Chumcast in Two-Tier Networks

This paper provides a scheme to reduce the cost to distribute multimedia content to a set of nearby mobile peers, which we call chums. One peer, called the proxy, downloads multimedia content via a telecommunication link, and distributes it (which we call chumcast) to the ad hoc network formed from the set of nearby peers. Each peer in the ad hoc network takes turns serving as a proxy. Every peer is associated with a server that resides in the Internet. The server for the proxy, called the active server, manages peer information, schedules the next proxy, selects a set of rebroadcasting peers, and detects partitioning of the ad hoc network. With support from the servers in the Internet, peers receive benefits of reduced telecommunication bandwidth, computation power, as well as several security features. Simulation results show that 80% of the telecommunication cost is saved with as few as six peers.