UDP Fairness Control via TCP Rate Feedback

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing UDP-based data transmission protocols struggle to ensure fairness in network environments, particularly in wide area networks, due to long round-trip times and increased packet loss, and are difficult to implement on low-performance hardware and software, especially in devices like smartphones.

Innovation Solution

An apparatus and method that calculates current TCP and UDP transmission rates, using a TCP transmission rate calculator and a fairness determiner to adjust UDP transmission rates, ensuring fairness by transmitting a TCP data stream concurrently with UDP data, without requiring operating system scheduling or high-performance hardware, allowing for implementation on low-performance devices.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Speed

If UDP-based data transmission is used to achieve high transmission rate close to available bandwidth, then transmission speed is improved, but fairness with other TCP connections deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetransmission rateVSAvoidfairness
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The invention implements a feedback mechanism where the UDP transmission rate is dynamically adjusted based on the measured TCP transmission rate. The fairness determiner continuously monitors the TCP rate and provides feedback to the UDP transmission rate controller, which adjusts the UDP rate accordingly to maintain fairness with TCP connections while preserving high transmission performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The invention changes the transmission rate parameter dynamically by adjusting the UDP transmission rate based on the measured TCP transmission rate. This parameter adjustment allows the system to adapt to varying network conditions and maintain fairness while achieving high transmission rates when available.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If existing UDP fairness mechanisms using RTT calculation are implemented, then fairness is improved, but device complexity and implementation difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovefairnessVSAvoidimplementation complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention copies the TCP transmission rate measurement mechanism and applies it to UDP transmission control. Instead of implementing complex RTT calculation and queuing delay estimation specific to UDP, the system uses the existing TCP rate measurement approach, simplifying the implementation while maintaining fairness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The invention creates a universal fairness determination mechanism that can work with both TCP and UDP protocols. By using the TCP transmission rate as a reference for controlling UDP transmission, the system achieves a multi-functional approach that handles fairness for different protocols through a unified mechanism, reducing overall system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Measurement precision

If queuing delay time calculation is implemented for UDP fairness, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to OS scheduling requirements

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvequeuing delay measurementVSAvoidimplementation ease
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The invention extracts the fairness determination from the complex RTT and queuing delay calculation process. By separating the fairness control logic from the timing-critical RTT measurements, the system achieves fairness determination without requiring precise OS-level timing and scheduling, making implementation easier while maintaining adequate measurement precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention uses inexpensive and simple transmission rate measurements instead of complex and resource-intensive RTT calculations. By using readily available TCP transmission rate data as a proxy for network conditions, the system achieves fairness determination without requiring expensive or complex timing mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

Data Source

PatentEP2448195B1Apparatus and method for ensuring fairness of udp data transmission in ethernet environment
Publication Date: 2016.02.10 SAMSUNG SDS CO LTD
  • EP2448195B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP2448195B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP2448195B1 patent drawingFigure 5

AI summary

Provided are an apparatus and method for ensuring fairness of user datagram protocol (UDP) data transmission in an Ethernet environment. A transmission control protocol (TCP) transmission rate calculator calculates a current TCP transmission rate on the basis of the amount of a TCP data stream transmitted in real time from a transmission apparatus and received by a reception apparatus. A UDP transmission rate calculator calculates a UDP transmission rate on the basis of the amount of UDP data transmitted with the TCP data stream from the transmission apparatus and received by the reception apparatus. A fairness determiner transmits a control signal to a UDP transmission rate control means included in the transmission apparatus when a difference between the current TCP transmission rate and a predetermined optimum transmission rate is a predetermined threshold value or more and the UDP transmission rate is increasing. Here, the TCP transmission rate calculator calculates the optimum transmission rate on the basis of the received amount of a TCP data stream transmitted to the reception apparatus before UDP data transmission of the transmission apparatus is started. When UDP data is transmitted from a transmission apparatus to a reception apparatus, a TCP data stream for determining fairness is transmitted together, so that the constitution of the apparatus and method can be simplified by adding only the TCP stream without an additional module for estimating a queuing delay time on the basis of a round-trip time (RTT) and so on.