Abstract: A client-based system for the fault tolerant delivery of real-time or continuous data streams, such as real-time multimedia streams, e.g., live audio and video clips. Multimedia servers are grouped into two or more sets, for example wherein a first set includes one or more primary servers using odd-numbered ports and a second set includes one or more secondary servers using even-numbered ports. The client requests a multimedia stream through a control server or gateway which routes requests to the multimedia servers; and the client receives the stream directly from a selected (primary) server. The client automatically detects load imbalances and/or failures (complete or partial) and dynamically switches to a secondary server in order to continue receiving the real-time multimedia stream with minimal disruption and while maintaining a balanced load across multiple servers in a distributed network environment.