Fouquet et al., in this paper, discuss the use of cloud computing technologies to enable video distribution. Their approach differs from the current method of interaction between the actors in a cloud computing scenario, in that it does not require “a business relationship between the software vendor and the cloud operator.”

The authors propose a novel way to integrate the cloud infrastructure into peer-to-peer (P2P) systems, based on the scenario of P2P video streaming using the cloud. The basic “idea to use cloud services for peer-to-peer networks is related to the concept of super peers,” encountered in P2P systems.

Moreover, the paper launches “the idea of putting cloud computing services under direct control of their users or applications on the users’ machines,” and also specifies a number of applications that “could benefit from cloud servers that are directly controlled by the users.”

This position paper should be of interest to those involved with cloud computing, P2P systems, and media distribution.