Modern streaming services follow unique protocols, such as Dynamic Adaptive Streaming (MPEG-DASH) and HTTP Live Streaming (HLS). These streaming protocols focus on segmentation.
For example, take HBO’s famous Band of Brothers miniseries. You cut an episode into smaller videos, creating various segments. The purpose is to make it easier and more efficient for viewers to download smaller media files instead of a large one.
The video player uses HTTP requests to fetch segments. These video segments go into a buffer after the video player receives them. Thus, the streaming services extract the segments from the buffer as needed. Today’s article will discuss Peer to Peer Streaming, also known as P2P streaming.
Peer to Peer Streaming (P2P): An Overview
Peer-to-peer streaming is one of the most popular procedures for streaming online. A P2P streaming system decreases the overall server load, allowing users to leverage a scalable content distribution. P2P networks are extending and collaborating to establish substantial video distribution applications.
A P2P streaming service creates users or peers’ networks. These users – watching the same content – can share video segments with each other instead of repeatedly extracting the segments from a server.
For example, you can get a movie or video segment sent to the server by your neighbor next door. In that case, you can download the files quickly and efficiently. So, there is no need to download a movie or video watched from a server thousands of miles away.
P2P streaming services follow a hybrid approach and aims to improve the server capacity. It does not entirely replace the server. P2P video streaming has a client-server service model and content delivery network (CDN) as core infrastructures.
Related: 5 Live Streaming Tips And Tricks To Start Using Today
P2P Streaming Classification
There are two groups or classifications of video streaming services. These are Live streaming and video-on-demand streaming.
Live Streaming: Live streaming transmits real-time video content to requested users. Multiple users synchronized playbacks that provide the stored video content to other users/peers.
Video On-Demand: Enables users to watch a video at any time, so there is no need to synchronize the playback times. Users/peers can perform several media operations on the file, such as pause, forward, or backward.
Advantages of P2P Streaming
Most internet applications use the client-server model. However, the high-bandwidth demand of video streaming makes the client-server model less effective and questions its feasibility.
Although CDNs follow the same principle as the traditional client-service model, it slightly expands the “server” concept. P2P streaming follows the CDN model that allows users to find a content delivery server close by, and efficiently/quickly download the media file.
The purpose is to help users prevent downloading a file from a single source or server. Research shows that the video source server is a “server” for the content delivery networks and provides them with video content.
Therefore, the CDN model in P2P streaming is a two-layer client-server approach or method. In simple terms, the traditional client-server model does not allow the user to watch/download a file if the server shuts down unexpectedly or intentionally.
On the other hand, P2P streaming does not rely on a single server because the content servers stay at strategic locations, and even if one server shuts down, thousands of others continue to work. Whether you watch a live stream game or video-on-demand movie, you won’t experience disruptions.
YouTube is the largest video-sharing service on the internet. It has implemented CDNs and continues to employ these networks to deliver videos to its users. Akamai runs a lucrative business as the most effective CDN service worldwide.
Final Words
P2P streaming is a peer-to-peer network infrastructure in which each client is a server. Any client can provide the service even if the central server/machine is unavailable. The P2P streaming system finds the best clients and requests video streaming services from them, leading to efficiency, reliability, a low burden on bandwidth, and cost-effectiveness.