Video on demand load equalization

A network node, comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network node to perform:
• maintaining in a database information on a plurality of Video On Demand, VOD, streams handled by the network node and information on one or more neighbouring network nodes;
• receiving downlink traffic to be transmitted to one or more terminal devices served by the network node;
• detecting, from the downlink traffic, a VOD stream to be transmitted to a terminal device in a cell served by the network node;
• reserving, in response to the detecting of the VOD stream, a resource for the VOD stream;
• determining the number of VOD streams handled by the cell including the detected VOD stream and a first traffic load caused by the VOD streams;
• comparing the number of the VOD streams to a first threshold and the first traffic load caused by the VOD streams to a second threshold;
• in response to the number of the VOD streams being above the first threshold or the first traffic load caused by the VOD streams being above the second threshold, performing the following:
• selecting a terminal device associated with one of the VOD streams, wherein said terminal device associated with said one of the VOD streams is selected to be one of
• a terminal device associated with the VOD stream,
• a terminal device of the one or more terminal devices consuming the largest amount of resources from resources available for VOD streaming in the cell,
• a terminal device of the one or more terminal devices consuming the largest amount of total resources in the cell and
• a terminal device of the one or more terminal devices located closest to a center of the cell,
• selecting a target cell from one or more cells served by at least one of the one or more neighbouring network nodes and the network node, and
• scheduling said terminal device associated with said one of the VOD streams to use the target cell for said one of the VOD streams;
• and
• in response to the number of the VOD streams being equal to or smaller than the first threshold and the traffic load caused by the VOD streams being equal to or smaller than the second threshold, scheduling the VOD stream in the network node using the cell and the resource reserved for the VOD stream, wherein the first traffic load is a traffic load caused by VOD streaming with a non-guaranteed bit rate, the at least one memory and the computer code being further configured to cause the network node to perform:
• determining a second traffic load of the cell caused by all downlink traffic and one or more relative traffic loads of the one or more cells, wherein the relative traffic load is defined as the number of active VOD streams divided by a bandwidth available for VOD streaming in a corresponding cell;
• comparing the second traffic load to a third threshold and the relative traffic load of the cell to each of the one or more relative traffic loads;
• performing the selecting of the terminal device, the selecting of the target cell and the scheduling of the terminal device also in response to the second traffic load being above the third threshold or in response to the relative traffic load of the cell being above at least one of the one or more relative traffic loads;
• and
• performing the scheduling the VOD stream in the network node using the cell and the resource reserved for the VOD stream only in response to also the second traffic load being equal to or below the third threshold and the relative traffic load being equal to or below the one or more relative traffic loads.