LambdaStream – a Data Transport Protocol for Streaming Network-intensive Applications over Photonic Networks

LambdaStream is a transport protocol designed specifically to support gigabit-level streaming, which is required by streaming applications over OptIPuter. The protocol takes advantage of characteristics in photonic networks. It adapts the sending rate to dynamic network conditions while maintaining a constant sending rate whenever possible. One advantage of this scheme is that the protocol avoids deliberately provoking packet loss when probing for available bandwidth, a common strategy used by other congestion control schemes. Another advantage is that it significantly decreases fluctuations in the sending rate. As a result, streaming applications experience small jitter and react smoothly to congestion. Another important feature is that the protocol extends congestion control to encompass an end-to-end scope. It differentiates packet loss and updates the sending rate accordingly, thus increasing throughput. We have implemented and evaluated LambdaStream over the photonic network testbed between Chicago and Amsterdam. Our results show that LambdaStream occupies almost the full bandwidth and exhibits very small application-level jitter, which is very suitable for streaming applications in OptIPuter.