Abstract: Various exemplary embodiments relate to a method and related network node including one or more of the following: receiving, at the cloud controller, a request message including a first request for a first cloud resource; identifying a set of potential devices for providing the first cloud resource; calculating a plurality of weight values corresponding to at least a portion of the set of potential devices for providing the first cloud resource, wherein the plurality of weight values are calculated based on a plurality of delta values associated with the at least a portion of the set of potential devices; selecting a device based on the plurality of weight values to provide the first cloud resource; and updating the delta value associated with the selected device.

Abstract: Various embodiments provide a method and apparatus of providing a distributed network file system in a cloud network that provides performance guarantees in cloud storage that are independent of the accessed files and the access locations. A client's file system is provisioned using a file placement strategy that is based on client's access locations and determined maximum access bandwidths and does not require knowledge of file access patterns.

Abstract: The invention includes a method and apparatus for regenerative signaling. Specifically, the method includes receiving at least one base protocol message formatted in accordance with at least one base protocol, obtaining service information associated with at least one network service, and generating, in response to the at least one base protocol message, at least one companion protocol message formatted in accordance with at least one companion protocol. The at least one base protocol message is associated with at least one service endpoint. The service information associated with at least one network service is obtained using the at least one base protocol message. The at least one companion protocol message is generated using at least a portion of the service information. The at least one companion protocol message is operable for controlling the at least one network service in a manner substantially transparent to the at least one service endpoint.

Abstract: A distribution and scheduling system for advertisements that targets ads to users and maximizes service-provider revenue without having full knowledge of user-profile information. Each user device stores a user profile and is pre-loaded with a set of ads that could possibly be shown during a timeslot. Each user device selects and displays an ad based on the user profile but does not identify the selected ad to the service provider. Instead, the user devices provide perturbed user-profile information in the form of Boolean vectors, which the service provider uses in conjunction with a guaranteed-approximation online algorithm to estimate the number of users that saw a particular ad. Thus, the service provider can charge advertisers for the number of times their ads are viewed, without knowing the users' profiles or which ads were viewed by individual users, and users can view the targeted ads while maintaining privacy from the service provider.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are methods for selecting, out of a lineup of IPTV channels, a subset of channels for caching. The methods take into account viewers' tendency to walk through the channels that lie between their current channel and their desired channel if that walking distance is short, and, alternatively, viewers' tendency to jump to a distant channel. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention include any channel selection method which selects for caching any number of channels less than the entire lineup, and where at least two of those channels form a segment of adjacent channels. Other embodiments include methods which rely upon specific extrinsic data, e.g., IGMP and EPG information, for selecting a subset of channels to be cached.

Abstract: A capability is provided for providing transparent cloud computing with a virtualized network infrastructure. A method for enabling use of a resource of a data center as an extension of a customer network includes receiving, at a forwarding element (FE), a packet intended for a virtual machine hosted at an edge domain of the data center, determining a VLAN ID of the VLAN for the customer network in the edge domain, updating the packet to include the VLAN ID of the VLAN for the customer network in the edge domain, and propagating the updated packet from the FE toward virtual machine. The edge domain supports a plurality of VLANs for a respective plurality of customer networks. The packet includes an identifier of the customer network and a MAC address of the virtual machine. The VLAN ID of the VLAN for the customer network in the edge domain is determined using the identifier of the customer network and the MAC address of the virtual machine.

Abstract: A method and system for scheduling tasks is provided. A plurality of lower bound completion times is determined, using one or more computer processors and memory, for each of a plurality of jobs, each of the plurality of jobs including a respective subset plurality of tasks. A task schedule is determined for each of the plurality of processors based on the lower bound completion times.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a scheme for the display of targeted and personalized advertisements in a packet-based media-delivery system, such as an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service. An Internet keyword-based advertisement-bidding model is used to place the most-appropriate IPTV advertisements for viewers depending on their interests as determined through the users' Internet activities, while maximizing advertising revenue for the IPTV service provider. One method for scheduling an advertisement for rendering in one or more time slots in packet-based media programming comprises: (a) obtaining at least one keyword from one or more Internet sessions corresponding to at least one user; (b) receiving a plurality of bid amounts corresponding to a plurality of available advertisements for the one or more time slots; and (c) scheduling, based on the at least one keyword and at least one of the bid amounts, the advertisement to be rendered to the at least one user in the one or more time slots.

Abstract: The invention comprises a method and apparatus for providing multimedia content to a calling party device. Specifically, the method comprises receiving a multimedia ringback service request in response to a connection request for establishing a connection between the calling party device and a called party device, determining an address associated with the calling party device in response to the multimedia ringback service request, identifying the multimedia content associated with the multimedia ringback service request, and establishing at least one multimedia session with the calling party device using the address where the at least one multimedia session is operable for providing the multimedia content towards the calling party device contemporaneously with establishing the connection.

Abstract: The invention comprises a method and apparatus for establishing a persistent connection between a user device and a service gateway. Specifically, the method comprises obtaining state information in response to a connection request, establishing a connection between the user device and the service gateway using the state information, and maintaining the state information associated with the connection such that the connection is persistent through at least one network state change.

Abstract: The invention includes a method and apparatus for attempting to synchronize delivery of information at a plurality of receiving systems. The method includes generating, at a sending system, a plurality of current messages adapted for rendering an asset within an application space of a respective plurality of receiving systems, determining an accumulated export error for each of the receiving systems, transmitting the current messages toward the respective receiving systems in a manner adapted to reduce the accumulated export errors. The accumulated export error for a receiving system includes an estimated current message export error for a current message generated by the sending system for the receiving system and an accumulated previous message export error for at least one previous message generated by the sending system for the receiving system.

Abstract: An active session mobility solution for point-to-point protocol (PPP) in accordance with the present invention provides fast and smooth handoff by reducing tunneling overhead on tunneling mechanisms, such as P-P tunneling from a serving Source (e.g., a PPP termination device) to a new serving Target (e.g., a PPP termination device). In the active session mobility solution of the present invention, PPP session can be migrated even if not all phases have been completed (e.g., LCP, PAP/CHAP completed but not IPCP and CCP). In such cases, the incomplete phases will be negotiated at the PPP of the Target PPP.

Abstract: A capability is provided for providing transparent cloud computing with a virtualized network infrastructure. A method for enabling use of a resource of a data center as an extension of a customer network includes receiving, at a forwarding element (FE), a packet intended for a virtual machine hosted at an edge domain of the data center, determining a VLAN ID of the VLAN for the customer network in the edge domain, updating the packet to include the VLAN ID of the VLAN for the customer network in the edge domain, and propagating the updated packet from the FE toward virtual machine. The edge domain supports a plurality of VLANs for a respective plurality of customer networks. The packet includes an identifier of the customer network and a MAC address of the virtual machine. The VLAN ID of the VLAN for the customer network in the edge domain is determined using the identifier of the customer network and the MAC address of the virtual machine.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing user specific request redirection in a content delivery network includes parsing a page having embedded objects intended for redirection to at least one cache server, and transforming the embedded objects into relative uniform resource locators (URLs). A content-base token is inserted into an HTTP response header in response to a user request for the page. In an instance where the content-base token is not supported by the server and/or client devices, a base token is inserted into the page in response to a user request for the page. The content-base token and base token provide identification of a server or URL prefix where the embedded objects in the page are to be retrieved. The requested page is then sent to the user's browser. The browser constructs absolute URLs from the embedded URLs using either the received content-base token or base token, to retrieve embedded objects from the server.

Abstract: The system for scheduling advertisements includes at least one ad bidder and an ad scheduler. The ad bidder is configured to receive bidding information for a plurality of ads from one or more advertisers. The bidding information for each ad includes at least one target profile information and a bid associated with the target profile information. The bid indicates expected revenue for showing the ad to a viewer having actual profile information corresponding to the target profile information associated with the bid. The ad scheduler is configured to schedule which of the plurality of ads is received by which of a plurality of viewers based on the actual profile information of the plurality of viewers and the bidding information such that an ad scheduled for one of the plurality of viewers is influenced by a correspondence of the scheduled ad to others of the plurality of viewers.

Abstract: Example embodiments provide scheduling a plurality of ads to be shown to a plurality of viewers of a multimedia network. One example embodiment includes determining target view rates for each of the plurality of ads based on expected revenue associated with each of the plurality of ads, determining, for each of the plurality of ads, a queue value based on a target view rate and an actual view rate associated with the ad, the actual view rate being a number of views of the ad in a previous time slot, and selectively showing ads, from among the plurality of ads, to the plurality of viewers based on the queue values.

Abstract: A method, system and apparatus for a assigning keywords to a web page using keyword data from the web page itself, web pages having links pointing to the web page, and web pages pointed to by a link in the web page, wherein the keyword data from the multiple web pages is processed to provide a relevant set of keyword data for the web page.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and method for managing user profiles based on keyword content associated with a user. The user associated keyword content represents a website requested by the user or video data viewed by the user, in which the user profile is created and maintained at the customer premise equipment as opposed to the network infrastructure associated with the service provider. For example, the system includes a customer premise equipment (CPE) configured to create a user profile. The user profile includes at least one keyword representing keyword content associated with the user and at least one score representing importance of a corresponding keyword.

Abstract: Example methods include monitoring Internet traffic for a user, analyzing content of the Internet traffic, correlating the analyzed content with a simplified classifier set, ranking each correlated simplified classifier in the simplified classifier set, and storing the ranked simplified classifiers in a user interest profile for the user. Customer premise equipment may include a residential gateway, such as a wireless router, and user equipment such as a personal computer. Example systems may be configured from customer premise equipment or Internet service providers to generate user interest profiles in accordance with example methods.

Abstract: The Fair-Order Service of the present invention delivers action messages to the server as soon as it is feasible. Because action messages from different players exhibit different reaction times with respect to an update message, the Fair-Ordering Service executed at the server dynamically enforces a sufficient waiting period on each action message to guarantee the fair processing of all action messages. In reality, the waiting period at the server is bounded because of the real-time nature of interactive games. The algorithms that offer Fair Ordering Service take into consideration delayed and out-of-order action messages. When action messages corresponding to multiple update messages are interleaved, the Fair-Ordering Service matches the action message to the appropriate update message. It accomplishes this by maintaining a window of update messages and using the reaction times for an action message for each of the update messages in the window.