On the Stability of Application-Layer Multicast Tree

摘要

A tree structure has been widely used in constructing application-layer overlays. It is known that the instability of a tree will significantly reduce the performance of the overlay. In this paper, we propose a novel stochastic model that captures the (in)stability characteristics of an application-layer multicast tree. Our model has considered various important factors related to the tree stability, and we have derived closed-form solutions to a class of typical multicast trees. Our results offer a better understanding on the (in)stability of application-layer multicast trees, and also suggest three effective enhancements to improve their stability.