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A GA-based movie-on-demand platform using multiple distributed servers

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Abstract

In this paper we present the design and explore the performance of a unicast-based distributed system for Movie-on-Demand applications. The operation of multiple servers is coordinated with the assistance of an analytical framework that provides closed-form solutions to the content partitioning and scheduling problem, even under the presence of packet losses. The problem of mapping clients to servers is solved with a genetic algorithm, that manages to provide adequate, near-optimum solutions with a minimum of overhead. While previous studies focused on the static behavior of such a system, i.e. fixed a-priori known number of N servers and K clients commencing operation at the same time instance, this paper focuses on the dynamic behavior of such a system over a period of time with clients coming and going at random intervals. The paper includes a rigorous simulation study that shows how the system behaves in terms of a variety of metrics, including the average access time over all the requested media, in response to differences in the client arrival rate or the consumed server bandwidth. As it is shown, the proposed platform exhibits excellent performance characteristics that surpass traditional approaches that treat clients individually. This has been verified to be true up to extreme system loads, proving the scalability of the proposed content delivery scheme. The significance of our findings also stems from the assumption of unreliable communications, a first for the study of complete systems in this domain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science & Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, P.O.B. 26666, United Arab Emirates

    Gerassimos Barlas & Khaled El-Fakih

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  1. Gerassimos Barlas
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  2. Khaled El-Fakih
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Correspondence to Gerassimos Barlas.

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Barlas, G., El-Fakih, K. A GA-based movie-on-demand platform using multiple distributed servers. Multimed Tools Appl 40, 361–383 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-008-0211-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-008-0211-6

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