D/sup 2/MST: a shared tree construction algorithm for interactive multimedia applications on overlay networks

Interactive multimedia applications (IMAs) require not only adequate bandwidth to support large volume data transmission but also bounded end-to-end transmission delay between end users. This study1 proposes a Delay and Degree constrained Multicasting Spanning Tree (D
²
MST) algorithm to build an any-to-any share tree for IMAs. D
²
MST comprises root selection and spanning tree generation. A weighting function is defined based on the novel concept of network center and gravity to choose the root of a share tree. From the root, a spanning tree is built by incrementally connecting nodes with larger "power" to the tree so that the degree constraint is satisfied. Simulation results show that D
²
MST can successfully generate a Deltaconstraint MST in which a high percentage of nodes can interact within the bounded delay