Methods and Systems for Using In-Stream Data Within an On Demand Content Delivery Path

Abstract

An on demand content delivery platform for delivering on demand digital assets includes a network transport composed of network elements. A content delivery path extends from an application server, through the network transport, to a client. During content delivery, at a network element, data is inserted into the content delivery path to produce a content stream containing inserted in-stream data. In one implementation, the content is conditioned in accordance with instructions present in the in-stream data. In another implementation, the in-stream data represents session information and is utilized for stateless recovery of session information.

1 . A method comprising,
 determining, by a computing device, utilization information in a stream transmitted to a second device, wherein the stream comprises requested content data, wherein the utilization information indicates resources being used by the second device for communication of the requested content data to a first device, wherein the resources of the second device comprise input resources of the second device and output resources of the second device, and wherein at least one of the input resources is different from at least one of the output resources; and   configuring, based on the utilization information, the computing device to manage the resources of the second device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the configuring the computing device comprises restoring session information, associated with the second device, based on the determined utilization information. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the configuring the computing device comprises allocating a hybrid fiber coax bandwidth for delivery of the requested content data. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the resources of the second device comprise at least one of:
 a bandwidth of the second device, or   an encryption engine.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein
 the requested content data comprises video on demand (VOD) content.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the utilization information comprises at least one of:
 an indication of a port,   an indication of an allocated bandwidth of a hybrid fiber coax network segment, or   frequency and Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) tuning information.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second device comprises an edge quadrature amplitude modulator. 
     
     
         8 . An apparatus comprising:
 one or more processors;   memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:
 determine utilization information in a stream transmitted to a second device, wherein the stream comprises requested content data, wherein the utilization information indicates resources being used by the second device for communication of the requested content data to a first device, wherein the resources of the second device comprise input resources of the second device and output resources of the second device, and wherein at least one of the input resources is different from at least one of the output resources; and 
 configure, based on the utilization information, the apparatus to manage the resources of the second device. 
   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to configure the apparatus by restoring session information, associated with the second device, based on the determined utilization information. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to configure the apparatus by allocating a hybrid fiber coax bandwidth for delivery of the requested content data. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the resources of the second device comprise at least one of:
 a bandwidth of the second device, or   an encryption engine.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the requested content data comprises video on demand (VOD) content. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the utilization information comprises at least one of:
 an indication of a port,   an indication of an allocated bandwidth of a hybrid fiber coax network segment, or   frequency and Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) tuning information.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the second device comprises an edge quadrature amplitude modulator. 
     
     
         15 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed, cause:
 determining utilization information in a stream transmitted to a second device, wherein the stream comprises requested content data, wherein the utilization information indicates resources being used by the second device for communication of the requested content data to a first device, wherein the resources of the second device comprise input resources of the second device and output resources of the second device, and wherein at least one of the input resources is different from at least one of the output resources; and   configuring, based on the utilization information, a computing device to manage the resources of the second device.   
     
     
         16 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the configuring by causing restoring session information, associated with the second device, based on the determined utilization information. 
     
     
         17 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the configuring by causing allocating a hybrid fiber coax bandwidth for delivery of the requested content data. 
     
     
         18 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 15 , wherein the resources of the second device comprise at least one of:
 a bandwidth of the second device, or   an encryption engine.   
     
     
         19 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 15 , wherein the requested content data comprises video on demand (VOD) content. 
     
     
         20 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 15 , wherein the utilization information comprises at least one of:
 an indication of a port,   an indication of an allocated bandwidth of a hybrid fiber coax network segment, or   frequency and Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) tuning information.   
     
     
         21 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 15 , wherein the second device comprises an edge quadrature amplitude modulator.