A peer-to-peer on-demand streaming service and its performance evaluation

Providing on-demand video streaming service over the Internet is a challenging task. In this paper, we propose DirectStream, a directory based peer-to-peer video streaming service that efficiently and cost-effectively provides video on-demand service with VCR operation support. We analytically and experimentally examine the system performance, and show that the proposed scheme can significantly reduce the workload posed on the server, and that it scales extremely well as the popularity of the video increases even if participating clients behave non-cooperatively. We propose a QoS parent selection algorithm to construct the appropriate peer-to-peer networks, and discuss how to provide continuous playback in the face of clients' early departures. Our study suggests that peer-to-peer networking is a promising technique to address scalability in on-demand streaming service.