SCTP Retransmission Timer Enhancement for Signaling Traffic
Per Hurtig, Anna Brunström · 2008
was designed by the IETF as a viable solution for IP-based signaling transport. Signaling traffic is different from ordinary TCP bulk traffic in many ways. One example is that the require-ment of timely delivery usually is much stricter. However, the management of the SCTP retransmission timer is not designed considering this requirement. Basically, the management algo-rithm unnecessarily extends the time needed for loss detection. This paper presents a new management algorithm that is able to maintain a correct state of the retransmission timer, which eliminates this particular problem. The paper also compares the performance of the two management algorithms in an emulated signaling environment, using the lksctp implementation of SCTP. The results show that the proposed algorithm is able to provide significant reductions in loss recovery time. I.