Queue Dynamics With Window Flow Control

Abstract

This paper develops a new model that describes the queueing process of a communication network when data sources use window flow control. The model takes into account the burstiness in sub-round-trip time (RTT) timescales and the instantaneous rate differences of a flow at different links. It is generic and independent of actual source flow control algorithms. Basic properties of the model and its relation to existing work are discussed. In particular, for a general network with multiple links, it is demonstrated that spatial interaction of oscillations allows queue instability to occur even when all flows have the same RTTs and maintain constant windows. The model is used to study the dynamics of delay-based congestion control algorithms. It is found that the ratios of RTTs are critical to the stability of such systems, and previously unknown modes of instability are identified. Packet-level simulations and testbed measurements are provided to verify the model and its predictions.

Additional Information

© 2010 IEEE. Manuscript received December 16, 2008; accepted January 29, 2010; approved by IEEE/ACM TRANSACTIONS ON NETWORKING Editor V. Misra. Date of publication April 26, 2010; date of current version October 15, 2010. This work was supported by NSF grants EIA-0303620, CNS-0911041, and CCF-0835706, DURIP Grant 53773-MA-RIP, ARO MURI Grant W911NF-08-1-0233, Swedish Research Council, and Australian Research Council grants DP0985322 and FT0991594. Partial and preliminary results have appeared in [13], [33], the Proceedings of IEEE Infocom, Phoenix, AZ, April 2008.

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