Patent ID: 7543074

Claim:
A distribution network for the distribution of content data from a server node to user nodes, wherein said user nodes are connected to said server and each other in cascaded relationship, wherein, (a) at least one of said user nodes is a repeater node connected directly to said server node, wherein said repeater node retransmits content data received by said repeater node to a second user node which is a child node of said repeater node, said second user node being docked to said repeater node for the purpose of receiving content data from said repeater node; (b) wherein each repeater node has the ability to provide connection address instructions to a connection requesting user nodes attempting to dock with it, said connection address instructions comprising a connection address list from a recommended parent node back to said server node; (c) wherein said recommended parent node has apparent available capacity to transmit content data to said connection requesting user node and is at least as close to said repeater node as any other user node docked to the repeater node having apparent available capacity to transmit content data to said connection requesting user node; (d) wherein each repeater node includes a descendant database indicating (i) which child nodes, if any, at a point in time, are docked with it so as to receive content data from said repeater node, and (ii) which user nodes, if any, at said point in time, are purportedly docked with each of said child nodes, said descendant database containing utility ratings for each child node in said descendant database; and (e) wherein each repeater node is able to use said descendant database to create a primary recommended parent list and a secondary recommended parent list, said secondary recommended parent list containing all child nodes of said repeater node having sufficient bandwidth available to support another child node, but are fully occupied, and at least one of its child nodes is incapable of retransmitting content data to another child node, wherein said child nodes which are closest to said repeater are placed at the top of the secondary recommended parent list, and those nodes which are in the same level are ranked such that the nodes with the highest utility rating are listed first.