Software defined network orchestration to manage media flows for broadcast with public cloud networks

Software defined network orchestration to manage media flows for broadcast with public cloud networks is provided by identifying a media flow at a media production facility for multicast transmission; registering the media flow to a registration database; migrating the media flow from multicast transmission to unicast transmission; transmitting the media flow to a public cloud network facility; and updating the registration database with a location of the media flow in the public cloud network facility. Once registered, a media flow management system allows any authorized device to request for a media flow; and in response locates the media flow based on a registration database indicating a location of the media flow (whether in the public cloud network facility, on a common carrier, or in a production facility); receives access to the media flow at the location; and allows the authorized device to consume the media flow.

BACKGROUND (1) As used herein, “unicast” describes communications where a piece of information is sent from one point to another point. In a unicast transmission there is only one sender and one receiver. Unicast transmission in an Internet Protocol (IP) based network, in which a packet is sent from a single source to a specified destination, is a predominant form of transmission on Local Area Networks (LANs) and within the Internet. All LANs (e.g., Ethernet) and IP networks support the unicast transfer mode, such as the standard unicast applications (e.g., HTTP, SMTP, FTP and TELNET), which employ TCP (Transmission Control Protocol). (2) As used herein, “multicast” describes communications where a piece of information is sent from a first set of one or more points to a second set of points to a receiver set, which any number of receivers can elect to join. In IP based networks, there may be one or more senders, and the information is distributed to a set of zero or more receivers (i.e., there may be no receivers, or any other number of receivers.) Multicasting is the networking technique of delivering the same packet simultaneously to a group of clients. The format of an IP multicast packet is identical to that of unicast packets and is distinguished by the use of a special class of destination address (e.g., class D IPv4 addresses), which denotes a specific multicast group. In some cases, a multicast communication can be sent from a single sender to a receiver set including