Cost-optimal data retrieval for video servers with variable bit rate video streams
Ernst W. Biersack · 1998
We consider the problem of data retrieval from disk storage in a video server where the data is stored in constant size blocks. The two critical resources of a video server are the amount of disk I/O bandwidth and the main memory buffer required to support a video stream. We propose a new algorithm that allows us to determine the cost-optimal trade-off between these two server resources as well as bounds and statistics of the start-up latency seen by the user. Keywords -- Video Server, disk storage, continuous media, VBR video, retrieval. 1 Introduction Video servers store digitized, compressed, continuous media information on secondary or tertiary storage. The secondary storage devices allow random access and provide short seek times compared to tertiary storage. Video server design differs significantly from that of traditional data storage servers due to the large size of the objects stored and the real-time requirements for their retrieval. A video server must meet the requirement...