Proxy Negotiating Traffic Handling for Wireless TCP
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current TCP protocols perform poorly in wireless communications networks due to misinterpretation of packet losses as congestion, leading to degraded performance, especially with varying radio access bandwidth and round trip times, and existing solutions struggle to maintain low delays and efficient data transmission.
Innovation Solution
A proxy is placed at the border between the radio access network and the Internet domain to negotiate and configure traffic handling options, such as unordered packet delivery and congestion control behaviors, allowing the server to optimize data transmission independently of packet losses and reordering, even with end-to-end encryption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If TCP uses packet losses as an indicator of congestion, then reliable end-to-end communication is achieved in fixed networks, but TCP performance degrades in wireless networks where packet losses are not exclusively due to congestion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a proxy server as an intermediary between the TCP server and the wireless network. The proxy server intercepts packets, applies traffic handling options (such as unordered packet delivery or congestion control behaviors), and forwards them to the communications device. This intermediary resolves the contradiction by decoupling the TCP protocol's congestion detection mechanism from the wireless network's non-congestion packet losses, allowing reliable communication while maintaining TCP performance.
2Reliability
If link-layer protocols apply reliable data transmission with retransmissions, then packet losses are hidden from the transport protocol, but round trip time varies and delays increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the traffic handling approach adjustable and negotiable rather than fixed. The proxy server and TCP server negotiate traffic handling options dynamically, allowing the system to adapt between different transmission modes (e.g., unordered packet delivery, congestion control behaviors) based on current network conditions and application requirements. This dynamic approach resolves the contradiction by allowing the system to optimize for either reliability or low delay depending on the situation.
3Stability of the object's composition
If ordered packet delivery is enforced in the radio access network, then packet reordering is prevented, but transmission efficiency decreases due to unnecessary retransmissions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by allowing different packet delivery orders in different parts of the network. Specifically, the proxy server can apply unordered packet delivery locally in the wireless domain where reordering does not affect application performance, while maintaining ordered delivery in the wired Internet domain. This resolves the contradiction by eliminating unnecessary retransmissions in the wireless network while preserving packet order where it matters.
4Productivity
If the proxy negotiates and applies traffic handling options, then data transmission efficiency is enhanced, but device and network complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by enabling the TCP server to autonomously select and negotiate traffic handling options with the proxy server. The server can independently configure its transmission protocol behavior based on the negotiated options without requiring complex manual network configuration. This resolves the contradiction by automating the complexity management, allowing enhanced transmission efficiency while minimizing the operational burden on network administrators.
Data Source
AI summary
There is a provided herein a proxy at a border between two transport domains, the proxy arranged to deliver packets to a communications device in a first transport domain; the packets received from a server in a second transport domain. The proxy is arranged to: receive a packet from the server, the packet directed to the communications device; and forward the packet to the communications device and reply to the server with a traffic handling offer message, the traffic handling offer message including a plurality of traffic handling options. The proxy is further arranged to receive a selection of a traffic handling option from the server; and apply the selected traffic handling option to packets sent from the server to the communications device via the proxy.