Network and Multimedia Systems Lab (NMSL)

Welcome to the Network Systems Lab (NSL) at SFU!

xx This page contains discussion related to CMPT 820 -- Multimedia Systems.

Topics to Cover

• Methods for adaptive streaming over wired and wireless networks

• Video encoding: Theory and Practice

• Design of streaming servers

• Design of streaming clients

Ideas for Projects

Your project could be:

• New idea related to multimedia. Partial evaluation and validation of the idea should be provided. If your idea is publishable, you may get A+ in this course.

• Implementation and evaluation of an already-published algorithm/technique/system.

• Quantitative and/or qualitative comparisons between two already-published algorithm/techniques/systems.

• A survey of a multimedia topic.

You may work in a group of up to two students (the expectations are higher in this case). Following is an initial list of topics that you may consider for the project. More topics will be added soon. Suggestions are definitely welcomed.

• Quantitative comparison between different video scalability methods (MDC, Multi-layer, Fine/Medium Grain Scalability, ...)

• Implementation of H.264/SVC on GPUs (we have the hardware in the NSL)

• High Definition Video Encoding and Streaming: Survey and Comparison of Different Models

• Implementation of a video conference system using H.264/SVC (you may use some libraries or open-source code in parts of this project)

• Implementation and evaluation of media gateway router (a router that provides simple QoS for multimedia streams)

Papers and References

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cmpt820: Discussion Page for CMPT 802

We are interested in the broad areas of computer networking and multimedia systems. We develop algorithms and protocols to enhance the performance of networks, especially the Internet, and to efficiently distribute multimedia content (e.g., video and audio objects) to large-scale user communities. The Network Systems Lab is led by Dr. Mohamed Hefeeda, and is affiliated with the Network Modeling Group at SFU. The NSL lab is located in room SUR 4120 (Surrey campus).

Our current research interests include multimedia networking, peer-to-peer systems, wireless sensor networks, and network security. Brief description and links to currently active projects are given below.

Peer-to-Peer Systems

We are exploring the applicability of the P2P paradigm to build cost-effective content distribution systems. Problems such as sender selection, adaptive object replication, and content caching are being studied. We are also developing models to analyze the new characteristics of the P2P traffic and the impact of these characteristics on the cache replacement policies and object replication strategies. Furthermore, we are devising analytic models to study the dynamics of the P2P system capacity and the impact of various parameters on it.

• pCDN: Peer-assisted Content Distribution Network

• Modeling and Caching of P2P Traffic

Multimedia Networking

We are focusing on distributed streaming in dynamic environments and for heterogeneous clients. Our goal is to analyze and understand scalable coding techniques, and to design several optimization and streaming algorithms to make the best possible use of them in real multimedia systems. This will yield better quality for users, and more efficient utilization of network and server resources. We are also designing algorithms to optimize streaming quality for wireless and mobile clients.

• Scalable Multimedia Streaming

• Mobile TV Networks

• Multimedia Streaming in WiMAX Networks

• CanVid: Content- and Network-aware Video Processing

Wireless Sensor Networks

We are developing coverage and connectivity maintenance protocols that consider probabilistic (i.e., more realistic) sensing and communication models. We are also designing protocols that provide controllable degrees of coverage (k-coverage).

• Probabilistic Coverage and Connectivity

• K-Coverage and its Application to Forest Fire Detection

Network Security

We are exploring network monitoring techniques to detect and thwart intrusion and denial-of-service attacks in their early stages by observing unusual traffic patterns injected by such attacks. We are studying the security of multimedia streaming systems that employ multi-layer and fine-grain scalable video streams.

• Detecting DoS Attacks and Service Violations in QoS-enabled Networks

• Security of Scalable Multimedia Streams