Multi-path Traffic Distributor for TCP Performance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) performance is hindered by conditions such as large bandwidth, large delay, and significant loss-rate, which are becoming more common in modern Internet environments, and TCP's sequential data communication approach limits network performance, cost, functionality, and flexibility.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a transport-layer proxy and a multi-path traffic distributor that accelerates TCP connections through local ACKs, flow control, connection management, and multi-path resource aggregation, allowing data packets to be distributed across multiple wide-area-network paths and optimizing connections based on WAN conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If TCP uses sequential data communication over single-path routing, then stability and reliability are maintained, but network performance and bandwidth utilization are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the single communication path into multiple parallel paths between source and destination. Each path can independently transmit data packets, allowing simultaneous data flow through different routes. This segmentation enables parallel communication, dramatically increasing network throughput and bandwidth utilization while maintaining TCP's reliability through selective acknowledgment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from single-path (one-dimensional) routing to multi-path (multi-dimensional) routing by adding the path selection dimension. Instead of sequentially sending data through one route, the system distributes data across multiple routes simultaneously, utilizing unused network resources and improving overall network performance without compromising stability.
2Productivity
If TCP algorithms are modified to improve performance, then bandwidth utilization increases, but compatibility with existing systems decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary multi-path traffic distributor that sits between the TCP protocol and the network paths. This distributor handles the complexity of multi-path management, packet distribution, and acknowledgment tracking, while presenting a standard TCP interface to existing systems. This intermediary approach enables advanced multi-path performance without requiring modifications to legacy TCP implementations, maintaining full compatibility.
3Adaptability or versatility
If data is transmitted over multiple parallel paths, then network capacity and flexibility improve, but protocol complexity and resource management difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex multi-path management functionality from the core TCP protocol into a separate multi-path traffic distributor component. This extraction allows TCP to remain simple and unchanged while the distributor handles path selection, packet distribution, reassembly, and acknowledgment management. This architectural separation reduces protocol complexity and makes resource management more manageable through dedicated control logic.
Data Source
AI summary
Devices, systems, and methods of improving transport protocol performance in a multi-path environment are disclosed. One network device comprises a transport-layer proxy; and a multi-path traffic distributor coupled to the transport-layer proxy. The transport-layer proxy is configured to receive packets, each associated with a transport-layer connection, from a transport-layer endpoint. The proxy is further configured to deliver at least a portion of the received packets to the multi-path traffic distributor. The multi-path traffic distributor is configured to: assign each of the delivered packets to one of a plurality of data flows, and to transmit each of the delivered packets on an outbound path associated with the assigned data flow.