Inventors:
W. Paul Sherer - San Jose CA, US
Kirk Blattman - San Jose CA, US
Glenn Connery - San Jose CA, US
Howard Davis - San Jose CA, US
Daniel Kiewlich - San Jose CA, US
Robert Drew Major - San Jose CA, US
Mel Oyler - San Jose CA, US
Neeraj K. Sharma - San Jose CA, US
International Classification:
G06F 11/30
Abstract:
A technique for managing the streaming of digital video content to multiple clients involves identifying an attribute of a content element that is streamed to a client and selecting a protection mechanism for the content element as a function of the attribute, wherein the protection mechanism enables streaming of the content element to the clients in the event of a resource failure. In an example, the identified attribute is an indication of the popularity of the content element (e. g. , as measured by the number of active streams), such that the protection mechanism is selected as a function of the popularity of the content element. In an embodiment, protection mechanisms that offer a higher level of protection are selected for the more popular content elements and protection mechanisms that offer a lower level of protection are selected for the less popular content elements.