Effective video multicast over wireless internet

With the rapid growth of wireless networks and great success of Internet video, wireless video services are expected to be widely deployed in the near future. As different types of wireless networks are converging into all IP networks, i.e., the Internet, it is important to study video delivery over the wireless Internet. This paper proposes a novel end-system based adaptation protocol calledWireless Hybrid Adaptation Layered Multicast (WHALM) protocol for layered video multicast over wireless Internet. In WHALM the sender dynamically collects bandwidth distribution from the receivers and uses an optimal layer rate allocation mechanism to reduce the mismatches between the coarse-grained layer subscription levels and the heterogeneous and dynamic rate requirements from the receivers, thus maximizing the degree of satisfaction of all the receivers in a multicast session. Based on sampling theory and theory of probability, we reduce the required number of bandwidth feedbacks to a reasonable degree and use a scalable feedback mechanism to control the feedback process practically. WHALM is also tuned to perform well in wireless networks by integrating an end-to-end loss differentiation algorithm (LDA) to differentiate error losses from congestion losses at the receiver side. With a series of simulation experiments over NS platform, WHALM has been proved to be able to greatly improve the degree of satisfaction of all the receivers while avoiding congestion collapse on the wireless Internet

A Taxonomy of Data Grids for Distributed Data Sharing, Management and Processing

Data Grids have been adopted as the platform for scientific communities that need to share, access, transport, process and manage large data collections distributed worldwide. They combine high-end computing technologies with high-performance networking and wide-area storage management techniques. In this paper, we discuss the key concepts behind Data Grids and compare them with other data sharing and distribution paradigms such as content delivery networks, peer-to-peer networks and distributed databases. We then provide comprehensive taxonomies that cover various aspects of architecture, data transportation, data replication and resource allocation and scheduling. Finally, we map the proposed taxonomy to various Data Grid systems not only to validate the taxonomy but also to identify areas for future exploration. Through this taxonomy, we aim to categorise existing systems to better understand their goals and their methodology. This would help evaluate their applicability for solving similar problems. This taxonomy also provides a "gap analysis" of this area through which researchers can potentially identify new issues for investigation. Finally, we hope that the proposed taxonomy and mapping also helps to provide an easy way for new practitioners to understand this complex area of research.Comment: 46 pages, 16 figures, Technical Repor

Survey of Inter-satellite Communication for Small Satellite Systems: Physical Layer to Network Layer View

Small satellite systems enable whole new class of missions for navigation, communications, remote sensing and scientific research for both civilian and military purposes. As individual spacecraft are limited by the size, mass and power constraints, mass-produced small satellites in large constellations or clusters could be useful in many science missions such as gravity mapping, tracking of forest fires, finding water resources, etc. Constellation of satellites provide improved spatial and temporal resolution of the target. Small satellite constellations contribute innovative applications by replacing a single asset with several very capable spacecraft which opens the door to new applications. With increasing levels of autonomy, there will be a need for remote communication networks to enable communication between spacecraft. These space based networks will need to configure and maintain dynamic routes, manage intermediate nodes, and reconfigure themselves to achieve mission objectives. Hence, inter-satellite communication is a key aspect when satellites fly in formation. In this paper, we present the various researches being conducted in the small satellite community for implementing inter-satellite communications based on the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model. This paper also reviews the various design parameters applicable to the first three layers of the OSI model, i.e., physical, data link and network layer. Based on the survey, we also present a comprehensive list of design parameters useful for achieving inter-satellite communications for multiple small satellite missions. Specific topics include proposed solutions for some of the challenges faced by small satellite systems, enabling operations using a network of small satellites, and some examples of small satellite missions involving formation flying aspects.Comment: 51 pages, 21 Figures, 11 Tables, accepted in IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorial

cphVB: A System for Automated Runtime Optimization and Parallelization of Vectorized Applications

Modern processor architectures, in addition to having still more cores, also require still more consideration to memory-layout in order to run at full capacity. The usefulness of most languages is deprecating as their abstractions, structures or objects are hard to map onto modern processor architectures efficiently. The work in this paper introduces a new abstract machine framework, cphVB, that enables vector oriented high-level programming languages to map onto a broad range of architectures efficiently. The idea is to close the gap between high-level languages and hardware optimized low-level implementations. By translating high-level vector operations into an intermediate vector bytecode, cphVB enables specialized vector engines to efficiently execute the vector operations. The primary success parameters are to maintain a complete abstraction from low-level details and to provide efficient code execution across different, modern, processors. We evaluate the presented design through a setup that targets multi-core CPU architectures. We evaluate the performance of the implementation using Python implementations of well-known algorithms: a jacobi solver, a kNN search, a shallow water simulation and a synthetic stencil simulation. All demonstrate good performance