Efficient and Scalable Video Conferences With Selective Forwarding Units and WebRTC
Boris Grozev · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · 2019
Recent developments in video communication led to the introduction of Selective Forwarding Units. These systems have the potential to significantly improve efficiency and offer new functionality, but they present challenges of their own, requiring new approaches and solutions. This thesis is dedicated to the study of SFU systems, with a focus on making them more efficient. We begin with the problem of efficiency and propose an algorithm for endpoint selection based on speech activity. Then we evaluate the use of simulcast for further lower the required bandwidth. Next, we propose a distributed server approach with the goals of improving user connection quality. We present an analysis, implementation, and a randomized experiment measuring connection quality. Finally we propose an extension for end-to-end encrypted conferences with SFUs.