Origin request with peer fulfillment
View Patent ↗A method of servicing content requests in a CDN may include receiving a request for content from a first client device, identifying content associated with the content request, identifying a second client device that stores the content, identifying a CDN storage location that also stores the content, determining whether the second client device is authorized to source the content to the first client device, and selecting a source for the content. The source for the content may be selected from the storage location associated with the CDN and the second client device. The source for the content may be selected based on one or more CDN policies. The method may also include initiating a transfer of the at least a portion of the content from the second client device to the first client device if the second client device is selected as the source for the content.
1. A method of servicing content requests in a Content Delivery Network (CDN), the method comprising:
receiving, at a server in the CDN, a request for content from a first client device;
identifying content associated with the content request;
identifying a second client device that is in communication with the CDN, wherein the second client device stores at least a part of the content;
identifying a storage location associated with the CDN that also stores the at least a portion of the content;
determining, at the server, whether the second client device is authorized to source the at least a portion of the content to the first client device;
selecting, at the server, a source for the content to be provided to the first client device in response to the request for content, wherein:
the source for the content is selected from the group consisting of:
the storage location associated with the CDN; and
the second client device; and
the source for the content is selected based on one or more CDN policies;
initiating a transfer of the at least a portion of the content from the second client device to the first client device if the second client device is selected as the source for the content; and
initiating a transfer of the at least a portion of the content from the storage location associated with the CDN to the first client device if the storage location associated with the CDN is selected as the source for the content.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage location associated with the CDN comprises an origin server.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage location associated with the CDN comprises an edge server.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the source for the content is selected based on which of the storage location associated with the CDN and the second client device have the shortest latency for delivering the at least a portion of the content to the first client device.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second client device is selected from among a plurality of client devices based on the one or more CDN policies.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining whether the first client device is authorized to receive the content based at least partly on the identity of the first client device and the one or more CDN policies.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the content comprises:
the at least a portion of the content; and
a remaining portion of the content;
the at least a portion of the content is sourced from the selected source; and
the remaining portion of the content is sourced from the one of the second client device and the storage location associated with the CDN that was not selected as the selected source.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the server in the CDN in located in a first Point-of-Presence (POP) in the CDN;
and the storage location associated with the CDN comprises an edge server located in a second POP in the CDN.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the content comprises streaming content.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more CDN policies indicate whether the second client device should be preferred over the storage location associated with the CDN, or whether the storage location associated with the CDN should be preferred over the second client device.
11. A server in a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for servicing requests for content, the server comprising:
one or more processors; and
one or more memory devices comprising instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
receiving a request for content from a first client device;
identifying content associated with the content request;
identifying a second client device that is in communication with the CDN, wherein the second client device stores at least a part of the content;
identifying a storage location associated with the CDN that also stores the at least a portion of the content;
determining whether the second client device is authorized to source the at least a portion of the content to the first client device;
selecting a source for the content to be provided to the first client device in response to the request for content, wherein:
the source for the content is selected from the group consisting of:
the storage location associated with the CDN; and
the second client device; and
the source for the content is selected based on one or more CDN policies;
initiating a transfer of the at least a portion of the content from the second client device to the first client device if the second client device is selected as the source for the content; and
initiating a transfer of the at least a portion of the content from the storage location associated with the CDN to the first client device if the storage location associated with the CDN is selected as the source for the content.
12. The server of claim 11 , wherein the storage location associated with the CDN comprises an origin server.
13. The server of claim 11 , wherein the storage location associated with the CDN comprises an edge server.
14. The server of claim 11 , wherein the source for the content is selected based on which of the storage location associated with the CDN and the second client device have the shortest latency for delivering the at least a portion of the content to the first client device.
15. The server of claim 11 , wherein the second client device is selected from among a plurality of client devices based on the one or more CDN policies.
16. The server of claim 11 , further comprising determining whether the first client device is authorized to receive the content based at least partly on the identity of the first client device and the one or more CDN policies.
17. The server of claim 11 , wherein:
the content comprises:
the at least a portion of the content; and
a remaining portion of the content;
the at least a portion of the content is sourced from the selected source; and
the remaining portion of the content is sourced from the one of the second client device and the storage location associated with the CDN that was not selected as the selected source.
18. The server of claim 11 , wherein:
the server in the CDN in located in a first Point-of-Presence (POP) in the CDN;
and the storage location associated with the CDN comprises an edge server located in a second POP in the CDN.
19. The server of claim 11 , wherein the content comprises streaming content.
20. The server of claim 11 , wherein the one or more CDN policies indicate whether the second client device should be preferred over the storage location associated with the CDN, or whether the storage location associated with the CDN should be preferred over the second client device.