QoS Support for Multimedia Traffic in Wireless/IP Networks Using AIMD Protocols

In this paper, we study how to select the transport layer protocol parameters with considerations of wireless link characteristics and application QoS requirements. In our approach, the inter-layer interactions only exchange protocol parameters between layers. We demonstrate that by appropriately selecting the AIMD protocol parameters, AIMD-controlled flows can efficiently utilize wireless resources and provide satisfactory QoS to time-sensitive multimedia applications. Extensive simulations are performed to validate the analytical results, evaluate the performance, and show that AIMD protocols can outperform the non-responsive UDP protocol when they are used to support multimedia applications over hybrid networks. Since AIMD and TCP protocols share the same congestion control mechanism, AIMD protocols are compatible with the legacy and scalable to be deployed incrementally. In addition, with satisfactory QoS provisioning, end-systems have more incentives to voluntarily regulate multimedia traffic with an AIMD-based congestion controller, which is vital for network stability and integrity.