Orchestration server for video distribution network

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9307042-B2
Application number	US-201113313051-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 7, 2011
Priority date	Dec 7, 2011
Publication date	Apr 5, 2016
Grant date	Apr 5, 2016

Abstract

A computing device receives, from a user device, a data call, and forwards the data call to a backend network device. The computing device receives, from the backend network device, a response to the data call in a first format. The computing device identifies a type of the user device and converts the response from the first format into a second format to create a reformatted response. The reformatted response addresses compatibility issues or simplifies processing by the user device. The computing device sends the reformatted response to the user device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method implemented by a computing device, the method comprising:
receiving, by the computing device and from a user device, a first data call for a video catalog in a first format that includes one of SOAP format, extensible markup language (XML) format, and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format;
identifying, by the computing device, requirements of the first data call;
identifying, by the computing device and based on the requirements, multiple backend network devices that are required to process the first data call;
sending, by the computing device, the first data call to each of the multiple backend network devices in a second format, including one of SOAP format, XML format, and JSON format, that is different than the first format;
receiving, by the computing device, separate responses to the first data call from each of the multiple backend network devices, wherein the separate responses include data in the second format;
aggregating, by the computing device, each of the separate responses into an aggregated response to the first data call;
identifying, by the computing device, a type of the user device and an operating system employed by the user device;
converting, by the computing device and based on the type of the user device and the operating system employed by the user device, the data in the second format into the first format to create a reformatted aggregated response;
sending, by the computing device and to the user device, the reformatted aggregated response in the first format;
storing, in a local cache of the computing device and in the second format, the aggregated response to the first data call, wherein the data from the aggregated response to the first data call is available after sending the reformatted aggregated response;
receiving, by the computing device and from the user device, a second data call, wherein the second data call includes a second request for data previously included in the aggregated response to the first data call;
retrieving, from the local cache and after sending the reformatted aggregated response, information responsive to the second data call in the second format;
converting, by the computing device, the information responsive to the second data call from the second format into the first format to create another reformatted aggregated response; and
sending, by the computing device and to the user device, the other reformatted aggregated response.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein sending the first data call to each of the multiple backend network devices comprises sending the first data call serially to the multiple backend network devices.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first data call is a Web services request from a user device application for a video content delivery system.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein storing the data from the response to the first data call includes:
storing the data for a period of time that is less than a refresh rate of source data associated with the response to the first data call.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
extracting user behavior information from the first data call; and
forwarding, to another one of the multiple backend network devices, the user behavior information.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the user behavior information includes:
content viewed on the user device,
viewing times of the content on the user device, and
applications used on the user device.

7. A network device, comprising:
a memory configured to store instructions; and
a processor configured to execute instructions in the memory to:
receive, from a user device, a first data call for a video catalog listing in a first format that includes one of SOAP format, extensible markup language (XML) format, and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format;
identify requirements of the first data call;
identify, based on the requirements, multiple backend network devices that are required to process the first data call;
send the first data call to each of the multiple backend network devices in a second format, including one of SOAP format, XML format, and JSON format, that is different than the first format;
receive separate responses to the first data call from each of the multiple backend network devices, wherein the separate responses include data in the second format;
aggregate each of the separate responses into an aggregated response to the first data call;
identify, based on a type of the user device and an operating system employed by the user device, a preferred response format for the user device to receive the response to the first data call;
convert the data in the second format into the preferred response format to create a reformatted aggregated response;
send, to the user device, the reformatted aggregated response;
store, in the memory, the data in the second format, wherein the data in the second format is available after sending the reformatted response;
receive, from the user device, a second data call, wherein the second data call includes a second request for the data previously included in the response to the first data call;
retrieve, from the memory and after sending the reformatted response, the data in the first format responsive to the second data call;
convert the data in the second format into the preferred response format to create another reformatted aggregated response; and
send, to the user device, the other reformatted aggregated response.

8. The network device of claim 7 , wherein the preferred response format conforms to one of extensible markup language-remote procedure call (XML-RPC) protocol or JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) standards.

9. The network device of claim 7 , wherein the user device is one of:
a personal communications system (PCS) terminal,
a tablet computer,
a smart phone,
a personal computer,
a laptop computer,
a gaming console,
a vehicular communication system,
an Internet television, or
a digital video recorder (DVR) rental terminal.

10. The network device of claim 7 , wherein the second data call is a Web services request from a front-end application for a video content delivery system.

11. The network device of claim 7 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
store the data from the response to the first data call for a period of time that is less than a refresh rate of source data associated with response to the first data call.

12. The network device of claim 7 , where the processor is further configured to:
extract user behavior information from the first data call, and
forward, to another backend network device, the user behavior information.

13. The network device of claim 7 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions in the memory to:
extract user behavior information from the first data call; and
forward, to another one of the multiple backend network devices, the user behavior information.

14. The network device of claim 13 , wherein the user behavior information includes:
content viewed on the user device, and
viewing times of the content on the user device.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, including instructions executable by at least one processor, the computer-readable medium comprising one or more instructions for:
receiving, from a user device, a data call, for a video catalog listing associated with a video content distribution system, the data call including of first format selected from a group of SOAP format, extensible markup language (XML) format, and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format;
extracting

Assignees

• Wu Shuai
• Hao Jack Jianxiu
• Xia Wei
• Jin Zhiying
• Verizon Patent & Licensing Inc

Inventors

• Wu Shuai
• Hao Jack Jianxiu
• Xia Wei
• Jin Zhiying

Classifications

• H04L65/4084

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L67/303

  Terminal profiles · CPC title

• H04N21/2541

  Rights Management (protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08) · CPC title

• H04L67/2838

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04N21/2358 Primary

  for generating different versions, e.g. for different recipient devices · CPC title