Using partial differential equations to model TCP mice and elephants in large IP networks

ABSTRACT

In this paper we propose a new fluid model approach in which a different description of the dynamics of traffic sources is adopted, exploiting partial differential equations. This new description of the source dynamics allows the natural representation of short-lived as well as long-lived TCP connections, with no sacrifice in the scalability of the model. In addition, the use of partial differential equations permits the description of distributions, instead of averages, thus providing better accuracy in the results.The comparison between the performance estimates obtained with fluid models and with ns-2 simulations proves the accuracy of the proposed modeling approach.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.2 COMPUTER-COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
      C.2.5 Local and Wide-Area Networks
          Subjects: Internet (e.g., TCP/IP)

Additional Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.4 PERFORMANCE OF SYSTEMS
      Subjects: Modeling techniques

  G. Mathematics of Computing
  G.1 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
      G.1.8 Partial Differential Equations

General Terms:
Algorithms, Design, Experimentation, Measurement, Performance, Theory

Keywords:
computer network performance, differential equations, modeling, transport protocol, wide-area networks