Cisco Technology, Inc.

John F Carr

Barbara Liskov

A content engine receives a content request from a client, generates a result including one of a content-providing value and a redirection value in response to the content request, and selectively provides, to the client, one of (i) content when the result includes the content-providing value, and (ii) a redirection message when the result includes the redirection value, the redirection message including an extended domain name having a client identifier which identifies the client. The result can be used by a content router or content engine in deciding whether to provide content or a redirection. The decision to selectively provide can be based on client proximity to the content engines, past redirections, content size and type, content engine capacity, content availability and other factors.

Methods and apparatus for redirecting requests for content

The invention is directed to techniques in a computer, for processing a content request. In one arrangement a content engine receives a content request from a client, generates a result based on the content request, the result including one of a content-providing value and a redirection value in response to the content request, and selectively provides, to the client, one of (i) content when the result includes the content-providing value, and (ii) a redirection message when the result includes the redirection value, the redirection message including an extended domain name having a client identifier which identifies the client. The result can be used by a content router or content engine in deciding whether to provide content or a redirection. The decision to selectively provide can be based on client proximity to the content engines, past redirections, content size and type, content engine capacity, content availability and other factors.

A technique can be used to obtain content (e.g., a live feed, pre-positioned content, etc.) from a content-originating device (a content source). The technique involves identifying a tree-based location-path having a series of locations which leads from the computerized device to the content-originating device. Each location includes a set of devices, and the set of devices of at least one location includes multiple devices. The technique further involves selecting a device-path from the computerized device to the content-originating device based on the identified location-path, and acquiring the content from the content-originating device from at least one of the devices along the selected device-path. The selected device-path includes at least one device of each location of the series of locations.

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Newton, MA, United States of America

John F Carr