An efficient networking technique for synchronous e-learning platforms in corporate environments

Abstract

A synchronous e-learning platform constitutes an effective tool to implement training programs for human resources in large corporations. These organizations are usually widely dispersed in multiple sites, so the delivery of multimedia data over the whole corporation during an e-learning activity is a true challenge. Multimedia data is usually delivered using the RTP protocol. Although an RTP session can involve multiple participants and has no restriction on the underlying network, it is usually restricted to IP multicast scopes. However, IP multicast is rarely available throughout corporate networks. In this paper, an efficient delivery technique based on an overlay multicast network is proposed. The overlay is made up of multiple servers that operate at the RTP level and combine unicast and native multicast transport whenever possible. This technique has proved to be more efficient than a technique based exclusively on unicast delivery.