Exploiting Peer-to-Peer Technology for Network and Resource Management in Interactive Broadcasting Environments

This paper presents a novel DVB/IP infrastructure that exploits P2P technology for optimised resource exploitation in interactive services´ provision. Building upon a prototype DVB-T regenerative platform, it presents a decentralised architecture that exploits the broadcasting stream as part of the core/backbone network, providing interactive IP services to rural/urban citizens. Users access the provided IP services via intermediate communication nodes (access network), which are responsible for managing/controlling both uplink and downlink flows. Towards enhancing the scalability as well as the performance of the entire network, the paper studies the realisation of IP overlays by exploiting P2P technology, and proposes a prototype configuration for optimum resource exploitation and increased Service/Bandwidth gain both at the core and access segments. Performance evaluation experiments carried-out under real transmission/reception conditions verified the validity of the proposed architecture, besides outlining fields for future research.