Some Observations on the Dynamics of a Congestion Control Algorithm

TitleSome Observations on the Dynamics of a Congestion Control Algorithm
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1990
AuthorsShenker, S. J., Zhang L., & Clark D. D.
Published inACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review
Volume20
Issue5
Page(s)30-39
Other Numbers3499
Abstract

We use simulation to make some observations about the behavior of the congestion control algorithm currently embedded in the 4.3-Tahoe BSD TCP implementation. We investigate a simple case of a few TCP connections, originating and terminating at the same pair of hosts, using a single bottleneck link. Our simulations reveal two unexpected phenomena. First, packets from the individual connections, rather than being mixed together, completely separate into individual clusters. Second, every connection loses a single packet during each congestion epoch. As a way of exploring the cause of these phenomena, we discuss how the behavior is altered by modifications to the congestion control algorithm and to the switch queue control algorithm.

Bibliographic Notes

ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review, Vol. 20, Issue 5, pp. 30-39

Abbreviated Authors

S. Shenker, L. Zhang, and D. Clark

ICSI Research Group

Networking and Security

ICSI Publication Type

Article in journal or magazine