A proxy-based distributed approach for reliable content sharing among UPnP-enabled home networks

Abstract

We propose a proxy-based distributed scheme for reliable streaming services among UPnP(universal plug and play)-enabled home networks. We design a "SHARE" module that extends HG (home gateway) with a UPnP-compatible protocol. By relaying SSDP (simple service discovery protocol) messages used in the UPnP device architecture, the SHARE module provides connectivity that is needed to control other UPnP devices for streaming services among home networks. To provide reliable streaming services in a distributed way, the SHARE module tries to coordinate the distribution of streaming loads among multiple senders by using many-to-one distributed streaming. It also tries to provide reliable streaming services based on the system and network resource status of each sender by leveraging the UPnP QoS services. Based on the UPnP components, the SHARE module provides the transparent content sharing to users. Through design-level verification and partial implementations of the proposed SHARE module, we validate the feasibility of our work. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.