Transport protocols over wireless links

Future networking environments are expected to be hybrid, i.e., consisting of both wireless and fixed subnetworks. Due to the presence of the wireless link, the performance of end-to-end protocols (e.g., TCP) suffers degradation. One approach to overcome this performance penalty is to subdivide the end-to-end transport layer connection into two separate ones. This approach leads to performance improvements without loss of interoperability with existing networking structures. The focus of this paper is on error recovery mechanisms suitable for the transport protocol operating over the wireless subpath. These mechanisms have to address the increased bit error probability and temporary disruptions of wireless links. The efficiency of different error correction mechanisms within wireless scenarios is investigated and possible modifications that lead to higher performance are pointed out. Mobile communications are discussed in particular.