Smoothing and multiplexing protocol for computer networks

Video-on-Demand (VoD) Servers normally store MPEG compressed versions of prerecorded videos in order to reduce their network bandwidth demands. Compressed videos have variable-bit-rate (VBR) for a specific compression quality. Transmission of videos on the network at a peak rate results in poor bandwidth utilization, while transmission at a lower rate results in quality-of-service (QoS) degradation. Implementation of a traffic smoothing on the VBR strewn, using a buffer at the client receiver, is a widely known approach to overcome the rate variability problem. This paper presents a novel smoothing and multiplexing protocol for prerecorded videos that constructs a lossless and constant-bit-rate (CBR) transmission plan. This protocol, named FRarnes-Ensured-Delivery (FRED), achieves perfect QoS, and also provides ideal bandwidth utilization without any frame loss. According to the proposed protocol, the server rate can be changed to explore its affect on the startup latency and the client's buffer size requirements. Simulation results are provided. We compare FRED protocol to a published work called Join-the-Shortest-Queue (JSQ) and show that FRED protocol results, in better transmission plan than JSQ regarded to QoS and network utilization. An improved FRED protocol, called Lossy-FRED, is presented to reduce the startup latency of the protocol down to zero. This feature is required when dealing with real-time or interactive applications. Decreasing the startup latency of FRED causes frame losses.