Binomial Congestion Control Algorithms

This paper introduces and analyzes a class of nonlinear congestion control algorithms called binomial algorithms, motivated in part by the needs of streaming audio and video applications for which a drastic reduction in transmission rate upon each congestion indication (or loss) is problematic. Binomial algorithms generalize TCP-style additive-increase by increasing inversely proportional to a power of the current window (for TCP, ) ; they generalize TCP-style multiplicative-decrease by decreasing proportional to a power of the current window (for TCP, ). We show that there are an infinite number of deployable TCP-compatible binomial algorithms, those which satisfy , and that all binomial algorithms converge to fairness under a synchronized-feedback assumption provided . Our simulation results show that binomial algorithms interact well with TCP across a RED gateway. We focus on two particular algorithms, IIAD ( ) and SQRT ( ! " # ), showing that they are well-suited to applications that do not react well to large TCP-style window reductions. Keywords— Congestion control, TCP-friendliness, TCP-compatibility, nonlinear algorithms, transport protocols, TCP, streaming media, Internet.