Rita: Receiver initiated just-in-time tree adaptation for rich media distribution

Application-level multicast networks overlaid on unicast IP networks are increasingly gaining in importance. While there have been several proposals for overlay multicast networks, very few of them focus on the stringent requirements of real-time applications such as streaming media. We propose RITA (Receiver Initiated Timely Adaptation) framework for an efficient overlay multicast infrastructure. RITA is based on a combination of landmark clustering and RTT measurements, and is particularly suitable for multimedia real-time applications. Our goal is to balance the networkoriented goals of building an efficient multicast tree with the application-oriented goals of providing good QoS with minimal disruptions. Using accurate global soft state information tables, our approach promptly constructs and reconfigures high quality trees. A distinguishing feature of our approach is that the tree reconfiguration is initiated justin-time by the application client at the receiver when the media quality falls below a specific threshold. The goal is to achieve dynamic tree reconfiguration with very low switching delay such that end users do not perceive any application performance degradation