Patent US6370571B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6370571B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
System and method for delivering high-performance online multimedia services
Assignee: At Home Bondholders' Liquidating Trust
•
Filing: 1997-03-05
•
Granted: 2002-04-09
•
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 02:11
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.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US5394182A
Cited
US5511208A
Cited
US5734719A
Cited
US5608446A
Cited
US5852713A
Cited
US5793980A
Cited
US5898456A
Cited
US5802292A
Cited
US6003030A
Cited
US5956716A
Cited
US5883901A
Cited
US5917822A
Cited
US5727159A
Cited
US5864852A
Cited
US5768528A
Cited
US5918013A
Cited
US5935207A
Cited
US5940074A
Cited
US5787470A
Cited
US5838927A
Cited
US5961593A
Cited
US5964891A
Cited
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 |