G Ismo

This paper presents a tool called G ISMO (Generator of Internet Streaming Media Objects and workloads). G ISMO enables the specification of a number of streaming media access characteristics, including object popularity, temporal correlation of request, seasonal access patterns, user session durations, user inter-activity times, and variable bit-rate (VBR) self-similarity and marginal distributions. The embodiment of these characteristics in G ISMO enables the generation of realistic and scalable request streams for use in the benchmarking and comparative evaluation of Internet streaming media delivery techniques. To demonstrate the usefulness of G ISMO , we present a case study that shows the importance of various workload characteristics in determining the effectiveness of proxy caching and server patching techniques in reducing bandwidth requirements.