Multi-source video multicast in internet-connected wireless mesh networks

Abstract

Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) connect to the Internet via access gateways. This paper studies multi-source video multicast in Internet-connected WMNs. The focus is on the design of a shareable integrated multicast that allows the multicasts of video sources to employ common Internet shortcuts or WMN paths to avoid potentially high WMN overheads and excessive Internet usage. Several algorithms are described that together form a video multicast framework running a controlled number of shareable multicasts under the constraint of Internet availability. These algorithms are the resource-efficient source group algorithm, the efficient integrated architecture algorithm, and the interference-controlled multicasting tree algorithm. These algorithms represent different approaches to overcoming various costs arising from multi-source video multicast, enabling multiple video sources to distribute delay, and throughput-guaranteed videos to receivers across large-scale areas. Simulation results are presented that quantify the performance gains that can be achieved.