A Mathematical Framework for Designing a Low-Loss, Low-Delay Internet

We survey some recent results on modeling, analysis and design of congestion control schemes for the Internet. Using tools from convex optimization and control theory, we show that congestion controllers can be viewed as distributed algorithms for achieving fair resource allocation among competing sources. We illustrate the use of simple mathematical models to analyze the behavior of currently deployed Internet congestion control protocols as well as to design new protocols for networks with large capacities, delays and general topology. These new protocols are designed to nearly eliminate loss and queueing delay in the Internet, yet achieving high utilization and any desired fairness.