Free-riding Resilient Video Streaming in Peer-to-Peer Networks

Ministry of Economic Affairs through the BSIK program (BSIK 03025). This work was carried out at the ASCI graduate school. ASCI dissertation series number 190. Preface The thesis that you see in front of you would not be here if not for the many people who helped and supported me during my PhD track. After all, it is through interaction with others that we can shape our thoughts and derive solutions to the problems that we face. But also support outside of work is vital in order to sustain a project which takes several years to complete. Over the years, the list of people who deserve a big " thank you " has grown, as such things inevitably do. I start with my supervisor Dick Epema and my promotor Henk Sips. Not only did they teach me how scientific papers are written, their guidance and critical thinking were essential in shaping this work. They, and my other co-authors, aided me in the research and writing. But support and critical thinking was also provided by many other colleagues, such as Paweł Garbacki, Alexandru and Ana Iosup, and Gertjan Halkes. I would like to thank the Parallel and Distributed Systems Group at Delft University of Technology for providing me with an environment for obtaining a PhD. I thank Freeband Communication for the funding of my research, as well as for providing a research context in the form of the I-Share research project, which focuses on sharing technologies in virtual communities. For their strong support from home, I like to thank my wife Christie and my daughter Selene. Both of them provide the love that I need to function, to allow me to focus on the complex research questions, and to help deal with the inevitable stress. Similarly, my parents Marga and Nanne, as well as my sister Karin, have supported me throughout my PhD track. As you all know, it is impossible to provide a complete list. I thank you for your support, or at the very least, for reading this preface.