TCP in Wireless Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) raises a number of issues when required to work in a wireless environment. In particular, within an ad hoc network, where changes can happen somewhat quickly and unpredictably, it has to deal with new tough challenges such as high probability of both network partition and route failures due to mobility. In order to adapt TCP to this demanding paradigm, some improvements have been proposed. Nevertheless, most of them present limited enhancements as they do not address important related issues. In this paper, we present an overall view on this subject in a detailed analysis of the major factors involved. Specifically, we show how TCP can be affected by mobility and lower layers strategies including path asymmetry. Additionally, we highlight the main features and weaknesses of the existing proposed schemes, and point out the main open issues in this area. CR