System and method for minimizing network bandwidth retrieved from an external network

摘要

A system and method are provided of minimizing network bandwidth used from an external network by client peers in a local network. The method can include the operation of organizing a plurality of clients each having media streamlets and a client parent in a structure within the local network. Mapping information propagates through the structure. The mapping information represents local streamlet locations as stored by the plurality of clients. Another operation is retrieving a local streamlet from a client identified in the mapping information as having the local streamlet for the requesting client.

主权项

1. A method executable a client device operating as one of a plurality of clients during streaming of a media stream made up of a series of media segments available from an external server, the method comprising:
obtaining at least one media segment from the external server by the client device; and sharing segment mapping information with at least one other of the plurality of clients, the segment mapping information comprising an address of the at least one media segment that is usable by the other clients to obtain the at least one media segment from the client device.