Scalable Application Layer Multicast

Abstract

We describe a new scalable application-layer multicast protocol, specifically designed for low-bandwidth data streaming applications with large receiver sets. Our scheme is based upon a hierarchical clustering of the application-layer multicast peers and can support a number of different data delivery trees with desirable properties.

We present extensive simulations of both our protocol and the Narada application-layer multicast protocol over Internet-like topologies. Our results show that for groups of size 32 or more, our protocol has lower link stress (by about 25%), improved or similar end-to-end latencies and similar failure recovery properties. More importantly, it is able to achieve these results by using orders of magnitude lower control traffic. Finally, we present results from our wide-area testbed in which we experimented with 32-100 member groups distributed over 8 different sites. In our experiments, average group members established and maintained low-latency paths and incurred a maximum packet loss rate of less than 1% as members randomly joined and left the multicast group. The average control overhead during our experiments was less than 1 Kbps for groups of size 100. Also UMIACS-TR-2002-53