Eugen Borcoci

Service management for end-to-end QoS multimedia content delivery in heterogeneous environment

Integrated service management aims to support efficient cooperation between various business entities, in order to offer end-to-end QoS based services to end users. This is challenging, especially in the context of heterogeneous technologies (IP, DVB-TIS, UWS, GSM/GPRS, etc.). This paper proposes a service management (SM) architecture, involving several actors such as service providers (SP), content providers (CP), network providers (NP) and content consumers (CC). The SM framework presented is an architectural component of an integrated management system (IMS), having as a prime objective the support of end-to-end QoS based services through the integrated management of content, networks and terminals in heterogeneous network contexts.

A Novel Architecture for Multimedia Distribution Based on Content-Aware Networking

This paper proposes a novel virtual Content-Aware Network (CAN) layer as a part of a full layered architecture, focused, but not limited to, on multimedia distribution with Quality of Services (QoS) assurance. The overall system is based on a flexible cooperation between providers, operators and end-users, enabling users to access the offered multimedia services in various contexts and also to become private content providers. The paper introduces the main concepts and architecture for the main virtual network layer (i.e., CAN), exposing its role and interfaces among overall system layers. This work is a part of the starting effort inside of a new European FP7 ICT research project, ALICANTE.

Scalable Media Coding Enabling Content-Aware Networking

Increasingly popular multimedia services are expected to play a dominant role in the future of the Internet. In this context, it is essential that content-aware networking (CAN) architectures explicitly address the efficient delivery and processing of multimedia content. This article proposes the adoption of a content-aware approach into the network infrastructure, thus making it capable of identifying, processing, and manipulating media streams and objects in real time to maximize quality of service (QoS) and experience (QoE). Our proposal is built on the exploitation of scalable media coding technologies within such a content-aware networking environment. This discussion is based on four representative use cases for media delivery (unicast, multicast, peer-to-peer, and adaptive HTTP streaming) and reviews CAN challenges, specifically flow processing, caching/buffering, and QoS/QoE management.

Efficient Media Streaming with Collaborative Terminals for the Smart City Environment

Among multiple services delivered over future mobile networks, the most demanding (from the required bandwidth point of view) are related to media streaming, which is a key component in smart applications (entertainment, tourism, surveillance, etc.). Such applications have to exploit a considerable amount of data, which is difficult to achieve especially in dense urban environments. In this context, the article presents a new solution for HTTP-compliant adaptive media streaming applicable to future 5G mobile networks, aimed at increasing bandwidth availability through the use of multiple radio access technologies and direct connections between devices if they are in proximity of each other. The proposed solution considers a scenario in which a high-quality media stream is received by multipath transmission through the radio access network. Collaboration of neighboring devices is exploited by using direct device-to-device links. Thus, proxy nodes can be inserted between a given media receiver and an access network. Toward ensuring optimized resource allocation at both levels, base station-to-device and device-to-device, this article introduces the architectural modules required for collaboration streaming inside the radio access network and end user’s device, and proposes enhancements in HTTP-compliant adaptive streaming protocols in order to become suitable for a multipath collaborative scenario.

Evolutionary Multiobjective Optimization algorithm for multimedia delivery in critical applications through Content-Aware Networks

Critical applications which need to deliver multimedia through the Internet, may achieve the required quality of service thanks to the Content-Aware Networks (CAN). The key element of CAN is an efficient decision algorithm responsible for the selection of the best content source and routing paths for content delivery. This paper proposes a two-phase decision algorithm, exploiting the Evolutionary Multiobjective Optimization (EMO) approach. It allows to consider valid information in different time scales, adapting decision-maker to the evolving network and server conditions as well as to get the optimal solution in different shapes of Pareto front. The simulation experiments performed in a large-scale network model, confirm the effectiveness of the proposed two-phase EMO algorithm, comparing to other multi-criteria decision algorithms used in CAN.

Scalable Video Coding in Content-Aware Networks: Research Challenges and Open Issues

The demand for access to advanced, distributed media resources is nowadays omnipresent due to the availability of Internet connectivity almost anywhere and anytime, and of a variety of different devices. This calls for rethinking of the current Internet architecture by making the network aware of which content is actually transported. This paper introduces Scalable Video Coding (SVC) as a tool for Content-Aware Networks (CANs) which is currently researched as part of the EU FP7 ALICANTE project. The architecture of ALICANTE with respect to SVC and CAN is presented, use cases are described, and finally research challenges and open issues are discussed.

Service invocation admission control algorithm for multi-domain IP environments

One approach to solve the end to end (E2E) quality of services (QoS) problem of multimedia services delivery over multi-domain IP heterogeneous network infrastructures in a scaleable manner is the establishment of long term QoS enabled aggregated pipes. To allow dynamism, the actual service invocation of these pipes can be made as a separate action from the pipes subscription. This paper proposes a service invocation admission control algorithm that can be applied to aggregated IP pipes taking into account new service requests and the actual utilization of the domain resources of the subscribed pipes.

WiMAX Handover Conditions Evaluation towards Enhancement through Cross-Layer Interaction

In the context of micro and macro-mobility capabilities defined by IEEE 802.16e/WiMAX standards, the paper presents the simulation campaign undertaken to identify the sets of configuration parameters having a major impact on the handover process for the IEEE 802.16e mobile station. Simulation results could then be used to construct a database for guiding some cross-layer optimization algorithms deciding upon handover trigger, in order to increase the handover performance, from the application point of view.

Web-Service Solution for Inter-domain QoS Negotiation

Development of multimedia services, e.g. video on demand or IPTV and their flow transport over the IP multi-domain networks with quality of services (QoS) guarantees require appropriate management and control of QoS at service and also at the network level. The management and control system must first support cooperation between several independent network domains at service provisioning level while preserving independency of each domain at resource control level. Secondly, the system should integrate various low level mechanisms like QoS routing, resource reservation, admission control. Service Level Agreements and Specifications are used to express inter-entities commitments. This paper presents a web-service approach for implementing the inter-domain SLS negotiation process between network providers (pSLS). The solution is part of an end to end QoS integrated management system through heterogeneous networks defined by the ENTHRONE IST European project.

Adding a new dimension to HTTP Adaptive Streaming through multiple-source capabilities

HTTP Adaptive Streaming (HAS) have become the de-facto solutions to deliver video over the Internet that increase end-users Quality of Experience (QoE). We propose to extend HAS with MS-Stream, a pragmatic solution for multiple-source streaming over HTTP that simultaneously utilizes several servers to obtain higher QoE in distributed infrastructures.