Peer-to-Peer Overlay Multicast for Scalable Audiovisual Services over Converging Wired and Wireless Networks

The deployment of scalable audiovisual multicast services over heterogeneous core and access networks is a challenging problem. In this article we propose E-Cast, an efficient, source-specific, scalable, overlay multicast system based on the peer-to-peer system Kademlia. This novel overlay multicast system enables IPTV multicast to be deployed as a service level infrastructure to overcome IP network multicast discontinuity in converging wired and wireless network domains. E-cast consists of a set of edge devices called E-Cast Service Node (ESN) and one managing device called E-Cast Service Manager (ESM). ESNs are distributed in the network and provide efficient video distribution services. They not only transport the mediastreaming but also can cache the media files according to some given criteria. Performance evaluation using simulation and features comparison with existing proposals are also proposed.