Enabling hierarchical dissemination of streams in content distribution networks

In streaming systems the content distribution network routes streams based on interests registered by the consuming entities. In hierarchical streaming, the dissemination is also predicated on the resolution of hierarchical dependencies between various streams. Entities specify explicit wildcards, in addition to the implicit ones in place, to further control the types of streams within a given hierarchy that should be routed to them. This paper presents an analysis and performance evaluation of three different algorithms for hierarchical streaming. In our evaluation of these algorithms we are especially interested in three factors: performance, ability to cope with flux, and memory consumption. Comprehensive benchmarks for these algorithms, in this paper, will enable system designers to harness the best algorithm that satisfies their hierarchical streaming requirements. Keywordsstreaming systems, hierarchical streaming, content distribution networks, pub/sub, middleware