A new TCP-friendly prioritized video multicast protocol using SPLIT protocol

Multicast distribution of video is one of the most important emerging Internet applications. The heterogeneity and scalability of the Internet makes video multicast a challenging problem. In particular, with IP-based networks, there are some shortcomings for real-time video transmission. The ability to transmit live video, such as video conferencing and telecommuting will open up new opportunities for the Internet technologies. In this paper, we engineered a new TCP-friendly video protocol called ‘SPLIT’. SPLIT protocol uses existing priority mechanisms to prioritise packets at the router using modified RED (Random Early Detection) queue. Our work shows how prioritised SPLIT works in TCP-friendly environment, with a view to minimizing the number of packet losses. We find that the proposed mechanism is best suitable to video traffic with base layer having the highest priority.