Method and apparatus for managing congestion within an internetwork using window adaptation

摘要

Congestion is controlled in an internetwork having at least two segments coupled by a router where at least one connection between communication devices passes through the router. Each connection is assumed to use a window-based flow control protocol between its source and destination. On receiving an acknowledgment from a connection in the router, where the acknowledgment contains a window size set by the destination, the router adaptively determines a second window size for the connection based on the router's average buffer occupancy and its instantaneous buffer occupancy. If the window size in the acknowledgment exceeds this second window size, the window size in the acknowledgment is overwritten to select the second window size. The router then forwards the acknowledgment to the source, thereby controlling the window size available to the source as a function of the congestion in the router.