Multimedia Social Networks: Game Theoretic Modeling and Equilibrium Analysis

Multimedia content sharing and distribution over multimedia social networks is more popular now than ever before: we download music from Napster, share our images on Flickr, view user-created video on YouTube, and watch peer-to-peer television using Coolstreaming, PPLive and PPStream. Within these multimedia social networks, users share, exchange, and compete for scarce resources such as multimedia data and bandwidth, and thus influence each other's decision and performance. Therefore, to provide fundamental guidelines for the better system design, it is important to analyze the users' behaviors and interactions in a multimedia social network, i.e., how users interact with and respond to each other. Game theory is a mathematical tool that analyzes the strategic interactions among multiple decision makers. It is ideal and essential for studying, analyzing, and modeling the users' behaviors and interactions in social networking. In this thesis, game theory will be used to model users' behaviors in social networks and analyze the corresponding equilibria. Specifically, in this thesis, we first illustrate how to use game theory to analyze and model users' behaviors in multimedia social networks by discussing the following three different scenarios. In the first scenario, we consider a non-cooperative multimedia social network where users in the social network compete for the same resource. We use multiuser rate allocation social network as an example for this scenario. In the second scenario, we consider a cooperative multimedia social network where users in the social network cooperate with each other to obtain the content. We use cooperative peer-to-peer streaming social network as an example for this scenario. In the third scenario, we consider how to use the indirect reciprocity game to stimulate cooperation among users. We use the packet forwarding social network as an example. Moreover, the concept of ``multimedia social networks" can be applied into the field of signal and image processing. If each pixel/sample is treated as a user, then the whole image/signal can be regarded as a multimedia social network. From such a perspective, we introduce a new paradigm for signal and image processing, and develop generalized and unified frameworks for classical signal and image problems. In this thesis, we use image denoising and image interpolation as examples to illustrate how to use game theory to re-formulate the classical signal and image processing problems

Multimedia Streaming over P2P networks using Markov Decision Processes

Projecte final de carrera realitzat en col.laboració amb EPFL LausanneThe aim of this project is to overcome the limitations of Foresighted Resource Reciprocation strategy (FRR) [11] for distributing multimedia content while providing a better performance for resource reciprocation than other solutions proposed. In this project, we build on the Foresighted Resource Reciprocation strategy by explicitly considering the timing constraints for continuous display of the multimedia data and the importance of each multimedia data segment for the multimedia quality. In particular, we incorporate data priority functions into the reward function in order to adapt to the specific characteristics of media streaming applications. As a result, the peers exchange video packets with a strategy that ensures that the most important packets have a higher probability to reach the decoder on time for proper decoding

On the traffic offloading in Wi-Fi supported heterogeneous wireless networks

Heterogeneous small cell networks (HetSNet) comprise several low power, low cost (SBSa), (D2D) enabled links wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) access points (APs) to support the existing macrocell infrastructure, decrease over the air signaling and energy consumption, and increase network capacity, data rate and coverage. This paper presents an active user dependent path loss (PL) based traffic offloading (TO) strategy for HetSNets and a comparative study on two techniques to offload the traffic from macrocell to (SBSs) for indoor environments: PL and signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) based strategies. To quantify the improvements, the PL based strategy against the SIR based strategy is compared while considering various macrocell and (SBS) coverage areas and traffic–types. On the other hand, offloading in a dense urban setting may result in overcrowding the (SBSs). Therefore, hybrid traffic–type driven offloading technologies such as (WiFi) and (D2D) were proposed to en route the delay tolerant applications through (WiFi) (APs) and (D2D) links. It is necessary to illustrate the impact of daily user traffic profile, (SBSs) access schemes and traffic–type while deciding how much of the traffic should be offloaded to (SBSs). In this context, (AUPF) is introduced to account for the population of active small cells which depends on the variable traffic load due to the active users

System analysis of a Peer-to-Peer Video-on-Demand architecture : Kangaroo

Architectural design and deployment of Peer-to-Peer Video-on-Demand (P2PVoD) systems which support VCR functionalities is attracting the interest of an increasing number of research groups within the scientific community; especially due to the intrinsic characteristics of such systems and the benefits that peers could provide at reducing the server load. This work focuses on the performance analysis of a P2P-VoD system considering user behaviors obtained from real traces together with other synthetic user patterns. The experiments performed show that it is feasible to achieve a performance close to the best possible. Future work will consider monitoring the physical characteristics of the network in order to improve the design of different aspects of a VoD system.El disseny arquitectònic i el desplegament de sistemes de Vídeo sota Demanda "Peer-to-Peer" que soporten funcionalitats VCR està captant l'interès d'un nombre creixent de grups de recerca a la comunitat científica, degut especialment a les característiques intrínsiques dels mencionats sistemes i als beneficis que els peers podrien proporcionar a la reducció de la càrrega en el servidor. Aquest treball tracta l'anàlisi del rendiment d'un sistema P2P-VoD considerant el comportament d'usuaris obtingut amb traçes reals i amb patrons sintètics. Els experiments realitzats mostren que és viable assolir un rendiment proper al cas més óptim. Com treball futur es considerarà la monitorització de les característiques físiques de la xarxa per a poder millorar el disseny dels diferents aspectes que formen un sistema de VoD.El diseño arquitectónico y el despliegue de sistemas de Video bajo Demanda "Peer-to-Peer" que soportan funcionalidades VCR está captando el interés de un número creciente de grupos de investigación dentro de la comunidad científica; especialmente debido a las características intrínsecas de tales sistemas y a los beneficios que los peers podrían proporcionar en la reducción de la carga en el servidor. Este trabajo se enfoca en el análisis de rendimiento de un sistema P2PVoD considerando el comportamiento de usuarios obtenido de trazas reales, junto a otros patrones sintéticos. Los experimentos realizados muestran que es viable lograr un rendimiento cercano al caso más óptimo. El trabajo futuro considerará la monitorización de las características físicas de la red para poder mejorar el diseño de los diferentes aspectos que conforman un sistema de VoD

Mathematical analysis of scheduling policies in peer-to-peer video streaming networks

Las redes de pares son comunidades virtuales autogestionadas, desarrolladas en la capa de aplicación sobre la infraestructura de Internet, donde los usuarios (denominados pares) comparten recursos (ancho de banda, memoria, procesamiento) para alcanzar un fin común. La distribución de video representa la aplicación más desafiante, dadas las limitaciones de ancho de banda. Existen básicamente tres servicios de video. El más simple es la descarga, donde un conjunto de servidores posee el contenido original, y los usuarios deben descargar completamente este contenido previo a su reproducción. Un segundo servicio se denomina video bajo demanda, donde los pares se unen a una red virtual siempre que inicien una solicitud de un contenido de video, e inician una descarga progresiva en línea. El último servicio es video en vivo, donde el contenido de video es generado, distribuido y visualizado simultáneamente. En esta tesis se estudian aspectos de diseño para la distribución de video en vivo y bajo demanda. Se presenta un análisis matemático de estabilidad y capacidad de arquitecturas de distribución bajo demanda híbridas, asistidas por pares. Los pares inician descargas concurrentes de múltiples contenidos, y se desconectan cuando lo desean. Se predice la evolución esperada del sistema asumiendo proceso Poisson de arribos y egresos exponenciales, mediante un modelo determinístico de fluidos. Un sub-modelo de descargas secuenciales (no simultáneas) es globalmente y estructuralmente estable, independientemente de los parámetros de la red. Mediante la Ley de Little se determina el tiempo medio de residencia de usuarios en un sistema bajo demanda secuencial estacionario. Se demuestra teóricamente que la filosofía híbrida de cooperación entre pares siempre desempeña mejor que la tecnología pura basada en cliente-servidor

A P2P Platform for real-time multicast video streaming leveraging on scalable multiple descriptions to cope with bandwidth fluctuations

In the immediate future video distribution applications will increase their diffusion thanks tothe ever-increasing user capabilities and improvements in the Internet access speed and performance.The target of this paper is to propose a content delivery system for real-time streaming services based ona peer-to-peer approach that exploits multicast overlay organization of the peers to address thechallenges due to bandwidth heterogeneity. To improve reliability and flexibility, video is coded using ascalable multiple description approach that allows delivery of sub-streams over multiple trees andallows rate adaptation along the trees as the available bandwidth changes. Moreover, we have deployeda new algorithm for tree-based topology management of the overlay network. In fact, tree based overlaynetworks better perform in terms of end-to-end delay and ordered delivery of video flow packets withrespect to mesh based ones. We also show with a case study that the proposed system works better thansimilar systems using only either multicast or multiple trees

Video Traffic Characteristics of Modern Encoding Standards: H.264/AVC with SVC and MVC Extensions and H.265/HEVC

abstract: Video encoding for multimedia services over communication networks has significantly advanced in recent years with the development of the highly efficient and flexible H.264/AVC video coding standard and its SVC extension. The emerging H.265/HEVC video coding standard as well as 3D video coding further advance video coding for multimedia communications. This paper first gives an overview of these new video coding standards and then examines their implications for multimedia communications by studying the traffic characteristics of long videos encoded with the new coding standards. We review video coding advances from MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 Part 2 to H.264/AVC and its SVC and MVC extensions as well as H.265/HEVC. For single-layer (nonscalable) video, we compare H.265/HEVC and H.264/AVC in terms of video traffic and statistical multiplexing characteristics. Our study is the first to examine the H.265/HEVC traffic variability for long videos. We also illustrate the video traffic characteristics and statistical multiplexing of scalable video encoded with the SVC extension of H.264/AVC as well as 3D video encoded with the MVC extension of H.264/AVC.View the article as published at https://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2014/189481