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EP-4197185-B1 - PROCESSING REAL-TIME-STREAMING-PROTOCOL (RTSP) PACKETS TO ENHANCE VIDEO-ON-DEMAND SERVICES

EP4197185B1EP 4197185 B1EP4197185 B1EP 4197185B1EP-4197185-B1

Inventors

  • GUO, Jinji
  • FENG, Xing
  • LIANG, JIANMING
  • LI, FENG
  • DONG, YUPING

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20200817

Claims (9)

  1. An electronic device (2) capable of processing real-time-streaming-protocol 'RTSP' packets in a network for providing enhanced video-on-demand 'VOD' services, the electronic device (2) comprising: a user interface (19); a non-transitory memory (23) having instructions (25) stored thereon, the instructions (25) including an application layer gateway 'ALG' module (25b) and network service software (25a); and a hardware processor (24) configured to execute the instructions (25) to: store a list (27) of mac-bridge clients (28) in the non-transitory memory (23), the list (27) including a Media Access Control 'MAC' address (29) and a MAC mask (30) corresponding to each mac-bridge client (28); receive a RTSP packet including a source and a destination MAC address; determine whether at least one of the source and destination MAC address is on the list (27); when at least one of the source and destination MAC address is on the list (27), process the received RTSP packet using the network service software (25a) and receive a next RTSP packet; and when at least one of the source and destination MAC address is not on the list (27), process the received RTSP packet using the ALG module (25b); wherein the hardware processor (24) further executes the instructions (25) to specify a set of MAC addresses for each mac-bridge client (28) in the list (27) using the corresponding MAC address (29) and MAC mask (30), wherein the corresponding MAC mask (30) is a bit map indicating the bits of the corresponding MAC address (29) to be used for determining MAC addresses to be included in the set; wherein the hardware processor (24) further executes the instructions to compare the source and destination MAC address against the set of MAC addresses specified for each mac-bridge client (28), to determine whether at least one of the source and destination MAC address is on the list (27).
  2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the hardware processor further executes the instructions to enable or disable a mac-bridge feature on the electronic device.
  3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device comprises a set-top box.
  4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device comprises a gateway device or an access point.
  5. A method of processing real-time-streaming-protocol 'RTSP' packets in a network for providing enhanced video-on-demand services, the network communicatively connecting an electronic device (2) including a network controller (24) and one or more client devices (4), the method comprising: storing (S1) a list of mac-bridge clients in the electronic device (2), the list including a Media Access Control 'MAC' address and a MAC mask corresponding to each mac-bridge client; receiving (S2), using the network controller (24), a RTSP packet including a source and a destination MAC address; determining (S3), using the network controller (24), whether at least one of the source and destination MAC address is on the list; when at least one of the source and destination MAC address is on the list, processing (S4), using the network controller (24), the received RTSP packet using network service software executed by the network controller and receiving a next RTSP packet; when at least one of the source and destination MAC address is not on the list, processing (S5), using the network controller (24), the received RTSP packet using an ALG module executed by the network controller (24); specifying a set of MAC addresses for each mac-bridge client on the list using the corresponding MAC address and MAC mask, wherein the corresponding MAC mask is a bit map indicating the bits of the corresponding MAC address to be used for determining MAC addresses to be included in the specified set; wherein the determining, using the network controller (24), whether at least one of the source and destination MAC address is on the list comprises comparing the source and destination MAC address against the specified set of MAC addresses for each mac-bridge client.
  6. The method according to claim 5 further comprising enabling or disabling a mac-bridge feature on the electronic device.
  7. The method according to claim 5 wherein the electronic device comprises a set-top box.
  8. The method according to claim 5, wherein the electronic device comprises a gateway device or an access point.
  9. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium (23) in an electronic device (2) capable of processing real-time-streaming-protocol 'RTSP' packets in a network for providing enhanced video-on-demand services, the network communicatively connecting the electronic device (2) including a network controller (24) and one or more client devices (4), the non-transitory computer-readable recording medium (23) storing instructions (25) which when executed by a hardware processor of the electronic device (2) cause the electronic device (2) to perform the steps of any one of claims 5-8.

Description

Technical Field The subject matter of the present disclosure relates generally to processing real-time-streaming-protocol (RTSP) packets to enhance video on demand services. Background Gateways, access points (APs), or set-top boxes (STBs) used in wireless networks can include modems and can have difficulty playing video-on-demand (VOD) services when a mac-bridge feature is enabled on the modem. Modems typically use a real-time-streaming-protocol (RTSP) application layer gateway (ALG) module, which is designed to process RTSP packets sent by clients or client devices. However, the ALG module cannot correctly process RTSP packets sent by clients or client devices when the modem is in the mac-bridge mode and the Media Access Control (MAC) addresses of the clients or client devices are included on a mac-bridge client list. When a modem of, for example, a gateway device is in a bridge mode, the ALG module is not loaded so RTSP packets sent by clients or client devices are processed by the modem and VOD services can be provided continuously. However, when the modem of the gateway device is in the mac-bridge mode, the ALG module is loaded and the modem works in a half-route and half-bridge mode. However, in the mac-bridge mode, the ALG module can have difficulty processing the RTSP packets sent by clients (e.g., when the MAC addresses of the clients or client devices are included on the mac-bridge client list), which causes the VOD services to fail. Therefore, known techniques for processing mac-bridge client RTSP packets using ALG modules have drawbacks (e.g., when the mac-bridge feature is enabled on a modem and the MAC address of the client or client device is included on the mac-bridge client list). Thus, it would be advantageous and an improvement over the relevant technology to provide an apparatus, method, and computer-readable recording medium capable of processing mac-bridge client RTSP packets using ALG modules when the mac-bridge feature is enabled on a modem and the MAC address of the client or client device is included on the mac-bridge client list, and while providing VOD services. EP1347621B 1 provides a prior art example of a system and method for determining a destination for an Internet protocol packet. US2013/232210A1 provides a prior art example of methods and apparatus for providing content delivery instructions to a content server. US2008/271096A1 provides a prior art example of methods and systems for interactive video transport over ethernet networks. Summary The invention shall be specified by the appended set of claims. An aspect of the present disclosure provides an electronic device capable of processing real-time-streaming-protocol (RTSP) packets in a network for providing enhanced video-on-demand (VOD) services. The electronic device includes a user interface, a non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that include an application layer gateway (ALG) module and network service software, and a hardware processor. The hardware processor is configured to execute the instructions to store a list of mac-bridge clients in the non-transitory memory. The list includes a Media Access Control (MAC) address and a MAC mask corresponding to each mac-bridge client. Moreover, the hardware processor is configured to execute the instructions to receive a RTSP packet including a source and a destination MAC address, and determine whether at least one of the source and destination MAC address is on the list. When at least one of the source and destination MAC address is on the list, the received RTSP packet is processed using the network service software and a next RTSP packet is received. When at least one of the source and destination MAC address is not on the list, the received RTSP packet is processed using the ALG module. An aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of processing real-time-streaming-protocol (RTSP) packets in a network for providing enhanced video-on-demand services. The network communicatively connects an electronic device including a network controller and one or more client devices. The method includes storing a list of mac-bridge clients in the electronic device. The list includes a MAC address and a MAC mask corresponding to each mac-bridge client. Moreover, the method includes receiving, using the network controller, a RTSP packet including a source and a destination MAC address, and determining, using the network controller, whether at least one of the source and destination MAC address is on the list. When at least one of the source and destination MAC address is on the list, the network controller is used to process the received RTSP packet using network service software executed by the network controller and a next RTSP packet is received. Otherwise, when at least one of the source and destination MAC address is not on the list, the received RTSP packet is processed using the ALG module executed by the network controller. An aspect of the present