Load balancing in video-on-demand servers by allocating buffer to streams with successively larger buffer requirements until the buffer requirements of a stream can not be satisfied

摘要

A video server is provided with buffer manager which balances the loads on the various "movie storage" elements of a video server by preferentially buffering streams on highly loaded storage elements. The allocation of buffer takes place only when the storage element load increases due to the arrival of a new request or when buffer becomes available due to the pausing or stopping of an old request.