Resource allocation for multimedia streaming over the Internet

TLDR

The paper tackles resource allocation for multiple media streams over the Internet. It introduces an end‑to‑end transport architecture, a TCP‑friendly protocol (MSTFP) that fuses forward network estimation with feedback control, and a resource allocation scheme that adapts media rates to estimated bandwidth using each media’s rate‑distortion function. Dynamic allocation based on network status and media characteristics improves end‑to‑end QoS, as confirmed by simulation results.

Abstract

This paper addresses the resource allocation problem for multiple media streaming over the Internet. First, we present an end-to-end transport architecture for multimedia streaming over the Internet. Second, we propose a new multimedia streaming TCP-friendly protocol (MSTFP), which combines forward estimation of network conditions with information feedback control to optimally track the network conditions. Third, we propose a novel resource allocation scheme to adapt media rate to the estimated network bandwidth using each media's rate-distortion function under various network conditions. By dynamically allocating resources according to network status and media characteristics, we improve the end-to-end quality of services (QoS). Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed schemes.