An adaptation architecture to improve user-perceived QoS of multimedia services for enterprise remote desktop protocols

Abstract

Limitations in the contemporary best effort WAN combined with an increase in demand of the business users for multimedia are the main challenges for remote desktop solutions. Thin client remote desktop protocols are now mature enough to work efficiently over low bandwidth and low quality links for normal office applications. However, they face significant challenges when working with more demanding data flows such as multimedia streams. This paper introduces the server-side component of the architecture for remote desktop environment aiming at improving user perception of the more demanding and network sensitive multimedia applications and services. Our component maps of user-perceived quality of service (QoS) onto network-level performance parameters in order to improve overall end-to-end QoS. The set of perception rules defined for each application and type of user triggers the adaptation mechanisms to change the transmission parameters in order to meet end user expectations. The adaptation mechanisms can optimize the usage of the available network resources within a dedicated network link both for different flows within single client connection and for all clients connected to the same server module. The result of such an optimization is a new set of connection parameters adjusted to network state changes and user perception of remote desktop. In the paper we discuss requirements of such QoS control mechanisms and respective adaptation mechanisms, followed by the detailed description of the proposed component architecture.