Bayesian packet loss detection for TCP

— One of TCP’s critical tasks is to determine which packets are lost in the network, as a basis for control actions (flow control and packet retransmission). Modern TCP implementations use two mechanisms: timeout, and fast retransmit. Detection via timeout is necessarily a timeconsuming operation; fast retransmit, while much quicker, is only effective for a small fraction of packet losses. In this paper we consider the problem of packet loss detection in TCP more generally. We concentrate on the fact that TCP’s control actions are necessarily triggered by inference of packet loss, rather than conclusive knowledge. This suggests that one might analyze TCP’s packet loss detection in a standard inferencing framework based on probability of detection and probability of false alarm. This paper makes two contributions to that end: First, we study an example of more general packet loss inference, namely optimal Bayesian packet loss detection based on round trip time. We show that for...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: INFOCOM
• Authors: Nahur Fonseca, Mark Crovella
• Keywords: Communications, INFOCOM 2005, Packet Loss, Packet Loss Detection, Packet Loss Inference