Bandwidth Allocation to Traffic and QoE Evaluation for Video Streaming Services

Abstract

Video streaming is one of the most popular and highest bandwidth-consuming media on the internet. However, network bandwidth is a limited and costly resource. Therefore, usage should be managed well in order to optimize the management of available bandwidth resources. In this work, it is proposed to evaluate the traffic of online streaming applications in a bandwidth-constrained environment by testing the performance of Disney+, Netflix, and YouTube websites. The experiment has been done with both unlimited and limited bandwidth. The experiment has displayed protocol types, and data size, has measured QoS including throughput, delay, packet loss, and jitter of online video services, and it has compared the aforementioned elements with TIPHON standard specification. As a result, when the bandwidth has been limited, it has been found out that throughput has been in a bad range. This study recommends a bandwidth limitation of 2 Mbps for the greatest results for effective bandwidth usage. The importance of evaluating user satisfaction with service providers has been considered by measuring QoE levels using an individual rating or MOS for assessing the quality of video streams. This research has provided a guideline for managing the available bandwidth resources for the optimized benefit of all ISPs and users. This is a cost-effective and efficient use of bandwidth resources.