Improving network service quality with explicit TCP window control

Abstract We describe in this paper a new TCP rate control scheme based on a simple recursive algorithm. The idea behind the algorithm is to match the offered network load to the available resources by modifying at an intermediate network element, the receiver's advertised window in TCP acknowledgments returning to the source. We show through simulations that the scheme can efficiently control TCP traffic to limit queue buildups and buffer requirements at the network nodes, resulting in significant improvements in delay, packet loss rates, fairness, throughput and link utilization. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.