diff --git a/protocols/congestion.rst b/protocols/congestion.rst index 9892e00..613237f 100644 --- a/protocols/congestion.rst +++ b/protocols/congestion.rst @@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ In an internetwork, i.e. a networking composed of different types of networks (s .. (and SCTP whose congestion control scheme is very close to TCP's congestion control) -The TCP congestion control scheme was initially proposed by `Van Jacobson`_ in [Jacobson1988]_. The current specification may be found in :rfc:`5681`. TCP relies on `Additive Increase and Multiplicative Decrease (AIMD)`. To implement :term:`AIMD`, a TCP host must be able to control its transmission rate. A first approach would be to use timers and adjust their expiration times in function of the rate imposed by :term:`AIMD`. Unfortunately, maintaining such timers for a large number of TCP connections can be difficult. Instead, `Van Jacobson`_ noted that the rate of TCP congestion can be artificially controlled by constraining its sending window. A TCP connection cannot send data faster than :math:`\frac{window}{rtt}` where :math:`window` is the maximum between the host's sending window and the window advertised by the receiver. +The TCP congestion control scheme was initially proposed by `Van Jacobson`_ in [Jacobson1988]_. The current specification may be found in :rfc:`5681`. TCP relies on `Additive Increase and Multiplicative Decrease (AIMD)`. To implement :term:`AIMD`, a TCP host must be able to control its transmission rate. A first approach would be to use timers and adjust their expiration times in function of the rate imposed by :term:`AIMD`. Unfortunately, maintaining such timers for a large number of TCP connections can be difficult. Instead, `Van Jacobson`_ noted that the rate of TCP congestion can be artificially controlled by constraining its sending window. A TCP connection cannot send data faster than :math:`\frac{window}{rtt}` where :math:`window` is the minimum between the host's sending window and the window advertised by the receiver. TCP's congestion control scheme is based on a `congestion window`. The current value of the congestion window (`cwnd`) is stored in the TCB of each TCP connection and the window that can be used by the sender is constrained by :math:`\min(cwnd,rwin,swin)` where :math:`swin` is the current sending window and :math:`rwin` the last received receive window. The `Additive Increase` part of the TCP congestion control increments the congestion window by :term:`MSS` bytes every round-trip-time. In the TCP literature, this phase is often called the `congestion avoidance` phase. The `Multiplicative Decrease` part of the TCP congestion control divides the current value of the congestion window once congestion has been detected.