Using Quick-Start to enhance TCP-friendly rate control performance in bidirectional satellite networks

In the not so distant future, we envisage an Internet where the biggest share of capacity is used by streaming applications. To avoid congestion collapse from unresponsive flows calls for a robust and ubiquitous end-to-end multimedia congestion control mechanism, such as TCP-friendly rate control (TFRC), which provides fair sharing with the other Internet traffic. This paper therefore analyses the implications of using rate-adaptive congestion control over satellite links that utilize demand allocation multiple access (DAMA) to maximize satellite transponder utilization. The interaction between TFRC and DAMA is explored using simulations supported by fluidic flow models. The analysis shows that DAMA reduces the start-up phase of TFRC, causing non-negligible delays. To mitigate this problem, we propose a new cross-layer method based on the Quick-Start mechanism. This can accelerate the start-up of multimedia flows by a judicious allocation of additional capacity derived from cross-layer signalling. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.