US6370571B1
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US
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System and method for delivering high-performance online multimedia services
Assignee: At Home Bondholders' Liquidating Trust
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Filing: 1997-03-05
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Granted: 2002-04-09
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Expires: 2017-03-05
Abstract
Abstract Disclosed is a scalable, hierarchical, distributed network architecture and processes for the delivery of high-performance, end-to-end online multimedia services, including Internet services such as World Wide Web access. The network architecture connects a high-speed private backbone to multiple network access points of the Internet, to a network operation center, to a back office system, and to multiple regional servers in regional data centers. Each of the regional servers connects to several caching servers in modified head-ends, which in turn connect via fiber optics to many neighborhood nodes. Finally, each node connects via coaxial cable to multiple end-user systems. The processes include those for replicating and caching frequently-accessed content, and multicasting content customized per region or locality.
Inventors
- 👤 Milo S. Medin, Jr.
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 01:13
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L12/00; H04L12/02; H04L12/16; H04L12/18; H04L12/1845; G; G06; G06F; G06F21/00; G06F21/10; H04L12/1854; H04L12/28; H04L12/2801; H04L12/2854; H04L12/2856; H04L12/2858; H04L12/2861; H04L12/2869; H04L12/287; H04L12/2878; H04L12/2879; H04L12/2883; H04L63/00; H04L63/08; H04L63/0807; H04L63/10; H04L63/101; H04L67/00; H04L67/2866; H04L67/2885; H04L67/50; H04L67/52; H04L67/56; H04L67/568; H04L9/00; H04L9/40; H04N; H04N21/00; H04N21/20; H04N21/21; H04N21/222; H04N21/2225; H04N21/23; H04N21/231; H04N21/23106; H04L12/1836; H04L12/1863; H04L12/1877; H04L69/00; H04L69/30; H04L69/32; H04L69/322; H04L69/329
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
165 words
A system for delivery of high-performance online multimedia services comprising: a high-speed backbone coupled to a plurality of network access points of a publicly accessible internetwork of networks for retrieving content; a plurality of regional servers coupled to the high-speed backbone, each regional server for providing a second level of caching of the content for a region and for providing regionally-customized multicast content to a region; a plurality of caching servers coupled to each of the regional servers, each caching server for providing a first level of caching of the content for a sub-region of the region served by the coupled regional server; and a broadband distribution network coupling each of the caching servers to a plurality of end-user systems in the sub-region, for providing the cached content to the end-user systems responsive to requests from the end-user systems for content on the publicly accessible internetwork of networks, and for providing the regionally-customized multicast content to a group of the end-user systems in the sub-region.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
165 words
A system for delivery of high-performance online multimedia services comprising: a high-speed backbone coupled to a plurality of network access points of a publicly accessible internetwork of networks for retrieving content; a plurality of regional servers coupled to the high-speed backbone, each regional server for providing a second level of caching of the content for a region and for providing regionally-customized multicast content to a region; a plurality of caching servers coupled to each of the regional servers, each caching server for providing a first level of caching of the content for a sub-region of the region served by the coupled regional server; and a broadband distribution network coupling each of the caching servers to a plurality of end-user systems in the sub-region, for providing the cached content to the end-user systems responsive to requests from the end-user systems for content on the publicly accessible internetwork of networks, and for providing the regionally-customized multicast content to a group of the end-user systems in the sub-region.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
The system of claim 1 , where cached content is replicated from a first regional server to a second regional server.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
The system of claim 1 , further comprising: a regional caching server coupled to a regional server for caching the content.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system of claim 1 , further comprising: a central server distinct from the regional servers and coupled to the high-speed backbone via a router for coordinating management of the system.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system of claim 5 , further comprising: a network management system station in the central server for communicating with network management system agents in the regional servers.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system of claim 1 , further comprising: a coupling from a remote local area network to the high-speed backbone which bypasses the publicly accessible internetwork of networks.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
18 words
The system of claim 1 , where the broadband distribution network comprises a hybrid fiber-coax (BFC) distribution system.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system of claim 1 , where the broadband distribution network comprises a xDSL distribution system.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system of claim 1 , further comprising: a monitor device in communication with a central server distinct from the regional servers for monitoring an analog cable TV distribution system that also utilizes the HFC distribution system.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
131 words
A system for delivery of high-performance online multimedia services comprising: a high-speed backbone coupled to a plurality of network access points of a publicly accessible internetwork of networks; a plurality of regional servers coupled to the high-speed backbone via routers, where content is replicated amongst the regional servers; a plurality of caching servers coupled to each of the regional servers, where recently-served content is stored by the caching server; a plurality of end-user systems coupled to each of the caching servers, where regionally-customized content is multicast by one of the regional servers to a group of the end-user systems in its region; and a central server coupled to the high-speed backbone, where a network management system station in the central server communicates with network management system agents in the regional servers.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
131 words
A system for delivery of high-performance online multimedia services comprising: a high-speed backbone coupled to a plurality of network access points of a publicly accessible internetwork of networks; a plurality of regional servers coupled to the high-speed backbone via routers, where content is replicated amongst the regional servers; a plurality of caching servers coupled to each of the regional servers, where recently-served content is stored by the caching server; a plurality of end-user systems coupled to each of the caching servers, where regionally-customized content is multicast by one of the regional servers to a group of the end-user systems in its region; and a central server coupled to the high-speed backbone, where a network management system station in the central server communicates with network management system agents in the regional servers.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
171 words
A method for delivering high-performance online multimedia services, comprising the steps of: providing a high-speed backbone coupled to a plurality of network access points of a publicly accessible internetwork of networks for retrieving content; providing a plurality of regional servers coupled to the high-speed backbone, each regional server for providing a second level of caching of the content for a region and for providing regionally-customized multicast content to a region; providing a plurality of caching servers coupled to each of the regional servers, each caching server for providing a first level of caching of the content for a sub-region of the region served by the coupled regional server; and providing a broadband distribution network coupling each of the caching servers to a plurality of end-user systems in the sub-region, for providing the cached content to the end-user systems responsive to requests from the end-user systems for content on the publicly accessible internetwork of networks, and for providing the regionally-customized multicast content to a group of the end-user systems in the sub-region.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
171 words
A method for delivering high-performance online multimedia services, comprising the steps of: providing a high-speed backbone coupled to a plurality of network access points of a publicly accessible internetwork of networks for retrieving content; providing a plurality of regional servers coupled to the high-speed backbone, each regional server for providing a second level of caching of the content for a region and for providing regionally-customized multicast content to a region; providing a plurality of caching servers coupled to each of the regional servers, each caching server for providing a first level of caching of the content for a sub-region of the region served by the coupled regional server; and providing a broadband distribution network coupling each of the caching servers to a plurality of end-user systems in the sub-region, for providing the cached content to the end-user systems responsive to requests from the end-user systems for content on the publicly accessible internetwork of networks, and for providing the regionally-customized multicast content to a group of the end-user systems in the sub-region.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
25 words
The method of clam 11 , further comprising the step of: replicating the cached content from a first regional server to a second regional server.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
25 words
The method of clam 11 , further comprising the step of: replicating the cached content from a first regional server to a second regional server.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
22 words
The method of clam 11 , further comprising the step of: coordinating the multicasting of the customized content with a central server.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
22 words
The method of clam 11 , further comprising the step of: coordinating the multicasting of the customized content with a central server.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 13 , wherein the coordinating step comprises the step of: communicating from the central server to network management system agents in the regional servers.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 11 , wherein the step of providing a broadband distribution network comprises the step of: providing a hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) distribution system.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 15 , further comprising the step of: monitoring an analog TV distribution system that also utilizes the HFC distribution system.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 11 , wherein the step of providing a broadband distribution network comprises the step of: providing a xDSL distribution system.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-04-08 | 2005-10-08 | 2006-04-09 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-04-08 | 2009-10-08 | 2010-04-09 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-04-08 | 2013-10-08 | 2014-04-09 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |