Evolving the HTTP Ecosystem to Efficiently Support Video and other Large Files

研究报告称，在北美，视频目前占互联网所有流量的40%-66%，并将迅速增加到90%-95%。互联网视频服务现在正在使用与从网络搜索、银行、在线购物、社交网络和其他流行服务传递数据相同的方法向消费者提供视频。问题是，用于提供这些内容的现有系统并没有针对提供视频进行设计和优化。结果往往是不太令人满意的视频观看体验，视频在从服务器获取视频时被中断或暂停。在尝试观看高清视频时或在其他人使用相同服务或网络时，这一点尤其明显。更重要的是，有证据表明，随着对视频的需求增加，这将使我们已经开始依赖的现有服务变得越来越慢。 我们的研究将设计出新的方法，以提高用于向消费者提供内容的底层系统、软件和网络的效率。我们将对现有软件系统进行实验性评估，找出瓶颈，并提高其性能。这将减少互联网服务提供商所需的机器数量，从而减少他们消耗的电力，降低他们的成本。对于消费者来说，这应该会降低为这些服务支付的成本。此外，无论他们是在办公室、家里还是在路上，这都将使他们能够顺利地向台式PC、笔记本电脑、上网本、平板电脑或智能手机交付高质量的视频。最重要的是，我们将作出这些改进，同时确保对我们的生活至关重要的现有服务不仅继续发挥作用，而且发挥良好的作用。

Studies report that in North America video now accounts for 40-66% of all traffic on the Internet and it will rapidly increase to 90-95%. Internet video services are now using the same methods to deliver video to consumers as are used to deliver data from web searching, banking, on-line shopping, social networking and other popular services. The problem is that the existing systems used to deliver that content have not been designed and optimized to deliver video. The result is often a less than satisfying video viewing experience, with videos being interrupted or paused while the video is fetched from the server. This can be especially noticeable when trying to view high-definition videos or during times when others are using the same service or network. More importantly, there is evidence that shows that as the demand for video increases, it will make the existing services we have come to rely on slower and slower. Our research will devise new methods to improve the efficiency of the underlying systems software and networks used to deliver content to consumers. We will experimentally evaluate, identify bottlenecks in, and improve the performance of existing software systems. This will reduce the number of machines required by providers of Internet services, thereby reducing the power they consume and lowering their costs. For consumers this should reduce costs paid for these services. In addition, this will enable the smooth delivery of high-quality video to their desktop PC, laptop, netbook, tablet or smart phone whether they are at work, home, or on the road. Most importantly, we will make these improvements while ensuring that existing services that have become critical to our lives not only continue to function but function well.