Method and system for fault tolerant media streaming over the Internet

Abstract

A replication process provides fault tolerance for a continuous media stream in a computer network. In one embodiment, the original or source signal is sent to several splitters which, in turn, each make copies of the signal and send the copies into a second layer of devices, which are referred to as “concentrators.” A given concentrator receives as input one or more copies of the source signal. In a preferred embodiment, a given concentrator receives two copies of the source signal from at least two different splitters. The concentrators process the incoming streaming signal copies, for example, by merging them into a single or composite copy of the original source signal according to a given processing algorithm. The output of a given concentrator may then be fed into a splitter, with the process then being repeated if desired to make an arbitrary large number of copies of the signal. At the end of the replication process, the output of a splitter or a concentrator is fed directly or indirectly to an end user. The replication process is fault-tolerant, and thus the end user's signal is not interrupted regardless of signal or equipment problems within the distribution mechanism.

Description

[0001] This application is a continuation of prior application Ser. No. 10.457,266, filed Jun. 9, 2003, which application was a continuation of Ser. No. 09 / 478,571, filed Jan. 6, 2000.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Technical Field [0003] The present invention relates generally to digital signal transmission over a computer network and, in particular, to a method and system for streaming content over the Internet in a fault tolerant manner. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] Most Internet users do not have fast enough access to the Internet to download large multimedia files quickly. Streaming is a technique for delivering web-based video, audio and multimedia files so that these files can be processed as a steady and continuous stream at the requesting client, typically using a browser plug-in, such as Microsoft NetPlayer, Apple QuickTime, Real Networks RealSystem G2, or the like. Streaming video, for example, is an online video distribution mechanism that provid...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011] Another type of processing algorithm that may be implemented at a concentrator uses a buffering technique. In this approach, a buffer of a given size is kept for each input stream to create an n-dimensional array, where n is the number of input streams. At a given cycle rate, the concentrator transmits a smallest index packet (namely, a packet that is earliest in the stream sequence) contained in any of the stream buffers. As each packet is transmitted, the data in the array is updated so that future copies of the same packet can be discarded. This protocol enables the concentrator to reorder the packets in a stream so that they are output in a correct order.

Problems solved by technology

Most Internet users do not have fast enough access to the Internet to download large multimedia files quickly.

A critical problem with existing streaming methods of this type is that they are not fault tolerant. FIG. 1 illustrates why this is the case.

If communications at a given splitter fail, however, certain users are unable to receive the original signal.

Such approaches, however, can result in an interruption of the signal and are expensive to implement.

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