Implementation and performance evaluation of PVR network multimedia streaming server using edge-triggered notification

Abstract

Network application in traditional UNIXs support system calls which are based on level-triggered file descriptor notification, such as select() or poll() to handle state transitions of file descriptors. However, these system calls have so serious limitations, such as performance is getting aggravated as file descriptors increase in number. To improve scalability, current UNIX-based operating systems adopt edge-triggered file descriptor notification mechanism. PVR [12], one of household electric applications, transforms TV programs into streaming data, keeps them in a storage device, and provides streaming service via networks. PVR network stream servers hold lots of file descriptors and should offer network multimedia streaming service with reliable and high quality. In this paper, we have designed and implemented PVR network multimedia streaming server using edge-triggered file descriptor notification mechanism, and performance evaluation is followed.