On enforcing the fairness of bandwidth allocation among Internet flows

Abstract

A new algorithm for active queue management, namely DTB is presented. This buffer control technique is used to enforce approximate fairness among a large number of concurrent Internet flows. Like RED (random early detection) and other AQM (active queue management algorithms), the DTB algorithm can be deployed to actively respond to gateway congestion, keep the gateway in a healthy state, and protect the bandwidth of the fragile flows from being stolen by the bandwidth greedy ones. The algorithm is based on the so-called dual token bucket (DTB) mechanism, it is analyzed and evaluated by simulation, and proved to be effective in protecting the gateway buffer and controlling the fair allocation of bandwidth between flows.