How bad TCP can perform in mobile ad hoc networks

Several recent studies have indicated that TCP performance degrades significantly in mobile ad hoc networks. This paper examines how bad TCP may perform in such networks and provides a quantitative characterization of this performance gap. Previous approach typically makes comparisons by ignoring the inherent dynamics such as mobility, channel error, and shared-channel contention. Our work provides a realistic, achievable TCP throughput upper bound, and may serve as a benchmark for the future TCP modifications in ad hoc networks. Our simulation findings indicate that node mobility, especially mobility-induced network disconnection and reconnection events, has the most significant impact on TCP performance. TCP NewReno merely achieves about 10% of a reference TCP’s throughput in such cases. As mobility increases, the relative throughput drop ranges from almost 0% in static case to 1000% in highly mobile scenario (mobility speed is 20m/sec). In contrast, congestion and mild channe...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2002
• Where: ISCC
• Authors: Zhenghua Fu, Xiaoqiao Meng, Songwu Lu
• Keywords: Ad Hoc Networks, Communications, ISCC 2002, Tcp Performance, TCP Performance Degrades