Improving TCP throughput using forward error correction*

Abstract

Packet losses significantly degrade TCP performance in high latency networks. This is because TCP keeps transmission rates low while the lost packets are recovered. To prevent this problem, retransmissions must be kept as low as possible. Therefore, we propose a scheme to apply FEC technology to the entire TCP operation in order to prevent degradation of transmission rates as well as improve throughput. Since a simple application of FEC technology might not work effectively, we consider the ways to control the return of ACKs and redundancy level. We show the effectiveness of this approach through simulation evaluations.