Performance evaluation of rate-based congestion control algorithms in multimedia ATM networks

Rate-based congestion control promises effective traffic management for the ABR service class suitable for data communications in ATM networks. There have been proposed several rate-based congestion control schemes in the ATM Forum, including Enhanced Proportional Rate Control Algorithm (EPRCA) and EPRCA++ methods. While many studies have been devoted for these schemes in the past, only ABR traffic is taken into account; the effect of VBR and CBR service classes, in which multimedia traffic are accommodated, are not considered. We evaluate the performance of rate-based congestion control schemes when not only ABR traffic but also VBR traffic is incorporated into the ATM network. Through simulation experiments, we show the drawbacks of current rate-based congestion control proposals for multimedia traffic, and give several suggestions to overcome those problems.