iBE: A Novel Bandwidth Estimation Algorithm for Multimedia Services over IEEE 802.11 Wireless Networks

Abstract

Recently, multimedia streaming services over IEEE 802.11 based wireless networks have increased dramatically. This results in manifold increase in the bandwidth requirement, especially for high-quality multimedia services. Given the bandwidth constraint in the wireless networks, one of the most critical factors in improving the end-to-end performance of multimedia application is the fast and accurate estimation of bandwidth. This paper proposes a novel bandwidth estimation algorithm, iBE. The significant feature of iBE is that it relies on multimedia packets only from the application layer. In addition, iBE recognizes the dynamic fluctuations of the wireless channel quickly, which in-turn enables iBE to be used for real-time services. The experimental results demonstrate that the accuracy of the bandwidth estimated by iBE is significantly superior to other methods like Spruce. Secondly, even in high traffic conditions, the bandwidth estimated by iBE is very close to the actual measured bandwidth, unlike the other state-of-the-art methods.

Delivering stable high-quality video

“…To optimize the viewers' quality of experience the video bitrate must be maximized, while keeping the number of switches in bitrate to a minimum [12]. Several solutions for improving the adaptation mechanisms in the players are proposed in the literature [16,18,20,24,15]. The downside of only improving the client-side is that it remains specific to the player, and that they cannot easily be configured by the user or a network administrator to achieve specific requirements.…”

Measurements of Available Bandwidth in Computer Networks

“…Cross layer based methodology for measuring the available bandwidth in wireless networks is implemented with solutions like IdleGap [19] and iBE [20].…”

“…So, the available bandwidth with this solution is computed with the known capacity and the link idle rate. iBE in [20] assesses the available bandwidth of the wireless network with packet dispersion methodology. Using this techique the packet payload size is recorded as well as the OWD (one-way delay) at the MAC layer.…”

Intelligent Bandwidth Estimation for Variable Bit Rate Traffic

“…Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TEVC.2013.2285122 novel intelligent bandwidth estimation technique has also been proposed by Yuan et al [5], which utilizes multimedia packets rather than probing traffic for available bandwidth estimation. Probing-based estimations [6], [7] are also popular for bandwidth estimation and calculation.…”