Swarm: a multimedia delivery network for highly dynamic networking environments

This paper presents the experimental design and implementation of Swarm, an integrated and scalable multimedia delivery platform. Swarm offers the adaptability, maintainability and scalability required to effectively support diversity in network and client access, including the provisioning for mobile devices. Based upon a topologically aware peer-to-peer substrate, comprised of a distributed set of cooperating nodes and a novel routing schemata, Swarm allows for the effective maintenance of multimedia transactions despite the dynamic properties introduced by wireless and mobile systems. We present the Swarm design, with particular emphasis on how the system maintains content and structural integrity whilst adaptability and dynamic stresses are prevalent. Finally, the experimental implementation of Swarm is discussed together with an analysis of its performance