TCP performance and buffer provisioning for Internet in wireless networks

Abstract

This paper addresses the performance of packet-based Internet data services over CDMA cellular/PCS wireless networks. Packet-based services are provided to bursty information sources modeled as on-off processes. For these services, transmission is discontinued at the end of data burst (on-period) as no information is generated during the unpredictable off-intervals. TCP (transmission control protocol) performance degrades in a wireless channel due to its vulnerability to interference which causes more packet losses than due to congestion in a network. We refer to the IS-99 standard, in particular to the CDMA data communications protocol stack that proposes a radio link protocol (RLP) for recovery of packet losses. The focus of this work is to identify the network parameters that significantly impact the performance, and more specifically, tune the TCP against wireless channel losses. In particular, the research investigates the following: 1) the way RLP interacts with the TCP for Internet traffic in achieving the overall TCP/RLP throughput; and 2) the role of the buffer space available at the mobile receiver in enhancing the performance for Internet applications.