Periodic broadcast with dynamic server selection

Abstract—Service replication is an effective way to address resource requirements and resource availability problem. Dynamic service selection enables clients to choose a server offering the best performance. Proper server selection is especially important for video streaming over the Internet due to its high bandwidth requirements. However, given the length of a typical video transmission, the server selected prior to sending a request may not be an optimal one for the duration of the whole transmission. We examine the possibility of switching to another server during an ongoing transmission for periodic broadcast schemes. Due to the timing requirements typical for periodic broadcast scheme the server switch may cause playback disruption. We analyze the magnitude of the problem and propose an easy to implement solution. We define the criterion, additional to the bandwidth availability for example, according to which a new server should be selected. The client is also required to delay playback by the amount of time bounded by the server transmission offset. We propose also an alternative method to ensure uninterrupted playback that relies on proxy caching. I

1 Periodic Broadcast with Dynamic Server Selection

Abstract—Service replication is an effective way to address resource requirements and resource availability problem. Dynamic service selection enables clients to choose a server offering the best performance. Proper server selection is especially important for video streaming over the Internet due to its high bandwidth requirements. However, given the length of a typical video transmission, the server selected prior to sending a request may not be an optimal one for the duration of the whole transmission. We examine the possibility of switching to another server during an ongoing transmission for periodic broadcast schemes. Due to the timing requirements typical for periodic broadcast scheme the server switch may cause playback disruption. We analyze the magnitude of the problem and propose an easy to implement solution. We define the criterion, additional to the bandwidth availability for example, according to which a new server should be selected. The client is also required to delay playback by the amount of time bounded by the server transmission offset. We propose also an alternative method to ensure uninterrupted playback that relies on proxy caching. I