Patent ID: 7890631
Filing Date: 2011-02-15
Classification: H04L,H04N

Abstract:
1. A method of bandwidth allocation for delivery of stored digital content from a server to one or more client devices in a session, the method comprising: repeatedly calculating a control variable for each of the one or more client devices, wherein the control variable represents a minimum flow rate of content from the server to a client device by faster-than-real-time transmission, wherein the minimum flow rate of content is guaranteed not to increase during the session; determining time-varying constraints for each minimum flow rate of content based on scheduled changes in network capacity; determining a sum of all minimum flow rates of content for all client devices in the session; and allocating excess bandwidth to all client devices in the session based on a cost function that maximizes revenue for a service provider, wherein excess bandwidth is based on a difference between network capacity and the sum of all minimum flow rates of content for all client devices in a session, and further based on the time-varying constraints.