Latency Equalization: A Routing Service for Interactive Applications

Multi-party interactive network applications such as teleconferencing, network gaming and online trading are gaining popularity. In addition to end-to-end latency bounds, these applications require that the perceived delay difference among multiple users of the service is minimized. We propose a Latency EQualization (LEQ) service for interactive network applications, which equalizes the perceived latency for all users of an application. To scalably and effectively implement LEQ service, network support is essential. We propose to deploy a few hubs in provider networks to redirect the packets of interactive applications through routes with similar end-to-end delay. We formulate the hub placement problem, prove its NP hardness, and provide a greedy algorithm to solve this problem. Through extensive simulations, we show that our LEQ hubrouting architecture significantly reduces delay difference in large network topologies. The LEQ architecture is incrementally deployable in today’s networks, requiring only a few nodes to be modified to perform the LEQ service.