WO2011144176A1

WO2011144176A1 - Method, apparatus and system for controlling content provision of content delivery network

Info

Publication number: WO2011144176A1
Application number: PCT/CN2011/075357
Authority: WO
Inventors: 赵志洪; 陈寒冰
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2010-12-31
Filing date: 2011-06-03
Publication date: 2011-11-24
Also published as: CN102143380A

Abstract

The present invention provides a method, an apparatus and a system for controlling the content provision of a Content Delivery Network (CDN), which enables the CDN to identify the type of a content request and to perform stream control according to the type of the content request. The present invention uses a content provision server in the CDN to determine the type of an access request after receiving the access request and to send a request message carrying the type of the access request to a content access location server in the CDN, which enables the content access location server to control the content provision according to the type of the access request, and can implement different processing for different type of requests, thus improving the user experience and enhancing the user satisfaction.

Description

Control method, device and system for content delivery network content providing

The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201010619588.0, entitled "Control Method, Apparatus and System for Providing Content Delivery Network Contents", filed on December 31, 2010, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference. Combined in this application. Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of information technology, and in particular, to a method, apparatus, and system for controlling content delivery of a content delivery network CDN. Background technique

Future video business trends are digital, IP, high-definition, interactive, and personalized. At NGOD

In Next Generation On Demand (Second Generation On Demand), the separation of media control and media delivery, CDN (Content Delivery Network) and push streaming services are separated, providing an open standard interface.

In the existing NGOD architecture, the terminal-oriented streaming server StreamingServer and the CDN for storage and caching are decoupled, and a standardized C2 interface is used between them. When the streaming server does not hit the content locally, the content is obtained from the CDN through the C2 interface. . For CDN, when the traffic is overloaded, the C2 request is overloaded. However, in the prior art, when the CDN implements flow control, the C2 request cannot be treated differently. For example, the C2 request is not newly determined to be a newly initiated session request or an existing session request, so that the CDN does not selectively perform flow control. , may cause some online users to watch video interruption, affecting the user's experience. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, an apparatus, and a system for controlling content provisioning of a CDN content in a content delivery network, so that the CDN can identify the type of the content request and perform flow control according to the type of the content request.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for controlling content delivery of a content delivery network CDN, including: a content access location server in a CDN receives a content providing request message, where the content providing request message carries identification information, where the identifier information is used by Identifying the type of the content providing request message;

The content access location server in the CDN performs content according to the type of the content providing request message Control provided.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for controlling content provided by a content delivery network CDN, including: receiving, by a content providing server in the CDN, an access request, determining a type of the access request; and sending a request to a content access location server in the CDN The message carries the identifier information, and the identifier information is used to identify the type of the access request, so that the content access location server performs content control control according to the type of the access request.

The embodiment of the invention further provides a content access location server, including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a content providing request message, where the content providing request message carries identifier information, where the identifier information is used to identify a type of the content providing request message;

And a control unit, configured to perform content providing control according to a type carried in the request message received by the receiving unit.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a content providing server, including:

a receiving determining unit: configured to receive an access request, and determine a type of the access request;

The sending unit is configured to send a request message to the content access location server in the CDN, where the request message carries the identifier information, where the identifier information is used to identify the type of the access request, so that the content access location server is configured according to the The type of access request controls the content provision.

The embodiment of the invention further provides a content providing system, comprising a content access positioning server and a content providing server, wherein:

The content access location server is configured to receive a content providing request message of the content providing server, and perform content providing control according to a type carried in the content providing request message;

The content providing server is configured to receive the access request and determine the type of the access request, and send a request message to the content access location server, where the request message carries identification information, where the identifier information is used to identify the location The type of access request.

The method, device and system for controlling the content providing of the content delivery network CDN provided by the embodiment of the present invention determine the type of the access request after receiving the access request by the content providing server in the CDN, and access the content in the CDN When the location server sends the request message, the type of the request is carried, so that the content access location server in the CDN performs content control according to the type of the access request, so that different types of requests can be processed differently to improve the user experience, and Improve user satisfaction. DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following embodiments will be BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The drawings, which are used in the technical description, are briefly described. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art will not be creatively labored. Further drawings can also be obtained from these figures.

1 is a schematic structural diagram of a next-generation on-demand system NGOD2.0 in the prior art;

2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling content providing content of a content delivery network CDN according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling content providing content of a content delivery network CDN according to an embodiment of the present invention; An example of a first structure of a content access location server;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a second structure of a content access location server according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

6 is a schematic diagram of a first structure of a content providing server according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a second structure of a content providing server according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a content providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. example. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts are within the scope of the present invention.

Figure 1 shows the architecture of NGOD2.0. The Streaming Server for the terminal and the CDN for storage and caching use an open interface to facilitate the docking of the third party's Streaming Server. The CDN includes a content library server Content Library, a content cache server Cache Gateway, and a content library service (CLS, Content Library Service), wherein the Content Library is a large-capacity content storage repository; the Cache Gateway is a gateway for caching hot content; The content access location server, when the external Streaming Server needs to access the CDN network to obtain content, first sends a LocateRequest request to the CLS, and the CLS selects the most according to the location of the Streaming Server, the load of the Cache Gateway, and the storage of the content to be accessed in the network. The good Cache Gateway provides content delivery services to the above Streaming Server.

A standardized C2 interface is used between the CDN and the streaming server StreamingServer. When the streaming server StreamingServer does not hit the content locally, the streaming server StreamingServer itself does not save the content requested by the set top box (STB, Set Top Box), and then passes the C2 interface. The content is obtained from the CDN by sending a LocateRequest message or a ContentTransfer message and carrying a byteRange (used to indicate a fragment of the content, such as 1000 to 1500 bytes). So for the CDN, I don’t perceive a certain The LocateRequest or ContentTransfer request corresponds to a newly initiated session of the terminal, or the terminal already in the session is acquiring subsequent content of the same program. When the CDN is overloaded for flow control, it cannot be targeted to reject new C2 requests. Instead, all newly-initiated C2 requests are filtered indiscriminately, which will cause some online users to watch video interruption.

Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling content provision of a content delivery network CDN according to an embodiment of the present invention, including:

Step 200: The content access location server in the CDN receives a content providing request message, where the content providing request message carries the identifier information, where the identifier information is used to identify the type of the content providing request message; specifically, the CDN The content access location server may be a CLS, and the content providing request message may be a content providing request message sent by the StreamingServer; the CLS may receive the content providing request message through a C2 interface with the StreamingServer.

The identifier carried in the content providing request message may be implemented by extending a LocateRequest message. The type of the content providing request message may include at least one of a session type, a user priority, or a service type.

Step 202: The content access location server in the CDN performs content provision control according to the type of the content providing request message.

Specifically, if the type of the request message is a session type, when the overload requires flow control in the CDN, the content access location server may determine that the session is newly initiated according to the session type of the content providing request message. Still in progress, if it is a newly initiated session, the content access request is rejected, and if it is an ongoing session, the service is continued. In this way, it can be avoided that the CDN system cannot distinguish the request type in the prior art, and the flow control is performed indiscriminately when overloading, causing the ongoing session to be interrupted, affecting the user's feelings; thereby improving the user experience and improving customer satisfaction.

If the type of the request message is a service type, when the overload requires flow control in the CDN, the content access location server may determine whether the service of the content providing request message is a session initiated by the paying user or a free user. The initiated session, if it is a free user initiated session, rejects the content access request, and if it is a session initiated by a paying user, provides a service. In this way, it is possible to avoid the fact that the CDN system cannot distinguish the service type in the prior art, and the flow control is performed indiscriminately when overloading, causing the session of the paying user to be interrupted, affecting the user's feelings; thereby improving the user experience and improving customer satisfaction.

If the type of the request-providing request message is a service type, when the overload requires flow control in the CDN, the content access location server may determine whether the service of the content providing request message is a session initiated by a high-priority user or A session initiated by a normal user, if it is a session initiated by a normal user, the content is rejected. An access request, if it is a session initiated by a high-priority user, provides services. In this way, it is possible to avoid the fact that the CDN system cannot distinguish the service type in the prior art, and the flow control is performed indiscriminately when overloading, causing the session of the paying user to be interrupted, affecting the user's feelings; thereby improving the user experience and improving customer satisfaction.

The content providing control method of the content delivery network CDN provided by the embodiment of the present invention receives the content providing request message through the content access positioning server in the CDN, and performs content providing control according to the type carried in the content providing request message. , can achieve different processing of different types of requests, improve user experience, and improve user satisfaction.

Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling content provided by a content delivery network CDN according to an embodiment of the present invention, including:

Step 300: The content providing server in the CDN receives the access request, and determines the type of the access request. Specifically, the content providing server in the CDN may be a StreamingServer, and when the StreamingServer receives an access request sent by a terminal such as an STB, Determine the type of the access request.

The type of the access request may include at least one of a session type, a user priority, or a service type. Step 302: Send a request message to the content access location server in the CDN, where the request message carries the identifier information, where the identifier information is used to identify the type of the access request, so that the content access location server is configured according to the access The type of request controls the content provided.

The content access location server determines whether it caches the content of the request message request before sending the request message. If not, the content access location server sends a request message to the content access location server in the CDN.

Specifically, the Streaming Server sends a request message to the CLS in the CDN when it finds that the content requested by the access request is not cached, and carries the type of the access request by expanding parameters in the request message, for example, You can extend the C2 interface by extending the LocateRequest message in the C2 interface and adding the parameter NewSessionFlag to indicate the session type. You can set it to Yes/No to indicate whether it is a new initiating session or an ongoing session. The LocateRequest message is added to the ServicePriority parameter to indicate the service type. The ServicePriority parameter can be used as an integer to indicate whether it is a paid service or a free service. The LocateRequest message in the C2 interface can also be extended, and the Parameter SubscriberPriority can be added thereto. The SubscriberPriority parameter is an integer that indicates whether the user is a high-priority user or a normal user.

After the StreamingServer extends the LocateRequest message, carrying the type of the access request, the CLS in the CDN can perform content provision control according to the type of the access request, for example, when the CDN is overloaded, rejecting the request for newly initiating the session, and The ongoing session is still serving it, you can It is enough to prevent the ongoing session from being interrupted due to network reasons, improve the user experience, and improve user satisfaction. A method for controlling content providing content of a content delivery network CDN provided by an embodiment of the present invention determines a type of an access request after receiving an access request by a content providing server in the CDN, and sends a request to a content access location server in the CDN. The message carries the type of the request, so that the content access location server performs content control according to the type of the access request, and can implement different processing on different types of requests, improve user experience, and improve user satisfaction.

The following uses the network architecture shown in Figure 1 as an example to describe the embodiments of the present invention in three different scenarios: Scenario 1: STB A has an existing session, such as watching a program, and the CDN network is overloaded, and the STB is in an STB. C initiates a new program-on-demand request to StreamingServer, and the program requested by STB A and P STB C is not cached on StreamingServer; in this case, StreamingServer extends a parameter in the C2 interface LocateRequest message, which represents the requested Types of. For example, the parameter may be NewSessionFlag. When the value is Yes, it indicates that it is a newly initiated session. When the value is No, it indicates that it is an ongoing session; that is, for the STB C request message, the value of NewSessionFlag is Set to Yes; For the STB A request message, set the value of NewSessionFlag to No. In this way, the CLS in the CDN can identify the request types of STB A and STB C, continue to provide services for STB A requests, and reject requests to STB C.

Scenario 2: STB B has an existing session, such as watching a program, while the CDN network is overloaded, and STB C initiates a new program-on-demand request to StreamingServer, and there is no request for buffering STB B and STB C on StreamingServer. The program corresponding to the STB B is a high-priority user (ie, a VIP user), and the user corresponding to the STB C is a normal user; in this case, the StreamingServer expands a parameter in the LocateRequest message of the C2 interface, and the parameter represents The type of request. For example, the parameter may be SubscriberPriority. When the value is VIP, it indicates that it is a newly initiated session. When the value is Normal, it indicates that it is a request of a normal user; that is, for the request message of STB C, the value of SubscriberPriority is set. Normal; For the STB B request message, set the value of SubscriberPriority to VIP. Thus, the CLS in the CDN can identify the request types of STB A and STB C, continue to provide services for STB B requests, and reject requests to STB C.

Scenario 3: STB B has an existing session, such as watching a program, while the CDN network is overloaded, and STB C initiates a new program-on-demand request to StreamingServer, and there is no request for buffering STB B and STB C on StreamingServer. The program corresponding to the STB B is a paying user, and the user corresponding to the STB C is a free user; in this case, the StreamingServer extends a parameter in the LocateRequest message of the C2 interface, and the parameter represents the type of the request. For example, the parameter can Is the ServicePriority, when the value is F, it indicates that it is a newly initiated session. When the value is M, it indicates that it is a request of the ordinary user; that is, for the request message of STB C, the value of ServicePriority is set to M; STB B's request message, set the value of ServicePriority to F. Thus, the CLS in the CDN can identify the request type of STB A and STB C, continue to provide services for STB B requests, and reject requests to STB C.

In the above three scenarios, the CLS in the CDN needs to identify the type of the request message sent by the StreamingServer, and the CLS needs to be pre-configured so that it can identify the type of the request message sent by the StreamingServer.

The CLS in the above three scenarios may be implemented by the content access location server described in the embodiment of FIG. 2, and the StreamingServer may be implemented by the content providing server described in the embodiment of FIG. 3.

The above method can also be applied to the Http request scenario. In this case, the parameter needs to be extended in the header field or the URI of the Http Get request message. The extension mode can be implemented by referring to the description of the foregoing method embodiment, and details are not described herein.

A person skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps of implementing the above method embodiments may be completed by using hardware related to program instructions, and the foregoing program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, and when executed, the program includes The foregoing steps of the method embodiment; and the foregoing storage medium includes: a medium that can store program codes, such as a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

Referring to FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a content access location server 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention, including:

The receiving unit 400 is configured to receive a content providing request message, where the content providing request message carries the identifier information, where the identifier information is used to identify a type of the content providing request message;

The control unit 402 is configured to perform content providing control according to the type carried in the request message received by the receiving unit 400.

The control unit 402 may further include:

The determining unit 4021 is configured to determine a type of the content providing request message;

The processing unit 4022 is configured to: when the CDN network is overloaded, perform control according to the type determined by the determining unit 4021, reject the content access request when the type is a newly initiated session, and continue to provide when the type is an ongoing session. Service; reject the content access request when the type is a free user initiated session, continue to provide the service when the type is a session initiated by the paying user; reject the content access request when the type is a session initiated by the ordinary user, when Services that are initiated by high-priority users continue to serve them.

A content access location server provided by an embodiment of the present invention, which is provided according to a content providing request message Type-based content control enables different types of requests to be processed differently, improving user experience and improving user satisfaction.

Referring to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a content providing server 60 according to an embodiment of the present invention, including:

The receiving judging unit 600 is configured to receive the access request, and determine the type of the access request. The sending unit 602 is configured to send a request message to the content access location server in the CDN, where the request message carries the identifier information, where the identifier The information is used to identify the type of the access request, so that the content access location server performs control of content provision according to the type of the access request.

Referring to FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a specific implementation manner of a content providing server 60 according to an embodiment of the present invention, where:

The sending unit 602 may further include a sending determining unit 604, configured to determine whether it caches the content requested by the access request message, and if not, the notification sending unit 602 sends a request message to the content access positioning server in the CDN.

The sending unit 602 may further include: an expanding unit 6021, configured to extend, to the content access location server in the CDN, a request message, where the request message carries type information of the request, and the type information is used for content access positioning. The server performs control of the content providing; the requesting unit 6022 is configured to send the extended request message of the extension unit 6021 to the content access location server in the CDN.

The specific implementation of the content providing server 60 provided by the embodiment of the present invention may be implemented by referring to the implementation manner of the StreamingServer in the foregoing method embodiment, and details are not described herein.

Referring to FIG. 8, FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a content providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, including: a content access positioning server 800, configured to receive a content providing request message of a content providing server 802, and provide a request message according to the content. Carrying the type to control the content provided;

The content providing server 802 is configured to receive the access request and determine the type of the access request, and send a request message to the content access location server 800, where the request message carries identification information, where the identifier information is used to identify the access The type of request.

The content access location server 800 can be implemented by referring to the content access location server 40 described in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, and the content providing server 802 can be implemented by referring to the content providing server 60 described in FIG. 6 and FIG. No longer.

The method, device and system for controlling the content providing of the content delivery network CDN provided by the embodiment of the present invention determine the type of the access request after receiving the access request by the content providing server in the CDN, and access the content in the CDN The type of the request carried by the location server when sending the request message, so that the CDN The content access location server performs content provision control according to the type of the access request, and can implement different processing on different types of requests, improve user experience, and improve user satisfaction.

Claims

Rights request

A content providing control method for a content delivery network CDN, comprising: a content access location server in a CDN receiving a content providing request message, wherein the content providing request message carries identification information, where the identification information is used The type of the content providing request message is identified; the content access location server in the CDN performs content providing control according to the type of the content providing request message.

2. The method of controlling content providing of a content delivery network CDN according to claim 1, wherein:

The type of the content providing request message includes at least one of a session type, a user priority, or a service type.

The control method of content providing of the content delivery network CDN according to claim 2, wherein the content access location server in the CDN performs content provision control according to a type corresponding to the content providing request message, including At least one of the ways described:

Manner 1: When the type of the content providing request message is a session type, when the CDN is overloaded, the request for newly initiating a session is rejected, or a service is provided for an ongoing session;

Manner 2: When the type of the content providing request message is a user priority, when the CDN is overloaded, the request of the ordinary user is rejected, or the high priority user is served; or

Manner 3: When the type of the content providing request message is a service type, when the CDN is overloaded, the request of the free user is rejected, or the service is provided for the paying user.

4. A method of controlling content provisioning of a content delivery network CDN according to any of claims 1-3, characterized in that:

The content access location server in the CDN is a content library location service CLS, and the content provision request message is a content provision request message sent by the push stream server StreamingServer; the CLS receives the content provider by using a C2 interface with the StreamingServer. A request message; the identifier carried in the content providing request message is implemented by extending a LocateRequest message.

A method for controlling content provided by a content delivery network CDN, comprising: receiving, by a content providing server in the CDN, an access request, determining a type of the access request; and accessing a location server to content in the CDN And sending the request message, where the request message carries the identifier information, where the identifier information is used to identify the type of the access request, so that the content access location server performs content control according to the type of the access request.

6. The method for controlling content provided by a CDN according to claim 5, wherein: The type of the access request includes at least one of a session type, a user priority, or a service type.

The method for controlling content provided by a CDN according to claim 5, wherein: the content access location server determines whether it caches the content requested by the request message before sending the request message, and if not cached, then goes to the CDN. The content access location server sends a request message.

The method for controlling content provided by a CDN according to any one of claims 5-6, wherein: the content providing server in the CDN is a StreamingServer, and when the Streaming Server receives an access request sent by the set top box STB, Determine the type of the access request;

Correspondingly, after the content providing server in the CDN receives the access request and determines the type of the access request, the method further includes:

The StreamingServer extends the LocateRequest message in the C2 interface, and carries the type of the access request by adding a parameter; or

The StreamingServer carries the type of the access request by extending a parameter in a header field or a URI of the Http Get request message.

A content access location server, comprising:

The content access location server according to claim 9, wherein the control unit comprises:

a determining unit, configured to determine a type of the content providing request message;

a processing unit, configured to: when the CDN network is overloaded, perform control according to the type determined by the determining unit; reject the content access request when the type is a newly initiated session, and continue to provide when the type is an ongoing session Service; rejecting the content access request when the type is a free user initiated session, continuing to provide a service when the type is a session initiated by a paying user; rejecting the content access request when the type is a session initiated by a normal user When the type is a session initiated by a high priority user, it continues to serve.

A content providing server, comprising:

The receiving determining unit is configured to receive an access request, and determine the type of the access request. The sending unit is configured to send a request message to the content access location server in the CDN, where the request message carries the identifier information, where the identifier information is used by The type of the access request is identified to enable the content access location server to perform content provision control according to the type of the access request.

The content providing server according to claim 11, further comprising: a sending determining unit, configured to determine whether the content requested by the access request message is cached, and if not, notify the sending unit to the CDN The content access location server sends a request message.

The content providing server according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the sending unit comprises:

And an extension unit, configured to send a request message to the content access location server in the CDN, so that the request message carries type information of the request, and the type information is used by the content access location server to perform content provision control;

And a requesting unit, configured to send the extended request message to the content access location server in the CDN.

A content providing system, comprising: a content access location server and a content providing server, wherein:

15. The content delivery system of a content delivery network CDN according to claim 14, characterized by: