Link-Aware TCP/IP Profile API for Wireless Throughput
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless mobile data networks, the interaction between protocol layers can lead to network performance degradation due to impairments like packet loss and delays, causing TCP/IP timeouts that are misinterpreted as congestion, resulting in slowed transmission rates and end-to-end network performance issues.
Innovation Solution
An application programming interface (API) is provided to expose TCP/IP profiles with configuration parameters such as connection, send, and receive timeouts, which are set to exceed average propagation delays, allowing client applications to optimize data communications over wireless links, enhancing data throughput by adapting to network conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If TCP/IP uses default timeout values, then connection reliability is maintained, but data throughput is reduced due to excessive timeouts in wireless networks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making TCP/IP timeout values adjustable and adaptive rather than fixed. The system allows timeout parameters (connect timeout, send timeout, receive timeout) to be dynamically modified based on network conditions and propagation delay characteristics, enabling the protocol to adapt to varying wireless network environments while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent directly implements parameter changes by modifying TCP/IP timeout values to exceed the average propagation delay in wireless networks. By setting timeout values higher than the actual round-trip time, the system prevents false timeout detections caused by wireless impairments, thereby maintaining connection reliability while improving throughput.
2Reliability
If TCP/IP layer implements flow control with strict acknowledgment requirements, then data integrity is ensured, but transmission speed is reduced due to retransmission overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes TCP/IP layer parameters (timeout values, buffer sizes) to better match wireless network characteristics. By adjusting these parameters, the system reduces unnecessary retransmissions caused by timeout mismatches while maintaining data integrity through selective acknowledgment and error checking mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary configuration of TCP/IP profiles with optimized parameters before actual data transmission. This preliminary setup ensures that timeout values and buffer sizes are pre-configured to match expected network conditions, preventing performance degradation during actual transmission.
3Productivity
If TCP/IP timeout values are set to exceed average propagation delay, then retransmission overhead is reduced, but configuration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer (API and profile management system) that simplifies the configuration process. Instead of requiring direct manual configuration of complex TCP/IP parameters, the system provides pre-configured profiles with optimized timeout values that can be selected and applied through a simplified interface, reducing configuration complexity while maintaining optimal performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates universal TCP/IP profiles that can be applied across different applications and network conditions. These multi-functional profiles contain optimized parameter sets that work across various scenarios, eliminating the need for application-specific complex configuration while maintaining retransmission efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
An arrangement is provided for exposing TCP/IP profiles to a client application operating in a mobile computing environment where each profile comprises a set of TCP/IP configuration parameters that are mapped to a specific network type. An application programming interface (“API”) enables the client application to propagate configuration parameters in a selected TCP/IP profile to a TCP/IP layer in a communication protocol stack that resides on a mobile device. The TCP/IP configuration parameters are applied to data communications with a remote terminal over a network that is comprised of several links and which typically includes a wireless link.