KR101500549B1 - Device and method for providing contents using fractional caching - Google Patents

Abstract

The content providing method includes the steps of: determining a caching block size based on network environment information or a cache miss rate for a plurality of contents; determining, for each of the plurality of contents, And storing the first partial data of the content to be cached in the cache memory based on whether or not the content is cached and the caching block size based on the content. The content to be cached includes the first partial data and the second partial data.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a content providing method and apparatus using partial caching,

The present invention relates to a content providing method and apparatus using partial caching.

Caching refers to the technique of temporarily storing data in a cache memory or a disk cache. Caching is much faster than a central processing unit (CPU) reading data from main memory or disk, writing data to main memory or disk, and improving performance .

Such a caching technique can be used for general PCs and mobile devices to improve I / O (Input / Output) speed and may be used to reduce traffic caused by server overload.

In recent years, the use of rich media has been explosively increasing due to the breakthrough in device and network environments.

It is inefficient to apply conventional traditional buffer caching methods in caching rich media content, since rich media content is typically large and requests are concentrated at a particular point in time.

In order to solve the problems of the conventional conventional buffer caching method, various studies have been conducted such as an interval caching method based on a request interval of rich media contents and a caching method based on a request frequency.

However, the method of caching all the rich media contents has a problem that the number of contents that can be cached is limited due to the size restriction of the cache, and is not particularly suitable in the current environment where various kinds of contents are served.

In addition, applying the same caching policy to high cost content and free content has a problem in that it can not meet the expectation quality of consumers.

In this connection, a prior art (Korean Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-0035911) discloses a partial caching method capable of caching various destination types while ensuring a maximum caching space through segmentation of objects and an adaptive content transmission method using the partial caching method have.

However, prior art documents do not disclose a method of determining priorities of contents by simultaneously considering the importance ranking and the interval of contents.

Some embodiments of the present invention determine whether a content is cached based on content importance information, content interval information, and the like, cache more content by dividing the content in order to reduce the cache miss rate for the content, And to provide a content providing method and apparatus capable of effectively providing a requested content of a user terminal through the Internet.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a content providing method for providing a caching block size based on network environment information or a cache miss rate for a plurality of contents, Determining whether or not to categorize each of the plurality of contents based on the importance information by content and interval information for each content; and determining whether or not to categorize the plurality of contents based on the caching block size and the caching block size, And storing the first partial data of the content to be cached in the cache memory. The content to be cached includes the first partial data and the second partial data.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a content providing apparatus includes a caching block size determining unit that determines a caching block size based on network environment information or a cache miss rate for a plurality of contents; Based on the importance information and the content-specific interval information, whether the content is cached or not, whether or not each content is cached, and the caching block size, the first partial data of the content to be cached, And a caching unit for storing the data in the cache memory. The content to be cached includes the first partial data and the second partial data.

According to any one of the above-mentioned tasks, a content cache is determined based on content importance information, content interval information, or the like, and content cache is divided into a plurality of It is possible to provide a content providing method and apparatus capable of effectively providing requested content of a user terminal by caching the content.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a contents providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a content providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3A is an exemplary diagram showing an example of a caching block in a content providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3B is an exemplary diagram showing an example of a caching block in a content providing method according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a content providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a cached content to a user terminal in a content providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing partial data not cached to a user terminal in a content providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of processing a request for a non-cached content in a content providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are denoted by like reference characters throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is referred to as being "connected" to another part, it includes not only "directly connected" but also "electrically connected" with another part in between . Also, when an element is referred to as "comprising ", it means that it can include other elements as well, without departing from the other elements unless specifically stated otherwise.

The present invention can define a partial data part of all the content data areas as a caching area and provide a method of partial caching of content based on partial data having a variable size according to a service environment.

Further, in determining partial data to be cached, the caching block size configuring the partial data may be determined according to the difference between the miss rate of the content request determined by the policy and the actual miss ratio. Accordingly, it is possible to manage the initial access time of the user to be constant.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a contents providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A content providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a user terminal 100 connected to the network 10, a content providing apparatus 200 and a content managing apparatus 300. [

The network 10 may be a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a value added network (VAN), a personal area network (PAN) mobile radio communication network) or satellite communication network.

The user terminal 100 may be implemented in a computer, a portable terminal, or a television set, which can be connected to a remote server through the network 10 or connected to other terminals and servers. Here, the computer includes, for example, a notebook computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, and the like, each of which is equipped with a web browser (WEB Browser), and the portable terminal may be a wireless communication device , Personal Communication System (PCS), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Personal Digital Cellular (PDC), Personal Handyphone System (PHS), Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), International Mobile Telecommunication (IMT) Handheld based wireless communication devices such as W-CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) -2000, W-CDMA (W-CDMA), Wibro (Wireless Broadband Internet) terminals, can do. In addition, the television may include an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), an Internet television (TV), a terrestrial TV, a cable TV, and the like.

The content providing apparatus 200 can perform partial caching of a content to be cached based on a cache miss rate, importance information by content, interval information by content, and the like for a plurality of contents.

The content providing apparatus 200 receives the content request from the user terminal 100, searches the content corresponding to the content request, and provides the content located in the cached content or the local storage according to whether the content is cached have.

The content providing apparatus 200 may receive information on the content from the content management apparatus 300 in the process of determining whether the content is partially cached.

The content management apparatus 300 can store and manage the importance information or the like for each content with respect to a plurality of contents and can provide importance information about the content at the request of the content providing apparatus 200. [ In addition, the content management apparatus 300 can receive the importance information of the content from the user terminal 100 or the content providing apparatus 200, and can update the importance information by content.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3A is an exemplary view showing an example of a caching block in a content providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention And FIG. 3B is an exemplary view showing an example of a caching block in a content providing method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The content providing apparatus 200 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a caching block size determining unit 210, a caching determining unit 220, a caching unit 230, a receiving unit 240, a searching unit 250, A content providing unit 260, and a content information receiving unit 270.

The caching block size determination unit 210 determines the caching block size based on the network environment information or the cache miss ratio for a plurality of contents.

Here, the network environment information may include network throughput and initial buffering information, and the network environment information may be collected based on log data of the content providing apparatus 200 and a plurality of user terminals, It may be a fixed value.

The caching block size determination unit 210 can determine the caching block size based on the above-described network throughput and initial buffering information.

For example, a fixed value of 10 Mbytes may be determined as the caching block size, and 10% of the contents may be determined as the caching block size. Or the amount of content that can be reproduced for about 5 seconds by the user terminal based on the network status of the user terminal 100 and the content providing apparatus 200 as the caching block size.

The caching block size determination unit 210 may determine the caching block size such that the cache miss rate for a plurality of contents is equal to or less than a predetermined target cache miss rate.

The partial data of the content stored in the cache memory may be constituted by a single caching block or a plurality of caching blocks and may be constituted by a caching block constituting one partial data, Is a variable value that can be changed.

The caching determination unit 220 determines whether or not to categorize a plurality of contents based on content priority information and content-specific interval information.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the caching determination unit 220 may determine whether or not to cache based on the caching ranking of the content, and the caching ranking of the content may be determined based on the importance information of the content and the interval information of the content have.

The content importance information may be stored in the content management apparatus 300 and may be classified according to criteria such as premium, general fee, and free. The importance information of the content may be stored, for example, in upper, middle, lower, or High, Middle, Low, or the like, and may store a relative value using numerical information.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is not economically feasible that paid contents and free contents have the same importance. For example, among paid contents, caching of premium contents and general contents are cached in the same manner, , It is determined whether the caching is performed by using the importance information of the content as described above.

The interval information of the content is information based on the corresponding content request information of a plurality of user terminals. For example, when the content A is requested 60 times for one minute, the interval of the content A may be one second. The interval may be calculated as an average value over a unit time, or may be calculated by weighting recent requests. For example, in the case of a content that has rapidly increased in the number of requests within the last hour, it may be reasonable to calculate the interval based on the number of times requested within the last hour rather than the average value during the day.

The caching determination unit 220 can determine whether or not the content is cached based on the criticality information of the content and the interval information of the content based on the critical interval of the cache memory.

Since the content providing apparatus 200 can not cache all the contents, it is possible to select, as the content to be cached, a content whose interval information of the content is within the critical interval, based on the critical interval information of the cache memory.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, contents can be grouped according to their importance in a critical interval of a cache memory, and a content having a short interval in a group can be selected as a caching candidate content.

The critical interval of the cache memory may be determined automatically by a manager based on service policy, for example, or may be automatically calculated using statistics of the cache miss rate as information for determining a caching target of the content.

The caching determination unit 220 can determine, as the content to be cached, a content whose interval information for each content is equal to or less than the critical interval, among the content for which the importance information for each content is equal to or higher than a predetermined importance level.

For example, the caching determination unit 220 may determine, as the content to be cached, a content whose interval information of the content is, for example, 1 h (hour) or less, among the content whose content importance information is " High " .

The caching unit 230 stores the first partial data of the content to be cached among the plurality of contents in the cache memory based on whether or not the content is cached and the caching block size.

The content to be cached includes the first partial data and the second partial data, the first partial data means the caching area of the content to be cached, and the second partial data means the uncached area of the content to be cached.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the caching area of all contents data may be composed of one caching block, but may be composed of two or more caching blocks.

That is, the partial data of the content stored in the cache memory may be composed of a single caching block or a plurality of caching blocks, and the number of caching blocks constituting the first partial data may be a caching policy, And the like.

The caching unit 230 may divide the content to be cached based on the caching block size, set some of the divided data as the first partial data, and store it in the cache memory.

The receiving unit 240 receives a content request from the user terminal 100. [ According to an embodiment of the present invention, the receiver 240 may receive a request for the first content or the second content. However, the receiving unit 240 may receive a plurality of content requests other than the first content and the second content, and may receive all kinds of content requests that the user desires to receive from the content providing apparatus 200 through the user terminal 100 As shown in FIG.

The receiving unit 240 may further receive the partial caching information of the first content together with the request of the first content from the user terminal 100. [

The search unit 250 searches the cache memory to see if the first partial data of the content requested by the user terminal 100 is stored in the cache memory.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the search unit 250 can search whether the first partial data of the first content or the second content is stored in the cache memory, It is possible to search whether the contents are stored in the cache memory.

The first partial data of the first content is stored in the cache memory.

When the first partial data of the content requested by the user terminal 100 is stored in the cache memory, the content providing unit 260 extracts the first partial data of the content from the cache memory and provides the first partial data to the user terminal 100 , And provides the second partial data of the contents to the user terminal 100.

The content providing unit 260 may provide the second partial data of the content to the user terminal 100 based on the partial caching information of the content.

Here, the partial caching information may be included in the first partial data of the contents to be provided to the user terminal 100. [

For example, the content providing unit 260 may provide partial caching information to the first partial data while providing the first partial data of the contents to the user terminal 100 at the request of the user terminal 100 And the user terminal 100 may request the content providing apparatus 200 for the second partial data of the content based on the partial caching information provided from the content providing unit 260. [

Here, the partial caching information includes the size of the second partial data, the location of the content providing apparatus 200 where the second partial data is stored, and the like.

For example, when the second partial data is located in the other content providing apparatuses other than the content providing apparatus 200 providing the first partial data, the user terminal 100 can simultaneously transmit the content from the plurality of content providing apparatuses, . That is, the user terminal 100 may make a multi-session based content request.

The content providing unit 260 may provide the content located in the local repository to the user terminal 100 when the first partial data of the content is not stored in the cache memory.

The content information receiving unit 270 can receive content-specific importance information from the content management apparatus 300. [ As described above, the content management apparatus 300 stores and manages the importance information and the like for each content. When the content importance information is required for the content, And may be provided with content importance information by requesting content importance information. However, the content importance information may be independently stored and managed by the content providing apparatus 200 as well as the content managing apparatus 300. [

4 is a flowchart illustrating a content providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A content providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented by connecting the user terminal 100, the content providing apparatus 200, and the content managing apparatus 300 to the network 10.

The content providing method according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 includes steps that are processed in a time-series manner in the content providing apparatus 200 shown in FIG. Therefore, even though omitted from the following description, the content described above with respect to the content providing apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 2 can also be applied to the content providing method according to the embodiment shown in FIG.

In step S4100, the content providing apparatus 200 determines the caching block size based on the network environment information or the cache miss rate for a plurality of contents. In step S4200, the content providing apparatus 200 determines whether or not to categorize the plurality of contents based on the content-specific importance information and the content-specific interval information. In step S4300, the content providing apparatus 200 stores the first partial data of the content to be cached among the plurality of contents in the cache memory, based on whether or not the content is cached and the caching block size. Here, the content to be cached may include first partial data and second partial data.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a cached content to a user terminal in a content providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The content providing method according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 includes steps that are processed in a time-series manner in the content providing apparatus 200 shown in FIG. Therefore, the contents described above with respect to the contents providing apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 2 may be applied to the contents providing method according to the embodiment shown in FIG.

In step S5100, the content providing apparatus 200 may receive a request for the first content from the user terminal 100. [ In step S5200, the content providing apparatus 200 can search whether the first partial data of the first content is stored in the cache memory. In step S5300, when the first partial data of the first content is stored in the cache memory, the content providing apparatus 200 extracts the first partial data of the first content from the cache memory and provides it to the user terminal 100 can do. In step S5400, the content providing apparatus 200 may provide the second partial data of the first content to the user terminal 100. [

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing partial data not cached to a user terminal in a content providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The content providing method according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 includes steps that are processed in a time-series manner in the content providing apparatus 200 shown in FIG. Therefore, even if omitted from the following description, the content described above with respect to the content providing apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 2 can also be applied to the content providing method according to the embodiment shown in FIG.

In step S6100, the content providing apparatus 200 receives the partial caching information of the first content from the user terminal 100, and in step S6200, based on the partial caching information of the first content, Data can be provided to the user terminal 100. Here, the partial caching information may be included in the first partial data and may be provided to the user terminal 100. [

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of processing a request for a non-cached content in a content providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The content providing method according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 includes the steps of time-series processing in the content providing apparatus 200 shown in FIG. Therefore, even if omitted from the following description, the content described above with respect to the content providing apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 2 can also be applied to the content providing method according to the embodiment shown in FIG.

In step S7100, the content providing apparatus 200 may receive a request for the second content from the user terminal 100. [ In step S7200, the content providing apparatus 200 can search whether the first partial data of the second content is stored in the cache memory. In step S7300, the content providing apparatus 200 may provide the second content located in the local repository to the user terminal 100, if the first partial data of the second content is not stored in the cache memory. In step S7400, the content providing apparatus 200 can determine whether to cache the second content based on the importance information of the second content, the interval information of the second content, and the critical interval of the cache memory. In step S7500, the content providing apparatus 200 can store the first partial data of the second content in the cache memory, based on whether or not the second content is cached and the caching block size.

The content providing method according to the embodiment described with reference to Figs. 4 to 7 can also be implemented in the form of a recording medium including instructions executable by a computer such as a program module executed by a computer. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. In addition, the computer-readable medium may include both computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Communication media typically includes any information delivery media, including computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave, or other transport mechanism.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing description of the present invention is for illustrative purposes only and that those of ordinary skill in the art can readily understand that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the present invention. will be. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single entity may be distributed and implemented, and components described as being distributed may also be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the detailed description and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included within the scope of the present invention do.

Claims (18)

A content providing apparatus, in a method of providing contents,
Determining a caching block size based on network environment information or a cache miss rate for a plurality of contents;
Determining whether or not to categorize the plurality of contents based on content importance information and content-specific interval information; And
Storing the first partial data of the content to be cached in the cache memory among the plurality of contents based on whether or not the contents are cached and the caching block size;
Receiving a request for a first content from a user terminal;
Retrieving whether the first partial data of the first content is stored in the cache memory;
Extracting first partial data of the first content from the cache memory and providing the first partial data of the first content to the user terminal when the first partial data of the first content is stored in the cache memory; And
And providing second portion data of the first content to the user terminal,
Wherein the content to be cached includes the first partial data and the second partial data
Content providing method. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein providing the second partial data of the first content comprises:
Receiving partial caching information of the first content from the user terminal; And
And providing second partial data of the first content to the user terminal based on the partial caching information of the first content,
Wherein the partial caching information is included in the first partial data and is provided to the user terminal
Content providing method.
The method according to claim 1,
Receiving a request for a second content from a user terminal;
Retrieving whether the first partial data of the second content is stored in the cache memory;
Providing the second content to the user terminal if the first partial data of the second content is not stored in the cache memory;
Determining whether to cache the second content based on the importance information of the second content, the interval information of the second content, and the critical interval of the cache memory; And
Storing the first partial data of the second content in the cache memory based on whether the second content is cached and the caching block size
Content providing method.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the network environment information includes throughput and initial buffering information of the network,
Wherein the determining the caching block size comprises:
Determining the caching block size based on the throughput of the network and the initial buffering information
Content providing method.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the determining the caching block size comprises:
Determining the caching block size such that the cache miss rate for the plurality of contents is less than or equal to a predetermined target cache miss rate
Content providing method.
The method according to claim 1,
The method of claim 1,
Determining content among the content whose importance-by-content importance information is equal to or greater than a predetermined importance as the content to be cached,
Content providing method.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the step of storing the first partial data of the content to be cached in the cache memory comprises:
The caching target content is divided based on the caching block size, and a part of the divided data is set as the first partial data and is stored in the cache memory
Content providing method.
The method according to claim 1,
And receiving the content-specific importance information from the content management apparatus
Content providing method.
A content providing apparatus comprising:
A caching block size determining unit for determining a caching block size based on the network environment information or the cache miss rate for a plurality of contents;
A caching determination unit for determining whether or not to categorize the plurality of contents based on content-based importance information and content-based interval information;
A caching unit for storing the first partial data of the content to be cached among the plurality of contents in the cache memory based on whether or not the contents are cached and the caching block size;
A receiving unit for receiving a request for a first content from a user terminal;
A search unit for searching whether the first partial data of the first content is stored in the cache memory;
Extracting first partial data of the first content from the cache memory and providing the first partial data of the first content to the user terminal when the first partial data of the first content is stored in the cache memory, And a content providing unit for providing partial data to the user terminal,
Wherein the content to be cached includes the first partial data and the second partial data
Content providing apparatus.
delete 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the receiving unit further receives partial caching information of the first content from the user terminal,
Wherein the content providing unit further provides the second partial data of the first content to the user terminal based on the partial caching information of the first content,
Wherein the partial caching information is included in the first partial data and is provided to the user terminal
Content providing apparatus.
11. The method of claim 10,
A receiving unit for receiving a request for a second content from a user terminal;
A retrieving unit for retrieving whether the first partial data of the second content is stored in the cache memory; And
And a content providing unit for providing the second content to the user terminal when the first partial data of the second content is not stored in the cache memory,
Wherein the caching determination unit determines whether to cache the second content based on the importance information of the second content, the interval information of the second content, and the critical interval of the cache memory,
Wherein the caching unit further stores the first partial data of the second content in the cache memory based on whether the second content is cached and the caching block size
Content providing apparatus.
11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the network environment information includes throughput and initial buffering information of the network,
The caching block size determination unit may determine,
Determining the caching block size based on the throughput of the network and the initial buffering information
Content providing apparatus.
11. The method of claim 10,
The caching block size determination unit may determine,
Determining the caching block size such that the cache miss rate for the plurality of contents is less than or equal to a predetermined target cache miss rate
Content providing apparatus.
11. The method of claim 10,
The caching-
Determining content among the content whose importance-by-content importance information is equal to or greater than a predetermined importance as the content to be cached,
Content providing apparatus.
11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the caching unit divides the content to be cached based on the caching block size and sets a part of the divided data as first partial data and stores it in the cache memory
Content providing apparatus.
11. The method of claim 10,
And a content information receiving unit for receiving the content-based importance information from the content management apparatus
Content providing apparatus.

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