On layered video fairness on IP networks

In this paper, we present a study of layered video fairness on IP networks. Our study is based on simulation. We investigate some issues that have direct impact on fair allocation of bandwidth between layered video and TCP, in particular: (a) congestion control mechanisms employed by layered video transfer protocols; for this part we studied the interaction of RLM with TCP; (b) the effect of the distribution of video traffic across layers in layered multicast video; (c) the effect of VBR video on fairness to TCP. We show that fairness is affected by all the above factors. We also show that fairness of layered video comes at the expense of instability of the video quality and poor link utilization. We conclude by discussing the performance of layered video protocols in general and recommendations on the design of video transfer systems on IP networks.