Module 4

23.1
 24-1 DATA TRAFFIC

The main focus of congestion control and quality of

service is data traffic. In congestion control we try to
avoid traffic congestion. In quality of service, we try to
create an appropriate environment for the traffic. So,
before talking about congestion control and quality of
service, we discuss the data traffic itself.

Topics discussed in this section:

Traffic Descriptor
Traffic Profiles

24.2
 Figure 24.1 Traffic descriptors

24.3
24.4
24.5
 Maximum Burst Size:
The maximum burst size normally refers to the
maximum length of time the traffic is generated at the
peak rate.
Effective Bandwidth:
The effective bandwidth is the bandwidth that the
network needs to allocate for the flow of traffic. The
effective bandwidth is a function of three values:
average data rate, peak data rate, and maximum burst
size.

24.6
 Figure 24.2 Three traffic profiles

Predictable

24.7
 24-2 CONGESTION

Congestion in a network may occur if the load on the

network—the number of packets sent to the network—
is greater than the capacity of the network—the
number of packets a network can handle.
Congestion control refers to the mechanisms and
techniques to control the congestion and keep the load
below the capacity.

Topics discussed in this section:

Network Performance

24.8
 Figure 24.3 Queues in a router – Reason for congestion

24.9
 Figure Packet delay and throughput as functions of load

24.10
 24-3 CONGESTION CONTROL

Congestion control refers to techniques and

mechanisms that can either prevent congestion, before
it happens, or remove congestion, after it has
happened. In general, we can divide congestion
control mechanisms into two broad categories: open-
loop congestion control (prevention) and closed-loop
congestion control (removal).

Topics discussed in this section:

Open-Loop Congestion Control
Closed-Loop Congestion Control

24.11
 Figure 24.5 Congestion control categories

24.12
 Figure 24.6 Backpressure method for alleviating congestion

24.13
 Figure 24.7 Choke packet

24.14
 24-4 TWO EXAMPLES

To better understand the concept of congestion

control, let us give two examples: one in TCP and the
other in Frame Relay.

Topics discussed in this section:

Congestion Control in TCP
Congestion Control in Frame Relay

24.15
 Congestion control in TCP

24.16
 Congestion Window
• sender window size is determined by
the available buffer space in the
receiver (rwnd).
• the sender's window size is
determined not only by the receiver
but also by congestion in the network.

24.17
 Congestion Window
Sender has two pieces of information:
• receiver-advertised window size
(rwnd)
• the congestion window size (cwnd).

Actual window size = minimum (rwnd,

cwnd)

24.18
 Congestion Policy

24.19
 Congestion Policy

Three phases:
• slow start,
• congestion avoidance, and
• congestion detection.

24.20
 Figure 24.11 Congestion example

24.21
 Slow start (exponential increase):
• size of the cwnd starts with one
maximum segment size (MSS) -
determined during connection
establishment.

• size of the window increases one MSS

each time an acknowledgment is
received

24.22
 Figure 24.8 Slow start, exponential increase Rwnd > cwnd

24.23
24.24
 Note

In the slow-start algorithm, the size of

the congestion window increases
exponentially until it reaches a
threshold.

24.25
24.26
 • The sender keeps track of a variable
ssthresh ( slow-start threshold ).
• Cwnd = ssthresh?
slow start stops and the next
phase starts.
• In most implementations the value of
ssthresh is 65,535 bytes.

24.27
 Congestion Avoidance:
(additive increase)
• size of the cwnd increased by 1, each
time the whole window of segments is
acknowledged (one round).

24.28
 Figure 24.9 Congestion avoidance, additive increase

24.29
24.30
 Note

In the congestion avoidance algorithm,

the size of the congestion window
increases additively until
congestion is detected.

24.31
24.32
 Congestion Detection:
(Multiplicative Decrease)
• If congestion occurs, cwnd size ->
decreased.
• The only way the sender can guess
that congestion has occurred is by the
need to retransmit a segment.

24.33
 Congestion Detection:
(Multiplicative Decrease)
• Retransmission can occur in one of
two cases:
• when a timer times out or
• when three ACKs are received.
• In both cases, the size of the
threshold is dropped to one-half, a
multiplicative decrease.

24.34
 Congestion Detection:
(Multiplicative Decrease)
• Most TCP implementations have two
reactions:
• If a time-out occurs, there is a
stronger possibility of congestion;
a segment has probably been
dropped in the network, and there
is no news about the sent
segments.
24.35
 Congestion Detection:
(Multiplicative Decrease)

24.36
 Congestion Detection:
(Multiplicative Decrease)
• If three ACKs are received, there is a
weaker possibility of congestion;
• a segment may have been
dropped, buts some segments
after that may have arrived safely
since three ACKs are received.
• This is called fast transmission
and fast recovery.
24.37
 Congestion Detection:
(Multiplicative Decrease)

24.38
 Note

An implementation reacts to congestion

detection in one of the following ways:
❏ If detection is by time-out, a new slow
start phase starts.
❏ If detection is by three ACKs, a new
congestion avoidance phase starts.

24.39
 Figure 24.10 TCP congestion policy summary

24.40
 Figure 24.11 Congestion example

24.41