Detecting suspended video streams through variance-time analysis

To detect suspended video streams, an algorithm is proposed which analyzes traffic data to sense changes in variances. The objective of the algorithm is to help restart suspended streams as quickly as possible in cooperation with network administrators, mechanisms to change routes, etc. The algorithm handles traffic data of a number of streams all together to detect one or more suspended streams without using the information on the number of streams and on each stream´s data rate. It works with the same parameter values for both LAN and WAN traffic streams, even if their packet interarrival-time distributions are different. Experiments with 41 live TV streams showed that suspension is detectable when the traffic rate decrease caused by the suspension is 1.6%.