Patent Application
20110271002
1. Field
The present disclosure generally relates to network streaming, and more specifically relates to initializing network streaming from a sending endpoint to a receiving endpoint.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of data streaming over a network, there is a problem in that data streaming from a sending endpoint to a recipient endpoint may be detrimentally affected by a variety of effects such as limited network bandwidth, collisions in data transmission, and latency, which in turn affect the delivery quality of the streamed data. In the future, network bandwidth will invariably increase, which might suggest that this problem will become less significant in the future. In fact, however, recent history has shown that the quantity of data information that needs to be sent over networks grows much faster than the then-current delivery infrastructure, such that it is expected that the problem will persist. As the quantity of data information continues to increase (e.g., High Definition video streaming), an already overburdened system may provide less than adequate data delivery and/or playback quality, or may fail outright.
The inventors herein have proposed arrangements that address this problem in a situation where the architecture of the network is such that the sender and the recipient both have multiple physical connections to the network, and/or in situations where there are one or more networks that connect the sender and recipient, and both the sender and recipient each have one or more physical connections to each network. For example, the sender and recipient might be connected over four separate networks including, such as, an Ethernet network, a MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) network, an Ethernet over powerline network, a HomePNA (Home Phoneline Networking Alliance) network, and/or a wireless network. For each network, both sender and recipient each have one or more physical connections to each network, such as twisted pair cable connecting to the Ethernet network, coaxial cable connecting to the MoCA network, power lines/wires connecting to the Ethernet over powerline network, and one or more radio antennas connecting to the wireless network.
With such an architecture, the single data stream is split into sub-streams and sent over multiple physical interfaces which connect the endpoints of the network, instead of streaming data over only one of the possible physical interfaces. This arrangement is more flexible and resilient to network load or impairments because multiple physical interfaces are used simultaneously.
However, using multiple dissimilar physical interfaces raises a new set of challenges. One of such challenges is that a number of different channels may exist at the sending endpoint which may be used to send data, and a number of different channels may exist at the receiving endpoint which may be used to receive data. In such a structure, data sent over one channel at the sending endpoint might be received by a channel at the receiving endpoint which is dissimilar to the channel at the sending endpoint. As a result, the channel at the receiving endpoint may not be able to handle the data provided by the channel at the sending endpoint, which may negatively affect the efficiency and reliability when sending the data.
In the present disclosure, the foregoing problem is addressed by initializing a sending of a single data stream from a sending endpoint to a receiving endpoint, in which both of the sending endpoint and the receiving endpoint each have multiple physical interfaces connecting the sending endpoint and the receiving endpoint to one or more networks, respectively. A first list is sent from a first endpoint, which is the sending endpoint or the receiving endpoint, to a second endpoint, which is the other of the sending endpoint or the receiving endpoint. The first list includes one or more groups of data communication channels at the first endpoint on which to send or receive data, based at least partially on characteristics of the data communication channels. A selection is then made by the second endpoint of one of the groups of data communication channels included in the first list, by comparing the groups in the first list with groups in a second list. The second list includes one or more groups of data communication channels at the second endpoint on which to receive or send data, based at least partially on characteristics of the data communication channels.
Thus, in an example embodiment described herein, a first list is sent from a first one of the sending endpoint and the receiving endpoint to a second one of the sending endpoint and the receiving endpoint. In one case, the first endpoint is the sending endpoint and the second endpoint is the receiving endpoint. This case is called a push request negotiation. In another case, the first endpoint is the receiving endpoint and the second endpoint is the sending endpoint. This case is called a pull request negotiation. The first list includes one or more groups of data communication channels at the first endpoint on which to send or receive data, based at least partially on characteristics of the data communication channels. A selection is then made by the second endpoint of one of the groups of data communication channels included in the first list. The second endpoint selects the one group of data communication channels by comparing the groups in the first list with groups in a second list. The second list includes one or more groups of data communication channels at the second endpoint on which to send or receive data, based at least partially on characteristics of the data communication channels. The selected group of data communication channels included in the first list is then sent from the second endpoint to the first endpoint. One or more communication channels are then established at the first endpoint and one or more communication channels are established at the second endpoint, respectively. The communication channels are established in accordance with the selected group of data communication channels included in the first list and a corresponding group of data communication channels included in the second list. Data is then sent over the one or more communication channels established at the sending endpoint, and received over the one or more communication channels established at the receiving endpoint.
By virtue of the foregoing arrangement, it is ordinarily possible to intelligently pair communication channels on the sending endpoint with communication channels on the receiving endpoint, so as to efficiently and reliably stream data between the endpoints. More specifically, since a selection is made by a second one of the sending and receiving endpoints of one of groups of data communication channels included in a first list of network channel configurations provided by a first one of the sending and receiving endpoints, it is possible to ensure that data communication channels at the sending endpoint are paired with similar data communication channels at the receiving endpoint. As a result, any negative effects such as a reduction in data throughput, due to, for example, pairing of communication channels at the sending endpoint with incompatible communication channels at the receiving endpoint, can be substantially minimized.
In an example embodiment also described herein, the characteristics of the data communication channels include a medium type of the physical interface associated with the data communication channel. For example, the medium type of the physical interface may be wired or wireless. In addition, the characteristics of the data communication channels include a bandwidth of the physical interface associated with the data communication channel. The characteristics of the data communication channels also include a medium flow control of the physical interface associated with the data communication channel. For example, the medium flow control of the physical interface may be full duplex or half duplex. Further, the characteristics of the data communication channels include a data capacity throughput of the physical interface associated with the data communication channel.
For the characteristic of medium type, a data communication channel associated with a physical interface at the first endpoint having one medium type is paired with a data communication channel associated with a physical interface at the second endpoint having the same medium type. For the characteristic of bandwidth, a data communication channel associated with a physical interface at the first endpoint having one bandwidth is paired with a data communication channel associated with a physical interface at the second endpoint having substantially the same bandwidth. For the characteristic of medium flow control, a data communication channel associated with a physical interface at the first endpoint having one medium flow control is paired with a data communication channel associated with a physical interface at the second endpoint having the same medium flow control. For the characteristic of a data capacity throughput, a data communication channel associated with a physical interface at the first endpoint having one data capacity throughput is paired with a data communication channel associated with a physical interface at the second endpoint having substantially the same data capacity throughput.
In yet another example embodiment described herein, in a case that the second endpoint is not able to select a group of data communication channels from the first list that corresponds with a group of data communication channels from the second list, the second endpoint sends the second list to the first endpoint. The first endpoint then selects a group of data communication channels by comparing the groups of the second list with the groups of the first list, and sends the selected group of data communication channels to the second endpoint.
In an additional example embodiment described herein, in a case that the second endpoint is not able to select a group of data communication channels from the first list that corresponds with a group of data communication channels from the second list, the second endpoint sends a third list including one group of data communication channels to the first endpoint. The first endpoint then selects a group of data communication channels from the first list that conforms to the one group of data communication channels included in the third list.
According to another example embodiment described herein, in a case that a feedback mechanism is to be included to provide feedback information, the selected group of data communication channels at the first endpoint and the corresponding group of data communication channels at the second endpoint, each include one or more communication channels for providing the feedback information from the receiving endpoint to the sending endpoint.
In an additional example embodiment described herein, the groups of data communication channels are registered as bondable virtual interfaces. The bondable virtual interfaces include application requirements, which include at least one of a preferred minimum and maximum bandwidth for the streaming data, a preferred minimum and maximum bandwidth for feedback information, a data stream type category, use restrictions for medium types of physical interfaces, and a preferred number of physical interfaces to be used in sending data. The application requirements are used to determine the characteristics of the data communication channels.
In yet an additional example embodiment described herein, the data stream type category is one of a non-time critical data stream, a near-time critical data stream, and a time critical data stream. An example of a data stream in the time critical (TC) category is an interactive data stream such as a video conference stream. An example of a data stream in the near-time critical (nearTC) category is a stream that carries a High Definition (HD) video content. An example of a data stream in the non-time critical (nonTC) category is a file transfer data stream. The data stream type category is taken into consideration when determining which groups of data communication channels to include in the first list.
According to another example embodiment described herein, the groups of data communication channels included in the first list are provided in order of preference according to the first endpoint. In this regard, the data stream type category can be used to determine the order of preference of the groups of data communication channels according to the first endpoint. As a result, in a case that a number of suitable combinations exist between the groups of data communication channels included in the first list and the groups of data communication channels included in the second list, the stream type category can be used to determine which groups of data communication channels to select.
This brief summary has been provided so that the nature of the disclosure may be understood quickly. A more complete understanding can be obtained by reference to the following detailed description and to the attached drawings.
Receiving endpoint 102 also has multiple physical interfaces 105b connecting to network 111. Similar to sending endpoint 101, receiving endpoint 102 may also have a single or multiple physical interfaces connecting to network 111. As a result of the physical interface connections, sending endpoint 101 is connected to receiving endpoint 102 through network 111, using physical interfaces 105b. Each of the multiple physical interfaces 105a and 105b to 108a and 108b include one or more data communication channels (not shown).
Similar to the above-described connection between sending endpoint 101 and receiving endpoint 102, sending endpoint 101 and receiving endpoint 102 are connected through networks 112, 113 and 114 via physical interfaces 106a and 106b, 107a and 107b and 108a and 108b. Accordingly, sending endpoint 101 is connected to network 112 through one or more physical interfaces 106a; and, receiving endpoint 102 is connected to network 112 through one or more physical interfaces 106b. Sending endpoint 101 is connected to network 113 through one or more physical interfaces 107a; and, receiving endpoint 102 is connected to network 113 through one or more physical interfaces 107b. Lastly, sending endpoint 101 is connected to network 114 through one or more physical interfaces 108a; and, receiving endpoint 102 is connected to network 114 through one or more physical interfaces 108b. In
Networks 111, 112, 113 and 114 can be many different types of networks, such as, for example, an Ethernet network, a Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) network, a HomePNA (Home Phoneline Networking Alliance) network, an Ethernet over powerline network (HomePlug), a wireless network, or any other type of network. In addition, the networks connecting the two endpoints can all be a different type of network (e.g., network 111 can be an Ethernet network, while network 112 is a wireless network, network 113 is an Ethernet over powerline network, and network 114 is a MoCA network). On the other hand, the networks connecting the two endpoints can include any variety of combinations of different networks (e.g., network 111 can be a MoCA network, while network 112 is a wireless network, and networks 113 and 114 are Ethernet networks). The type of physical interfaces connecting the endpoints to the networks depends upon the type of network. For example, an endpoint may be connected to an Ethernet network through twisted pair cable, an endpoint may be connected to a MoCA network through coaxial cable, an endpoint may be connected to an Ethernet over powerline network over power lines/wires, and an endpoint may be connected to a wireless network over one or more radio antennas.
The sending endpoint 101 serves as an application sender, which may include, for example, a media server, a conference server, or a storage sender application. A media server is an endpoint that will transfer audio and video data (or other types of large data) to a client. Although the media server is specific to transferring video streams, other types of media servers can be substituted (e.g., an audio-only stream or a large archival stream). The media server may also be a modified third party application accessing the sending endpoint 101. A conference server is an endpoint that sends data (via Unicast or Multicast) to conference players, and is used in providing interactive conference content to participants. A storage sender application is an endpoint that sends data from a device to a receiver, and is used in transferring data between two endpoints (e.g., File Transfer Protocol (FTP)). The storage sender application is primarily used in a PC collaboration as a means to send device data to be stored at an external storage medium.
The receiving endpoint 102 serves as an application receiver, which may include, for example, a media client or media player, a conference player, or a storage receiver application. A media client or media player is an endpoint that receives data from a media server, and is used primarily for video and audio stream playing. A conference player is an endpoint that receives data from the conference server, and is used in playing and interacting within a conference. A storage receiver application is an endpoint that receives data from a storage sender application, and is used in transferring data between two endpoints (e.g., FTP). The storage application receiver is primarily used in a PC collaboration as a means to receive device data to be stored at an external storage medium.
In some instances, a sending endpoint may also simultaneously act as a receiving endpoint. For example, when a sending endpoint serves as a video conferencing application, video would stream from the sending endpoint to the receiving endpoint, and video would stream simultaneously from the receiving endpoint to the sending endpoint. In this example, the sending endpoint would also be acting as a receiving endpoint, and the receiving endpoint would also be acting as a sending endpoint. In other instances, a sending endpoint may become a receiving endpoint after some period of time. For example, a sending endpoint and a receiving endpoint might transfer data back and forth to each other in a ping-pong fashion, rather than simultaneously. In other words, the sending endpoint might complete a transfer of data to the receiving endpoint, and then a second transfer may begin in the opposite direction from the receiving endpoint to the sending endpoint.
RAM 208 interfaces with computer bus 200 so as to provide information stored in RAM 208 to CPU 202 during execution of the instructions in software programs such as an operating system, application programs, and interface drivers. More specifically, CPU 202 first loads computer-executable process steps from fixed disk 220, or another storage device into a region of RAM 208. CPU 202 can then execute the stored process steps from RAM 208 in order to execute the loaded computer-executable process steps. In addition, data such as gathered network performance statistics or other information can be stored in RAM 208, so that the data can be accessed by CPU 202 during the execution of computer-executable software programs, to the extent that such software programs have a need to access and/or modify the data.
As also shown in
In an example embodiment, software library 232 and traffic monitor 234 are loaded by CPU 202 into a region of RAM 208. CPU 202 then executes the stored software library 232 and the traffic monitor 234 from RAM 208 in order to execute the loaded computer-executable steps. In addition, application programs 230 are loaded by CPU 202 into a region of RAM 208. CPU 202 then executes the stored process steps as described in detail below in connection with
RAM 308 interfaces with computer bus 300 so as to provide information stored in RAM 308 to CPU 302 during execution of the instructions in software programs such as an operating system, application programs, and interface drivers. More specifically, CPU 302 first loads computer-executable process steps from fixed disk 320, or another storage device into a region of RAM 308. CPU 302 can then execute the stored process steps from RAM 308 in order to execute the loaded computer-executable process steps. In addition, data such as gathered network performance statistics or other information can be stored in RAM 308, so that the data can be accessed by CPU 302 during the execution of computer-executable software programs, to the extent that such software programs have a need to access and/or modify the data.
As also shown in
Software library 332 in this example is identical to software library 232 in sending endpoint 101. However, in other embodiments, the software library 332 need not be identical to library 232, so long as the two libraries implement a similar software architecture relative to the software library, the traffic monitor, the bondable virtual interfaces, and the data organizer. For example, the sending and receiving endpoints might implement different versions of the same software architecture. Or the sending and receiving endpoints might implement architecture that target different operating systems, such as Windows on the sending endpoint and Linux on the receiving endpoint. Or, the sending endpoint and the receiving endpoint might implement architecture that is OS-neutral like JAVA. Hard disk 320 also contains traffic monitor 334 for gathering performance statistics for each of the multiple physical interfaces 105b, 106b, 107b and 108b. In addition, hard disk 320 contains bondable virtual interfaces 336, data organizer 338, application channels 340, endpoint channels 342, bondable virtual interface connectors 344, bondable virtual interface factory 346, and traffic proxy 348, each of which is instantiated by the software library 332 and will be described in more detail below with reference to
In an example embodiment, software library 332 and traffic monitor 334 are loaded by CPU 302 into a region of RAM 308. CPU 302 then executes the stored process steps of the software library 332 and the traffic monitor 334 from RAM 308 in order to execute the loaded computer-executable steps. In addition, the process steps of the application programs 330 are loaded by CPU 302 into a region of RAM 308. CPU 302 then executes the stored process steps as described in detail below in connection with
Transferring data between two endpoints in an efficient manner is difficult. Efficiency can be improved in general by increasing the amount of information concerning the nature of the transfer. For example, efficiency can be improved with an understanding of how to send data between two endpoints and also an understanding of the type of data being sent. Further, by identifying multiple physical interfaces and combining them together into one physical interface (i.e., bondable virtual interface), data throughput may be improved.
In a simplistic architecture, a media receiver/player requests (via e.g., HTTP or RTSP) for a movie stream from a media server. The media server then sends data to the client with some, but probably little concern as to the means or how well the client may have received the media stream data. In contrast, within the architecture of this example embodiment, the media client provides profile information (i.e., a suggested or predetermined bondable virtual interface configuration) as to the type of the media to be streamed, and negotiates with the media server as to the physical interfaces available to exchange data, which will be described in more detail below in connection with
As used herein, the word “instantiate” refers to the construction in memory of a software object, such as by use of an object factory. How the software object is created varies among different programming languages. In prototype-based languages, an object can be created from nothing, or an object can be based on an existing object. In class-based language, objects are derived from classes, which can be thought of as blueprints for constructing the software objects.
As further shown in
Furthermore, the bondable virtual interface factory 246 is connected to and associates with the bondable virtual interfaces 236. The bondable virtual interfaces 236 are also connected to and associate with the data organizer 238 and the bondable virtual interface connectors 244. The bondable virtual interface connectors 244 also associate with application channels 240 and endpoint channels 242.
The above-mentioned architecture will now be described in more detail in connection with
As shown in
The software library 232 is for controlling the sending of the data stream from the sending endpoint 101. In controlling the sending of data, the software library 232 instantiates a plurality of bondable virtual interfaces 236 and a data organizer 238. In addition, the software library 232 instantiates logical physical interfaces 509. The logical physical interface 509 is an abstraction of a physical interface, which has a uniform interface. In addition, the bondable virtual interfaces 236 are instantiated by the software library based on the information communicated by the traffic monitor 234, for splitting the data stream into multiple data substreams at the sending endpoint 101. A bondable virtual interface is a clustering of two or more logical physical interfaces as a bondable object that aggregates available bandwidth with a single thread to manage a common buffer memory. The bondable virtual interface has a second thread to listen to a single feedback path from the receiving endpoint 102, and has additional threads for managing data transfer from a common buffer memory to each of an associated logical physical interface. An example of a bondable virtual interface is a pair of 802.11g wireless interfaces combined for a nominal available bandwidth of 44 Mb/s, assuming ˜22 Mb/s of effective bandwidth for each individual interface.
In addition, the data organizer is used for designating one of the plurality of bondable virtual interfaces 236 for splitting the data stream. At the sending endpoint 101, the data organizer 238 instantiates a data splitter 238 for implementing the designated one of the plurality of bondable virtual interfaces 236 at the sending endpoint 101. In this regard, the data organizer 238 is a parent object for the data splitter, and includes functionality for the registration of new or added bondable virtual interfaces. Moreover, the data organizer 238 is inherited by the data splitter 238. The data splitter 238 contains the bondable virtual interfaces 236 class implementation, and contains the associated behavior for splitting the input data stream onto the multiple physical interfaces.
Similar to the sending endpoint 101, in the receiving endpoint 102, the architecture includes a software library 332 and a traffic monitor 334. The traffic monitor 334 is for gathering performance characteristics of each of the multiple physical interfaces. More specifically, the traffic monitor 334 is an operating system-specific application or (daemon) service that provides the software library 332 with all of the available physical interfaces and with individual physical interface performance/traffic statistics and data. The traffic monitor 334 may obtain network status by periodically making system calls to system's data structures to acquire statistics for each physical interface of the receiving endpoint 102. This data is then used by the traffic monitor 334 to specify corresponding configurations for bondable virtual interfaces, which will be described in more detail below in connection with
The software library 332 is for controlling the receiving of the data stream at the receiving endpoint 102. In controlling the receiving of data, the software library 332 instantiates a plurality of bondable virtual interfaces 336 and a data organizer 338. In addition, the software library 332 instantiates logical physical interfaces 510. The logical physical interfaces 510 are substantially the same as logical physical interfaces 509, and provide the same functions. The bondable virtual interfaces 336 are instantiated by the software library based on the information communicated by the traffic monitor 334, for combining the multiple data sub-streams into the data stream at the receiving endpoint 102. In addition, the data organizer is for designating one of the plurality of bondable virtual interfaces 236 for combining the data stream.
At the receiving endpoint 102, the data organizer 338 instantiates a data combiner 338 for implementing the designated one of the plurality of bondable virtual interfaces 336 at the receiving endpoint 102. In this regard, the data combiner 338 is a parent object for the data combiner 338, and includes functionality for the registration of new or added bondable virtual interfaces. Moreover, the data organizer 338 is inherited by the data combiner 338. The data combiner 338 contains the bondable virtual interfaces 336 class implementation, and contains the associated behavior for combining multiple input streams into a resulting single data stream.
At startup of the architecture, the data splitter 238 and the data combiner 338 read network statistics provided by the traffic monitor 234 and 334. The traffic monitors' network statistics are updated periodically (at optionally application specified intervals), and are organized to display an ordered list of recommended bondable physical interface configurations, along with a minimum bandwidth available for each, which will be described in more detail below in connection with
As further shown in
As shown in
The bondable virtual interfaces 236 and 336, as shown in
In addition, the bondable virtual interfaces 236 and 336 have the basic functionality to split or combine data (based upon the role provided by the data splitter 238 or the data combiner 338). In general, the bondable virtual interfaces may be a reduction of a number or a set of rules regarding how to handle data from one or more application channels split over one or more endpoint channels (or vice versa, when recombining data). Thus, different types of bondable virtual interfaces may be created. Three examples of such bondable virtual interfaces are: a simple TCP Bondable virtual interface, a simple UDP bondable virtual interface, and a feedback TCP bondable virtual interface. A simple TCP bondable virtual interface is a bondable virtual interface consisting of multiple physical network interfaces, sending data with each interface using standard TCP connections. An example of a simple TCP bondable virtual interface would be a “round robin” type bondable virtual interface, which uses multiple interfaces to send data.
A simple UDP bondable virtual interface is a bondable virtual interface consisting of multiple physical network interfaces, and sending data with each interface using standard UDP datagrams.
A feedback TCP bondable virtual interface is a bondable virtual interface which utilizes feedback from the receiving endpoint to change the manner in which data is sent over multiple physical network interfaces using TCP connections.
Furthermore, the software libraries 232 and 332 further instantiate a plurality of bondable virtual interface connectors 244 and 344, respectively. Each bondable virtual interface connector is associated with a specific bondable virtual interface. The bondable virtual interface connectors 244 and 344 ensure that the connections between the software libraries 232 and 332 and the multiple physical interfaces 105a to 108a and 105b to 108b via the multiple endpoint channels 242 and 342, respectively, are ready to accept data before sending data from the sending endpoint 101 to the receiving endpoint 102. In addition, the bondable virtual interface connectors 244 and 344 ensure that the connections between the software libraries 232 and 332 and the one or more applications 501 and 502 via the one or more application channels 240 and 340, respectively, are ready to accept data before sending data from the sending endpoint 101 to the receiving endpoint 102.
When sending streaming data from the sending endpoint 101 to the receiving endpoint 102, the one or more applications 501 specify a category of time objective: the categories include a non-time critical objective, a time critical objective, or a near-time critical objective. A non-time critical data stream is a data stream where the data should be received without error; however, time may not be a critical factor (i.e., there may be scenarios (or situations) where time is a critical factor). In these scenarios, a contributing factor for a non-time critical data stream should also include data integrity and thus, in these situations, there is a significant difference between non-time critical, near-time critical and time critical. For example, a non-time critical objective would be specified for a simple file transfer, because the data in this scenario ordinarily should be received without error, and arrival time may not be important for this data.
A near-time critical data stream is a data stream where the data is bound to an endpoint within a range of time. For example, a video stream can possibly be buffered for 5 seconds before the first video frame is displayed on the screen. Or, in the case of a larger memory buffer or hard drive, the first couple of minutes can be burst from the sender to the receiver (i.e., video server to video player). Thus, after the head start (buffer or system priming) has been buffered, the remaining data can be sent in a more leisurely manner, as long as it is received in time to be consumed by the player without interruption in playback. Further, in video streams, it is often the case that some of the packets may be dropped, corrupted or lost due to collision or other network impairments. In this regard, UDP is often the de-facto standard of video streaming and UDP does not guarantee delivery.
For a time-critical data stream, it is usually imperative that the information be received as quickly as possible. Moreover, a time critical objective would be specified when streaming an interactive video stream such as a video conference, because the data in this scenario should be received as soon as possible, while a loss of an insignificant portion of the data may be acceptable.
For the near-time critical and the time critical data streams, transferring of the stream will involve a payload stream mechanism, a feedback stream mechanism, and a control stream mechanism. The payload stream mechanism sends the payload content from the sending endpoint 101 to the receiving endpoint 102. In the architecture, the payload stream is sent via a bondable virtual interface, for example, using an RTP-like protocol where multiple physical interfaces will be used to send data to the receiving endpoint 102. The feedback stream mechanism sends processing and physical interface behavior information between the receiving endpoint 102 and the sending endpoint 101 (or in other scenarios vice-a-versa) using, for example, an RTCP like protocol. The control stream mechanism sends content control commands from the receiving endpoint 102 to the sending endpoint 101 (e.g., play, pause, etc.) using, for example, an RTSP like protocol.
For a non-time critical data stream, the transferring of the stream within the architecture will have the same behavior as the near-time and the time critical data streams with no control stream. Thus, the transferring of the stream for a non-time critical data stream involves a payload stream mechanism and a feedback stream mechanism, each having similar characteristics as the stream mechanisms of the near-time and the time critical data streams.
Furthermore, the software libraries 232 and 332 each further comprise a software application program interface 280, as described in connection with
As discussed above, the traffic monitors 234 and 334 may communicate with the software libraries 232 and 332, respectively, via a traffic proxy. In this case, the software libraries 234 and 334 each further instantiate a traffic proxy 248 (as described in connection with
In general, all interaction between the architecture and other applications is conducted through a basic interface. This basic interface is comprised of a core functionality, which is specific to the architecture, and behavioral functionality, which is specific to the operation of the interfacing application. Examples of core functionality would be a startup and shutdown of the architecture. Behavioral functionality examples might include RTSP, or URL connection functionality. For example, the architecture will provide a setup functionality to extend the standard RTSP setup functionality, in which the extension to RTSP is obtainable from an RTSP OPTIONS command. In another example, URL connection functionality can be added to achieve file transfer behavior.
Generally, the traffic monitors obtain information about all of the physical interfaces connected to the sending endpoint 101 and the receiving endpoint 102, regardless of whether the physical interface is associated with a bondable virtual interface. In obtaining the information, the traffic monitors gather information, via for example some OS means, regarding a state of the physical interfaces, as well as the state of data communication channels within the physical interfaces. The traffic proxies obtain information regarding the physical interfaces via the traffic monitors and passes the information to interested bondable virtual interfaces. This may be performed using at least the following two methods. First, at the creation of the bondable virtual interface, the bondable virtual interface registers all participating physical interfaces with the traffic proxy, thus signifying that any relevant information pertaining to the registered physical interfaces should be passed from the traffic monitor to the bondable virtual interface. However, there is a possibility due to physical hardware constraints that the bondable virtual interface can not be registered, and the registration of the bondable virtual interface might fail. Second, any information pertaining to any of the physical interfaces should be sent from the traffic monitor to any virtual bondable virtual interface (via the traffic proxy), and the responsibility of extracting relevant information falls upon either the traffic proxy and/or existing bondable virtual interfaces. In the case of the traffic proxy, information about where to send particular information regarding a particular physical interface, which would require registration association between the bondable virtual interface and the physical interface.
The bondable virtual interface can also provide information about specific data communication channels within the bondable virtual interface and send a message (e.g., an alert or other means stating there may be an issue with the channel) to the traffic monitor via the traffic proxy signifying a possible issue on this channel. This implies that there is an association between channels and physical interfaces that can be stored in the bondable virtual interface or traffic proxy.
In the above description with respect to
As shown in
In another case, the first endpoint is the receiving endpoint 102 and the second endpoint is the sending endpoint 101. This case is called a pull request negotiation. In a pull request negotiation, the client will provide the first list of groups of data communication channels. Again, since this is a well known port or service, it may be associated with an application to perform some task, and this application may have a registered bondable virtual interface which is provided to the server's traffic monitor.
In step 601, the first list includes one or more groups of data communication channels at the first endpoint on which to send or receive data, based at least partially on characteristics of the data communication channels. For example, the list may include two groups of data communication channels. The first group of data communication channels may include one data communication channel included in physical interface 105a, a second data communication channel included in physical interface 106a, and a third data communication channel included in physical interface 107a. The second group of data communication channels may include two data communication channels included in physical interface 107a, and a data communication channel included in physical interface 108a.
The characteristics of the data communication channels include a medium type of the physical interface associated with the data communication channel. For example, the medium type of the physical interface may be wired or wireless. For the characteristic of medium type, a data communication channel associated with a physical interface at the first endpoint having one medium type is paired with a data communication channel associated with a physical interface at the second endpoint having the same medium type. Accordingly, a data communication channel associated with a wireless physical interface connected to the first endpoint, for example, physical interface 106a, should be paired with a data communication channel associated with a wireless physical interface connected to the second endpoint, for example, physical interface 106b.
In addition, the characteristics of the data communication channels include a bandwidth of the physical interface associated with the data communication channel. Bandwidth refers to a maximum data throughput. For the characteristic of bandwidth, a data communication channel associated with a physical interface at the first endpoint having one bandwidth is paired with a data communication channel associated with a physical interface at the second endpoint having substantially the same bandwidth. Accordingly, a data communication channel associated with a physical interface connected the first endpoint having a bandwidth of 10 Gb/s should be paired with a data communication channel associated with a physical interface connected to the second endpoint having a bandwidth substantially close to 10 Gb/s.
The characteristics of the data communication channels also include a medium flow control of the physical interface associated with the data communication channel. For example, the medium flow control of the physical interface may be full duplex or half duplex. For the characteristic of medium flow control, a data communication channel associated with a physical interface at the first endpoint having one medium flow control is paired with a data communication channel associated with a physical interface at the second endpoint having the same medium flow control. Accordingly, a data communication channel associated with a physical interface connected to the first endpoint having a half duplex medium flow control, such as CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detect), should be paired with a data communication channel associated with a physical interface connected to the second endpoint having a half duplex medium flow control. In addition, a data communication channel associated with a physical interface connected to the first endpoint having a full duplex medium flow control should be paired with a data communication channel associated with a physical interface connected to the second endpoint having a half duplex medium flow control.
Further, the characteristics of the data communication channels include a data capacity throughput of the physical interface associated with the data communication channel. Data capacity throughput is the maximum bandwidth minus a current usage of bandwidth. For the characteristic of a data capacity throughput, a data communication channel associated with a physical interface at the first endpoint having one data capacity throughput is paired with a data communication channel associated with a physical interface at the second endpoint having substantially the same data capacity throughput. Accordingly, a data communication channel associated with a physical interface connected to the first endpoint having a data capacity throughput of 100 Mb/s should be paired with a data communication channel associated with a physical interface connected to the second endpoint having a data capacity throughput substantially close to 100 Mb/s.
The groups of data communication channels are registered as bondable virtual interfaces. The bondable virtual interfaces include application requirements, which include at least one of a preferred minimum and maximum bandwidth for the streaming data, a preferred minimum and maximum bandwidth for feedback information, a data stream type category, use restrictions for medium types of physical interfaces, and a preferred number of physical interfaces to be used in sending data. The application requirements are used to determine the characteristics of the data communication channels described above.
In an example, the application requirements may include a preferred minimum bandwidth of 10 Mb/s and a maximum bandwidth of 100 Mb/s for streaming data. In this example, the groups of data communication channels should have the characteristic of a bandwidth that falls between 10 Mb/s and 100 Mb/s. Similarly, if the application requirements include a preferred minimum bandwidth of 10 Mb/s and a maximum bandwidth of 100 Mb/s for feedback information, then the groups of data communication channels should include the characteristic of providing feedback information using a bandwidth between 10 Mb/s and 100 Mb/s.
With regard to the use restrictions for medium types of physical interfaces, the application requirements may indicate that, for example, a fiber optic medium should be used to send data between the endpoints, and that a wireless medium should not be used to send the data. The use restrictions may apply to individual physical interfaces or to the bondable virtual interface.
With respect to the data stream type category, the data stream type category is one of a non-time critical data stream, a near-time critical data stream, and a time critical data stream. An example of a data stream in the time critical (TC) category is an interactive data stream such as a video conference stream. An example of a data stream in the near-time critical (nearTC) category is a stream that carries a High Definition (HD) video content. An example of a data stream in the non-time critical (nonTC) category is a file transfer data stream. The data stream type category is taken into consideration when determining which groups of data communication channels to include in the first list. In other words, groups of data communication channels which substantially accommodate the data stream type category are included in the first list. For example, if the data stream is specified as a time critical data stream, then the groups of data communication channels included in the first list may include data communication channels having high data capacity throughputs, so that the time critical data stream is sent quickly.
In one aspect of this example embodiment, the groups of data communication channels included in the first list are provided in order of preference according to the first endpoint. In this regard, the data stream type category can be used to determine the order of preference of the groups of data communication channels according to the first endpoint. Thus, in a case that a number of suitable combinations exist between the groups of data communication channels included in the first list and the groups of data communication channels included in the second list, the stream type category can be used to determine which groups of data communication channels to select. For example, if two groups of data communication channels on each endpoint are suitable combinations, and a time critical data stream is specified, then the groups having a larger data capacity throughput would be selected.
In a case that a feedback mechanism is to be included to provide feedback information, the selected group of data communication channels at the first endpoint and the corresponding group of data communication channels at the second endpoint, each include one or more data communication channels for providing the feedback information from the receiving endpoint to the sending endpoint. The one or more data communication channels provided for the feedback information may be preexisting data communication channels on which data is already sent, or separate data communication channels on which data is not already being sent.
In step 602, a determination is made as to whether the second endpoint is able to select one of the groups of data communication channels included in the first list that corresponds with a group of data communication channels from the second list. If the second endpoint is able to select one of the groups of data communication channels included in the first list, the process proceeds to step 603. If the second endpoint is not able to select one of the groups of data communication channels included in the first list, the process proceeds to step 609.
In step 603, a selection is made by the second endpoint of one of the groups of data communication channels included in the first list. The second endpoint selects the one group of data communication channels by comparing the groups in the first list with groups in a second list. The second list includes one or more groups of data communication channels at the second endpoint on which to send or receive data, based at least partially on characteristics of the data communication channels.
More specifically, the second endpoint compares the groups of data communication channels included in the first list with the groups of data communication channels included in the second list in order to match groups of data communication channels having substantially similar characteristics. The second endpoint then selects a group of data communication channels from the first list and a corresponding group of data communication channels from the second list, which have substantially similar characteristics. In a case that there is more than one pairing of data communication channels having substantially similar characteristics, the second endpoint selects the group of data communication channels included in the first list that is first in order of preference of the groups of data communication channels provided by the first endpoint.
In step 604, the selected group of data communication channels included in the first list is sent from the second endpoint to the first endpoint. One or more communication channels are then established at the first endpoint (step 605). In addition, one or more communication channels are established at the second endpoint (step 606). The communication channels are established in accordance with the selected group of data communication channels included in the first list and a corresponding group of data communication channels included in the second list. For example, if the second endpoint selected a group 2 of the groups of data communication channels included in the first list because the group 2 matched well with a group 1 of the groups of data communication channels included in the second list, then communication channels are established at the first endpoint which correspond with group 2, and communication channels are established at the second endpoint which correspond with group 1.
In step 607, data is sent over the one or more communication channels established at the sending endpoint 101. The data is then received over the one or more communication channels established at the receiving endpoint 102 (step 608).
By virtue of the foregoing example embodiment, it is ordinarily possible to intelligently pair communication channels on the sending endpoint with communication channels on the receiving endpoint, so as to efficiently and reliably stream data between the endpoints. More specifically, since a selection is made by a second one of the sending and receiving endpoints of one of groups of data communication channels included in a first list of network channel configurations provided by a first one of the sending and receiving endpoints, it is possible to ensure that data communication channels at the sending endpoint are paired with similar data communication channels at the receiving endpoint. As a result, any negative effects such as a reduction in data throughput, due to, for example, pairing of communication channels at the sending endpoint with incompatible communication channels at the receiving endpoint, can be substantially minimized.
In one case, in step 609, the second endpoint sends the second list to the first endpoint. The first endpoint then selects a group of data communication channels included in the second list by comparing the groups of the second list with the groups of the first list (step 610). The selected group of data communication channels is then sent to the second endpoint (step 611). One or more communication channels are then established at the first endpoint (step 605). In addition, one or more communication channels are established at the second endpoint (step 606). The communication channels are established in accordance with the selected group of data communication channels included in the second list and a corresponding group of data communication channels included in the first list.
In another case, in step 609, the second endpoint sends a third list including one group of data communication channels to the first endpoint. Then, in step 610, the first endpoint selects a group of data communication channels from the first list that conforms to the one group of data communication channels included in the third list. The selected group of data communication channels is then sent to the second endpoint (step 611). One or more communication channels are then established at the first endpoint (step 605). In addition, one or more communication channels are established at the second endpoint (step 606). The communication channels are established in accordance with the selected group of data communication channels included in the first list and a corresponding group of data communication channels included in the third list.
Generally, if the sending endpoint 101 receives the first list from the receiving endpoint 102, and the sending endpoint 101 cannot conform to any of the groups of data communication channels included in the first list, then the sending endpoint 101 will send a group of data communication channels that the receiving endpoint 102 should conform with. Thus, the receiving endpoint 102 should default to conforming, since the sending endpoint 101 which is normally the server dictates what endpoint to use.
In step 607, data is sent over the one or more communication channels established at the sending endpoint 101. The data is then received over the one or more communication channels established at the receiving endpoint 102 (step 608).
This disclosure has provided a detailed description with respect to particular illustrative embodiments. It is understood that the scope of the appended claims is not limited to the above-described embodiments and that various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the relevant art without departing from the scope of the claims.
