On Queue Provisioning, Network Efficiency and the Transmission Control Protocol

In this paper, we propose a sender side modification to TCP to accommodate small network buffers. We exploit the fact that the manner in which network buffers are provisioned is intimately related to the manner in which TCP operates. However, rather than designing buffers to accommodate the TCP AIMD algorithm, as is the traditional approach in network design, we suggest simple modifications to the AIMD algorithm to accommodate buffers of any size in the network. We demonstrate that networks with small buffers can be designed that transport TCP traffic in an efficient manner while retaining fairness and friendliness with standard TCP traffic.