DAPS: Intelligent delay-aware packet scheduling for multipath transport

Abstract

The increasing heterogeneity and asymmetry in wireless network environments makes QoS guarantees in terms of delays and throughput a challenging task. In this paper, we study a novel scheduling algorithm for multipath transport called Delay Aware Packet Scheduling (DAPS) which aims to reduce the receiver's buffer blocking time considered as a main parameter to enhance the QoS in wireless environments. We develop an analytical model of maximum receiver's buffer blocking time and extend the DAPS algorithm considering implementation issues. Performance evaluations based on ns-2 simulations highlight the enhanced QoS that DAPS can provide. With reference to the classical multipath transport protocol CMT-SCTP, we observe a significant reductions of the receiver's buffer occupancy, down by 77%, and the application delay, down by 63%.