Streaming media over peers in a multi-path way

Heterogeneity of network metrics, network dynamics and reliability are crucial issues for the efficiency of media streaming in group communication. To combat these issues, we propose a novel approach to stream media over peers in a multi-path way, based on FEC (forward error correction) technique. The proposed method enlarges system capacity by breaking through available bottleneck bandwidth, improves reliability against node failure, and is more resilient to the fluctuation of network metrics. Extensive simulations were conducted and the results clearly support the claimed advantages.