Network and Operating System Support for Digital Audio and Video 

About: Network and Operating System Support for Digital Audio and Video is an academic conference. The conference publishes majorly in the area(s): The Internet & Server. Over the lifetime, 535 publications have been published by the conference receiving 19954 citations.

Distributing streaming media content using cooperative networking

Abstract: In this paper, we discuss the problem of distributing streaming media content, both live and on-demand, to a large number of hosts in a scalable way Our work is set in the context of the traditional client-server framework Specifically, we consider the problem that arises when the server is overwhelmed by the volume of requests from its clients As a solution, we propose Cooperative Networking (CoopNet), where clients cooperate to distribute content, thereby alleviating the load on the server We discuss the proposed solution in some detail, pointing out the interesting research issues that arise, and present a preliminary evaluation using traces gathered at a busy news site during the flash crowd that occurred on September 11, 2001

Bayeux: an architecture for scalable and fault-tolerant wide-area data dissemination

Abstract: The demand for streaming multimedia applications is growing at an incr edible rate. In this paper, we propose Bayeux, an efficient application-level multicast system that scales to arbitrarily large receiver groups while tolerating failures in routers and network links. Bayeux also includes specific mechanisms for load-balancing across replicate root nodes and more efficient bandwidth consumption. Our simulation results indicate that Bayeux maintains these properties while keeping transmission overhead low. To achieve these properties, Bayeux leverages the architecture of Tapestry, a fault-tolerant, wide-area overlay routing and location network.

A reputation system for peer-to-peer networks

Abstract: We investigate the design of a reputation system for decentralized unstructured P2P networks like Gnutella. Having reliable reputation information about peers can form the basis of an incentive system and can guide peers in their decision making (e.g., who to download a file from). The reputation system uses objective criteria to track each peer's contribution in the system and allows peers to store their reputations locally. Reputation are computed using either of the two schemes, debit-credit reputation computation (DCRC) and credit-only reputation computation (CORC). Using a reputation computation agent (RCA), we design a public key based mechanism that periodically updates the peer reputations in a secure, light-weight, and partially distributed manner. We evaluate using simulations the performance tradeoffs inherent in the design of our system.

What happens when HTTP adaptive streaming players compete for bandwidth

Abstract: With an increasing demand for high-quality video content over the Internet, it is becoming more likely that two or more adaptive streaming players share the same network bottleneck and compete for available bandwidth. This competition can lead to three performance problems: player instability, unfairness between players, and bandwidth underutilization. However, the dynamics of such competition and the root cause for the previous three problems are not yet well understood. In this paper, we focus on the problem of competing video players and describe how the typical behavior of an adaptive streaming player in its Steady-State, which includes periods of activity followed by periods of inactivity (ON-OFF periods), is the main root cause behind the problems listed above. We use two adaptive players to experimentally showcase these issues. Then, focusing on the issue of player instability, we test how several factors (the ON-OFF durations, the available bandwidth and its relation to available bitrates, and the number of competing players) affect stability.

On the impact of delay on real-time multiplayer games

Abstract: Multiplayer games, i.e., games where several persons interact simultaneously over networks like the Internet, receive much interest. One of the reasons is that competing with human counterparts is typically considered as much more interesting and challenging than playing just against a computer.A major problem of network-based multiplayer games is caused by the network transmission delay. This means that it takes a while until information, e.g., about the movement of the opponents objects and their new position, reaches the receivers. This delay causes several difficulties and leads to paradoxical situations. For example, consider a racing game with two players, shortly after the start both believe that they have the lead because it takes a while until the position of the counter player reaches the local player. Approaches to provide for a global consistent state of the game by introducing a local presentation delay have been proposed, however, these increase the application-level delay even more.Therefore, it is important to investigate the impact such delays can have on the performance of multiplayer games and the attractiveness of these games for the human players. Such a study is the purpose of this work. We concentrate on real-time games for the Internet where significant delays can occur. The evaluation is performed through measurements using a car racing simulator.