Wide-area True Video-on-Demand by a Decentralized Cache-based Distribution Infrastructure

The fast growth of the Internet is currently increasing the attractivity of video-on-demand applications, which had been stifled after the failures of the first developments. In Intranets these VoD applications copy the approaches of centrally administered distribution systems successfully. For public VoD installations, on the other hand, such an approach would fail today as it did some years ago. In contrast to such centralized approaches, de-centralized distribution system with structures similar to the video rental market may be able to adapt to the dynamical development of VoD deployment. This thesis presents a consistent infrastructure for video distribution that is based on caching. Results concerning the required infrastructure in such a decentralized approach are presented. Specifically, the results cover the protocol support for wide-area distribution, support for the tracing of copyright violations, and the evaluation of approaches for a distribution system. A protocol suite is introduced that combines reliable multicast with a small overhead over concurrent delivery as streaming media. Due to the notable absence of watermarking approaches that are applicable to multicast distribution, a simple alternative based on marking with errors is introduced for discussion. Finally, combinations of caching strategies and new distribution mechanisms are evaluated for efficiency gains that result from an appropriate interaction of strategies and distribution mechanisms