Mobile + Internet = Performance ?

Jack Y. B. Lee
Department of Information Engineering
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
(CAHK Innovation Forum, 11 Nov 2011)

Mobile

Narrowband no more
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Emergence of 3.5G Networks

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4G/LTE Networks
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3G/HSPA easily offers 10+ Mbps bandwidth

Offers bandwidth in excess of 100 Mbps

What do these promise?

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Mobile bandwidth will soon, if not already,

become comparable to fixed broadband;
The Internet experience should become as good
as fixed network accesses.

Internet

All IP Networks
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Network-Level Compatibility
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Mobile data networks support the Internet protocols

TCP/IP;
Full compatibility with all major Internet applications.

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

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Used in nearly all Internet applications

z
z
z
z
z
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WWW HTTP on top of TCP

Email SMTP/POP3/IMAP on top of TCP
File download FTP/HTTP on top of TCP
Mobile youtube HTTP on top of TCP
iPhone video streaming HTTP on top of TCP
Countless others

Mobile + Internet

Mobile Internet Performance

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Experiment #1 3G Network
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Testbed Setup

Desktop client:
Desktopclient:
(w/ USB 3G modem,
(withK4505modem)
Microsoft Windows XP)
OS:WinXP/Windows7

Linuxserver
w/ApacheHTTPServer

Sending Rate
(Mbps)
0.8
1.6
2.4
3.2
4.0
4.8
5.6

TCP
Cubic
0.80
1.56
1.50
1.48
1.56
1.58
1.63

Receiving Throughput (Mbps)

TCP
Westwood
0.80
1.55
1.45
1.49
1.45
1.49
1.65

TCP
Veno
0.79
1.60
1.60
1.55
1.60
1.48
1.58

Usable bandwidth merely 1.6/6 = 27%!

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Mobile Internet Performance

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Experiment #2 HSPA+ Network

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Signal quality is at average level

Measured maximum network bandwidth ~8 Mbps
Usable bandwidth via Internet TCP protocol:
Usable
Bandwidth
(Mbps)

Exp1

Exp2

Exp3

Exp4

Exp5

Average

OverTCP

1.77

1.84

1.69

1.61

2.02

1.79

Usable bandwidth is only 1.79/8 = 22%!

Mobile Internet Performance

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Experiment #3 LTE Network

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Theoretical maximum bandwidth of 100 Mbps

Actual measurement results:
Higher signal quality
{RSRP, SINR}
Usable TCP

{-64, 27}

{-81, 27}

{-90, 27}

{-110, 15}

34

36

30

27

Maximum UDP

81

80

55

50

goodput (Mbps)
Bandwidth efficiency

42%

45%

55%

54%

throughput (Mbps)

Performance ?

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TCP over Mobile Networks

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Bandwidth Efficiency
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What happened to the unused bandwidth?

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Gone, varnished, lost, nada.

Implication to users
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Varies from 20% to 50%

Cant get all the bandwidth they paid for.

Implication to operators
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Cant provide subscribers all the bandwidth

available
Loss of bandwidth -> loss of network capacity
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Now what?

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TCP for Mobile Networks

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Develop a new, better TCP optimized for

mobile networks
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Modify an existing TCP variant or develop a new

TCP variant for mobile networks.
Sender-based, receiver-based, sender-receiverbased.
Replace the existing TCP implementation in the
operating systems

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TCP for Mobile Networks

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An example: TCP-QA
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z

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z
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Optimized for mobile data networks

Sender-based, compatible with existing TCP in
the client device
Implemented into the Linux kernel
Transparent to Internet servers / applications
Bandwidth efficiency:
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Over HSPA network: over 90%

Over LTE network: over 90%

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What about existing TCP traffics?

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Network-Centric Approach
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Mobile Network Accelerator

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Deploy inside the operators network

Compatible with existing TCPs
No change to client or server

Internet Servers
(Web, Email, etc.)

Internet

Mobile Network
Accelerator

Mobile Cellular Networks (2.5G/3G/4G)

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Network-Centric Approach
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Mobile Network Accelerator

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Performance comparison over HSPA network:

Receiving
Bandwidth
(Mbps)

Exp1

Exp2

Exp3

Exp4

Exp5

Average

NormalTCP

1.77

1.84

1.69

1.61

2.02

1.79

Accelerated
TCP

5.41

5.67

5.36

5.67

6.69

5.76

A potential performance improvement of 3.2x.

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Network-Centric Approach
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Mobile Network Accelerator

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Performance comparison over LTE network:

Higher signal quality
{RSRP, SINR}
Normal TCP
throughput (Mbps)
Accelerated TCP
throughput (Mbps)
Maximum UDP
goodput (Mbps)
Accelerators
bandwidth efficiency
Accelerator
Improvement

{-64, 27}
34

{-81, 27}
36

{-90, 27}
30

{-110, 15}
27

74

73

53

47

81

80

55

50

91%

91%

96%

94%

2.17x

2.03x

1.77x

1.74x

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Mobile + Internet = Performance?

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The Current State

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Todays mobile data networks really do

deliver their bandwidth promises
Internet protocols do not automatically
perform optimally over mobile networks
The gap leads to inefficient network
utilization, wasting precious network
capacity and limiting user experiences

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The Road Ahead

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Long-Term Solution
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A new TCP design that works well in both wired

and mobile networks is needed;
Internet-scale deployment will take time.

Near-Term Solution
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Deployment of mobile-optimized TCP for

Internet servers directly serving mobile users;
Deployment of mobile acceleration devices to
improve the performance of existing TCP flows.

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Acknowledgement
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This work was funded in part by the Innovation and

Technology Fund (ITS/014/10) provided by the
Innovation and Technology Commission, HKSAR.
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Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in

this material/event (or by members of the project team) do not
reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, the Innovation and Technology Commission or
the assessment panel of the Innovation and Technology Support
Programme of the Innovation and Technology Fund.

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Thank You

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