Quick session setup for video on demand with information caching

摘要

A technique for managing session setup for video on demand sessions involves caching information related to session setup for a session manager and then utilizing the cached information to setup a video on demand session for a client in response to a session setup request that is received from the client. Because information related to session setup is cached for the session manager, the session manager can utilize the information to establish a session without having to exchange messages with other video on demand elements, in particular other servers in the video on demand network. Reducing or eliminating the number of messages exchanged between video on demand elements enables video on demand sessions to be quickly and efficiently setup.

主权项

1. A method for managing session setup for video on demand sessions, the method comprising:
caching information related to session setup in a memory of a session manager at a video server system that supports multiple clients, wherein caching the information related to session setup comprises caching channel to content map information, entitlement information, and resource reservation information, wherein caching the information related to the session setup comprises periodically updating at least one of cached information related to the session setup, wherein periodically updating the at least one of the cached information related to the session setup comprises receiving a digest of an updated at least one of the cached information related to the session setup from at least one remote server, and updating, based on a comparison with the received digest, the at least one of the cached information related to the session setup, and wherein receiving the digest of the updated at least one of the cached information comprises receiving the digest based on one of the following: after expiry of a predefined time period and a predetermined percentage change in the information related to the session setup; receiving, at the session manager, a session set-up request from a client, wherein the session setup request includes a channel number; and utilizing the channel to content map information, the entitlement information, and the resource reservation information at the session manager to setup a video on demand session for the client in response to the session setup request, wherein the channel to content map information includes associations between channel numbers and content identifiers, wherein the channel number in the session setup request is translated into a content identifier, wherein the resource reservation information is related to reserving network resources for the video on demand session, and wherein the video on demand session is established from a single server that comprises the cached channel to content map information, the entitlement information, and the resource reservation information.