Impact of channel allocation policies on quality of service of video on demand over CATV

CATV networks are often considered as a potential support for bringing multimedia applications to the home. One of the key problem induced is the sharing of a limited number of channels by the neighborhood population. This paper presents a capacity analysis of a CATV tree in a multimedia-on-demand environment for different channel allocation policies. A simulation model based on the user behavior is described. The effects and sensitivity to request queueing time are also shown. Results are compared to a zero waiting-time system on several key issues as the blocking probability and the total number of users supported by a single distribution tree.