Concurrent Multipath Transfer using SCTP multihoming over heterogeneous network paths

Abstract

The number of multi-homed hosts with multiple network interfaces has been increasing due to cheaper network interface devices and network diversification. Concurrent Multipath Transfer (CMT) using SCTP multihoming is a mechanism that simultaneously transmits data via multiple end-to-end paths compatible with today's network environment. Present studies on CMT have assumed that each path uses a homogeneous network. In this work, CMT performance was examined when each path of a multi-homed host used a heterogeneous network. The performance of CMT was found to decline due to the different bandwidths of the paths. Existing receive buffer blocking was demonstrated through the use of modeling with a time-line diagram. To prevent degradation in CMT performance, a dynamic CMT enable algorithm was proposed to transmit data through only one path when CMT performance is low.