Method for distributing available bandwidth of a network amongst ongoing traffic sessions run by devices of the network, corresponding device

1. A method, performed by a given device amongst devices of a network, for distributing available bandwidth of the network amongst ongoing traffic sessions run by the devices of the network, comprising:

collecting status messages from the devices of the network running at least one traffic session, the devices of the network exchanging and announcing their respective characteristics and requirements to other devices of the network using the status messages;

determining a bandwidth to be allocated to each traffic session, ranked according to parameters of devices and traffic sessions retrieved from the status messages, as a function of the available bandwidth of the network and a rank of the ranked traffic sessions;

when the determined bandwidth to be allocated to a traffic session of the given device is superior to zero, using said allocated bandwidth by the given device for said at least one traffic session.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein one status message is associated with one ongoing traffic session.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a status message is sent by the given device to all the devices of the network when an event occurs.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein said event belongs to a group comprising at least the following events:

start of a traffic session by the given device;

stop of a traffic session by the given device;

modification of any characteristic of an ongoing traffic session run by the given device.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein, during the ranking, a rank for each of the traffic sessions is determined based on a priority of the device running said traffic session, a type of the device and/or a type of the traffic session.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein, within a given rank, corresponding traffic sessions are ordered as a function of their start time.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the available bandwidth of the network is provided by a gateway of the network.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining a bandwidth to be allocated to each traffic session comprises:

selecting a highest ranked traffic session not processed yet;

checking whether the selected traffic session is a fixed rate streaming session;

allocating bandwidth to the selected traffic session when the difference between the current available bandwidth of the network and the required bit rate associated with the fixed rate streaming session is at least equal to zero.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the determining a bandwidth to be allocated to each traffic session, in case the selected traffic session is an adaptive streaming session:

selecting a bitrate at most equal to the current available bandwidth divided by the number of traffic sessions not processed yet and having the same rank as the selected traffic session;

determining a minimum bitrate between the selected bitrate and a maximum desired bitrate associated with the selected traffic session;

allocating said minimum bitrate to the selected traffic session.

10. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the determining a bandwidth to be allocated to each traffic session further comprises decrementing current available bandwidth by the allocated bandwidth.

11. A device of a network configured to run at least one traffic session and to implement a method for distributing available bandwidth of said network amongst ongoing traffic sessions of devices of the network, comprises:

a communication module configured to collect status messages from the devices of the network running at least one traffic session, the devices of the network exchanging and announcing their respective characteristics and requirements to other devices of the network using the status messages;

a ranking module configured to rank said ongoing traffic sessions according to parameters of devices and traffic sessions retrieved from the status messages;

a calculator configured to determine a bandwidth to be allocated to each ranked traffic session as a function of the available bandwidth and a rank of the ranked traffic sessions;

a comparator able to check whether the determined bandwidth to be allocated to a traffic session of the device is different from zero.

12. The device according to claim 11 , wherein the communication module is further configured to send a status message to all the devices of the network.

13. The device according to claim 11 , wherein the ranking module determines a rank for each of the traffic sessions based on the priority of the device running said traffic session, the type of the device and/or the type of the traffic session.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising program code instructions wherein the program code instructions when executed by one or more processors configured the one or more processors to:

collect status messages from the devices of the network running at least one traffic session, the devices of the network exchanging and announcing their respective characteristics and requirements to other devices of the network using the status messages;

determine a bandwidth to be allocated to each traffic session, ranked according to parameters of devices and traffic sessions retrieved from the status messages, as a function of the available bandwidth of the network and a rank of the ranked traffic sessions;

when the determined bandwidth to be allocated to a traffic session of the given device is superior to zero, using said allocated bandwidth by the given device for said at least one traffic session.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein the program code instructions are downloaded from a communication network.