Multicast Traffic Coordinator Framework for Real-Time Multimedia over Residential Networks

Multicast Traffic Coordinator Framework for Real-Time Multimedia over Residential Networks

Abstract

The use of multicast applications such as remote education, video conferencing and Voice over IP (VoIP) within organizations is increasing. Simultaneously, such applications are beginning to penetrate the home environment due to the advent of telecommuting, where they facilitate discussions, virtual meetings, and multiparty chats among home and business users. The widespread deployment of such multicast applications posts a significant challenge for shared residential broadband networks such as Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC), where multicast traffic may overload available network bandwidth and trigger network congestion. The objective of this paper is to discuss issues related to deploying RSVP and DiffServ for multicast control on such networks, and to propose the Multicast Traffic Coordinator Framework as an alternative approach to handle multicast traffic by implementing multicast bandwidth management control on residential networks.