Method for dynamically adjusting resource nodes in a peer-to-peer network for delivering time-sensitive content

1. A method for dynamically adjusting resource nodes supplying time-sensitive content to a consumer node in a real-time peer-to-peer (P2P) network, comprising:

allocating an initial number of resource nodes of the real-time P2P network to provide the time-sensitive content to the consumer node of the real-time P2P network, each of the allocated resource nodes of the real-time P2P network providing a portion of the time-sensitive content to the consumer node;

checking if there is a need to receive at least one additional portion of the time-sensitive content from at least one reliable node of the real-time P2P network, and if so, receiving the at least one additional portion of the time-sensitive content from the at least one reliable node of the real-time P2P network;

requesting an additional number of resource nodes of the real-time P2P network to provide the at least one additional portion of the time-sensitive content when an access to the at least one reliable node of the real-time P2P network occurs more frequently than a first predetermined threshold value, thereby dynamically adjusting the number of resource nodes of the real-time P2P network allocated to the consumer node; and

reducing the number of resource nodes of the real-time P2P network allocated to provide the at least one additional portion of the time-sensitive content to the consumer node when a number of redundant portions of received portions of the time-sensitive content exceeds a second predefined threshold value.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein reducing the number of resource nodes comprises:

releasing a predetermined number of resource nodes from supplying the at least one additional portion of the time-sensitive content to the consumer node.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the predetermined number of resource nodes to be released is set by a management server connected to the real-time P2P network.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein reducing the number of resource nodes further comprises:

computing a number of resource nodes required to achieve a desired quality of service (QoS) for the consumer node based on the conditions of the real-time P2P network;

releasing a number of resource nodes equals to a difference between the number of resource nodes actually providing portions of the time-sensitive content to the consumer node and the number of resource nodes required to maintain the desired QoS for the consumer node.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the number of resource nodes required for achieving a desired QoS is computed by a management server connected to the real-time P2P network.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the additional number of resource nodes comprises a predetermined number of resource nodes.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the predetermined number of resource nodes to be added is set by a management server connected to the real-time P2P network.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprises:

determining the additional number of resource nodes to provide the at least one additional portion of the time sensitive data by:

computing a number of resource nodes required to achieve a desired quality of service (QoS) for the consumer node based on the conditions of the real-time P2P network;

setting the additional number of resource nodes to be a difference between the number of resource nodes required to maintain the desired QoS for the consumer node and the number of resource nodes actually providing portions of the time-sensitive content to the consumer node; and

allocating the additional number of resource nodes to the consumer node.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the number of resource nodes required for achieving a desired QoS is computed by a management server connected to the real-time P2P network.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the time-sensitive content includes a video stream.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the video stream is any one of:

actual video data and random linear combination equations representative of the video data.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions for causing one or more processing units to execute the method according to claim 1 .

13. A real-time peer-to-peer (P2P) network for delivering time-sensitive content, comprising:

a plurality of resource nodes for providing at least one portion of the time-sensitive content;

at least one reliable node for storing therein the time-sensitive content, the at least one reliable node communicatively connected to the plurality of resource nodes;

at least one consumer node that receives portions of the time-sensitive content from two or more of the plurality of resource nodes initially allocated to provide the portions of the time-sensitive content, the at least one consumer node communicatively coupled to the plurality of resource nodes and the at least one reliable node; and

a management server for dynamically adjusting the number of resource nodes allocated to the at least one consumer node to provide at least one portion of the time-sensitive content to the at least one consumer node, the management server communicatively connected to the plurality of resource nodes, the at least one reliable node and the at least one consumer node, wherein the management server is configured to dynamically adjust the number of resource nodes by:

requesting an additional number of resource nodes to provide at least one portion of the time-sensitive content when an access to the at least one reliable node occurs more than a first predetermined threshold value; and

reducing the number of resource nodes that are allocated to provide the at least one portion of the time-sensitive content to the at least one consumer node when a number of redundant portions of received portions of the time-sensitive content is above a second predefined threshold value.

14. The real-time P2P network of claim 13 , wherein the management server is further configured to:

check if there is a need to receive at least one portion of the time-sensitive content from at least one reliable node of the real-time P2P network; and

receive the at least one portion of the time-sensitive content from the at least one reliable node when it is needed.

15. The real-time P2P network of claim 14 , wherein reducing the number of resource nodes comprises:

releasing of a predetermined number of resource nodes from providing the at least one portion of the time-sensitive content to the consumer node.

16. The real-time P2P network of claim 15 , wherein the management server sets the predetermined number of resource nodes to be released.

17. The real-time P2P network of claim 14 , wherein reducing the number of resource nodes further comprises: computing a number of resource nodes required to achieve a desired quality of service (QoS) for the consumer node based on the conditions of the real-time P2P network; and releasing a number of resource nodes equals to a difference between the number of resource nodes actually providing portions of the time-sensitive content to the consumer node and the number of resource nodes required to maintain the desired QoS for the consumer node.

18. The real-time P2P network of claim 14 , wherein the management server sets the additional number of resource nodes to be added to a predetermined number.

19. The real-time P2P network of claim 14 , wherein the time-sensitive content includes a video stream.

20. The real-time P2P network of claim 19 , wherein the video stream is any one of: actual video data and random linear combination equations representative of the video data.