Hybrid reliable streaming protocol for peer-to-peer multicasting

A computer-usable storage medium having instructions embodied therein that when executed cause a computer system to perform a method for peer-to-peer multicasting of streaming data in a node in a peer-to-peer computer environment, said method comprising:

• receiving a transmission of packets at said node, wherein said packets are data packets pushed from a parent node and comprises data of a sub stream of said streaming data;
• creating a buffer map of said node at said node, wherein said buffer map lists said packets that have been received and an available bandwidth of said node;
• connecting said node with at least one neighboring node;
• exchanging said buffer map of said node with a buffer map of said at least one neighboring node;
• and
• provided a determination is made that at least one packet in said sub stream of said streaming data was not received at said node, pulling said at least one packet from said at least one neighboring.

A system for peer-to-peer multicasting of streaming data in a node in a peer-to-peer computer environment, said system comprising:

• a source configured to transmit said streaming data in a plurality of sub streams wherein each sub stream is transmitted over a corresponding tree;
• a parent node configured to transmit packets of said sub stream of data in said corresponding tree;
• said node configured to receive said packets of said sub stream of data in said corresponding tree from said parent node, re-transmit said packets of said sub stream of data, exchange a buffer map of said node with a buffer map of a neighboring node, and pull a missing data packet from said neighboring node provided that a determination is made that said node is missing a data packet;
• and
• a child node configured to receive said packets of said sub stream of data re-transmitted from said node.