Distributed dynamic MCU for video conferencing in peer-to-peer network

In this paper, we present a novel Multipoint Video Conferencing (MVC) architecture based on Peer-to-Peer (P2P) platform, such as Gnutella where the Multipoint Control Unit (MCU) is dynamically migrated among the participating peers. The proposed architecture minimizes network traffic and delays by choosing Weighted Center of Graph (WCG) as MCU using an election protocol. We optimize frequency of MCU migration to avoid performance degradation for continuous MCU movement. For large scale video conferencing, single peer MCU can be the bottleneck. So, we distribute the responsibilities of MCU over peers throughout the network applying constraints on bandwidth and computing capacity of each peer. The experimental result shows that the system of Distributed Dynamic MCU (DDMCU) with WCG mostly outperforms systems mediated by Distributed Static MCU (DSMCU).