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arXiv · 2310.05054

Low-Latency Video Conferencing via Optimized Packet Routing and Reordering

Abstract

In the face of rising global demand for video meetings, managing traffic across geographically distributed (geo-distributed) data centers presents a significant challenge due to the dynamic and limited nature of inter-DC network performance. Facing these issues, this paper introduces two novel techniques, VCRoute and WMJitter, to optimize the performance of geo-distributed video conferencing systems. VCRoute is a routing method designed for audio data packets of video conferences. It treats the routing problem as a Multi-Armed Bandit issue, and utilizes a tailored Thompson Sampling algorithm for resolution. Unlike traditional approaches, VCRoute considers transmitting latency and its variance simultaneously by using Thompson Sampling algorithm, which leads to effective end-to-end latency optimization. In conjunction with VCRoute, we present WMJitter, a watermark-based mechanism for managing network jitter, which can further reduce the end-to-end delay and keep an improved balance between latency and loss rate. Evaluations based on real geo-distributed network performance demonstrate the effectiveness and scalability of VCRoute and WMJitter, offering robust solutions for optimizing video conferencing systems in geo-distributed settings.

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Yao Xiao, Sitian Chen, Amelie Chi Zhou, Shuhao Zhang, Yi Wang, Rui Mao, Xuan Yang. 2023-10-08. Low-Latency Video Conferencing via Optimized Packet Routing and Reordering. https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.05054

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