A scalable PVR-based content sharing architecture for community networks

Integrated with consumer devices like PVRs, a community network can serve as a content sharing architecture for high-quality TV programs in a residential area. To build up such a community network, we employ Fiber Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) as a fast network connecting a large number of PVRs at a low cost. However, an FC-AL single loop has a critical limitation in terms of the number of attached PVRs when connecting thousands of users in densely-populated communities. We therefore develop a novel multiple loop architecture capable of providing a scalable community network in an economical way without using expensive switches. To connect multiple loops in our architecture, we introduce shared disks that relay TV programs between loops. We then present all possible topologies including linear, ring, edge-added, and complete topology that can be configured with shared disks. We also analyze which topology has the best scalability by evaluating the total traffic of each topology. The analysis and experimental results show that the complete topology among all the possible topologies provides the best scalability.