Reliable Multi-Path Routing Schemes for Real-Time Streaming

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new routing algorithm called capillary routing that optimizes multi-path routes for real-time streaming, reducing the overall FEC redundancy needed despite increased path diversity.

Contribution

The paper proposes the ROR metric and capillary routing algorithm to efficiently design multi-path routes that minimize FEC redundancy in real-time streaming.

Findings

Capillary routing reduces overall FEC redundancy despite increased path diversity.

The ROR coefficient effectively measures the FEC overhead for multi-path topologies.

Thousands of optimized multi-path routing patterns were generated and analyzed.

Abstract

In off-line streaming, packet level erasure resilient Forward Error Correction (FEC) codes rely on the unrestricted buffering time at the receiver. In real-time streaming, the extremely short playback buffering time makes FEC inefficient for protecting a single path communication against long link failures. It has been shown that one alternative path added to a single path route makes packet level FEC applicable even when the buffering time is limited. Further path diversity, however, increases the number of underlying links increasing the total link failure rate, requiring from the sender possibly more FEC packets. We introduce a scalar coefficient for rating a multi-path routing topology of any complexity. It is called Redundancy Overall Requirement (ROR) and is proportional to the total number of adaptive FEC packets required for protection of the communication. With the capillary routing algorithm, introduced in this paper we build thousands of multi-path routing patterns. By computing their ROR coefficients, we show that contrary to the expectations the overall requirement in FEC codes is reduced when the further diversity of dual-path routing is achieved by the capillary routing algorithm.