Content caching in a network for efficient user device access

A server comprising:

• a memory to store instructions;
• and
• at least one processor to execute the instructions stored by the memory to:
• receive, from a requesting computing device, a request for a segment of a content item, the request indicating one or more positions in the content item that define the segment of the content item, the segment of the content item including a subset of the entire content item;
• determine a second segment of the content item, different from the first segment of the content item, in which the second segment of the content item is aligned so that an end position of the second segment of the content item matches an end position of one of a plurality of predetermined segments for the content item;
• obtain the second segment of the content item;
• and
• transmit the obtained second segment of the content item to the requesting computing device.

A method comprising:

• receiving, by a cache node in a network, a request for a first segment of a content item, the request including at least an indication of a start position and an end position of the first segment from within the entire content item;
• reading, by the cache node, a second segment of the content item from local cache storage when the start position of the first segment matches a start position of the second segment, without regard to whether an end position of the first segment matches an end position of the second segment;
• transmitting, by the cache node, when the start position of the first segment matches the start position of the second segment, the second segment of the content item to a computing device that originated the request;
• and
• requesting, by the cache node and from a network content server, content corresponding to the content item when the start position of the first segment does not match a start position of another segment, of the content item, in the local cache storage.