| CPC H04N 21/44218 (2013.01) [H04L 67/1046 (2013.01); H04L 67/1068 (2013.01); H04L 67/1074 (2013.01); H04N 21/44222 (2013.01)] | 33 Claims |

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1. A method of operating a peer-managed content delivery network, the method comprising:
configuring a new node in response to a user request for a content item;
identifying one or more potential attachment zones for the new node within the network, wherein each attachment zone comprises multiple network nodes;
sorting the attachment zones based on the multiple network nodes within each attachment zone;
attaching the new node to the network by establishing connections between the new node and one or more of the multiple nodes of a first attachment zone; and
each time the new node establishes a connection with a new peer, broadcasting information regarding the new peer to all peers of the new node;
wherein each network node with which the new node establishes a connection is considered a peer of the new node and the new node is considered a peer of each network node with which the new node establishes a connection.
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