Using Planetlab to Implement Multicast at the Application Level

TL;DR

This paper explores implementing application-layer multicast using PlanetLab, highlighting the impact of TCP connection times on network latency measurements and proposing solutions to reduce distribution delays.

Contribution

It demonstrates the feasibility of application-layer multicast on PlanetLab and addresses the challenge of TCP connection times affecting distribution efficiency.

Findings

TCP connection time significantly affects latency measurement

Proposed solutions reduce end-host distribution time

Application-layer multicast is feasible on PlanetLab

Abstract

Application-layer multicast implements the multicast functionality at the application layer. The main goal of application-layer multicast is to construct and maintain efficient distribution structures between endhosts. In this paper we focus on the implementation of an application-layer multicast network using PlanetLab. We observe that the total time required to measure network latency over TCP is influenced dramatically by the TCP connection time. We argue that end-host distribution is not only influenced by the quality of network links but also by the time required to make connections between nodes. We provide several solutions to decrease the total end-host distribution time.