Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Frank R Morrison, Iii

Brandon T Hunt

Alexander Burba

Michael Gallop

Nima Ganjeh

Mehmet Akkurt

Mark James McNulty

John Raymond Justice

Ivan Petrov Trindev

Scott Rosemund

Matthew Wan

Krassimir Emilov Karamfilov

Jeffrey David Henshaw

Eric Neil Lockard

Kenneth Alan Lobb

Ray Wayne Davis

A method for transferring digital content items in a peer-to-peer network in which a plurality of nodes participate includes receiving requests for receipt of one or more digital content items from a plurality of requesting nodes belonging to the peer-to-peer network. A capacity of the requesting nodes to upload data is assessed. Network resources available to the peer-to-peer network for delivering the digital content items or chunks thereof to the receiving nodes are allocated based at least in part on the capacity of the requesting nodes to upload data. The digital content items or chunks thereof are sent to the requesting nodes over the peer-to-peer network in accordance with the network resources that are allocated to each of the requesting nodes.

Peer-to-peer network prioritizing propagation of objects through the network

Acquiring an interactive digital content item including a plurality of content portions includes receiving a first set of the content portions that is less than an entirety of the content portions. A partial functionality version of the interactive digital content item is presented using the first set of content portions. A second set of the content portions is received while the partial functionality version of the interactive digital content item is presented. Functionality is added to the partial functionality version of the interactive digital content item using the second set of content portions without interrupting presentation of the partial functionality version of the interactive digital content item.

Presenting digital content item with tiered functionality

Obligatorily-acquired digital content items are stored under service control in one or more local storage machines of a computer based on service commands provided by a centralized management service; and voluntarily-acquired digital content items are stored under user control in the one or more local storage machines of the computer based on user commands. The obligatorily-acquired digital content items are protected from user-commanded deletion. The obligatorily-acquired digital content items are deleted from the one or more local storage machines based on service commands provided by the centralized management service. However, the voluntarily-acquired digital content items are deleted from the one or more local storage machines based on user commands.

Content distribution storage management

Implementations disclosed herein can be used to improve the distribution of digital content in a peer-to-peer network. In certain embodiments, computing devices are mapped into different groups based on location information, and inter-group information, including historical inter-group information associated with at least one of inter-group data transfer rate information and inter-group availability information, is accessed and used to identify a first group of computing devices to send download requests for digital content, wherein the first group includes a first number of idle and available computer devices greater than a number of idle and available computer devices of another group of the computing devices. The download request for the digital content is effected or recommended to be sent from a second computing device mapped to a second group of the computing devices to a first computing device mapped to the first group.

Improving peer-to-peer network performance through coordination of digital content distribution

Telemetry data from a plurality of peer computers of a peer-to-peer network is aggregated via a computer network. Each of the plurality of peer computers sends telemetry data relating to transfer of a digital content item within the peer-to-peer network. A designated peer computer is quarantined from transferring a digital content item within the peer-to-peer network according to one or more health metrics of the peer-to-peer network derived from the telemetry data aggregated from the plurality of peer computers.

Centralized management of a P2P network

Multiple portions of protected content to host on a device are identified by the device, the multiple portions including one or more portions of each of one or more pieces of protected content. The multiple portions are obtained and stored on the device. The device is one of multiple devices in a managed wireless distribution network that allows portions of protected content to be transferred among the multiple devices via multiple wireless networks hosted by various ones of the multiple devices, and the device is configured to store portions of protected content that can be consumed by a user of the device only if the user of the device has permission to consume the protected content. Participation of the device in the managed wireless distribution network can also be identified, and a reward generated based on the participation of the device in the managed wireless distribution network.

Distributing content in managed wireless distribution networks

Telemetry data from a plurality of peer computers of a peer-to-peer network is aggregated via a computer network. Each of the plurality of peer computers sends telemetry data related to transfer of a digital content item within the peer-to-peer network. A content-acquisition request querying for a recommended content source to provide a first digital content item is received from a first peer computer of the peer-to-peer network via the computer network. A response to the content-acquisition request is sent to the first peer computer via the computer network. The response identifies a second peer computer of the peer-to-peer network that has the first digital content item as the recommended content source. The second peer computer is selected according to a peer selection metric derived from the telemetry data aggregated from the plurality of peer computers.

Content source selection in a P2P network

Telemetry data from a plurality of peer computers of a peer-to-peer network is aggregated via a computer network. Each of the plurality of peer computers sends telemetry data relating to transfer of a digital content item within the peer-to-peer network. A mitigation operation that modifies transfer of a digital content item between peer computers of the peer-to-peer network is performed according to one or more health metrics of the peer-to-peer network. The one or more health metrics are derived from the telemetry data aggregated from the plurality of peer computers.

A plurality of sources storing portions of a digital content item that includes a plurality of pieces is identified. The plurality of sources includes one or more peer computers of a peer-to-peer network. For each piece of the plurality of pieces of the digital content item, that piece is acquired from a source.

Content-acquisition source selection and management

A content-acquisition request is sent to a centralized management service computer via a computer network. The content-acquisition request may query the centralized management service computer for a recommended content source to provide a first digital content item. If a response to the content-acquisition request is received via the computer network and identifies a recommended peer computer of a peer-to-peer network as the recommended content source, a request to download the first digital content item is sent to the recommended peer computer via the computer network. If a response to the content-acquisition request is not received, a fallback request to download the first digital content item is automatically sent to a content-delivery network computer via the computer network.

Managed P2P network with content-delivery network

A computing device includes a primary content storage machine configured to selectively store one or more content portions of a digital content item, such as game portions of a video game. The computing device is configured to determine a size of a dynamically changing content access window including one or more content portions usable to provide an above-threshold user experience, such as uninterrupted game play, based on a current access position of the digital content item or video game and historical user-specific play patterns or game play consumption rates of different users. The computing device is configured to dynamically load the primary content storage machine with the content portions or game portions corresponding to the content access window and dynamically unload the content or game portions outside of the content access window from the primary content storage machine.

Dynamic content access window loading and unloading

A managed wireless distribution network includes multiple devices that communicate with one another via multiple wireless networks (e.g., multiple Wi-Fi networks). Each device in the managed wireless distribution network can host at least one wireless network and/or join at least one wireless network. Content in the managed wireless distribution network is protected so that the content cannot be consumed unless permission to consume the content is obtained. Devices can host portions of protected content regardless of whether they can consume the protected content, and can obtain portions of protected content via the wireless networks of the managed wireless distribution network without having to access a content service over the Internet.

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Frank R Morrison, Iii