Patent ID: 7769822
Filing Date: 2010-08-03
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. In a content delivery network comprising multiple depot servers positioned at different locations, and further comprising clients that are respectively located closer to one of said depot servers than to other of said depot servers, a method for distributing specified file content to said clients comprising the steps of: initially uploading said specified content and a deployment specification to a particular one of said depot servers, wherein the deployment specification identifies clients of the content delivery network that need to receive the specified content; generating a download plan for replicating said specified content at one or more other depot servers in successive stages, wherein each of said other depot servers is designated as a target depot server based on a proximity or association of depot servers to clients of the content delivery network that need to receive the specified content; notifying the clients of the content delivery network that need to receive the specified content, when the uploading of said specified content to said particular depot server is completed, that said specified content is being made available for downloading; and receiving a request for the specified content from a requesting client of the clients of the content delivery network that need to receive the specified content; and responsive to receiving the request, sending the requesting client the download plan that identifies the target depot server that will serve the specified content to the requesting client; and operating, by a processor, a selected target depot server in one or more modes selected from a set of modes, wherein one of said modes comprises immediately serving said specified content to a given client from said selected target server, and another of said modes comprises notifying said given client of the amount of time remaining until said selected target server will complete a set of content distribution activities that include replicating said specified content to the selected target server, and serving said specified content to a set of clients of the selected target server that have requested said specified content, and then adding the given client to the set of clients of the selected target server requesting said specified content.