, the orchestration device, the management method, the management device, the processing method, the processing device, the system, the Computer programs and recording media according to the invention present in combination all or some of the aforementioned features.

Brief description of the drawings

Other features and advantages of the present invention will emerge from the description given below, with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate an embodiment having no limiting character. In the figures:

- Figure 1 shows, in its environment, a digital content delivery system according to the invention in a particular embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates the hardware architecture of a computing device implementing an orchestration device according to the invention; and

FIG. 3 illustrates the exchanges between the different entities of the delivery system of FIG. 1 and the main steps of the orchestration method according to the invention, in a particular embodiment. 1

Detailed description of the invention

FIG. 1 represents, in its environment, a system 1 offering a digital content delivery service C according to the invention, in a particular embodiment.

No limitation is attached to the nature of the digital content C that can be distributed or delivered by the system 1. It may be for example audio, video, files, photographs, etc., offered by one or more content providers PROV.

As mentioned above, the invention proposes a hybrid digital content delivery architecture for the system 1 which relies both on physical resources deployed in one or more physical network (s) 2 of hierarchical content delivery. (s), and on virtual resources, that is to say dematerialized, administered and made available by one or more computer systems. For the sake of simplicity here, we consider a single physical content delivery network 2 as well as a single cloud computing system 3.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the physical content delivery network 2 is a CDN type network. As a variant, the physical content delivery network 2 may be any type of infrastructure that has delivery servers such as, for example, a "mirroring" infrastructure, P4P combining network (x) CDN and peer-to-peer communications ( or "peer-to-peer"), or network of caches. The content delivery network 2 is in particular a so-called "physical" network, as opposed to a so-called "virtual" network, insofar as this network 2 initially comprises only hardware or physical resources, such as servers, and not virtual resources.

It comprises, in known manner, so-called original servers 4 on which the digital contents C are hosted, as well as hardware nodes 5 (content servers here), distributed geographically at the edge of the network, at which the contents C are replicated, and from which these contents are delivered to users who have requested them on their terminals. These servers 4 and 5 constitute material or physical resources within the meaning of the invention. No limitation is attached to the number of original servers 4 or to the number of "mirrors" content servers 5 deployed in the network 2. These numbers vary, in a manner known per se, according to the choice of implementation of the server. network operator.

The routing (routing) of the access requests to the contents C within the network CDN 2 is conventionally performed by a controller 6 of the CDN network (or CDNC for "CDN Controller" in English). The latter is able to route an access request sent by a user U via a user device such as for example a terminal, to the server 5 of the CDN 2 network closest geographically to this terminal. This server 5 is identified by means of a routing table 7 maintained by the controller 6, and reflecting the topology of the CDN 2 network (that is to say the hierarchy of content servers of the CDN network and the others). resources of this network, their technical, geographical or service characteristics (type of devices 1 users likely to be served by these servers), etc.), as well as the referral rules to be applied to the access requests received by the network CDN 2. These referral rules can be based in particular on a system Domain name server (DNS) resolving domain names to Internet addresses (URLs) identifying the appropriate servers 5 according to the geographical location of the terminals.

In the embodiment described here, the controller 6 is further a processing device according to the invention. It is more specifically a software entity, ie an application or a computer program, which runs on a computer device or a computer. The distinguishing characteristics of such a device with respect to a known CDN controller will appear later in the description.

The cloud computing system 3 is based, in the example described here, on a Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) type architecture as defined by the ETSI. It implements one or more virtual telecom functions (or VNFs for "Virtual Network Function"), including a VCDN function for delivery of digital content. The virtual functions implemented by the cloud computing system 3 can be deployed on one or more virtual machines.

It should be noted that the invention is not limited to this type of architecture, and other architectures such as for example an SDN (Software Defined Network) architecture can also be envisaged.

The NFV architecture is described in detail in the document GS NFV 002, v1.1.1 (October

2013) published by ETSI and entitled "Network Function Virtualization (NFV) - Architectural Framework". It is based on a layered approach (eg resource layers, network and service), in which several functional blocks are deployed over computer resources and hardware or physical networks 8 (ie hardware) of the cloud computing system 3 The physical resources 8 include computing resources (eg servers), storage resources and network resources (eg switches, wired or wireless links, routers, etc.).

The functional blocks defining the NFV architecture include the resource and network layers:

Virtual machines 9 (and in particular here virtual content servers), instantiated by the cloud computing system 3 according to the needs of its customers for the implementation of virtual telecom functions VNF, as well as a hypervisor 10. The virtual machines 9 and the hypervisor 10 contribute to a virtualization layer which decouples the virtual functions VNF from the hardware resources 8;

A management module 11 (or EMS for "Element Management System" in English) of virtual telecom functions VNF; and

A management module 12 (or "VNF Manager") of the life cycle of the VNF functions (ie instantiation, update, adaptation, termination, etc., of the VND functions). These functional blocks are detailed in GS NFV 002, v1.1.1 and are not explained further here. They are administered and managed by an orchestration device 13 located at the level of the service layer, and in accordance with the invention.

In addition to the classical functions of a known orchestration device described in ETSI's GS NFV-MAN 001 entitled Network Function Virtualization (NFV) - Management and Orchestration, vO.2.1 (January 2014), the orchestration device 13 here participates in the deployment of the service S offered by the system 1 by orchestrating the allocation of physical resources of the network CDN 2 and / or virtual resources of the cloud computing system 3 to deliver a content C required to a user U on its terminal (user device within the meaning of the invention).

The event triggering the allocation of resources by the orchestration device 13 within the system 1 is however not limited to the processing of a request for access of a user to a specific content C. Indeed, the orchestration device 13 can also orchestrate the allocation or reallocation of physical and / or virtual resources within the system 1 in response to a request from the content provider PROV for the delivery of its contents in a general way or certain only of its contents. This request is for example a bit rate, an available bandwidth, or more generally a quality of service that the provider wants to obtain when delivering its content, etc.

In the embodiment described here, the orchestration device 13 is a software entity that executes on a computing device or computer 14.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the hardware architecture of such a computing device 14. It comprises a processor 14A, a read-only memory 14B, a random access memory 14C, a non-volatile memory 14D and 14E communication means, able in particular to communicate with the controller 6 and with a device 15 according to the invention for managing the content delivery service S offered by the system 1.

The read-only memory 14B of the computing device 14 constitutes a recording medium in accordance with the invention, readable by the processor 14A and on which is recorded a computer program according to the invention comprising instructions for executing the steps of FIG. an orchestration method according to the invention, the steps of which are illustrated later with reference to FIG. 3. This computer program equivalently defines functional modules of the orchestration device 13, and in particular a communication module 13A with the management device 15, a module 13B for verifying the availability of resources for the delivery of digital content among hardware resources of the CDN 2 network and / or virtual resources made available by the cloud computing system 3; 13C resource allocation and, in the embodiment described here, a 13D information module able to inform the cont Router 6 and possibly the device 15 for managing the hardware and / or software resources allocated by the orchestration device. The modules 13A and 13D rely in particular on the communication means 14E of the computing device 14. The functions of the modules 13A to 13D are detailed further with reference to FIG.

In the embodiment described here, it is assumed that the content delivery service S offered by the system 1 is implemented in the perimeter of the network CDN 2. In other words, a user U wishing to access a content C issues a request. access REQ using a terminal 16 by connecting for example to a portal 17 for access to the service S. This portal 17 is configured to redirect the access request REQ from the user U to the controller 6 of the CDN network 2. The controller 6, depending on how it is configured, processes the REQ access request directly within the CDN 2 network, or alternatively requests the management device 15 as indicated later.

In the embodiment described here, the management device 15 comprises two main functional units, namely:

A first service clause management unit 18, which acts as a front office. or S service access portal for PROV content providers. This unit 18 manages and stores in a database 19 the various service clauses agreed upon and / or allocated to PROV suppliers for the distribution of their content C. These service clauses can be linked in particular to the service offer S subscribed by each PROV content provider to the S service provider (eg premium offer). Such clauses are grouped conventionally in documents called SLA (for "Service Level Agreement"). They are translated by the unit 18 in the form of technical specifications or SLS (for "Service Level Specification"), reflecting the level (or the quality) of service attributed to the content provider considered. The SLS technical specifications thus designate the criteria, in other words the technical characteristics that the content distribution service S offered by the system 1 undertakes to respect when delivering contents proposed by the content provider to guarantee the level of service. assigned to the content provider, such as maximum allowable latency, minimum bandwidth, maximum number of users, target device types, etc. These SLS specifications are stored in the database 19 for each PROV content provider having subscribed to the service S, in association with the corresponding SLAs; and

A second unit 20 of deployment, strictly speaking, of the content distribution service S, placed in the back office, that is to say to which the providers of content PROV do not have access. This second unit 20 is able to communicate here on the one hand with the controller 6 of the CDN 2 network, and on the other hand with the orchestration device 13, to organize the delivery of content offered by the content provider PROV as per example the delivery of content C required by the user U in a request REQ. This organization includes the solicitation of the orchestration device 13 not only for the processing of punctual access requests to digital contents C issued by user devices such as the terminal 16 (via resource allocation requests for the delivery of these C content specific to 1 user devices having requested them), but also, as mentioned above, for the processing of requests from the content provider PROV, for example to adapt the technical characteristics governing the delivery of its contents. These two types of requests constitute requests in connection with the delivery of content (or at least one content) within the meaning of the invention. For this purpose, the deployment unit 20 comprises modules 20A, 20B and 20C (implemented for example in the form of software modules), configured respectively for:

o if necessary to obtain from the controller 6 information data relating to the content C required by the user U (eg URL to obtain the content C) and / or to the provider of this content (eg domain name where the content) and / or the terminal 16 (eg IP address of the terminal) extracted from the access request REQ (see module 20A),

obtaining from the first unit the technical characteristics representative of the level of service attributed to the provider PROV of the content C required by the user U (see module 20B) or more generally when a level of service attributed to the provider PROV for the delivery of its contents, and

o send to the orchestration device 13 these technical characteristics and a resource allocation request REQ "for the delivery of the specific content C required by the user U in accordance with the level of service attributed to the provider PROV (cf. 20C) or for the delivery of content more generally from the content provider PROV When the REQ request "targets a specific content

C required in the access request REQ, it contains the information data extracted from the header of the access request REQ and obtained by the controller module 20A 6. When it refers to the delivery in the general sense of contents Provided by the supplier of contents PROV, it can contain information relating to all of these contents such as the type of these contents, the user devices that may require the delivery of these contents, etc.

The functions of the modules 20A, 20B and 20C will appear in more detail later in the description, with reference to FIG.

Like the controller 6 and the orchestration device 13, the management device 15 is here a software entity that executes on a computing device or on a computer such as the computing device 14.

The read-only memory of the computing device on which the controller 6 is running constitutes a recording medium in accordance with the invention, readable by the processor of the computing device and on which is recorded a computer program according to the invention comprising instructions for carrying out the steps of a treatment method according to the invention. This computer program equivalently defines functional modules of the controller 6, and in particular a module 6A for communication with the management device 15 and with the orchestration device 13, a module 6B for verifying the availability of resources. allocated to the physical content delivery network CDN 2 for the delivery of a content C required in an access request REQ by a user device such as the terminal 16, and a routing module 6C of the access request REQ or of the user device 16 based on information received from the orchestration device and the routing rules stored in the database 7. The functions of these modules 6A to 6C are detailed further with reference to FIG.

Similarly, the read-only memory of the computing device on which the management device 15 operates constitutes a recording medium in accordance with the invention, readable by the processor of the computing device and on which a compliant computer program is recorded. the invention comprising instructions for carrying out the steps of a management method according to the invention. This computer program equivalently defines the functional modules of the management device 15 mentioned above, namely the first management unit 18, the second service deployment unit 20 and its associated modules 20A, 20B and 20C. The functions of these different units and modules are detailed more now with reference to FIG.

We will now describe, with reference to FIG. 3, the main steps of the orchestration method, the management method and the treatment method according to the invention, in a particular embodiment in which they are respectively implemented by the orchestration device 13, the management device 15 and the controller 6 of FIG.

To illustrate these steps, we are interested here in the exchanges implemented between the aforementioned different elements of the system 1 for the delivery of content C required by the user U on his terminal 16 via an access request REQ, in the framework of the content delivery service S offered by the system 1.

However, as mentioned above, the orchestration of resources within the computer system 1 according to the invention can be triggered by other types of requests than a request for access of a user to a content, for example a request made by the provider of PROV content intended to modify certain technical characteristics relating to the quality or level of service considered for the delivery of its contents.

As mentioned above, it is assumed that the terminal 16 of the user U issues a request REQ for access to a content C on the portal 17 of the service S. The request REQ contains, in its header, a domain name identifying the provider content C, a URL identifying the content C, as well as the IP address of the terminal 16 (which gives an indication of its geographical location) and a user agent (to identify the operating system and the type of the terminal 16) (step E10).

The terminal 16 is redirected here by the gate 17 to the controller 6 of the network CDN 2

(step E20). 1

Following this redirection, the terminal 16 of the user U sends the REQ request to the controller 6 so that it assigns it a content server 5 available to deliver the content C required (step E30).

On receiving the request REQ via its communication module 6A, the controller 6 of the network CDN 2 checks the availability of physical resources within the network CDN 2 to deliver the content C to the terminal 16 (step E40). Specifically, it verifies here with the help of its verification module 6B, the availability of a content server 5 on which the content C is replicated, from the topology of the network CDN 2 and routing rules reported in the routing table stored in the base 7. The location of the terminal 16 can be deduced by the controller 6 from the IP address contained in the header of the REQ request and be used when selecting a content server 5 This verification is based on mechanisms known to those skilled in the art not described in detail here.

If a hardware content server 5 is available in the network CDN 2 near the terminal 16 to deliver the content C, the request REQ (or the terminal 16) is switched by the routing module 6C 6 to the controller 5 On receiving this request, the server 5 delivers to the terminal 16 the required content C of which it holds a replica.

On the other hand, if the controller 6 determines that there are no physical resources available within the network CDN 2 (for example near the terminal 16) or if, in general, they are in insufficient quantity to deliver the C content to the terminal 16, it notifies through its communication module 6A the service management device 15 S and more specifically its service S deployment unit 20, and sends a request REQ 'resource allocation for delivery of the content C to the terminal 16 (step E50). This request REQ 'includes information data content C required by the user U and its terminal 16, extracted by the controller 6 of the header of the access request REQ. They include here the domain name and the URL identifying the content C, as well as the IP address of the terminal 16 and its user agent.

It is assumed here that the operator of the network CDN 2 is a client of the service S offered by the system 1. In this way, the controller 6 knows the entity to be solicited (in this case the management device 15) to obtain the allocation of resources for delivery of content C to terminal 16.

Upon receipt of the request REQ 'by the module 20A of the deployment unit 20 of the management device 15, the unit 20, via its module 20B, interrogates the service condition management unit 18 to obtain the SLS technical characteristics representative of the level of service enjoyed by the provider PROV of the content C (step E60). The provider PROV is identified by the unit 20 from the domain name present in the request REQ 'received from the controller 6.

The service clause management unit 18 interrogates the database 19 (step E70) and transmits to the deployment unit 20 the SLA service offer and the SLS technical characteristics representative of the level of service attributed to the content provider. PROV 1

(step E80). As an illustration, it is assumed here that the provider of PROV content has subscribed to a premium offer guaranteeing a high bandwidth when delivering content and a large storage capacity.

As a variant, the transmission of the SLA offer and of the SLS technical characteristics from the unit 18 to the unit 20 can be performed in a manner that is decorrelated from the receipt of the request REQ ', for example following the negotiation of the offer SLA between the system operator 1 and the content provider PROV.

On receiving this information, the module 20C of the deployment unit 20 of the management device 15 sends the orchestration device 13 a request REQ "for allocating resources among the physical resources made available by the network CDN 2 and / or the virtual resources offered by the cloud computing system 3, for the delivery of the content C to the terminal 16 (step E90).

This request includes here the SLS technical characteristics and the SLA service offer so that the orchestration device 13 allocates resources for the delivery of the content C in accordance therewith. In the case, for example, where a content delivery capacity is indicated in the SLA offer, the deployment unit 20 requests the orchestration device 13 by means of the request REQ "to reserve the capacity requested by the service provider. PROV contents for content delivery C.

The request REQ "also contains the information data extracted from the access request REQ and provided by the controller 6 to the deployment unit 20.

On receipt of the resource allocation request REQ "(via its communication module 13A), the orchestration device 13 verifies the availability of resources adapted for delivery of the digital content C to the terminal 16 in accordance with the technical characteristics of the device. level of service transmitted to it for the content provider PROV (step 100) Availability means that the resources exist in a given geographical area (ie the physical resources are deployed in the CDN 2 network and the virtual resources instantiated for the region in question), and are not used, the verification carried out by the orchestration device 13 is here a verification with respect to the volume of resources available and to the region considered (in other words here to the region corresponding to the geographical location terminal 16).

This availability is checked by the verification module 13B among a set of resources consisting on the one hand, of the physical resources already deployed in the network CDN 2, and secondly, virtual resources made available to the content provider. PROV by the cloud computing system 3, ie already instantiated. It is assumed for this purpose that the orchestration device 13 has an up-to-date overview of the current physical resources available within the CDN 2 network and the current virtual resources made available to the content provider PROV by the computer system. in cloud 3, as well as the current use of these resources. By current is meant here that reflects the availability and use of these resources at the time of processing the REQ assignment request "by the orchestration device or at a sufficient time close to that moment for the device to orchestration has a realistic and real-time overview of the resources available and used in networks 2 and 3.

With regard to the resources of the CDN2 network, the checking of the availability of the resources can be carried out by interrogating the controller 6. In a variant, when the controller 6 is configured as in the embodiment described here to send an allocation request of resources to the management device 15 only if the physical resources necessary for the delivery of the content C to the terminal 16 are not available, the module 13B can deduce from the actual reception of the request REQ "an unavailability of physical resources in the network CDN 2.

Furthermore, the orchestration device 13 located in the cloud computing system 3, it has access in known manner to the information on the availability of resources instantiated for the content provider PROV.

If the orchestration device 13 detects that hardware resources are available in the CDN 2 network or that virtual resources are available in the cloud computing system 3 so as to allow such delivery of the content C to the mobile terminal 2, these Resources are allocated to the delivery of Content C.

If the orchestration device 13 detects that the resources are non-existent or more generally insufficient to ensure the delivery of the content C to the terminal 16 while respecting the technical characteristics specified by the management device 15, the orchestration device 13 allocates new resources for the delivery of the content C. These may be physical resources intended to be deployed in the CDN 2 network, and / or new virtual resources in the cloud computing system 3 (step El 10). The choice to assign physical or virtual resources or both may depend on various criteria such as, in particular, an operator policy, the geographical location of the terminal 16, and so on.

It should be noted that if the orchestration device 13 decides to allocate physical resources in the network CDN 2, it must send for this purpose a request for allocation of these resources to the controller 6 of the network CDN 2 for ensure that such an allocation is possible and trigger it if necessary. The controller 6 is then able to accept immediately or to postpone for a predetermined period, the processing of the allocation request from the orchestration device 13 (including including the time of session switching). The controller 6 also takes into account the request of the orchestration device to update the topology of its resources and informs the orchestration device 13.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the orchestration device 13 decides to allocate new virtual resources in the cloud computing system 3 for the delivery of the content C offered by the provider PROV. 1

For this purpose, in accordance with the NFV architecture of the cloud computing system 3, the orchestration device 13 by means of its allocation module 13C requests the management module 12 of the life cycle of the VNF (VNF manager) functions. the creation of a new virtualized content delivery function, located near the user U terminal 16 (step E120) and in accordance with the service level features of the PROV content provider. This new function is here a VCS content server function. It also specifies the origin server to contact if the content C is not available in the cloud computing system 3. It may be an origin server 4 of the network CDN 2 or a server originator of PROV content provider.

The orchestration device 13 also requires a virtualized infrastructure management module (or VIM for Virtualized Infrastructure Manager), not shown in Figure 1, the allocation of hardware resources within the cloud computing system 3 to support this virtualized function. It specifies for this purpose in particular the memory and storage capacities to use.

The management module VIM then informs the orchestration device 13 of the allocation of the required hardware resources. In other words, the virtual content server function required by the orchestration device 13 is now instantiated and functioning, and the orchestration device 13 is informed via the life cycle management module 12 of the VNF functions. implemented in the cloud computing system 3 (step E130).

In the embodiment described here, the allocation module 13C of the orchestration device 13 allocates the new virtual resources thus instantiated to the network CDN 2, in other words, although virtual, these resources are now intended to be taken into account among the resources of the CDN 2 network to deliver content to its users, in the same way as the physical resources already deployed in the CDN 2 network.

In the embodiment described here, upon receipt of the confirmation of the instantiation and operation of the new virtual resources, the orchestration device 13, through its information module 13D, informs the management device 15 of the availability, where appropriate, of new physical and / or virtual resources for the delivery of the digital content (step E140). These new resources can be used to process future access requests.

Moreover, the orchestration device 13, still through here its information module 13D, informs the controller 6 of the virtual resources (new or existing) that have been assigned to it for the delivery of the content C to the terminal 16 for allow redirection of the REQ request or the terminal 16 by the routing module 6C of the controller 6 to these resources (step E150).

In the embodiment described here, the orchestration device 13 further pushes to the controller 6 a new topology of the physical content servers deployed in the CDN 2 network and virtual content servers instantiated by the computer system. cloud 3 that are now attributed to him. This topology includes the new instantiated VCS virtual content server function. It indicates the location of the virtualized VCS function in the content server hierarchy considered by the controller 6 for the redirection of access requests to the contents C, and its technical characteristics (eg capacity), geographical and service (eg type of content delivered from this server, type of user devices served, etc.). This topology can advantageously be used by the controller 6 for processing future requests.

The routing table used by the controller 6 is also updated by the orchestration device 13 from the new topology to take account of the instantiation of the new virtual content server, and transmitted to the controller 6.

The updated topology and routing table are stored in the database

7.

As a variant, the orchestration device 13 provides the controller with information that enables the controller 6 itself (for example by its routing module 6C) to update the topology of the resources allocated to it (physical and virtual as well). now), and the routing table from this new topology.

It should be noted that, as a result, the virtual resources allocated by the orchestration device 13 to the CDN 2 network, although still managed by the orchestration device 13, form an integral part of the resources of the CDN 2 network for the processing of the requests. access to content received by it. In other words, when the controller 6 receives a request for access to a user's content and verifies the availability of the resources allocated to it, it takes into account these new resources to process and route the request to a resource adapted for the purpose. delivery of the required content to the user.

Similarly, when the orchestration device 13 verifies the availability of resources during the step E100, it takes into account the new resources instantiated and made available by the computer system 3, which are allocated to the network CDN 2.

Following this update, the routing module 6C of the controller 6 redirects the REQ request or the terminal 16 to the VCS virtual content server that has just been instantiated (step E160).

The terminal 16 queries the virtual content server VCS to obtain the content C

(step E170).

The content C is delivered to the terminal 16 (step E180).

In another embodiment, when new virtual resources such as a virtual content server VCS, are instantiated by the orchestration device during the step El 10 and assigned to the network CDN 2, the virtual content server VCS registers itself with the controller 6 from an identifier provided by the orchestration device 13. Furthermore, the orchestration device notifies the controller 6 of the next VCS virtual content server record. To achieve this registration, and in order to avoid limiting the intervention of the orchestration device 13, a token or a key can be created beforehand at the request of the controller 6, for example by means of the TTL protocol (Time To Live), then provided to the orchestration device 13. This token is then presented when the VCS virtual content server registers with the controller 6.

In the embodiment described here, the orchestration of the resources by the orchestration device 13 results in the creation and the instantiation of virtual resources in the computer system 3 which are then attributed to the network CDN 2 for the processing of the queries. access to content addressed to it via the portal 17. In other words, thanks to the invention, the resources of the CDN2 network have been increased in real time to meet the demand of the user U. It is possible to envisage a similar operation for the computer system 3, that is to say an extension of the virtual resources made available to the content provider PROV with physical resources of the network CDN 2 to process a request addressed to the computer system 3.

Claims

A resource orchestration device (13) comprising:

A reception module (13A) originating from a management device (15) of a digital content delivery service:

an allocation request (REQ) for resources for the delivery of at least one digital content, and

o at least one characteristic representative of a level of service attributed to a provider of said at least one digital content for the delivery of content; A verification module (13B) capable of verifying whether resources enabling the delivery of said at least one digital content in accordance with said at least one service level characteristic are available from a set of determined resources comprising physical resources already deployed; a physical digital content delivery network and virtual resources already instantiated for said content provider; and an allocation module (13C), activated if the verification module detects that the available resources are not sufficient, capable of requiring the allocation of new physical resources in the physical digital content delivery network and / or instantiate new virtual resources for delivering said at least one content.

2. orchestration device according to claim 1 wherein said allocation module (13C) is adapted to assign new instantiated virtual resources for the delivery of said at least one content to the physical digital content delivery network, said device of orchestration further comprising an information module (13D) configured to inform an access request processing device (REQ) to digital contents (6) of that physical network of that assignment.

3. orchestration device according to claim 1 or 2 wherein said information module (13D) is adapted to send to said processing device (6) at least one update information of a topology of the physical resources deployed in the physical content delivery network and virtual resources allocated to said physical content delivery network, and / or updating a routing table based on this topology.

4. orchestration device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the allocation module is adapted to require the allocation of new physical resources in the physical network delivery of digital content and / or to instantiate new virtual resources for delivery of said at least one content according to a geographical location of a user device (16) having requested access to said content.

A method of orchestrating resources comprising:

A reception step (E90) originating from a management device of a digital content delivery service:

o at least one characteristic representative of a level of service attributed to a provider of said at least one digital content for the delivery of content;

A verification step (E100) during which it is checked whether resources allowing delivery of said at least one digital content in accordance with said at least one service level characteristic are available from a set of determined resources comprising physical resources; already deployed from a physical digital content delivery network and virtual resources already instantiated for said content provider; and

- If the available resources are insufficient, a step (El 10) allocation of new physical resources in the physical network for delivering digital content and / or instantiation of new virtual resources for the delivery of said at least one content.

6. Device for managing (15) a digital content delivery service comprising:

- a module for obtaining (20B) at least one service level characteristic attributed to a digital content provider for the delivery of these digital contents;

A sending module (20C) of said at least one service level feature to a resource orchestration device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, these resources comprising physical resources of at least one network physical delivery of content and virtual resources;

A sending module (20C), activated on receipt of a request in connection with a delivery of at least one said digital content offered by the content provider, able to send to the orchestration device an allocation request resources for delivering said at least one content in accordance with said level of service.

7. Management device (15) according to claim 6 wherein said request in connection with the delivery of at least one digital content is a request among:

A request for allocation of resources for the delivery of digital content required by a user device, transmitted by a resource virtualization computer system;

- a request from the content provider in connection with the delivery of content.

8. A method of managing a digital content delivery service comprising:

A step of sending said at least one service level characteristic to a resource orchestration device for the delivery of content, these resources comprising physical resources of at least one physical network for delivering content and resources virtual; and

- upon receipt of a request in connection with a delivery of at least one said digital content offered by the content provider, a step of sending to the orchestration device a resource allocation request for the delivery of said content at least one content in accordance with said level of service.

9. Device for processing requests for access to digital contents, this processing device belonging to a physical content delivery network and comprising:

A communication module (6A) with a resource orchestration device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, this communication module being able to receive from the orchestration device an information according to which the orchestration device has assigned to the physical content delivery network virtual resources for the delivery of at least one said digital content; and

A routing module (6C) capable of taking into account said virtual resources allocated to the physical content delivery network during a processing of an access request to said at least one digital content received from a user device for routing said access request or said user device to a resource adapted for delivery of said at least one required digital content.

10. Processing device according to claim 9 wherein the communication module is adapted to receive from the orchestration device an update information of a topology of physical resources deployed in the physical network for delivering content and virtual resources. assigned by the orchestration device to said physical content delivery network, and / or update information of a routing table maintained by the processing device and based on this topology.

The treatment device of claim 9 or 10 further comprising:

A verification module (6B), activated upon receipt of a request for access from a user device to a said digital content, of the availability of resources allocated to the physical content delivery network for the delivery of this content to user device, among physical resources already deployed in the physical content delivery network and / or virtual resources allocated by the orchestration device to the physical content delivery network;

A sending module (6A), activated if the available resources of the physical content delivery network are insufficient, able to send to a management device of a digital content delivery service according to claim 6 or 7, a request for allocation of resources for delivery of said content to said user device, said request comprising information data extracted from the access request of the user device and relating to the content and / or to a provider of this content and / or to the user device.

12. A method for processing requests for access to digital contents by a device for processing access requests belonging to a physical digital content delivery network, said method of processing comprising:

A step of processing an access request to said at least one digital content received from a user device during which the processing device takes into account said virtual resources allocated to the physical content delivery network for routing the request; access or the user device to a resource adapted for delivery of said at least one required digital content.

A computer program comprising instructions for performing the steps of the orchestration method according to claim 5, or steps of the management method according to claim 8 or steps of the processing method according to claim 12 when said program is executed by a computer.

A computer-readable recording medium on which a computer program is recorded including instructions for performing the steps of the orchestration method according to claim 5, or steps of the management method according to claim 8 or steps of the treatment method according to claim 12.

15. Digital content delivery system (1) comprising:

At least one physical delivery network (2) of digital contents comprising physical resources; At least one computer system (3) able to provide digital content providers with virtual resources for the delivery of these contents to user devices;

- A management device (15) of a digital content delivery service according to claim 6 or 7; and

- A device orchestration device (13) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, adapted to allocate resources for the distribution of at least one said content among the physical resources of the physical content delivery network and the virtual resources made available to the computer system.

16. Dispensing system according to claim 15 further comprising a device (6) for processing an access request of a user device according to any one of claims 9 to 11.

17. Dispensing system according to claim 16 wherein the processing device is a controller of the physical content delivery network.