Making TCP Robust Against Delay Spikes
Andrei Gurtov · 2001
This document discusses optimizations for a TCP sender that are most helpful in the presence of delays spikes, but are seemingly suitable for general deployment. The motivation for this work is increasing popularity of links (e.g. provided by cellular networks) that have delay spikes exceeding the usual link latency by several times. The effect of a delay spike on TCP Tahoe, Reno, NewReno and SACK is described. The document recommends timing every segment and restarting the retrans- mit timer to achieve a more conservative RTO estimate. Furthermore, it discusses how a series of DUPACKs should be treated.