Broadcasting Algorithm with Per-neighbor Queues

TL;DR

This paper presents a distributed broadcasting algorithm that maximizes broadcast rate in P2P networks, using only per-neighbor queues, and demonstrates its scalability and robustness through simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel formulation for maximum broadcast rate in acyclic overlay networks and develops a lightweight, scalable distributed algorithm based on this formulation.

Findings

Algorithm achieves maximum broadcast rate.

Scales linearly with network size.

Robust against high system dynamics.

Abstract

Broadcasting systems such as P2P streaming systems represent important network applications that support up to millions of online users. An efficient broadcasting mechanism is at the core of the system design. Despite substantial efforts on developing efficient broadcasting algorithms, the following important question remains open: How to achieve the maximum broadcast rate in a distributed manner with each user maintaining information queues only for its direct neighbors? In this work, we first derive an innovative formulation of the problem over acyclic overlay networks with arbitrary underlay capacity constraints. Then, based on the formulation, we develop a distributed algorithm to achieve the maximum broadcast rate and every user only maintains one queue per-neighbor. Due to its lightweight nature, our algorithm scales very well with the network size and remains robust against high system dynamics. Finally, by conducting simulations we validate the optimality of our algorithm under different network capacity models. Simulation results further indicate that the convergence time of our algorithm grows linearly with the network size, which suggests an interesting direction for future investigation.