US 2010/0146092 A1Published application

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Streaming Overlay Construction and Optimization

AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation

InventorsYusuo Hu, Jiang Li, Jian-guang Lou, Qingwei Lin, Fan Li

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Abstract

This document describes a directed graph model using a peer-to-peer overlay structure and a gossip-based protocol to maintain the distributed membership. A protocol suite for peers to join the live streaming session, form the P2P streaming overlay, and exchange video packets with others has also been presented. The different capabilities of the heterogeneous peers are well depicted using an adaptive out-degree mechanism. The performance of the whole system is maintained by a contribution-aware mechanism, which ensures that the peers with large contribution will get more chance to be served than those with small or no contribution.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A first peer computing device of a peer-to-peer architecture, the first peer computing device comprising:

one or more processors;
memory;
a membership module, stored in the memory and executable on the one or more processors to:
establish a connection between a bootstrap server and the first peer computing device, and
exchange partial view information between the first peer computing device and the bootstrap server, the partial view information comprising:
(i) peer record information that describes a current status of the first peer computing device, and (ii) a current status of the bootstrap server, wherein the peer record information that describes the current status of the first peer computing device is provided to the bootstrap server and the current status of the bootstrap server is provided to the first peer computing device, the partial view information being stored in a local cache in the first peer computing device and a bootstrap cache in the bootstrap server;
and
an overlay construction and optimization module, stored in the memory and executable on the one or more processors to:
describe a data flow in a streaming overlay of the peer-to-peer architecture, and
enable the first peer computing device to provide partial view information to a second peer computing device of the peer-to-peer architecture and enable the second peer computing device to provide partial view information to the first peer computing device utilizing a parent-child protocol that allows for the first and second peer computing devices to be both a parent and a child of one another.

7 more elements

A first peer computing device of a peer-to-peer architecture comprising:

one or more processors;
memory;
a directed graph content stream, wherein the first peer computing device and a second peer computing device are communicatively linked such that the first peer computing device and the second peer computing device are configured to be parents of one another such that the directed graph content stream may be communicated bilaterally between the first peer computing device and the second peer computing device;
and
a membership module, stored in the memory and executable on the one or more processors to:
establish contact between the first peer computing device and the second peer computing device, and
exchange partial view information between the first peer computing device and the second peer computing device, the partial view information comprising:
(i) peer record information that describes a current status of the first peer computing device, and (ii) a current status of the second peer computing device, wherein the peer record information that describes the current status of the first peer computing device is provided to the second peer computing device and the current status of the second peer computing device is provided to the first peer computing device, the partial view information being stored in a first local cache in the first peer computing device and a second local cache in the second peer computing device.

5 more elements

A first peer computing device of a peer-to-peer architecture comprising:

one or more processors;
memory;
a directed graph content stream, wherein the first peer computing device and a second peer computing device are communicatively linked such that the first peer computing device and the second peer computing device are configured to be parents of one another such that the directed graph content stream may be communicated bilaterally between the first peer computing device and the second peer computing device;
and
an overlay construction and optimization module, stored in the memory and executable on the one or more processors to:
describe a data flow in a streaming overlay of the peer-to-peer architecture, and
enable the first peer computing device to provide partial view information to the second peer computing device of the peer-to-peer architecture and enable the second peer computing device to provide partial view information to the first peer computing device utilizing a parent-child protocol that allows for the first and second peer computing devices to be both a parent and a child of one another.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/330,236Filed 8 Dec 2008
Published: 10 Jun 2010
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

H04L 67/104
In which an application is distributed across nodes in the network: peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
H04L 67/1046
Group management mechanisms: joining mechanisms
H04L 67/1053
Group management mechanisms: with pre-configuration of logical or physical connections with a determined number of other peers
H04L 67/1089
Using cross-functional networking aspects: hierarchical topologies