Simulating Large-Scale P2P Assisted Video Streaming

In this paper, we show through detailed simulations that BitTorrent can be used to assist a server or content distribution network (CDN) for large-scale streaming delivery. Specifically, a content owner can distribute a file to over 131,072 users/peers with a peak swarm size of 16,384 concurrent users and a CDN bandwidth savings of 73%, while achieving an average user buffer time of under 2 seconds, which is an A+ on the StreamQ user performance rating system. Current research and even deployed systems rarely have swarms in excess of 1,000 concurrent peers for a single piece of content. Consequently, this is the first study that reports on peer-to-peer streaming for swarms of this scale. Further, the simulation model demonstrates that a high quality of service can be provided, while significantly reducing the distributor's transit costs for these large swarms.