Patent Application
20160283436
Content delivery networks such as television networks, internet service provider networks, and communication networks, deliver data and media content in a variety of formats via a variety of technologies, such as quadrature amplitude modulated signals and internet protocol digital packets delivered via coaxial cable and/or optical fiber, twisted pair, wireless, or other systems. Devices for obtaining, viewing, and/or using content can similarly take a variety of forms, including, for example, smart phones, tablet computers, gaming consoles, cable television set-top boxes, to name but a few. Each such user system may be adapted in its own way to allow the user to select, acquire, view, and/or use media and data content, and a need exists to deliver content quicker and in a required format. These and other needs are presented and addressed in this disclosure.
Applicants disclose, in one aspect, employing distributed caching to deliver content to end user devices. Users of content delivery systems such as, for example, television networks may have experienced delays between the time that they select a channel and the time when the content for the selected channel is presented to the user. According to an aspect of the disclosed embodiments, cached data corresponding to a request may be located and provided in response to a user request so as to minimize delay in beginning the delivery of content to the user.
In order to fulfill a request by a user for media or data content, a user system may seek the content, or a portion of the content, from two or more sources at the same time. The user system may, for example, send both a request for the desired content item to a content delivery network, and a request for an initial portion of the desired content item to a local cache device (or another type of storage device). In order to better tailor requests for content, the user system may refer to one or more manifests to identify the locations and content of caches residing on nearby devices.
In response to a request, the user system may receive a transmission containing a first portion of the desired content item from a local device. The transmission may be received via a wireless network, which may be, for example, a mesh WiFi network and/or another network. The user system may provide this first portion of the desired content item to the user before and/or until a transmission of the desired content becomes available from the content delivery network. The content delivery network may provide the desired content item, for example, in quadrature amplitude modulated and/or IP protocol packet form. Upon receiving the content from the content delivery network, the user system may seamlessly switchover to presenting the content from the content delivery network using timestamps or other markers in the content to synchronize it with the first portion of the content previously provided by the local device. Similarly, other kinds of data, such as large image or software files, etc., may be assembled from segments received from multiple sources.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to limitations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.
The following description of the illustrative embodiments may be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. It is understood that potential embodiments of the disclosed systems and methods are not limited to those depicted.
In order to fulfill a request by a user for media or data content, a user system may seek both a transmission, e.g., a stream, of the desired content item from a content delivery network, and a transmission from a cache of an initial portion of the desired content item. Such a cache may reside in one or more local devices that are in communication with the user system. To locate and request cached content, the user system may refer to one or more manifests which list the locations and content of available caches. The local devices may provide cached content to the user system via a wireless network, which may be a WiFi mesh network and/or another type of a wireless network. The content delivery network may provide content in quadrature amplitude modulated and/or IP protocol packet form.
Example networks, processes, and devices useful for enabling a system to quickly and efficiently obtain media and data content from multiple sources are described below.
The legs 18, 20, and 22 feed content to the points where it is presented for consumption or further processing by users. In the example depicted in
The home 100 may comprise a variety of devices adapted for requesting and receiving content. For example, there is a processors in the form of a set-top box (STB) 101 which connects to the leg 18 via the network 19 receives data from the content delivery system. The STB 101 may be a tuning device, incorporating a digital video recorder (DVR) or connected to a remote DVR, and accepting commands from a handheld wireless remote control, for instance. The STB 101 might also be a gaming console or a similar media content appliance. The STB 101 may incorporate one or more QAM tuners or other coding and decoding mechanisms for receiving data and/or sending requests over the network 19. The STB 101 is connected to a display device such as a television (TV) 102 over a video link 110. The display device 102 may be any system suitable for presenting video content including, for example, a conventional television with channel tuning capability, a digital display, or a video projector. The video link 110 may be any suitable link for communicating video data including, for example, an HDMI, a VGA, an RGB, or an equivalent video link. In an alternative embodiment, content and data may be delivered directly to the display device 102 without passing through an intermediary device such as STB 101.
The home 100 has a modem 103 which provides a second communication link to the network 19. The modem 103 could be a digital subscriber line (DSL) or POTS modem, or some other form of interface depending on the nature of and configuration of network 19. It may also contain one or more QAM tuners. Modem 103 is connected to a gateway (GW) 104 via a data link 111. The GW 104 may comprise a digital bridge, router, repeater, multiplexer, or the like. The data link 111 may be an optical fiber, twisted pair, or coaxial cable connection, a wireless link, or the like.
The devices in the home 100 may be networked in any suitable manner. For example, an in-home network 112, which may be a twisted pair Ethernet network, may be rooted at the GW 104. Using the network 112, a personal computer (PC) 105 may connect to the content delivery system via the GW 104, the modem 103, and the network 19, etc., which together create a path for network, e.g., Internet, services to be provisioned to the PC 105. A user equipment (UE) 107 in the home 100 may connect to the in-home network 112 via a WiFi access point 106 connected to the GW 104. Similarly, the UE 107 may connect to the broader content delivery system via a path created by the WiFi 106, the GW 104, the modem 103, and the leg 18. The UE 107 may be any suitable personal electronics device, such as, for example, a cellular telephone handset, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, etc.
The STB 101, the TV 102, the modem 103, and the PC 105 might also be equipped with wireless transceivers and therefore able to communicate directly with each other and/or the UE 107 and other devices within range of the wireless signal. Devices equipped with wireless transceivers may be within range and able to communicate with similarly equipped devices in other homes.
Other homes may be identically equipped, or use similar devices to achieve similar functions. For example, the home 120 is shown as having no STB. A TV 122 is connected directly to the router on network leg 18 via the network 19. A modem 123 connects via a data link 131 to a GW 124, or, alternatively, one computing device may comprise the functionality of the modem 123 and the GW 124. The GW 124 is the root of an in-home network 132 which connects to the TV 122, and a PC 125. The GW is also connected to a WiFi access point 126. There is a UE 127 in the home 120 which connects wirelessly to WiFi 126.
If all of the devices in the home 100 and the home 120 are equipped with wireless transceivers and all are within range of each other, numerable direct or mesh connections are possible. In addition, numerous indirect pathways may exist between devices in the homes 100 and 102 when the in-home network connections are considered. Further, when the networks 19, 21, 23, 15, 17, and 13 are considered, devices in each of the houses 100 and 102 may have thousands of connections of varying directness to devices in other homes.
Content may be consumed in the home in a variety of ways on a variety of apparatuses. For example, a user in the home 100 may watch a video program transmission (e.g., a broadcast, multicast or unicast transmission that may be streamed, downloaded, etc.) on the TV 102 by using a remote control to adjust a QAM tuner in the STB 101. He may watch the same broadcast on the PC 105, e.g., by selecting the content via an Internet web browser. Alternatively he may view the same broadcast on the UE 107, e.g., using a software application (app) on the UE 107. Similarly, he may order on-demand content using any of these three apparatuses. He may also order content which is not entertainment media. For example, he may request a lengthy operating system upgrade for the UE 107 to be delivered from the source 12, via the branch 14, the leg 18, the modem 103, the GW 104, and the WiFi 106.
The home 160, for example, has a user system 203 of unspecified type. The user system 203 could be any of the in-home devices described above, or any combination thereof, that a user in the home 160 uses to receive, view, or otherwise consume media and/or data content.
When a user requests content, he may have to wait some time to receive it. For example, if a user in the home 100 is viewing content on the TV 102 and uses the remote to change the STB 101 to receive an on-demand video program, the STB 101 may have to alter how a QAM tuner is adjusted, or, in an internet protocol delivery system, the TV 102 or an associated device may have to join a new transmission. The STB 101 may also have to negotiate with the leg 18 for a channel on which to receive the content. The leg 18 may not have the content immediately available, and may therefore have to negotiate with the branch 14 to start receiving the content. The branch 14 may need to request the content from the source 12, which may have to request it from, for example, a national head end office not shown in
A STB, such as one equipped with multiple QAM tuners and a DVR, may be able to pre-store, at a local or remote memory, content that a user is likely to request. For example, if a user is watching a live television program on channel 24, and the STB has two QAM tuners not in use, the STB can tune these tuners to channels 23 and 25, on the theory that these are the channels to which the user is most likely to “surf” next. Similarly, the STB may set the unused QAM tuners to two channels that the user is likely to next select, based on the users observed behavior at certain times of day and/or days or the week. Doing so reduces the time it takes to switch to one of these transmission of content. Such a STB may store on the DVR a portion or the entirety of a transmission to which each tuner is tuned. A viewer may quickly access any stored content directly from the DVR.
In the highly interconnected home 100, there are other options for quickly retrieving content so as to minimize the amount of delay/dead air the user may experience. For example, consider a scenario where a first user in the home 100 is watching a content transmission on the TV 102, while a second user is watching a special, such as a live selection, such as a sporting event, on the UE 107. Hearing cheering from the room in which the second user is viewing the game, the first user decides to tune into the game, hoping to catch the replay. Using the remote control, the first user selects the on-demand game content. This request propagates up the content distribution system, as the first user waits.
Meanwhile, a copy of a portion of the desired content item—perhaps a two to four second MPEG clip—may be resident in a cache in either the modem 103, the gateway 104, the WiFi access point 106, or the UE 107. The STB 101 may be configured to send both a first request for the desired content item to the content delivery system and a second request for the desired content item to the devices on the in-home network 112 and on the WiFi 106. Any device holding a cache of a portion of the desired content item may then respond by providing that portion of the content to the STB 101. The STB 101 may then immediately play the content for the first user. When the leg 18 begins to deliver a stream (or another type of transmission) of the desired content item to the STB 101, the STB 101 may seamlessly switch to the new stream from the cached content by, for example, observing the timestamps or other markers in the content stream. From a user's perspective, the switchover may be undetectable in the presented synchronized media presentation. Similarly, other kinds of data, such as large image or software files, etc., may be assembled from segments received from multiple sources.
The potential caches available to the user in home 100 include all of the devices in the home 100. Via the network 19, the devices in the home 100 also have access to any caches of on the leg 18 and in the homes 120 and 140. Through a further hop through the leg 18, the STB 101 also has access to any caches on branch 14 and leg 20. Similarly, through a further hop through the leg 20, the STB 101 can reach any caches on the user system 203 in the home 160. Through further hops, the STB 101 may reach caches in the source 12, the branch 16, the leg 22, and the home 180. In the end, however, the fewest hops may be in the connections between the STB 101 and wireless enabled devices in the home 100 and the home 120. It depends upon where caches of portions of the desired content item reside at the time that it is sought.
The process 200 begins at R1 when the user system 201 accepts a selection of a desired content item. This may be the result, for example, of a user clicking a button on the remote when a potential item of content is highlighted on a menu presented on the television. The user system 201 initiates a process 210 to seek out a source of the desired content item. In the process 210, the user system 201 may first seek the content among its own resources. It may find that such content is already immediately available. For example, the user system 201 may find that the desired content item is already receiving the desired content item on a QAM channel to which the user system 201 is already tuned. Alternatively, the user system may have at least a portion of the desired content item immediately available because it is partially cached or wholly contained in the memory of the user system 201, e.g., residing on the DVR. By the same token, the user system 201 may find that the desired content item is not immediately available. It may be that the desired content item is being transmitted to the user system 201 on a QAM channel to which the user system 201 is not tuned, and it will take some time to tune to the desired channel. The user system 201 may find that neither the content nor any portion of it is on the DVR or otherwise in memory. It is possible that the content is not now and never has been being transmitted to the user system 201.
If the desired content item is not immediately available, in the process 210 the user system 201 generates and sends a request for the content R2 to leg 18. The leg 18 receives the message R2 in a process 212 and checks whether the desired content item is already being transmitted to the leg 18. If the desired content item is already being transmitted to the leg 18, then in the process 212 the leg 18 will begin sending the desired content item in a transmission to the user system 201. However, in the example of
At a process 214, the branch 14 receives the request for content R3 and responds by checking whether the branch 14 is already receiving a transmission of the desired content item. If the branch 14 is not already receiving a transmission of the desired content item, as in the present example, in process 214 the branch 14 generates and sends a request for the desired content item R4 to the source 12. Next in the process 214, the branch 14 checks whether it has a portion of the desired content item cached. If so, in the process 214 the branch 14 sends a portion of the desired content item to the leg 18 in a cache transmission C2. Cache transmission C2 is received by the process 212 running on the leg 18, which then relays the portion of desired content to the user system 201 in a cache transmission C3.
In the example of
In addition to traversing the network hierarchy via messages to devices above the user system 201, in the process 210 the UA can seek cached content from other devices. In the example of
Alternatively, the messages R5, R6, and R7 may be routed through the CDN. Specifically, the message R5 could be sent to the leg 18 which then forwards it to the user system 202. Similarly, the messages R6 and R7 could be sent to the leg 18 which then forwards them to the leg 20. The leg 20 would then forward the message R7.
If the user system 202, the leg 20, or the user system 203 has a cache of a portion of the desired content item, it may then send it back to the cache receiving process 216 running on the user system 201, in cache transmissions C4, C5, and C6 respectively. In the process 216, the user system 201 may begin playing content for the user as soon as an adequate portion of the content is received from any source. In
After some time, the source 12 will begin to provide a transmission S1 of the desired content item to the branch 14. Such transmissions may include any kind of data, such as, e.g., video or audio streams, images, web pages, software upgrades, etc. In the process 214, the branch 14 receives the transmission S1 from the source 12. Optionally, the branch 14 processes the transmission S1 to generate a transmission S2, e.g., by converting the encoding of the transmission. Otherwise, in the process 214 the branch 14 simply forwards the unaltered transmission S1 as the transmission S2 to the leg 18. In the process 212, the leg 18 receives the transmission S2, optionally processes it, and sends it to the user system 201 as a transmission S3.
In the process 216, the user system 201 receives the transmission S3 and switches to a streamed content playing process 218. From the user's perspective, this may be accomplished seamlessly, whereby the user system 201 uses timestamps or other markers on the content stream to splice the newly arriving transmission S3 into what began as a cache. Similarly, other kinds of data, such as large image or software files, etc., may be assembled from segments received from multiple sources.
The process 200 incurred more overhead operations than would be required if the user system 201 had foreknowledge of where caches of the desired content item were located or not located. For example, whether or not the user system 202, the leg 20, and the user system 203 had a cache of the desired content item available, in the process 200 each would still need to process messages R5, R6, and R7. Further, the user system 201 had to generate and send these messages, and the networks had to carry the bandwidth of such messages, to no avail.
In the example of
In the process 312, the branch 14 processes and consolidates the received manifests M4 and M5 along with information about any caches available on the branch 14 and sends a consolidated manifest M6 to the leg 20 and a consolidated manifest M8 to the leg 18. Leg 18 receives the manifest M8 in a manifest distribution process 320, and forwards versions of the manifest as manifests M9 and M10 to the user system 201 and the user system 202 respectively. The manifests M9 and M10 may be identical to the manifest M8, or they may be tailored by the leg 18 to the particular needs of their intended recipients. Similarly, the leg 20 receives the manifest M6 in a manifest distribution process 321. In the process 321, the leg 20 generates and sends a manifest M7 to the user system 203, where the manifest M7 may be tailored to the leg 20 for use by the user system 203 or identical to the manifest M6.
As a result of the processing, the user system 201 has received the manifest M9 by which it is aware of content available to it in caches residing on the devices on its branch of the CDN: leg 18, the branch 14, the user system 202, the leg 20, and/or the user system 203. Similarly, the user system 202 and the user system 203 are also aware of the caches available on this branch of the CDN through the manifests M10 and M7 respectively.
Consolidation of manifests can occur at any hierarchical level. For example, in the process 310, the leg 18 could have reported the information in the manifest M1 from the user system 201 back to the user system 202. Similarly, in the process 312, the branch 14 could have passed the received manifests M4 and M5 (or a consolidated manifest with such information) to a process running on the source 12. Also, user system 201 and user system 202, for example, could have exchanged manifests directly if they are so connected, e.g., via WiFi or over the network 19. The optimal specific processes of manifest exchange depend upon the specific network details and traffic loads.
Devices may additionally create manifests or portions thereof by inference. For instance, the leg 18 may know that a particular item of content is being transmitted to the user system 201, at the request of a user of user system 201, because the leg 18 recently processed that request. The leg 18 may additionally know that the user system 201, as a matter of policy, maintains a four second cache of all content it receives. In that case, the leg 18 would not need to be told by the user system 201 in manifest M1 that the cache exists, and therefore the leg 18 may report the existence of the cache in manifest M4 to the branch 14—even if manifest M1 is never sent. The information inferred by the leg 18 about the unreported cache on the user system 201 can then be propagated to the leg 20 by the branch 14 in the manifest M6. Through manifest M7, the user system 203 would still know of the availability of the cache in the user system 201, even though the user system 201 never reported it. These kinds of inferences can be drawn at any level of the CDN network hierarchy or within a home.
If the desired content item is not already being transmitted to the user system 201, the user system 201 sends a request up through the content delivery network. In the process 410, the user system 201 generates and sends a message R10 to the local leg 18. In the process 212, the leg 18 receives the message R10 and checks whether the desired content item is available as a transmission arriving at the leg 18 or a cache in the leg 18. In the example of
In addition to initiating traversal of the network hierarchy in this manner, in the process 410 the user system 201 can seek cached content from peer devices according to received manifests. In the example of
Referring again to
As compared to a process like the process 200 of
The node 500 may receive media and data content through the satellite receiver 502, the receivers 504, or the packet gateway 512. The content may arrive in a variety of formats and/or encodings. For example, the receivers 504 may receive digital feeds via optical fiber connections and/or quadrature modulated signals via coaxial cables. Similarly, the packet gateway 512 may bring in coaxial, optical fiber, or twisted pair feeds. The satellite receiver 502 may bring in modulated analog or digital signal feeds.
The node 500 may store media and data content in the asset management servers 514 or the content library 508. The asset management servers 514 may be any kind of computer, such as may be suitable for storing or buffering data services content. The content library may include a variety of storage technologies, such as disk arrays, and digital video recording devices of all kinds, such as may be suitable for storing, e.g., video-on-demand content.
The node 500 may translate data and media content, for example, using the encoders 506 and the transmitters 510. For example, analog feeds received at the satellite receiver 502 may be converted into MPEG video content by the encoders 506 before being stored in the content library 508. Similarly, MPEG content drawn from the content library 508 may be quadrature modulated by the transmitters 510 for transmission to other CDN nodes or to user premises.
The node 500 may control and coordinate its activities using the command and control servers 516. For example, the command and control servers 516 may process messages received from downstream CDN nodes and/or user premises received via coaxial cable, packet network, and/or satellite connections via the receivers 504, the packet gateway 512, or the satellite receiver 502 respectively. The command and control servers 516 may then instruct various component devices to take action. For example, the command and control servers 516 may instruct the asset management servers 514 to provide content downstream from the memory of the asset management servers 514, the content library 508, the packet gateway 512, the satellite receiver 502, and/or the receivers 504, any of which may be routed via the encoders 506 and the node network 518.
In addition to managing the mass storage device 611, the peripherals controller 610 is depicted as managing user interface features such as visual and audio indicators as LEDs, speakers, etc., or other indicators (not shown), such input devices as a keyboard or keypad 612, a trackball or mouse 614, and a remote control 616. Often such a system today includes a separate memory controller 607, a removable media drive 618, and a wireless adapter such as a WiFi transceiver 622.
The network adapter 620 allows the system 600 to connect to Internet protocol networks. As depicted in
The linkage between the display controller 630 and the display 632 may be of any kind For example, it may be an HDMI, VGA, RGB, or equivalent video link.
The system 600 may be adapted to perform the processes described herein via software stored in the RAM 606, the ROM 608, or the mass storage 611, or via hardware programming of the CPU 602.
The apparatus 700 a user interface including such features as an audio interface 708 (e.g., a speaker and/or microphone), a keypad 710, and/or a display 712. The display 712 may be a touchpad and/or may include one or more other indicators such as LEDs. The apparatus 700 may also include a removable memory such as a memory card 716, a global positioning system (GPS) 720, and/or other peripherals 722, e.g., a USB port.
The processor 702 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), one or more Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs) circuits, any other type and number of integrated circuits (ICs), a state machine, and the like. The processor 702 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any other functionality that enables the apparatus 700 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 702 is coupled to the transceiver 70, which is coupled to the WiFi transmit/receive element 706 and the cellular transmit/receive element 707. The processor 702 may perform application-layer programs (e.g., browsers) and/or radio access-layer (RAN) programs and/or communications. The processor 702 may perform security operations such as authentication, security key agreement, and/or cryptographic operations, such as at the access-layer and/or application layer for example.
While
The transceiver 34 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit/receive element 36 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit/receive element 36. As noted above, the apparatus 700 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 34 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the apparatus 700 to communicate via multiple radio access technologies (RATs), such as UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) and IEEE 802.11, for example.
The processor 702 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 714 and/or the removable memory 716. The non-removable memory 714 may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 766 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 702 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the apparatus 700, such as on a server, a home computer, or a stationary user system like the system 600.
The processor 702 and other devices on the apparatus 700 receive power from the power source 718. The processor 702 may be configured to distribute and/or control the power to the other components in the apparatus 700. The power source 718 may be any suitable device for powering the apparatus 700. For example, the power source 48 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.
The processor 702 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 720, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the apparatus 700. Such information may be used by the apparatus 700, for example, to discover and join local wireless networks such as mesh networks.
The processor 702 may further be coupled to other peripherals 722, which may include one or more software and/or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality and/or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 722 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a sensor, a digital camera (for photographs or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, and the like.
The non-removable memory 714, removable memory 716, the processor 702, or any combination thereof may be configured to provide a cache for media or data content. Such cache may be used, for example, to store streams of media or data content and/or portions thereof. Such cache may be discoverable by other devices that are in communication with the apparatus 700.
The apparatus 700 may be adapted to perform the processes described herein via software stored in the processor 702, the non-removable memory 714, or the memory card 716.
It will be appreciated that while illustrative embodiments have been disclosed, the scope of potential embodiments is not limited to those explicitly described. For example, while the concepts are described with reference to particular user interfaces, the envisioned embodiments extend to any user interfaces that may be suitable for performing the described linking functions. Likewise, while particular content distribution technologies as DOCSIS, quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), and IP protocol packet networking are referred to, any content distribution technologies may be used and still fall within the scope of envisioned embodiments.
Each of the processes, methods, and algorithms described in the preceding sections may be embodied in, and fully or partially automated by, code modules executed by one or more computers or computer processors. The code modules may be stored on any type of computer-readable medium or computer storage device, such as hard drives, solid state memory, optical disc, and/or the like. The processes and algorithms may be implemented partially or wholly in application-specific circuitry. The results of the disclosed processes and process steps may be stored, persistently or otherwise, in any type of non-transitory computer storage such as, e.g., volatile or non-volatile storage.
The various features and processes described above may be used independently of one another, or may be combined in various ways. All possible combinations and subcombinations are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. In addition, certain method or process blocks may be omitted in some implementations. The methods and processes described herein are also not limited to any particular sequence, and the blocks or states relating thereto can be performed in other sequences that are appropriate. For example, described blocks or states may be performed in an order other than that specifically disclosed, or multiple blocks or states may be combined in a single block or state. The example blocks or states may be performed in serial, in parallel, or in some other manner. Blocks or states may be added to or removed from the disclosed example embodiments. The example systems and components described herein may be configured differently than described. For example, elements may be added to, removed from or rearranged compared to the disclosed example embodiments.
It will also be appreciated that various items are illustrated as being stored in memory or on storage while being used, and that these items or portions thereof may be transferred between memory and other storage devices for purposes of memory management and data integrity. Alternatively, in other embodiments some or all of the software modules and/or systems may execute in memory on another device and communicate with the illustrated computing systems via inter-computer communication. Furthermore, in some embodiments, some or all of the systems and/or modules may be implemented or provided in other ways, such as at least partially in firmware and/or hardware, including, but not limited to, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), standard integrated circuits, controllers (e.g., by executing appropriate instructions, and including microcontrollers and/or embedded controllers), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), etc. Some or all of the modules, systems and data structures may also be stored (e.g., as software instructions or structured data) on a computer-readable medium, such as a hard disk, a memory, a network, or a portable media article to be read by an appropriate drive or via an appropriate connection. The systems, modules, and data structures may also be transmitted as generated data signals (e.g., as part of a carrier wave or other analog or digital propagated signal) on a variety of computer-readable transmission media, including wireless-based and wired/cable-based media, and may take a variety of forms (e.g., as part of a single or multiplexed analog signal or as multiple discrete digital packets or frames). Such computer program products may also take other forms in other embodiments. Accordingly, the present invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations.
Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like are synonymous and are used inclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and do not exclude additional elements, features, acts, operations, and so forth. Also, the term “or” is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so that when used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term “or” means one, some, or all of the elements in the list.
While certain example embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions disclosed herein. Thus, nothing in the foregoing description is intended to imply that any particular feature, characteristic, step, module, or block is necessary or indispensable. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventive concepts disclosed herein. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of certain of the inventions disclosed herein.
