KR20040001355A - Network constructing method for multimedia contents distribution and multimedia contents service method using it - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for configuring a multimedia contents distribution network and a method for providing multimedia contents services using the same are provided to eliminate the bottle neck state of an Internet middle mile. CONSTITUTION: In case that translation for a specific URL is registered from a user(201), a DNS transfers the IP address of a web server, determined by the translation of the URL, to the user(202). Afterwards, if the user accesses the web server(203), the web server delivers information for requested contents to a broker server(204). The broker server processes information related to a contents management server, translates the user IP address, determines the optimum media server, and transfers the IP address of the determined media server(205). Then, if the user accesses the media server, based on transferred link information, the media server delivers contents to the user(206,207).

Description

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

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

23: Domain Name Server (DNS)

The present invention for achieving the above object, in the method for configuring a multimedia content distribution network, Internet protocol (IP) multicasting satellite network / asynchronous transmission mode (ATM) network and IP multicasting is not applicable to the existing Internet / dedicated A dual content distribution network using a circuit is configured, and each distributed node in the service main node is a top-down method using IP multicasting and file transfer protocol (FTP) according to the number of distributed nodes to receive content. Distribute the content to.

In addition, the present invention provides a method for servicing multimedia content, comprising: a first step of locally distributing a plurality of media servers in a network and configuring a dual content distribution network for content distribution; Distributing multimedia content files in a top-down manner to a media server located closer to the user; And at the time of request for content service from the user, create content security function and service log through the broker server, search for the most optimal media server based on the user's Internet Protocol (IP) address, and provide the content service through the media server. Characterized in that it comprises a third step of providing a.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that it further comprises a fourth step of preparing statistical data on the service usage behavior of the user (user's content usage by each distributed node).

Meanwhile, in the present invention, in order to serve multimedia content, a content management system having a processor includes a plurality of media servers locally distributed in a network, a dual content distribution network for content distribution, and multimedia content files. A first function of distributing in a top-down manner to a media server located closer to the user; And when a content service request is made from a user, a content security function and a service log are created through a broker server, and the most optimal media server is searched based on the user's Internet protocol (IP) address, and the content service is performed through the media server. A computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for realizing a second function is provided.

The present invention also provides a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for further realizing a third function of generating statistical data on a service usage behavior of a user (user's content usage history for each distributed node).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Claims (13)

In the method for configuring a multimedia content distribution network, It is composed of a dual content distribution network using a satellite network / asynchronous transmission mode (ATM) network capable of internet protocol (IP) multicasting and an internet / dedicated line that is not applicable to IP multicasting. A method for constructing a multimedia content distribution network, comprising distributing content from a service main node to each distributed node in a top-down manner using a multicasting and file transfer protocol (FTP) scheme. The method of claim 1, Each distributed node, A method of constructing a multimedia content distribution network, which is hierarchically configured according to the degree of crowding of users, and periodically exchanges information with the service main node in a content distribution / deletion list for each node. The method of claim 1, At each distributed node configuration, By configuring hierarchical distributed nodes according to the density of users, media servers are distributed locally in the network, and content providers (CP) can selectively distribute contents to distributed nodes in a top-down manner. And retrieving an optimum distributed server by granting a user access distribution function to a broker server of a service main node. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, At the time of content distribution, By calculating the IP multicasting delivery cost and the FTP delivery cost, we find the threshold (N) at which the IP multicasting delivery cost is lower than the FTP delivery cost, and then the content is distributed to a larger number of distributed nodes than the threshold (N). In case of distribution, IP multicasting delivery method is adopted. Otherwise, FTP method is used. The method of claim 4, wherein The content distribution process, A first step of querying a content distribution list for each node group and creating a content distribution / deletion list for each node in the distribution server of the service main node; Packaging the distributed content for each node group, and then checking the number of distributed node groups to receive for the packaged content; A third step of transmitting the content to each of the distribution nodes by IP multicasting if the threshold N or more is greater than the threshold value, and transmitting the content to each of the distribution nodes by the FTP method below the threshold N. ; A fourth step of checking an error for a content file received at a distribution server agent of each distributed node; A fifth step of storing a content file in distributed node storage, requesting a change of the content DB to the service main node, and correcting the content DB in the service main node if the check result of the fourth step is normal; And If an error is found as a result of the inspection of the fourth process, the number of retransmissions of the content file is inspected, and if the retransmission fails more than a predetermined number (m), the content distribution is failed and the retransmission is less than the predetermined number (m). A sixth step of requesting content retransmission to the service main node in case of failure and resending content by accepting retransmission requests from distributed nodes in the distribution server of the service main node; Multimedia content distribution network configuration method comprising a. In the method of serving multimedia content, A first step of locally distributing a plurality of media servers in a network and configuring a dual content distribution network for content distribution; Distributing multimedia content files in a top-down manner to a media server located closer to the user; And When requesting a content service from a user, create a content security function and service log through the broker server, search for the most optimal media server based on the user's Internet Protocol (IP) address, and execute the content service through the media server. Providing Third Step Multimedia content service method comprising a. The method of claim 6, Fourth step of creating statistical data on service usage behavior of users (user's content usage by distributed nodes) Multimedia content service method further comprising. The method according to claim 6 or 7, When constructing the dual content distribution network of the first step, By constructing a dual content distribution network using a satellite network / asynchronous transmission mode (ATM) network capable of internet protocol (IP) multicasting and an internet / private line not applicable to IP multicasting, A multimedia content service method comprising distributing content from a service main node to each distributed node in a top-down manner using a multicasting and file transfer protocol (FTP) scheme. The method of claim 8, At each distributed node configuration, By configuring hierarchical distributed nodes according to the density of users, media servers are distributed locally in the network, and content providers (CP) can selectively distribute contents to distributed nodes in a top-down manner. And searching for an optimal distributed server by providing a user access distribution function to a broker server of a service main node. The method of claim 9, The user access distribution process for providing the content service in the third step, When the user who wants to use the multimedia contents service requests the multimedia contents by accessing the web server of the service main node, the contents management server of the service main node inquires the requested contents information, and checks whether the contents are distributed to the distributed node. A fifth step; A sixth step of delivering a link of the media server of the service main node if the distributed content is not distributed as a result of the fifth step; And A seventh step of retrieving the optimal distributed node by resolving the IP address accessed by the user if the distributed content is distributed, and delivering a link to the retrieved optimal distributed node as a result of the fifth step inspection Multimedia content service method comprising a. The method of claim 9, In the case where the service main node is shared by a plurality of content providers (CPs), the multimedia content registration process may include: A fifth step of checking the authority of the CP in the file server when the content provider who wants to register the content accesses a file server in charge of managing the content file of the service main node; A sixth step of checking the validity of the content by analyzing the header of the content file to be registered in the file server that has received the multimedia file upload request when the access of the normal CP is authorized as a result of the fifth step; A seventh step of checking the storage capacity by comparing the free storage capacity with the file size when the content is found to be valid content as a result of the sixth step; An eighth step of, if the storage capacity check is also successfully performed, storing the multimedia file in the mass storage of the service main node, storing the analyzed content information in the content DB, and then distributing to the distributed node; In the case of the content determined to be distributed to the distributed node in the eighth step, selecting a distributed node group to be distributed and adding content file information to the distribution list for each distributed node; And A tenth step of creating a service broker link for enabling a user to access a content stored in a mass storage and registered in a content DB, and delivering the generated broker link to a content provider (CP). Multimedia content service method comprising a. In order to serve multimedia content, to a content management system having a processor, Multiple media servers are distributed locally on the network, and a dual content distribution network for content distribution A first function of distributing multimedia content files in a top-down manner to a media server located closer to the user; And When requesting a content service from a user, create a content security function and service log through the broker server, search for the most optimal media server based on the user's Internet Protocol (IP) address, and execute the content service through the media server. Second function to provide A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for realizing this. The method of claim 12, Third function to create statistical data about service usage behavior of users (user's contents usage by distributed nodes) A computer-readable recording medium that records a program for further realization.