Anycast manifest retrieval, unicast content retrieval
AssigneeLevel 3 Communications, LLC
InventorsJoelle T. Maslak, Kevin C. Johns
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Provided is a content delivery method and architecture for delivering content from a node in a content delivery network (CDN) using an anycast address to direct a requesting device to access a content manifest. The manifest server of the CDN may select the provided manifest based on information received from the requesting device and/or any other network information, may alter attributes of the manifest itself, or direct the requesting device to a different device or manifest server of the CDN to obtain the manifest. The selection of the manifest, alteration of the manifest, or new location to obtain the manifest causes the connection for content to occur at one or more servers accessible through a unicast address, rather than an anycast address.
Claims16
A method of serving content in a network comprising:
- receiving a request for a content manifest at a particular serving node associated with an anycast address, the particular serving node being one of a plurality of serving nodes associated with the anycast address and the request comprising information of a requesting device in communication with the particular serving node;
- identifying, by the particular serving node, a separate unicast manifest device based on the information of the requesting device in the request, the separate unicast manifest device being one of a plurality of content manifest devices;
- redirecting, by the particular serving node, the request to the separate unicast manifest device;
- and
- serving a content manifest to the requesting device by the separate unicast manifest device, the content manifest based on the information of the requesting device in the request, the content manifest comprising at least one unicast address of a content delivery node suitable for delivering the content to the requesting device.
A content delivery network (CDN) comprising:
- a particular serving node associated with an anycast address
- receiving a request for a content manifest, the particular serving node being one of a plurality of serving nodes associated with the anycast address and the request comprising information of a requesting device in communication with the particular serving node,
- identifying a separate unicast manifest device based on the information of the requesting device in the request, the separate unicast manifest device being one of a plurality of content manifest devices, and
- redirecting the request to the separate unicast manifest device;
- the separate unicast manifest device serving a content manifest to the requesting device, the content manifest based on the information of the requesting device in the request, the content manifest comprising at least one unicast address of a content delivery node suitable for delivering the content to the requesting device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.