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A Network Layer Approach to Enable TCP over Multiple Interfaces

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Abstract

The mobile Internet is set to become ubiquitous with the deployment of various wireless technologies. When heterogeneous wireless networks overlap in coverage, a mobile terminal can potentially use multiple wireless interfaces simultaneously. In this paper, we motivate the advantages of simultaneous use of multiple interfaces and present a network layer architecture that supports diverse multi-access services. Our main focus is on one such service provided by the architecture: Bandwidth Aggregation (BAG), specifically for TCP applications.

While aggregating bandwidth across multiple interfaces can improve raw throughput, it introduces challenges in the form of packet reordering for TCP applications. When packets are reordered, TCP misinterprets the duplicate ACKS received as indicative of packet loss and invokes congestion control. This can significantly lower TCP throughput and counter any gains that can be had through bandwidth aggregation. To improve overall performance of TCP, we take a two-pronged approach: (1) We propose a scheduling algorithm that partitions traffic onto the different paths (corresponding to each interface) such that reordering is minimized. The algorithm estimates available bandwidth and thereby minimizes reordering by sending packet pairs on the path that introduces the least amount of delay. (2) A buffer management policy is introduced at the client to hide any residual reordering from TCP. We show through simulations that our network-layer approach can achieve good bandwidth aggregation under a variety of network conditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0436, USA

    Kameswari Chebrolu

  2. Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, UP, 208016, India

    Bhaskaran Raman

  3. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0436, USA

    Ramesh R. Rao

Authors
  1. Kameswari Chebrolu
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  2. Bhaskaran Raman
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  3. Ramesh R. Rao
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kameswari Chebrolu.

Additional information

Kameswari Chebrolu is an assistant professor in the electrical department of Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Her research interests are in the areas of wireless network architecture, protocol design and analysis. Kameswari obtained her M.S. and Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of California at San Diego, in 2001 and 2004 respectively.

Bhaskaran Raman received his B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in May 1997. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from University of California, Berkeley, in 1999 and 2002 respectively. He joined as faculty in the CSE department at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (India) starting June 2003. His research interests and expertise are in communication networks, wireless/mobile networks, large-scale Internet-based systems, and Internet middleware services.

Ramesh R. Rao is a professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He is a member of the faculty of Irwin and Joan Jacobs School of Engineering, since 1984. Professor Rao is the former director of UCSD’s Center for Wireless Communications (CWC), and the current Director of the San Diego Division of the California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology [Cal-(IT)2]. As Director of the San Diego Division of Cal-(IT)2, he leads several interdisciplinary, collaborative projects. His research interests include architectures, protocols and performance analysis of computer and communication networks, and he has published extensively on these topics. He received his B.E. from the University of Madras and his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland at College Park. Most recently, Dr. Rao was honored by being appointed the first holder of the Qualcomm Endowed Chair in Telecommunications and Information Technologies.

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Chebrolu, K., Raman, B. & Rao, R.R. A Network Layer Approach to Enable TCP over Multiple Interfaces. Wireless Netw 11, 637–650 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11276-005-3518-5

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