A fully distributed architecture to support multimedia conferencing

As networks grow larger and faster, new forms of applications have to be created to support these massive infrastructures. High-bandwidth networks are being implemented to support large amounts of network traffic. The types of traffic that can be seen by these networks can be broadly classified under three categories: traffic that need not be real-time transference, traffic that needs to be real-time but non-interactive, and traffic that needs to be real-time and interactive. Real-time multimedia applications are becoming an important part of today's networks. Such applications are gaining popularity for both the Internet and corporate intranets. In order to allow the current and future network structures to support such high bandwidth- and resource-hungry applications, a form of distributed processing is necessary. This paper discusses the design and implementation of such a distributed system. This system should also be implemented in a black-box style format, where the inputs, outputs and requirements of the black box are clearly defined. Also, they can plug into a network and perform their functionality or be unplugged without crashing the system. Message passing is done by using the Internet Protocol. Thus, IP packets are used to transmit both control information and data to these entities and the output will be IP formatted packets as well. This paper takes you, step by step, through the theory, design stages, implementation, testing and commissioning of an example application which uses this distributed architecture. This application is a desktop multi-point multimedia conferencing system called MCS Version 4.O.