A Robust P2P Media Streaming Scheme in Dynamic Environments

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the problems of peer-to-peer media streaming in highly dynamic environments, including the peer selection and the aggregation of available bandwidth. To select reliable peers, we propose an adaptive peer selection algorithm based on the consideration of uplink bandwidth, life time, playback fault times, and the number of candidates for live broadcasting. In addition, the uplink bandwidth from one single sender cannot supply a streaming request alone so a receiver should download segments from cooperative senders. To aggregate the available bandwidth of multiple senders for streaming, we design a media segments assignment algorithm to resolve this problem. In the proposed media streaming scheme, the time delay of playback and the probability that playback faults happen are analyzed to evaluate the system performance. The simulation results show that our solution is reliable and robust for media streaming. Especially, if the peers join/leave the system frequently during media streaming, the benefits of the proposed schemes are obvious to receivers.