A methodology for evaluating storage systems in distributed and hierarchical video servers

Large scale multimedia systems combine technologies from audio and video systems, communications systems and computer systems. Multimedia systems store compressed video files digitally on a server that is shared by a large number of users. A video server is characterized by the number of simultaneous video streams it can support and by the size of the video library. Storage costs are a significant aspect of a video server because of the very large size of the objects. In setting up a video service, there is a choice between having one very large central server, multiple decentralized servers, or a hierarchical server structure. This paper discusses the scaling and cost issues in the server in order to provide information on how to balance server costs against communications costs.<>