Binary congestion notification in TCP

We propose to enhance the TCP´s congestion control mechanisms using binary congestion notification (BCN). With this scheme congestion is not simply indicated by packet losses as is currently the case. Instead, switches inform the sources about their congestion state by setting a congestion bit in the data packets. Unlike other studies, our approach maintains the basic elements of the TCP´s congestion control mechanisms and at the same time tries to adapt the TCP´s response to BCN based on the source behavior proposed for sources using ATM´s available bit rate service (ABR). Through different simulation models we compare the throughput achieved with the TCP using BCN (BCN-TCP) and 4.3BSD Tahoe-TCP and Reno-TCP. The effects of running TCP over ABR are studied with the help of a simple simulation model. The benefits of using BCN-TCP in avoiding multiple packet losses are demonstrated and explained