TCP Capacity Utilization In Next Generation Passive Optical Network During Degradation Attack

Abstract

The next-generation gigabit passive optical network (NG-PON) is a promising expansion and growth solution for access networks. NG-PON aims to connect more people as the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) concept is implemented. However, immediate attention is required due to threats to its security infrastructure, such as degradation attacks in the presence of transmission protocol (TCP) traffic environments. Throughout the attack, TCP congestion management is activated to manage collisions. This research investigates the relationship between TCP response in the transport layer while enduring attack in the MAC layer. Two types of TCP were evaluated for resistance to the attack. New Reno TCP reduced link consumption by 54%, whereas high-speed TCP (HSTCP) only reduced it by 37%. The capability of TCP's congestion window to regain quickly in HSTCP demonstrates that TCP flavor contributes to sustaining network performance under attack.