Patent Application
20170085623
The field of the invention is that of processing multimedia content.
Multimedia content is understood to mean any audio and/or visual content, or more generally any other digital content.
The invention more specifically concerns the transmission and reception of such multimedia content, particularly the continuous download thereof, also called streaming.
It applies particularly to any client terminal (subsequently called simply terminal) that is capable of communicating on a wide area telecommunications network in order to access a multimedia content via a universal address, also called URI (Uniform Resource Identifier).
Access to a content of the aforementioned type from a terminal is triggered generally by a request through a URI address of the content. Such access uses the HTTP (Hyper Text Transport Protocol) protocol, for example, which is a client/server communication protocol developed for wide area telecommunications networks, such as the Internet and particularly the web.
Once the communication has been set up between the terminal and the server according to the aforementioned HTTP protocol, a content download application installed in the terminal sets up a communication with the server for the purpose of the content download, according to a predetermined communication protocol, such as particularly the TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) protocol. In a manner known per se, the TCP protocol allows control of the state of the transmission of the data of the content requested between the server and the terminal.
A network of Internet type provides a link between the terminal and the server that benefits from a bandwidth associated with a determined data transmission bit rate. Such a bit rate is limited to a predetermined value that is dependent on the type of subscription to the Internet network to which the user of the terminal has subscribed.
Such a bit rate can prove insufficient for some data transfer operations, particularly when the terminal requests download of a content of the aforementioned type whose data volume is high. This results in a waiting time that is sometimes prohibitive for download or in failure of said download.
The document “Improving TCP Performance over Wireless Networks with Collaborative Multi-Homed Mobile Hosts”, Kyu-Han Kim and Kang G. Shin, describes a solution that allows this problem to be overcome. To this end, a terminal requesting a content from a server, via an Internet network, is offered the benefit of all or some of the bandwidth of multiple terminals connected to one another on one and the same local area telecommunications network. These terminals connect to the server via a proxy module installed on the Internet network that is responsible for managing the connections between each of the terminals and the server.
A disadvantage of such a solution is that it requires physical modification of the Internet network. It is therefore expensive. Moreover, it is very difficult to adapt.
Indeed, the operator intervenes on its network in order to meet a local need of one or more clients. If this need disappears and a new need appears on another area of the network, then another intervention is necessary.
One of the aims of the invention is to overcome disadvantages of the aforementioned prior art.
To this end, a subject of the present invention concerns a method for downloading content into a first terminal from a server, via a first wide area telecommunications network, comprising a step of setting up a first communication from the first terminal, according to a predetermined communication protocol, in the course of which the first terminal transmits a download request for a content to the server, via the first wide area telecommunications network.
Such a method is remarkable in that it comprises, on the first terminal, the following steps:
Such a provision has the advantage of allowing a terminal requesting download of a content from a server and visible to another terminal, via a common local area telecommunications network, to simply ask this other terminal for an offer to contribute to the available bandwidth on the wide area telecommunications network to which this other terminal is connected, in order to access such a content.
The wide area telecommunications networks to which the two visible terminals are respectively connected are of Internet type, for example, and are of both fixed type (for example ADSL) and mobile type (for example 3G, 4G).
To this end, the two terminals are previously configured to each contain a common dedicated protocol layer. In the case of the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) model, for example, such a dedicated protocol layer could come in between protocol layer 4 and protocol layer 5, for example, in order to allow the terminal requesting download of a content to implement the aforementioned steps of intercepting the content download request, discovering the neighboring terminals, determining at least one first data segment of the content to be downloaded and setting up a communication with the server, via at least one neighboring terminal, and to use this communication to receive, via the neighboring terminal, the first data segment of the content.
The invention thus allows the technical problem of providing additional bandwidth for a terminal requesting download of a content to be solved in a manner that is flexible and appropriate to its needs.
Moreover, the invention advantageously allows there to be no need for physical intervention by the operator and there to be no entailing of particular modifications on the content servers.
According to one particular embodiment, the message offering to share received in the discovery step moreover contains:
Such a provision allows the terminal having requested download of a content to precisely identify the contributing terminal so that the dedicated protocol layer of the requesting terminal is able to determine what data segment(s) of the content to be downloaded it is possible to request from this contributing terminal.
In this regard, the requesting terminal needs to know the bandwidth offered by the contributing terminal, and the address of the access device of this second terminal, so as to be able to direct to the latter its content segment download request(s).
The requesting terminal also needs to check the bandwidth contribution offer transmitted by the contributing terminal to determine that the latter is not connected to the same wide area telecommunications network as the requesting terminal. Indeed, the cooperation of a contributing terminal under consideration via a local area telecommunications network (for example WiFi) common to the terminal requesting the content download is of no real interest unless the type of wide area telecommunications network to which the contributing terminal is connected is different than that to which the requesting terminal is connected.
The step of intercepting the download request consists in:
Such a provision allows the requesting terminal, on its dedicated protocol layer, to intercept the content download request in order to check whether said request can be divided into multiple different and independent requests that are capable of being sent to respective different contributing terminals. To this end, the dedicated protocol layer checks that the content for which the download is requested can be broken down into multiple data segments. If this is the case, then the engagement of the contributing neighboring terminals is started. Otherwise, a conventional download of the content directly from the server is started.
According to yet another particular embodiment, in the event of the first terminal determining that the content to be downloaded comprises a second data segment and that the bandwidth of the first terminal is sufficient to allow download of the second segment directly from the server, the following steps are performed:
Such a provision is implemented if the content asked for by the requesting terminal can be broken down into at least two data segments and the requesting terminal has a sufficient bandwidth on its wide area telecommunications network to download at least one of the two data segments of the content, directly from the server.
According to yet another particular embodiment, following reception of the first and second segments, the following steps are performed, on the first terminal:
Such a provision allows the dedicated protocol layer of the terminal that has requested the content download to aggregate the received data segments both directly from the content server and from the contributing terminal, and then to reorder these segments for the purpose of downloading them into the requesting terminal.
According to yet another particular embodiment, the following steps are performed:
Such a provision has an embodiment in which two neighboring terminals for the terminal that has requested the content download are contributive.
According to yet another particular embodiment, following reception of the first, second and third segments, the following steps are performed, on the first terminal:
Such a provision allows the dedicated protocol layer of the terminal that has requested the content download to aggregate all of the data segments received both directly from the content server and from the various contributing terminals, and then to reorder these segments for the purpose of downloading them into the requesting terminal.
The aforementioned various embodiments or implementation features can be added independently or in combination with one another to the steps of the download method defined above.
The invention also concerns a terminal capable of downloading a content from a server, via a first wide area telecommunications network, comprising a module for setting up a first communication according to a predetermined communication protocol that is capable of transmitting a download request for a content to the aforementioned server, via the first wide area telecommunications network. Such a terminal is particularly adapted to implement the aforementioned download method.
The terminal according to the invention is remarkable in that it comprises:
The invention also concerns a method for providing a first terminal, connected to a first wide area telecommunications network, with a second wide area telecommunications network to which a second terminal is connected, for the purpose of downloading a content into the first terminal from a server.
Such a method is remarkable in that it comprises, on the second terminal, the following steps:
Such a provision has the advantage of allowing a terminal that is visible, via a local area telecommunications network common to another terminal having previously requested the download of a content from a server, to simply provide this other terminal with an offer to contribute the available bandwidth on the wide area telecommunications network to which the contributing terminal is connected, so that the requesting terminal can access such a content.
The wide area telecommunications networks to which the two visible terminals are respectively connected are of Internet type, for example, and are of both fixed type (for example ADSL) and mobile type (for example 3G, 4G).
To this end, the two terminals are previously configured to each contain a common dedicated protocol layer. In the case of the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) model, for example, such a protocol layer could come in between protocol layer 4 and protocol layer 5, for example, in order to allow the terminal contributing bandwidth to implement the aforementioned steps of discovering a connection to the requesting terminal and setting up a communication with the requesting terminal, and to use this communication in order to retransmit, to the requesting terminal, the first data segment of the content that the contributing terminal has obtained from the server.
Thus, the dedicated protocol layer of the contributing terminal advantageously allows it to route to the server the content segment download requests sent by the requesting terminal, without itself setting up a new connection to the server. In other words, the contributing terminal constitutes an IP (Internet Protocol) relay that ensures an NAT (Network Address Translation) function in order to retransmit the download requests to the server and, conversely, retransmit the responses from the server to the requesting terminal.
According to one particular embodiment, the response containing the offer to share the second wide area telecommunications network moreover contains:
Such a provision allows the terminal requesting download of a content to precisely identify the contributing terminal so as to be able to send it the content segment download request(s).
Such a provision also allows the requesting terminal to check that the contributing terminal is not connected to the same wide area telecommunications network as the requesting terminal.
The invention also concerns a terminal capable of providing another terminal connected to a first wide area telecommunications network with a second wide area telecommunications network to which the terminal is connected, for the purpose of downloading a content into the other terminal from a server. Such a terminal is particularly adapted to implement the aforementioned method for engaging a wide area telecommunications network.
The terminal according to the invention is remarkable in that it comprises:
Taking account of the fact that the invention is implemented only if the terminal requesting the content download and the contributing terminal each contain a common additional protocol layer:
The invention also concerns a computer program having instructions for implementing the method for downloading content according to the invention when it is executed on a terminal or more generally on a computer.
The invention also concerns a computer program having instructions for implementing the method for engaging a wide area telecommunications network according to the invention when it is executed on a terminal or more generally on a computer.
Each of these programs can use any programming language, and be in the form of source code, object code or intermediate code between source code and object code, such as in a partially compiled form, or in any other desirable form.
The invention also relates to a computer readable recording medium on which a computer program is recorded, this program having instructions adapted to implement the method for downloading content or the method for engaging a wide area telecommunications network according to the invention, as described above.
Such a recording medium may be any entity or device that is capable of storing the program. By way of example, the medium may have a storage means, such as a ROM, for example a CD-ROM, or a microelectronic circuit ROM, or else a magnetic recording means, for example a USB key or a hard disk.
Moreover, such a recording medium may be a transmittable medium such as an electrical or optical signal, which can be conveyed via an electrical or optical cable, by radio or by other means. The program according to the invention may be downloaded on a network of Internet type, in particular.
Alternatively, the recording medium may be an integrated circuit that incorporates the program, the circuit being adapted to execute or to be used in the execution of the aforementioned access method.
Other advantages and features of the invention will emerge more clearly upon reading the description that follows for multiple particular embodiments of the invention, which are provided by way of simple illustrative and non-limiting examples, and the appended drawings, among which:
In connection with
Such an architecture presents itself in the form of a computer system SYS1 comprising a client terminal T1, a service platform PFS2 to which the user of the terminal T1 is subscribed, and a content server SERV3. The content server SERV3 is capable of providing the terminal T1 with a content in response to a request from said terminal, the provision of such a content being managed by the service platform PFS2.
In the example represented in
The service platform PFS2 provides the user of the terminal T1 with various types of content, such as, by way of example:
Depending on the services provided by the platform PFS2, the aforementioned content can be previously broken down into a plurality of temporal data segments respectively coded according to various possible coding profiles. Such breakdown and coding operations are implemented in a dedicated device, not shown, that is connected to the content server SERV3.
The terminal T1 is also connected to a local area telecommunications network LAN1 that conventionally uses short range wireless connection means, for example of WiFi type, or even wired connection means, for example of powerline type CPL.
The terminal T1 is moreover connected to a terminal T2 via the local area telecommunications network LAN1. The terminal T2, for its part, is adapted to communicate with the server SERV3 via a second wide area telecommunications network WAN2, such as for example of IP type. In the example represented, the network WAN2 is of mobile and more particularly 3G type. The terminal T2 is connected to the network WAN2 by means of an access device EA2, such as a home or company gateway, for example.
In the example represented, the architecture chosen to illustrate the invention is what is known as a streaming architecture based on the use of the HTTP protocol. Conventionally, the client terminal T1 wishes to start communicating with the content server SERV3 in order to download a multimedia content made up of one or more media (audio, video, etc.).
In connection with
By way of example, the terminal T1 is a portable computer or even a cellphone, a Smartphone, a tablet, etc.
In the example represented in
On initialization, the code instructions of the computer program PG1120 are loaded into a RAM store (not shown), for example, before being executed by the processor P1 of the processing unit 110. The processor of the processing unit 110 implements the steps of the method for downloading content that will be described below, according to the instructions of the computer program 120.
In a manner that is known as such, the terminal T1 also comprises:
According to the invention, the terminal T1 moreover comprises:
The modules ICN1, DISC1, DET1, COM11 and AGR1, which will be described in more detail in the description that follows, are controlled by the processor P1 of the processing unit 110.
According to an exemplary embodiment, the modules ICN1, DISC1, DET1, COM11 and AGR1 are advantageously gathered together within a new protocol layer CP1 of the OSI model that is situated preferably between “transport” layer No. 4 and “session” layer No. 5.
In connection with
By way of example, the terminal T2 is a portable computer or even a cellphone, a Smartphone, a tablet, etc.
In the example represented in
On initialization, the code instructions of the computer program PG2220 are loaded into a RAM store (not shown), for example, before being executed by the processor P2 of the processing unit 210. The processor of the processing unit 210 implements the steps of the method for engaging a wide area telecommunications network that will be described below, according to the instructions of the computer program 220.
In a manner that is known as such, the terminal T2 also comprises:
According to the invention, the terminal T2 moreover comprises:
The modules DISC2 and COM21, which will be described in more detail in the description that follows, are controlled by the processor P2 of the processing unit 210.
According to an exemplary embodiment, the modules DISC2 and COM21 are advantageously gathered together within a new protocol layer CP2 of the OSI model that is situated preferably between “transport” layer No. 4 and “session” layer No. 5.
In particular, in accordance with the invention, the new protocol layer of the terminal T1 is capable of conversing with the new protocol layer of the terminal T2, via the local area telecommunications network LAN1.
Moreover, the terminal T1 is adapted to, in accordance with the invention, also engage its wide area telecommunications network WAN1. To this end:
Correspondingly, the terminal T2 is adapted to, in accordance with the invention, request download of a content from the server SERV3. To this end, the terminal T2 is adapted to also include:
Moreover:
In connection with
In the course of a step E10 represented in
An example of such setup of a communication is represented in
Step E10 consists, by way of example, in:
By way of example, descriptive information of this kind presents itself in the form of one or more intermediate descriptive files, also called documents, or manifests, or even resources, containing the addresses of a plurality of segments making up a content under consideration, in association with the various coding profiles attributed to each segment.
Once communication has been set up in accordance with the aforementioned step E10, in the course of a step E11 represented in
Step E11 consists in requesting download of the content in its entirety if the content is not segmentable or even in requesting one or more segments of this content, if the content is segmentable.
In the course of a step E12 represented in
In the course of a step E13 represented in
In the course of a step E14 represented in
In the course of a step E15 represented in
If, at the end of a predetermined time, the terminal T1 receives no response from the terminal T2, the discovery procedure for the terminal T2 is ended.
Otherwise, in the course of a step E16 represented in
If the terminal T2 is incapable of sharing its wide area telecommunications network WAN2, according to an embodiment that is not represented, then the module COM11 of the terminal T1 receives from the terminal T2, via the local area network LAN1, an invalidation message for the sharing.
According to an alternative embodiment, step E16 is implemented before step E15.
Moreover, it will be understood that the invention can be implemented just as well in PULL mode as in PUSH mode.
In PULL mode, the module COM11 of the terminal T1 explicitly requests from the terminal T2 an offer to share the wide area network WAN2 to which the terminal T2 is connected. The message OF_BP2 is thus received in the course of the aforementioned step E16, in response to the explicit request from the terminal T1.
In PUSH mode, the message OF_BP2 is received in the course of the aforementioned step E16, spontaneously from the terminal T2. By way of example, the PUSH mode is implemented when the bandwidth BP2 available on the wide area network WAN2 to which the terminal T2 is connected is not used in its entirety.
Of course, if multiple terminals are discovered by the terminal T1, then a combination of these two modes can advantageously be implemented, a message offering to share from a discovered first terminal being spontaneously received by the module COM11 of the terminal T1, and another message offering to share from a discovered second terminal being received in response to an explicit request from the module COM11 of the terminal T1.
In the course of a step E17 represented in
Such a determination step is implemented, by way of example:
In the course of a step E18 represented in
To this end, in the course of a sub step E180 represented in
In the course of a sub step E181 represented in
In the course of a step E19 represented in
There will now be a description, in connection with
Interception step E12 consists in:
Segmentable content is understood to mean a content downloadable via the wide area network WAN1 or the wide area network WAN2:
These three download methods can be used just as well for a previously coded VOD content as for a content broadcast live, that is to say coded and segmented on the fly.
In connection with
This second embodiment is identical to the first embodiment of
In the course of a step E18′ represented in
In the course of a step E19′ represented in
In the course of a step E20′ represented in
To this end, in the course of a sub step E201′ represented in
In the course of a sub step E202′ represented in
In the course of a step E21′ represented in
In the example that is represented, the set of steps E18′ and E19′ is implemented in parallel with the set of steps E20′ and E21′.
As a variant, the set of steps E18′ and E19′ could be implemented before or after the set of steps E20′ and E21′.
In the course of a step E22′ represented in
In the course of a step E23′ represented in
In the course of a step E24′ represented in
In connection with
The aim of such a method is that the terminal T2 provides its wide area network WAN2 for the terminal T1, so that the latter can download a content from the server SERV3.
To this end, in the course of a step E30 represented in
In the course of a step E31 represented in
In the course of a step E32 represented in
In the course of a step E33 represented in
If the terminal T2 is incapable of sharing its wide area telecommunications network WAN2, according to an embodiment that is not represented, the module COM21 of the terminal T2 sends to the terminal T2, via the local area network LAN1, an invalidation message for the sharing.
According to an alternative embodiment, step E33 is implemented before step E32.
In a manner corresponding to the method for downloading content described in
In PULL mode, in the course of the aforementioned step E33, the module COM21 of the terminal T2 sends the message OF_BP2 to the terminal T1, in response to an explicit request from the terminal T1.
In PUSH mode, in the course of the aforementioned step E33, the module COM21 of the terminal T2 spontaneously sends the message OF_BP2 to the terminal T1, for example if the terminal T2 determines that the bandwidth BP2 available on its wide area network WAN2 is not used in its entirety.
In the course of a step E34 represented in
To this end, in the course of a sub step E340 represented in
In the course of a sub step E341 represented in
In the course of a sub step E342 represented in
In the course of a sub step E343 represented in
With reference to
In connection with
The terminal T3 has exactly the same structure as the terminal T2. For this reason, it will not be described below.
In connection with
By way of example, what is involved is a stream coded hierarchically, for example according to a scalable format, of MPEG-4 SVC type, comprising a first layer of data called a base layer and at least one second layer of data called an enhancement layer. The first layer can advantageously be broadcast from a first multicast address, the enhancement layer(s) being broadcast at other multicast addresses.
Another known way of making a stream separable is to separate the substreams that constitute it, for example to broadcast the video sub stream at a first multicast address and the audio substream and/or the subtitle sub streams at a second multicast address.
Yet another way of making a stream separable is to use a data partitioning technique to distribute the coded data between multiple multicast broadcast sources.
According to the instance of use that is represented, it is assumed that the terminal T2 and the terminal T3 are capable of sharing their respective wide area telecommunications network with the terminal T1.
At 1, the terminal T1 sends an access request REQ_ACC_SERV3 to the server SERV3. The request REQ_ACC_SERV3 is a conventional http request that contains the address @SERV3 of the server SERV3 and the identifier ID_PT_SERV3 of the port of the server SERV3.
At 2, the application part of the protocol overlayer between http and tcp of the terminal T1 then requests setup of a first communication session according to the TCP protocol in order to converse with the server SERV3. During this communication, the terminal T1 conventionally transmits a request REQ_DESC_CM for descriptive information for the separable content CM to the server SERV3. It is assumed that the content CM is separable into three segments SG1, SG2 and SG3, each being available at a different multicast address.
At 3, the server SERV3 sends a response REP_DESC_CM to the terminal T1 that contains multiple URLs @sg1, @sg2 and @sg3 for accessing the content CM, corresponding to the various multicast source addresses @sg1, @sg2 and @sg3 of the various segments SG1, SG2 and SG3 of the content CM and information relating to a downlink bandwidth 11, 12, 13 that is necessary in order to receive each of these segments.
At 4, the terminal T1 transmits an http download request RL_CM for the content CM, using the open TCP session. The request RL_CM contains the various aforementioned multicast source addresses @sg1, @sg2 and @sg3.
At 5, in accordance with the invention, the request RL_CM is intercepted by the new protocol layer CP1 of the terminal T1. The layer CP1 then determines that the request RL_CONT can be subdivided into multiple independent requests for access to the segments SG1, SG2 and SG3 of the content CM.
At 6, in accordance with the invention, the layer CP1 of the terminal T1 transmits a discovery request REQ_DISC1 for terminals connected to the local area network LAN1 of
At 7, the layer CP1 of the terminal T1 receives a response REP_DISC1 indicating that the terminal T2 is connected to the local area network LAN1.
At 8, in accordance with the invention, the layer CP1 then requests setup of a second communication session according to the TCP protocol in order to converse with the terminal T2. During this second communication session, the terminal T1 transmits to the terminal T2, via the local area network LAN1, a message ID_SERV3 that contains the address @SERV3 of the server SERV3 and the identifier ID_PT_SERV3 of the port of the server SERV3.
At 9, the terminal T1 obtains in response from the terminal T2, via the network LAN1, a message OF_BP2 offering to share the wide area telecommunications network WAN2 to which the terminal T2 is connected. The message OF_BP2 particularly contains:
At 10, in accordance with the invention, the layer CP1 of the terminal T1 sends a discovery request REQ_DISC2 for terminals connected to the local area network LAN2 of
At 11, the layer CP1 of the terminal T1 receives a response REP_DISC2 indicating that the terminal T3 is connected to the local area network LAN2.
At 12, in accordance with the invention, the layer CP1 then requests setup of a third communication session according to the TCP protocol in order to converse with the terminal T3. During this third communication session, the terminal T1 transmits to the terminal T3, via the local area network LAN2, a message ID_SERV3 that contains the address @SERV3 of the server SERV3 and the identifier ID_PT_SERV3 of the port of the server SERV3.
At 13, the terminal T1 obtains in response from the terminal T3, via the network LAN2, a message OF_BP3 offering to share the wide area telecommunications network WAN3 to which the terminal T3 is connected. The message OF_BP3 particularly contains:
In accordance with the invention, the layer CP1 of the terminal T1 then determines what segments of the content CM the terminal T1 will control on the terminals T2 and T3.
In the example that is represented, the layer CP1 determines that the terminal T1:
At 14, the layer CP1 of the terminal T1 sends to the server SERV3 a conventional http download request RL_SG1_CM for the segment SG1 according to the TCP protocol used for the aforementioned first communication session, said request containing the address @sg1 associated with the segment SG1.
At 15, the layer CP1 of the terminal T1 receives from the server SERV3 a response REP_SG1_CM that contains the segment SG1.
At 16, in accordance with the invention, the layer CP1 of the terminal T1 sends to the terminal T2 an http download request RL_SG3_CM for the segment SG3, according to the TCP protocol used for the aforementioned first communication session. The request RL_SG3_CM contains:
The terminal T2 then routes the request RL_SG3_CM to the server SERV3 by carrying out an address translation NAT. To this end, the terminal T2 sends to the server SERV3 a download request ORD_SG3_CM for the segment SG3, which contains:
At 17, in accordance with the invention, the server SERV3 sends in response to the terminal T2 a response REP_ORD_SG3_CM that contains:
The terminal T2 then routes the response REP_ORD_SG3_CM to the layer CP1 of the terminal T1 by carrying out an address translation NAT. To this end, the terminal T2 sends to the terminal T1 a response REP_SG3_CM that contains:
At 18, in accordance with the invention, the layer CP1 of the terminal T1 sends to the terminal T3 an http download request RL_SG2_CM for the segment SG2, according to the TCP protocol used for the aforementioned third communication session. The request RL_SG2_CM contains:
The terminal T3 then routes the request RL_SG2_CM to the server SERV3 by carrying out an address translation NAT. To this end, the terminal T3 sends to the server SERV3 a download request ORD_SG2_CM for the segment SG2, which request contains:
At 19, in accordance with the invention, the server SERV3 sends to the terminal T3 a response REP_ORD_SG2_CM that contains:
The terminal T3 then routes the response REP_ORD_SG2_CM to the layer CP1 of the terminal T1 by carrying out an address translation NAT. To this end, the terminal T3 sends to the terminal T1 a response REP_SG2_CM that contains:
In the example that is represented, the set of steps 14 and 15, the set of steps 16 and 17 and the set of steps 18 and 19 are implemented in parallel.
As a variant, the set of steps 14 and 15, the set of steps 16 and 17 and the set of steps 18 and 19 are implemented successively in any order.
At 20, in accordance with the invention, the layer CP1 aggregates the three segments SG1, SG2, SG3 received in a preestablished order that is, for example, the order of appearance of the segments in the content CM: SG1, SG2, SG3.
At 21, in accordance with the invention, the layer CP1 of the terminal T1 sends, to the application part of the protocol overlayer between http and tcp of the terminal T1 that has transmitted, at 1, the initial http request REQ_ACC_SERV3, a response REP_ACC_SERV3 that contains the aggregated segments SG1_SG2_SG3 of the requested content CM.
The invention thus allows pooling of the bandwidths from which multiple neighboring subscribers benefit in order to facilitate access to segmentable digital content available on the Internet network.
The invention is particularly advantageous in that it does not involve any particular modification of the server SERV3 and of the infrastructure of the local area networks LAN1, LAN2 and wide area networks WAN1, WAN2 and WAN3.
It goes without saying that the embodiments that have been described above have been provided purely by way of indication and without any limitation, and that numerous modifications can easily be made by a person skilled in the art without, however, departing from the scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1454741 | May 2014 | FR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/FR2015/051311 | 5/19/2015 | WO | 00 |
