Experimental Evaluation of Dynamic Switching between One-on-One and Group Video Calling

Abstract

This paper evaluates an extension of a production WebRTC-based video conferencing system that enables seamless dynamic switching between one-on-one and group mode as participants join or leave a conference. The two modes have different transport types; In the one-on-one case the call is relayed only if the two endpoints cannot establish a direct connection, whereas in the group case the call is always routed through a Selective Forwarding Unit (SFU). We examine the different sets of features that should be used in each mode and we perform a measurement study to explore the impact of the extension on the infrastructure costs and on several connection properties such as media latency, call establishment time, packet loss and throughput.