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How to Stream Video over a Network or the Internet

฀How Video Travels Across the Internet

As฀noted฀in฀earlier฀chapters฀and฀as฀any฀end฀user฀would฀be฀quick฀to฀point฀out,฀viewing฀
streaming฀video฀over฀the฀Internet฀is฀hardly฀a฀seamless฀experience.฀Streaming฀video฀
suffers฀from฀hiccups,฀delays,฀drop-outs,฀skips,฀and฀connection฀loss.฀In฀this฀section,฀
we฀explain฀how฀the฀Internet฀moves฀data฀and฀how฀this฀affects฀video฀playback.฀

It’s฀sometimes฀hard฀to฀understand฀why฀the฀Internet฀has฀trouble฀moving฀audio฀and฀
video฀when฀radio,฀television,฀and฀telephones฀do฀it฀fairly฀well฀and฀have฀existed฀for฀
almost฀100฀years.฀So฀first฀let’s฀look฀at฀the฀mechanisms฀of฀these฀traditional฀media.฀

Radio
router฀ Radio฀works฀simply฀because฀a฀single฀tower฀broadcasts฀the฀same฀signal฀to฀many฀receivers.฀฀
a฀network฀device฀ Everyone฀listens฀to฀the฀same฀thing฀at฀the฀same฀time.฀All฀the฀stations฀are฀available฀at฀any฀
that฀groups฀computers฀ time;฀you฀simply฀have฀to฀tune฀into฀a฀different฀frequency฀signal.฀The฀main฀barriers฀to฀
in฀the฀network฀ radio฀transmission฀are฀distance;฀physical฀barriers฀such฀as฀hills,฀buildings,฀and฀tunnels฀
and฀establishes฀an฀area฀ that฀block฀the฀signal;฀and฀interference฀between฀two฀strong฀signals฀near฀each฀other฀on฀
inside฀it฀ the฀dial.฀In฀terms฀of฀communication,฀radio฀is฀a฀one-way฀broadcast฀transmission.฀

Television
Television฀ works฀ much฀ like฀ radio,฀ except฀ that฀ television฀ broadcasting฀ is฀ organized฀
into฀national฀networks.฀The฀same฀program฀is฀delivered฀to฀television฀receivers฀around฀
the฀country฀by฀broadcasting฀the฀originating฀signal฀to฀branch฀offices,฀which฀broadcasts฀
it฀out฀from฀towers,฀out฀through฀cable฀companies,฀or฀to฀people฀with฀satellite฀dishes.฀In฀
any฀case,฀the฀same฀signal฀is฀sent฀to฀everyone฀at฀the฀same฀time฀-฀a฀one-way฀broadcast.฀
฀ All฀ the฀ channels฀ are฀ available฀ at฀ any฀ time;฀ there฀ is฀ no฀ noticeable฀ delay฀ caused฀ by฀
changing฀channels.฀The฀main฀barriers฀to฀television฀reception฀are฀bent฀or฀frayed฀cables,฀
42 badly฀ aimed฀ antennas฀ or฀ dishes,฀ physical฀ barriers฀ as฀ in฀ radio,฀ and฀ interference฀ of฀฀
stations฀with฀each฀other.฀
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Telephone
Telephone฀ calls฀ use฀ many฀ of฀ the฀ same฀ wires฀ used฀ by฀ the฀ Internet.฀ The฀ telephone฀
central฀ office฀ maintains฀ devices฀ called฀ switches฀ (automated฀ versions฀ of฀ the฀ classic฀฀
telephone฀ switchboard)฀ that฀ are฀ used฀ to฀ connect฀ the฀ call฀ to฀ the฀ next฀ location.฀฀
Telephone฀calls฀create฀a฀two-way฀circuit฀all฀the฀way฀from฀caller฀to฀receiver.฀The฀message฀฀
“All฀ circuits฀ are฀ busy”฀ -฀ usually฀ heard฀ only฀ during฀ disasters฀ or฀ radio฀ call-in฀ concert฀
ticket฀giveaways฀-฀means฀the฀switch฀does฀not฀have฀any฀more฀slots฀in฀which฀to฀carry฀
this฀call.฀The฀main฀barriers฀to฀telephone฀transmission฀are฀found฀at฀the฀beginning฀of฀ routing

the฀call—฀if฀there฀are฀not฀enough฀circuits฀to฀place฀the฀call.฀While฀a฀call฀is฀in฀progress,฀ ฀the฀process฀of฀selecting฀

the฀entire฀route฀between฀the฀caller฀and฀recipient฀is฀reserved฀for฀their฀use฀only,฀even฀if฀ paths฀in฀a฀network฀

there฀is฀silence฀and฀no฀one฀is฀talking.฀Telephones฀use฀what฀is฀called฀a฀circuit-switched฀ along฀which฀data฀

connection.฀ can฀be฀sent฀between
฀computers
฀(through฀the฀router)
Internet Basics
The฀ path฀ from฀ a฀ website฀ to฀ a฀ web฀ browser฀ is฀ different฀ than฀ these฀ other฀ systems.฀฀
Conceptually,฀it฀is฀similar฀to฀the฀telephone฀conversation:฀It’s฀a฀two-way฀conversation฀in฀
which฀the฀browser฀asks฀for฀a฀document฀and฀the฀server฀sends฀it.฀Unlike฀the฀telephone฀
call,฀however,฀there฀is฀no฀reserved฀circuit.฀Data,฀in฀the฀form฀of฀requests฀and฀responses,฀
are฀organized฀into฀chunks฀called฀packets฀and฀sent฀between฀the฀requesting฀web฀browser฀
and฀the฀web฀server.฀

In฀between฀the฀requester฀and฀the฀server฀is฀a฀series฀of฀routers.฀These฀machines฀route฀ bandwidth

traffic฀between฀different฀smaller฀networks.฀Each฀time฀a฀packet฀crosses฀the฀boundary฀ the฀amount฀of฀data฀

from฀one฀ISP฀to฀another,฀or฀from฀one฀kind฀of฀network฀to฀another,฀it฀goes฀through฀a฀ that฀can฀be฀transferred฀

router.฀The฀packets฀“hop”฀from฀router฀to฀router฀like฀a฀bucket฀brigade.฀This฀type฀of฀data฀ through฀a฀specific฀path฀

transmission฀is฀called฀packet฀switching,฀instead฀of฀circuit฀switching.฀Internet฀packet฀ in฀the฀network

switching฀has฀some฀attributes฀that฀make฀it฀reliable฀and฀unreliable฀at฀the฀same฀time.฀ (usually฀expressed฀in฀kb/s฀
[kilo฀bits฀per฀second])฀
The฀Internet฀is฀an฀extremely฀heterogeneous฀network,฀consisting฀of฀several฀different฀
kinds฀of฀networks฀and฀ways฀of฀connecting฀networks฀to฀the฀Internet,฀as฀described฀in฀
the฀next฀few฀sections.฀

The Internet Backbone

The฀Internet฀backbone฀(as฀much฀as฀a฀large,฀shapeless฀and฀ever-shifting฀cloud฀of฀networks฀
can฀have฀a฀backbone!)฀consists฀of฀long-haul฀connections฀that฀carry฀large฀volumes฀of฀
Internet฀traffic฀(packets)฀across฀and฀between฀continents.฀

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Public Exchange Points

Public฀exchange฀points฀exist฀at฀various฀points฀on฀continents฀and฀are฀the฀major฀nerve฀
฀ streaming฀protocol centers฀ where฀ many฀ regional฀ private฀ networks,฀ Internet฀ providers,฀ corporations,฀
a฀set฀of฀rules฀to฀ensure฀ schools,฀ and฀ government฀ divisions—large฀ and฀ small—converge฀ to฀ exchange฀ traffic฀
that฀data฀will฀be฀ destined฀for฀other฀points฀on฀the฀Internet.฀You฀can฀compare฀these฀centers฀to฀major฀
supported฀in฀real฀time public฀airports,฀where฀international฀and฀domestic฀flights฀arrive฀24฀hours฀a฀day฀and฀
฀ network฀protocol฀ trade฀passengers฀from฀different฀airlines.฀
-฀a฀set฀of฀rules฀that฀set฀out฀
how฀to฀establish฀
Peering
communication฀between฀
The฀process฀of฀connecting฀a฀network฀to฀the฀Internet฀at฀one฀of฀these฀exchange฀points฀
two฀or฀more฀computers฀
is฀called฀peering,฀and฀connecting฀to฀the฀backbone฀this฀way฀makes฀one฀a฀Tier-1฀Internet฀฀
over฀the฀network฀
provider.฀ ISPs฀ that฀ rent฀ their฀ connection฀ from฀ a฀ Tier-1฀ provider฀ are฀ called฀ Tier-2฀฀
providers,฀ and฀ so฀ on.฀ The฀ policies,฀ prices,฀ and฀ agreements฀ that฀ cover฀ how฀ data฀ is฀
treated฀on฀these฀connections฀are฀as฀numerous฀as฀there฀are฀companies฀involved.฀This฀
is฀the฀first฀source฀of฀variability฀for฀our฀packet฀switching.฀

Private Peering
Peering฀is฀simply฀two฀networks฀connecting฀to฀each฀other฀with฀routers.฀Public฀peering฀
occurs฀at฀large฀exchange฀points,฀but฀any฀two฀networks฀that฀find฀a฀lot฀of฀traffic฀flowing฀
between฀them฀can฀choose฀to฀create฀a฀direct฀private฀link฀between฀the฀networks฀(called฀
private฀peering).฀This฀reduces฀the฀cost฀of฀access฀through฀a฀public฀exchange฀point฀or฀other฀
provider฀for฀all฀the฀bandwidth฀that฀travels฀between฀these฀two฀networks.฀It฀also฀decreases฀
the฀number฀of฀intermediate฀connections฀between฀the฀networks.฀For฀instance,฀when฀
several฀schools฀in฀the฀same฀organization฀link฀together,฀their฀inter-campus฀network฀
traffic฀does฀not฀have฀to฀go฀out฀to฀the฀Internet฀at฀large,฀and฀is฀often฀more฀reliable฀as฀a฀
result.฀In฀this฀scenario,฀though,฀each฀school฀has฀its฀own฀connection฀to฀the฀Internet.฀
What฀if฀one฀of฀the฀school’s฀Internet฀connections฀went฀down?฀Would฀it฀be฀fair฀to฀send฀
its฀ traffic฀ through฀ the฀ private฀ peering฀ connection฀ and฀ use฀ another฀ school’s฀ Internet฀
฀ connection?฀The฀way฀these฀kinds฀of฀questions฀are฀answered฀and฀the฀internal฀policies฀in฀
circuit฀switching฀network฀฀ this฀regard฀are฀another฀contributing฀factor฀to฀the฀variability฀of฀Internet฀packet฀switching.฀
a฀network฀in฀which฀
computers฀establish฀
Internet Complexity
a฀constant฀bandwidth฀
As฀everything฀“goes฀digital,”฀the฀distinction฀between฀cable฀TV฀wires,฀telephone฀wires,฀
connection฀before฀they฀
radio฀waves,฀and฀satellite฀transmission฀blurs.฀However,฀there฀are฀many฀ways฀to฀send฀
start฀to฀share฀any฀data฀
data฀over฀these฀media.฀Internet฀data฀transmission฀can฀be฀complicated,฀leading฀to฀a฀
variety฀of฀undesirable฀transmission฀characteristics.฀

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Packet Loss peering

Circuit฀switching฀on฀the฀Internet฀is฀described฀as฀“best-effort,”฀meaning฀that฀one฀of฀ the฀arrangement฀
the฀routers฀along฀the฀way฀can฀lose฀a฀packet฀before฀it฀reaches฀its฀destination.฀In฀this฀ of฀traffic฀exchange฀
case,฀the฀sender฀or฀receiver฀must฀somehow฀note฀that฀the฀packet฀was฀lost฀(perhaps฀by฀ between฀the฀Internet฀
receiving฀the฀next฀packet฀and฀noting฀that฀it฀is฀out฀of฀context)฀and฀re-requesting฀the฀ service฀providers฀(ISPs).
lost฀packet.฀This฀mechanism฀is฀fairly฀reliable฀in฀that฀two฀machines฀will฀usually฀(and฀
eventually)฀figure฀out฀what฀went฀wrong฀and฀resend฀the฀missing฀packets.฀Packet฀loss฀
causes฀audio฀and฀video฀to฀pause฀if฀the฀packets฀are฀eventually฀resent,฀and฀it฀causes฀
video฀to฀pause,฀drop฀out,฀and฀skip฀if฀the฀packets฀are฀not฀resent฀at฀all.฀In฀our฀analogy฀
of฀a฀public฀exchange฀point฀being฀a฀major฀airport,฀if฀it’s฀a฀“foggy฀day”฀at฀that฀exchange,฀
the฀part฀of฀the฀Internet฀that฀goes฀through฀that฀exchange฀can฀be฀slowed฀down฀(called฀
a฀brownout)฀by฀the฀data฀that฀can’t฀“take฀off.”฀

Different Routes
Not฀all฀packets฀in฀a฀file฀follow฀the฀same฀route฀to฀the฀destination฀computer.฀This฀is฀
not฀unlike฀the฀airline’s฀hub฀and฀spoke฀system:฀One฀packet฀might฀go฀“direct”฀from฀
San฀Francisco฀to฀Washington;฀others฀might฀“transfer”฀in฀Atlanta฀or฀Chicago฀to฀get฀to฀฀
broadcast
Washington.฀ Contributing฀ to฀ this฀ issue฀ is฀ private฀ peering฀ and฀ the฀ variable฀ rules฀ and฀
the฀action฀of฀sending฀data฀
costs฀ associated฀ with฀ all฀ the฀ choices฀ to฀ be฀ made.฀ Alternate฀ routes฀ can฀ be฀ excellent฀
by฀one฀computer฀
when฀one฀path฀between฀two฀machines฀goes฀down฀and฀a฀packet฀can฀use฀another฀path.฀
in฀the฀network฀to฀
It฀can฀also฀cause฀strange฀effects,฀such฀as฀when฀a฀packet฀is฀sent฀down฀a฀slow฀route,฀
all฀the฀others฀
is฀assumed฀lost,฀is฀resent฀-฀and฀then฀later฀reappears฀as฀a฀duplicate฀packet!฀Audio฀can฀
that฀are฀available฀
stutter฀and฀skip฀if฀duplicate฀packets฀are฀not฀detected฀and฀discarded.฀Also,฀some฀paths฀
inside฀the฀network฀
travel฀far฀out฀of฀the฀way,฀hopping฀through฀many฀more฀routers฀than฀necessary฀and฀
causing฀large฀delays.฀The฀more฀“hops”฀or฀routers฀between฀two฀machines,฀the฀higher฀
the฀chance฀of฀unexpected฀delays.฀

Delay (Latency)
Because฀of฀the฀many฀different฀routers฀a฀packet฀has฀to฀go฀through฀to฀get฀from฀sender฀
to฀receiver฀and฀because฀there฀are฀no฀reserved฀circuits฀on฀the฀Internet฀like฀there฀are฀for฀
telephones,฀the฀delay฀of฀any฀given฀packet฀can฀be฀high฀or฀low,฀or฀change฀unexpectedly.฀
This฀can฀be฀caused฀by฀a฀variety฀of฀factors฀such฀as:฀A฀router฀is฀too฀busy฀and฀can’t฀keep฀
up฀with฀traffic.฀A฀particular฀link฀between฀sender฀and฀receiver฀becomes฀saturated.฀A฀
link฀goes฀down,฀causing฀traffic฀to฀be฀rerouted฀to฀a฀different฀link.฀One฀or฀more฀routers฀
in฀ between฀ can’t฀ think฀ fast฀ enough.฀ A฀ firewall฀ looks฀ at฀ all฀ the฀ packets฀ for฀ viruses.฀
Delay฀is฀added฀due฀to฀the฀use฀of฀older฀technology,฀such฀as฀modems.฀Other฀downloads฀
on฀a฀pipe฀cause฀it฀to฀delay.฀Packets฀are฀lost,฀resulting฀in฀resends,฀and฀other฀packets฀
get฀bunched฀up฀behind฀them.฀These฀factors฀make฀predicting฀how฀long฀it฀will฀take฀to฀
get฀packets฀back฀from฀a฀server฀difficult.฀Because฀of฀varying฀latency,฀video฀can฀take฀a฀ 45
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long฀time฀to฀start฀playing;฀fast-forward฀and฀rewind฀features฀can฀be฀slow฀and฀clunky;฀
and฀video฀can฀pause,฀stutter,฀skip,฀and฀stop฀altogether.฀Bandwidth฀Variation฀Another฀
factor฀on฀the฀Internet฀is฀the฀variability฀of฀bandwidth.฀With฀broadcast฀media,฀such฀as฀
Internet฀provider radio฀or฀television,฀as฀well฀as฀telephones,฀the฀bandwidth฀is฀always฀the฀same฀-฀just฀
a฀company฀that฀sells฀ enough฀to฀carry฀the฀channel฀or฀the฀conversation.฀There฀is฀no฀wasted฀bandwidth;฀the฀
bandwidth฀and฀access฀ size฀of฀the฀channel฀is฀just฀enough฀to฀carry฀the฀data.฀It฀was฀designed฀to฀be฀that฀way.฀
to฀the฀Internet฀ Because฀the฀Internet฀is฀designed฀to฀allow฀different฀computers฀of฀different฀speeds฀and฀
different฀channel฀sizes฀communicate,฀it฀is฀possible฀to฀have฀bottlenecks,฀not฀just฀due฀
to฀traffic฀that฀the฀size฀of฀the฀channel฀varies฀from฀sender฀to฀receiver.฀The฀Internet฀link฀
for฀a฀major฀website’s฀hosting฀provider฀might฀be฀excellent.฀The฀links฀between฀the฀host’s฀
ISP฀ and฀ its฀ branch฀ in฀ a฀ particular฀ city฀ might฀ be฀ high-capacity.฀ However,฀ the฀ Internet฀
link฀provided฀by฀a฀small฀ISP฀to฀the฀end฀user฀might฀be฀very฀small฀due฀to฀oversubscrip-
tion.฀If฀that฀Internet฀provider฀has฀incurred฀a฀good฀deal฀of฀customer฀growth฀without฀฀
upgrading฀its฀own฀connection฀to฀the฀Internet฀backbone,฀the฀potentially฀high-bandwidth฀
connection฀from฀the฀website฀host฀is฀lowered฀to฀the฀slowest฀intermediate฀link฀in฀the฀
chain.฀In฀other฀words,฀the฀bandwidth฀between฀a฀website฀and฀a฀client฀is฀no฀faster฀than฀
its฀slowest฀link.฀

NOTE
Internet Fundamentally,฀the฀Internet฀is฀far฀better฀suited฀for฀sending฀web฀pages฀than฀real-time฀
a฀global฀network฀ media฀ because฀ web฀ pages฀ are฀ far฀ smaller฀ and฀ far฀ less฀ sensitive฀ to฀ delays.฀ There฀ is฀
connecting฀millions฀ not฀much฀difference฀between฀a฀one-฀and฀two-second฀delay฀in฀getting฀a฀web฀page,฀but฀
of฀computers฀ a฀one-second฀pause฀in฀real-time฀video฀is฀unacceptable.฀The฀brute-force฀approach฀of฀
keeping฀the฀bit฀rate฀of฀the฀video฀far฀below฀the฀maximum฀bandwidth฀of฀the฀Internet฀
connection฀can฀be฀effective฀in฀getting฀Internet฀video฀to฀perform฀predictably.฀

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