On the Delivery of Scalable Video over Heterogenous P2P Networks

Abstract

We consider the on-demand delivery of layered video over peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. A parallel server architecture enables the service of requests by more than one server, thus reducing load at individual servers and dispersing network load. In a P2P network, peer upload bandwidth is limited and heterogenous, so a P2P streaming session may involve multiple supplying peers of different uplink. Partitioning the video data is a crucial first step in the collaborative delivery of data by multiple servers. If done right, the client's viewing experience can be significantly improved. In this paper, we describe a retrieval strategy that significantly reduces access delay necessary for continous playback when retrieving layers of heterogenous bitrate over multiple connections of heterogenous bandwidth.