Scalable Feedback Control (SFC) for Multicast Video Distribution in the Internet

Abstract

SFC uses a model in which the sender multicasts video at a single rate which aims at “optimizing” the “group reception quality”. The main idea is to estimate the number of receivers using a statistical method, and solicit reception status from a sample of the receivers to estimate the health of the multicast group. If the group is doing extremely well, meaning that no member has any complaint, then the sender will increase its rate by a fixed increment and repeat its probing mechanism. In case, the group as a whole is doing well, meaning that, most of the receivers are receiving at the maximum rate they can, the sender does not adjust its rate. However, if more than a certain fraction of the receivers complain, the sender decrements its rate by a fixed amount, and continues probing the health of the network.