Value-Based Utility Adaptation of RED Parameters

Random Early Detection (RED) is used as a congestion avoidance mechanism in a router wherein the average queue size is compared to the minimum and maximum thresholds of the buffer. Packets are dropped, marked, or allowed to pass depending on the size of the queue relative to the thresholds. While RED may be suitable for flows which have similar loss requirements, it remains to be seen if it can be effective when flows have varying expectations. A solution is to make the RED thresholds adaptive to requirements. Studies on finding suitable values for these parameters are available but they are not directly applicable when there are differences in requirements. This study aims to provide solutions to configuring these parameters which uses information differentiating flows and their requirements. In particular, we will be using Value-Based Utility (VBU), a utility-based cost function to assess each flow's packet loss requirements. This additional information will then be used to dynamically tune and adapt the RED parameters.