P eer-assisted adaptive streaming:

the key to managing evergrowing online video traffic

A white paper

C onte nt s
1.
2.
3.
4.

Context: a booming online video market in search of tomorrows solutions

Peer-assisted delivery: optimize video playout and minimize infrastructure risks
Case Studies: over 50% peer-to-peer streaming on a large VOD platform
Final remarks

I n t e n d e d Re ad e r s
This White Paper is intended for online broadcasters, video platforms and professionals at all
levels of the online video distribution chain.

Abstr act
This White Paper introduces a new peer-based approach to video streaming designed to overcome the limitations imposed by current Content Delivery Network (CDN) infrastructures
and distribution techniques. It explains through statistics and case studies how peer-assisted
video delivery can represent a key competitive advantage, enabling broadcasters to scale up,
improve quality of streams and handle traffic peaks, all while reducing costs and lightening the
burden on saturated network infrastructures.

1. C ontex t : a booming online

video m arke t in se arch of t omorrow s solut ions

A grow ing online v id e o m ar ke t
The online video market is experiencing exponential growth with the combined effect of skyrocketing consumption and increasing video quality.
Internet traffic is poised to more than double in the next five years. Today video content
represents over 60% of worldwide consumer traffic. With the growing use of mobile devices
and tablets, this figure is set to jump to up to 90% by 2018.i According to a recent Ericsson
report, video traffic will grow faster than any other mobile segment 13-fold by 2019 and
will soon represent over half of mobile data use.ii

Figure 1: Projected growth in Internet video and total Internet traffic

Figure 2: Projected growth in mobile video and total mobile traffic

At the same time, video files themselves are growing. In a market where performance is essential, 4K, or ultra-high definition (UHD), is quickly becoming the benchmark.iii As consumers
come to expect heightened quality, video distributors will require more and more bandwidth,
as well as infrastructures capable of receiving larger files and increasing amounts of traffic, if
they hope to ensure a satisfactory end-user experience.

i. Cisco 2014 Visual Networking Index

ii. Jim ONeill, Mobile video traffic to grow 13X by 2019, straining already congested networks 09 June 2014. http://www.ooyala.com/
videomind/blog/mobile-video-traffic-grow-13x-2019-straining-already-congested-networks#sthash.zRB5X5f0.dpuf
iii. A UHD file is 16 times larger than the same file in HD.

A u nic a s t mod e l s how ing i t s li mi t s

Current distribution models are already starting to show their limits. As Akamais Kurt Michel
observes, Increasing broadband penetration and faster devices make high-quality viewing
experiences possible, but network latency issues and heavy traffic loads can often result in
disappointing video streaming performance, with frequent pauses for rebuffering.iv
Even more troubling, outages are multiplying as platforms struggle to cope with unprecedented demand. Even the sectors biggest and most lucrative actors those that invest huge
sums in top-tier CDNs to ensure content is delivered to millions of users remain highly
vulnerable. Look no further than the last few months: Just weeks after problems with the True
Detective finale, HBO Go suffered a crippling outage potentially affecting millions of viewers
during the Game of Thrones season 4 premiere; ESPN crashed when 1.4 million simultaneous
viewers attempted to watch the US-Germany World Cup match; ABCs debut live stream of
the Oscars was down for most of the evening.v
Traditional unicast protocols based on one-to-one relations between client and server have
proven insufficient, with frequent network over-capacity and congestion. Content delivery
networks are racing to palliate the situation by multiplying peering points and surrogate servers around the globe. This solution, however, is not scalable ad infinitum and risks to ultimately fail to provide the reliability sought at an acceptable cost.
Whats more, while content delivery networks can take much of the burden off of a providers
origin infrastructure and help deliver content to users faster, CDN infrastructure is shared
among multiple customers. If one client needs to broadcast a huge sporting or political event,
will other customers be forced to suffer?
The bandwidth wars have only just begun, and those with the architecture will decide which
videos will be delivered at what speed (see the Verizon / Netflix conflict). As telcos vie to
compete with traditional CDNs, more and more companies are looking for a slice of the pie,
and bandwidth-heavy video content providers will be at the mercy of potentially unfavorable
pricing and distribution policies.

iv. https://blogs.akamai.com/2013/01/live-video-streaming-that-can-handle-traffic-spikes-the-challenge.html
v. For more information on these examples, see:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/06/hbo-go-still-recovering-from-outage-during-game-of-thrones-premiere/
http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/espn-video-streaming-service-crashes-during-usa-germany-world-cup-match-1201251221/
http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/abcs-live-internet-oscar-stream-suffers-nationwide-outage-1201124215/

1I . Peer- a ssisted de liver y :

opt imize video pl ayout and mini mize infr a st ruc ture risk
P 2 P : a v i ab le solu t ion
To remain competitive, broadcasters will have to ensure high-quality content at lightening-fast
speeds every time. They will have to be prepared to support an increasing number of visitors all while reducing their dependency on traditional delivery networks. Bandwidth is a
video platforms largest production cost, and those that manage to control this expense without compromising quality will have an edge up.
CDNs admit that additional distribution models are necessary, and that time is of the essence.
One of the largest actors cites peer-to-peer streaming as a solution that has already proven
effective on a large scale.vi When combined with traditional unicast delivery, peer-to-peer
adaptive streaming presents a viable alternative. Why? Lets take a look at two realities:
Peak-hour Internet traffic is growing faster than average traffic.vii
Over 80% of video traffic is concentrated on 20% of content.viii
The videos that are and will be in highest demand are also those being watched by a large
number of viewers at the same time. Peer-to-peer streaming allows simultaneous users to
exchange video segments among themselves rather than each connecting to a server to do
so. The system thus effectively overcomes several of the scalability obstacles presented by
the video market.
First, it largely reduces broadcasters reliance on CDNs for content distribution, drastically
reducing bandwidth costs, freeing up congestion and protecting them from infrastructure
malfunctions. Decentralizing this exchange of data also significantly improves the quality of
service for the end user, as each viewer is able to collect the segment needed from the source
that can provide it most quickly. Lastly, it turns inevitable user volume increases into an asset,
as the solution works better the more viewers are watching the same content.

vi. Les nouvelles frontires de la diffusion OTT: Multicast & P2P www.ovfsquad.fr
vii. Cisco 2014 Visual Networking Index
viii. For more information on skewed video popularity distribution, see: Watching Videos from Everywhere: a Study of the PPTV Mobile
VoD System, http://planete.inrialpes.fr/~kaafar/pplive-IMC12.pdf. Social networks have a tendency to skew this distribution even more, to
such an extent that a mere 2% of content can garner up to 90% of views. See Video Requests from Online Social Networks: Characterization, Analysis and Generation, http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~jcliu/Papers/VideoRequests.pdf

The St re a m Root a n s we r
StreamRoot has developed a hybrid peer-to-peer video streaming solution based on the latest
Internet technologies: HTML5, JavaScript, Media Source Extensions and WebRTC. Unlike
other peer-to-peer solutions, StreamRoots technology is transparent, requiring no plugin,
extension or other installation on the part of end users.
When a StreamRoot user accesses a webpage, the video
content begins loading directly from the server. At the
same time, the viewer connects to the StreamRoot tracker and retrieves an intelligently selected list of peers,
establishes a direct connection with them and requests
video segments. If the peers cannot provide the segments quickly enough, it automatically switches back to
the origin/CDN server, guaranteeing at the very least
the same quality of service as a CDN-only solution.
Streamroot leverages two new cutting-edge technologies. The first, WebRTC, is a new standard that allows users to establish direct and secure real-time communications with other
users without worrying about NATs and firewalls. It is included natively in browsers as a
javascript API, and is available as an open-source library distributed by Google for easy integration into any type of device.
The second is Media Source Extensions, another web standard designed for dynamic management of video streams directly in HTML5. Avoiding the need to rely on cumbersome Flash
systems, MSE has already been adopted by most browsers, and is used by default by Netflix
and Youtube. Like WebRTC, it is also becoming standard for mobile devices, set top boxes
and smart TVsix.
Harnessing these technologies, our solution can be decomposed into three main modules:
1. Media engine module: This module enables adaptive bitrate streaming playback in
HTML5 and Flash. It supports the newest MPEG-DASH streaming standard, as well as older
formats like Smooth Streaming and HLS. It uses dynamic adaptive streaming algorithms based

ix. For more technical information on WebRTC and Media Source Extensions, consult the World Wide Web Consortiums (W3C) Editors
Drafts: http://dev.w3.org/2011/webrtc/editor/webrtc.html and https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/html-media/raw-file/tip/media-source/media-source.
html.

on the end-users bandwidth to provide the best possible experience the viewers device and
connection can offer at a given time.
2. Peer-to-peer module: This module enables direct peer-to-peer data transfer
between viewers. It uses multiple proprietary StreamRoot algorithms to optimize exchanges
in both Live and VOD playback modes. Format agnostic, it can be used with DRMs and integrated into a custom player via a media interface. Finally, it gathers several useful analytics
on the viewers performances and behavior.
3. Tracker: Built on lightweight and scalable technologies like Node.JS and Redis, the tracker serves as a relay for establishing peer-to-peer channels, dynamically selecting the best
peers based on geographical and topological criteria. It also provides the security required
by a professional video content distributor: geoIP and domain restriction, along with content
integrity verification.
Today, StreamRoot provides the first and only workable peer-based alternative to unicast
distribution that has been tested on a significant scale. The system is currently compatible
with Internet browsers that have adopted WebRTC: Chrome, Firefox and Opera. Internet
Explorerx and Safari are likely to follow suit, making the solution available on all major desktop
systems. Mobile (Android and IOS) and Smart TV compatibility is currently under development and should be fully functional in 2015.
P2P helps minimize infrastructure risks. Despite their limitations, Content Delivery
Networks are an important part of todays media workflow. Peer assisted delivery can easily work in tandem with a CDN, optimizing the overall streaming experience, while at the
same time reducing economic dependence on CDNs and ensuring that viewers can continue
watching their content even if the CDN and local server experience temporary outages.
P2P cuts costs. Initial tests show that bandwidth costs can be reduced by up to 70% with
an effective peering solution in place.
P2P optimizes video playout as demand rises. Traffic peaks are no longer a source of
stress but an advantage, as peer-to-peer systems work better the more peers there are available to share content, and can greatly improve the scalability of the streaming architecture.

x. Microsoft co-authored the draft specification for WebRTC 1.1.

III . C a se stud y : over 50 %

peer-to - peer st re aming on a l arge

VOD pl at form
StreamRoot recently partnered with a Russian video-on-demand platform to test its peer-topeer solution on the websites most popular video during a Friday night peak.
The following parameters were used:
120 minutes of video, in MPEG-DASH, h264/AAC, at 1,000 kbps
a large geographical area spanning 6 Russian-speaking countries
2,089 users at peak, i.e. a total bandwidth of 2.1 Gbps or 1TB per hour
In this trial, StreamRoot achieved up to 58% peering, with percentages rising at peak use times
(42 to 58% streaming at traffic peaks).
Streaming trac from 4 pm to 7:10 pm on the site's most popular video
20

Volume streamed (in GB)

18
16
14
12
10
8

CDN

P2P

7:09 PM

7:05 PM

7:01 PM

6:57 PM

6:53 PM

6:49 PM

6:45 PM

6:41 PM

6:37 PM

6:33 PM

6:29 PM

6:25 PM

6:21 PM

6:17 PM

6:13 PM

6:09 PM

6:05 PM

6:01 PM

5:57 PM

5:53 PM

5:49 PM

5:45 PM

5:41 PM

5:37 PM

5:33 PM

5:29 PM

5:25 PM

5:21 PM

5:17 PM

5:13 PM

5:09 PM

5:05 PM

5:01 PM

4:57 PM

4:53 PM

4:49 PM

4:45 PM

4:41 PM

4:37 PM

4:33 PM

4:29 PM

4:25 PM

4:21 PM

4:17 PM

4:13 PM

4:09 PM

4:05 PM

4:01 PM

Time

This data clearly demonstrates the scalability of the P2P model, as the more peers there are,
the more data is transferred between them.

This case study helped demonstrate:

Momentary Server Outage

18

Volume streamed (in GB)

In the middle of the test, the origin server

went down entirely from 6:15 to 6:19. P2P
streaming ensured half of the service during the outage 50% of users were entirely
unaware that the server had malfunctioned.

16
14
12
10
8

CDN

P2P

4
2
0
6:15 6:16 6:17 6:18 6:19 6:20 6:21 6:22 6:23 6:24 6:25
PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM PM

Time

P2P requires a relatively low critical mass. For effective peering, the critical mass for a
120-minute video file (i.e. P2P > 30%) is less than 100 simultaneous viewers. For a 10-minute
video, only 20 peers would be needed.
P2P is an effective safeguard against server outages. Peers ensured 50% of the service that would have been completely lost by the server outage.
P2P offers improved download speeds and latencies. The overall average download
speeds are 14% higher with peer-assisted delivery, and efficiency improves greatly with geolocation and topology based prioritization algorithms.

IV. F in al re m ark s
With exponential growth in viewer numbers, exploding file sizes and increasing use of mobile
devices and tablets, the online video industry is poised for unprecedented demand. As recent
outages have shown, even the most robust infrastructures are not ready to handle the influx
of users that large broadcasters are beginning to experience today. Another model is needed in addition to traditional unicast distribution. Peer-to-peer adaptive streaming provides
a viable, scalable supplement to traditional CDN distribution. With its ability to transform
increasing viewer numbers into an asset, peer-assisted streaming based on the latest Internet
technologies such as HTML5, Media Source Extensions and WebRTC can offer broadcasters
a key competitive advantage, enabling them to reduce costs, improve streams and lighten the
burden on saturated network infrastructures.

A bout StreamRoot
StreamRoot provides a solution for video streaming combining standard unicast delivery (e.g. CDN)
and peer-to-peer protocols based on HTML5 and WebRTC. Founded in France in 2013 by three
engineers from Ecole Centrale de Paris, StreamRoot participated the Le Camping and Techstars
Boston accelerator programs and has been recognized with numerous awards including the Trophe
Startups Numrique and Hello Tomorrow Challenge.
At the leading edge of HTML5 adaptive streaming technology, StreamRoot created the first MPEGDASH peer-assisted video player in HTML5 working for both Live and Video on Demand streaming,
and has since expanded its expertise to other adaptive streaming formats and platforms. Using WebRTC, our Peer-to-Peer API creates an edge network made up of viewers, which relieves broadcasters server infrastructures and bandwidth without requiring any action from the end-user.
Now headquartered in the United States, StreamRoot is currently focusing on mobile and DRM-compatible peer-to-peer solutions, as well as expanding their customer base in America and confirming
the efficiency of peer-assisted delivery with large-scale use cases.
For more information or to try StreamRoot, contact us at contact@streamroot.io.

StreamRoot

179 Lincoln Street, Boston, MA 02111

+1 (857) 891 4873 contact@streamroot.io