P2P video streaming with inter-session network coding

We present a novel receiver-driven p2p system for delivery of multiple concurrent time constrained data streams in overlay networks. We propose an effective combination of rateless coding with intra- and inter-session network coding to efficiently exploit the path diversity in the streaming overlay. Network nodes can decide to forward rateless coded packets or to code them in intra or inter-session mode before transmission. The transmission strategy is determined based on the availability of data sources and the demands of the children nodes. Each network node solves independently a simple flow maximization problem in order to determine the optimal coding policy. The overall system is evaluated for various networks and the results outline the advantages of the proposed approach over intra-session network coding based schemes in terms of clients' satisfaction, innovative flow rate and decoding delay.