On popularity-based load balancing in content networks

The paper investigates the use of multipath routing and load balancing in content oriented architectures proposed for the next generation Internet. It discusses how various load balancing methods can influence the efficiency of in-network caching and overall network performance measured as file retrieval time. Proposed approach, called Popularity-Aware Load Balancing, differentiates popular and unpopular content, and applies dedicated balancing principle to each content set. Performance of the proposed approach is validated through developed simulator of the content-centric network. Obtained results prove that popularity-based load balancing applied for multi-path routing patterns can outperform single-path routing patterns in the content networks experiencing flash crowds.