A comparison of queue management algorithms for intra-flow loss control

Multimedia flows are inherently inhomogenous, i.e. packets within a flow are of different importance for actual user perception. When transmitting such flows with real-time constraints in networks like the Internet which offer no reliability of transmission, some packet loss is inevitable. The perceptual impact of these losses is then amplified by the arbitrary distribution of packet losses within the flow which impairs the reconstruction of application data units (ADUs) at the receiver, as well as the performance of end-to-end loss recovery mechanisms. To control the loss distribution within a flow ("intra-flow" QoS) typically filtering higher-layer information within the network is proposed, which is both expensive in terms of resources, as well as undesirable with regard to network security. We compare two novel queue management algorithms which improve the intra-flow QoS without higher-layer filtering. The first algorithm is called DiffRED (differential random early detection). It differentiates between packets marked by the sender as either more or less eligible to be dropped in comparison to unmarked packets without keeping any per-flow state. The other algorithm called PLoP (predictive loss pattern) operates without per-packet marking, yet keeping partial per-flow state. We introduce simple metrics to describe the loss process of individual flows and present simulation results with voice as foreground traffic using the proposed methods in a multi-hop topology. We find that both algorithms do not have a significant impact on the background traffic. For the given scenario algorithms using packet marking are found to be superior because for the foreground traffic a high probability for short bursts with potentially high perceptual impact can be traded against a higher probability for isolated losses as well as higher (but acceptable) probability for very long loss bursts.

[1]  Mark Handley,et al.  RTP Payload for Redundant Audio Data , 1997, RFC.

[2]  Paul E. McKenney,et al.  Packet recovery in high-speed networks using coding and buffer management , 1990, Proceedings. IEEE INFOCOM '90: Ninth Annual Joint Conference of the IEEE Computer and Communications Societies@m_The Multiple Facets of Integration.

[3]  Henning Schulzrinne,et al.  Loss correlation for queues with bursty input streams , 1992, [Conference Record] SUPERCOMM/ICC '92 Discovering a New World of Communications.

[4]  Martina Zitterbart,et al.  AMnet: active multicasting network , 1997, ICC '98. 1998 IEEE International Conference on Communications. Conference Record. Affiliated with SUPERCOMM'98 (Cat. No.98CH36220).

[5]  kc claffy,et al.  The nature of the beast: Recent traffic measurements from an Internet backbone , 1998 .

[6]  Georg Carle,et al.  Framework model for packet loss metrics based on loss runlengths , 1999, Electronic Imaging.

[7]  J. Gruber,et al.  Subjective Effects of Variable Delay and Speech Clipping in Dynamically Managed Voice Systems , 1985, IEEE Trans. Commun..

[8]  A. Stenger,et al.  A New Technique for Audio Packet Loss , 1996 .

[9]  Mark Crovella,et al.  Self - similarity in World Wide Web: Evidence and possible causes , 1997 .

[10]  Georg Carle,et al.  Predictive loss pattern queue management for Internet routers , 1998, Other Conferences.

[11]  Georg Carle,et al.  A queue management algorithm for intra-flow service differentiation in the "best effort" Internet , 1999, Proceedings Eight International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks (Cat. No.99EX370).

[12]  Henning Sanneck,et al.  Concealment of lost speech packets using adaptive packetization , 1998, Proceedings. IEEE International Conference on Multimedia Computing and Systems (Cat. No.98TB100241).

[13]  Israel Cidon,et al.  Analysis of packet loss processes in high-speed networks , 1991, 17th Convention of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in Israel.

[14]  T. Miyata,et al.  New network QoS measures for FEC-based audio applications on the Internet , 1998, 1998 IEEE International Performance, Computing and Communications Conference. Proceedings (Cat. No.98CH36191).

[15]  Luca Delgrossi,et al.  Filtering Multimedia Data in Reservation-Based Internetworks , 1995, Kommunikation in Verteilten Systemen.

[16]  Azer Bestavros,et al.  Self-similarity in World Wide Web traffic: evidence and possible causes , 1996, SIGMETRICS '96.

[17]  Walter Willinger,et al.  On the Self-Similar Nature of Ethernet Traffic ( extended version ) , 1995 .

[18]  Israel Cidon,et al.  Analysis of packet loss processes in high-speed networks , 1993, IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory.

[19]  V. Hardman,et al.  A survey of packet loss recovery techniques for streaming audio , 1998, IEEE Network.

[20]  Martina Zitterbart,et al.  AMnet: Active Multicasting Network , 1997, COST 237 Workshop.

[21]  QUTdN QeO,et al.  Random early detection gateways for congestion avoidance , 1993, TNET.

[22]  Murad S. Taqqu,et al.  On the Self-Similar Nature of Ethernet Traffic , 1993, SIGCOMM.

[23]  Henning Sanneck,et al.  A Framework Model for Packet Loss Metrics Based on Loss Runlengths in Proceedings of the SPIE/ACM , 2000 .

[24]  Colin Perkins,et al.  Options for Repair of Streaming Media , 1998, RFC.

[25]  G. G. Stokes.  "J." , 1890, The New Yale Book of Quotations.

[26]  Colin Perkins,et al.  A survey of packet loss recovery techniques for streaming audio , 1998 .

[27]  P. Venkat Rangan,et al.  Frame-Induced Packet Discarding: An Efficient Strategy for Video Networking , 1993, NOSSDAV.

[28]  Jean Bolot,et al.  Adaptive FEC-Based Error Control for Interactive Audio in the Internet , 1998 .

[29]  Kalevi Kilkki,et al.  Packets or ports: the decisions of IP switching , 1997, Other Conferences.

[30]  David D. Clark,et al.  Explicit allocation of best-effort packet delivery service , 1998, TNET.

[31]  Donald F. Towsley,et al.  Finite-Horizon Statistical Quality-of-Service Measures for High-Speed Networks , 1994, J. High Speed Networks.