Congestion Detection via One-Way Packet Delay Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing video conferencing systems face challenges in accurately determining congestion of communication links, leading to poor quality of service due to incorrect identification of congestion, which can result in unnecessary downspeeding and reduced user experience.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that transmit media packets with packet identifiers, recovery packets, and feedback messages with arrival timestamps to differentiate between congestion and high packet loss, using sliding windows to calculate packet recovery success rates and transmission/received rate differences to determine congestion thresholds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If congestion control is implemented to prevent packet loss, then quality of service is improved, but false congestion detection causes unnecessary downspeeding and reduces video conferencing quality
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the receiving device sends feedback messages to the sender device containing packet arrival timestamps and sequence numbers. This feedback loop enables the sender to accurately measure one-way packet delay and detect actual congestion conditions, distinguishing them from network jitter or packet loss, thereby preventing false congestion detection and unnecessary downspeeding.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional congestion detection mechanisms that rely on packet loss or delay variation with a direct one-way packet delay measurement system. By using precise timestamping and feedback-based delay calculation, the system substitutes indirect mechanical indicators with direct electrical/electronic measurements, improving detection accuracy and eliminating false positives that trigger unnecessary bitrate reduction.
2Manufacturing precision
If high bitrate media streams are transmitted, then video conferencing quality is improved, but network congestion occurs leading to packet delay and loss
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the media stream bitrate based on real-time congestion detection. The sender device continuously monitors one-way packet delay using timestamped feedback from the receiver, and only reduces bitrate when actual congestion is detected. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to maintain high video quality during normal conditions while responding appropriately to genuine congestion events, avoiding both over-provisioning and unnecessary downspeeding.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for determining congestion of a communication link transmitting a media stream over the communication link from a sender device to a receiving device.