Multipath Transport - from theory about resource pooling to the MPTCP protocol - and beyond

A joint workshop about Multipath TCP between the Trilogy project, Cambridge Computer Lab and Microsoft Research.

Friday 2nd July, 9.30am - 4pm, Cambridge Computer Lab (Room FW26)

A regular TCP session transmits packets over a single path. If instead TCP could use multiple paths simultaneously, then it could move traffic away from congested or failed links in favour of uncongested or new links. Hence Multipath TCP should lead to better resilience as well as provide a form of mobility.

The first part of the workshop will discuss how to balance transmission on each path so as to be stable and fair to ordinary TCP (one of the key challenges). We will discuss the story of moving from the theoretical work of Frank Kelly, Richard Gibbens (Cambridge) and Peter Key
(Microsoft) to a practical protocol that the Trilogy project is now standardising at the IETF. What were the challenges and what compromises have been made? There'll be a demo.

The second part of the workshop will be an open discussion about some of the main open issues such as - where is Multipath TCP most useful and how can it best be deployed? For example in data centres.

Questions? Please contact Jon.Crowcroft@cl.cam.ac.uk or philip.eardley@bt.com

Where?
Room FW26, Computer Laboratory
William Gates Building, 15 JJ Thomson Avenue Cambridge CB3 0FD

---

Agenda:

Philip Eardley: Welcome, Introduction

Richard Gibbens:Theoretical background for resource pooling (Dynamic routing in multiparented networks)

Frank Kelly: Resource pooling and systemic risk

Damon Wischik: Poolability scores

Mark Handley: Multipath TCP in practice TCP

Lunch

Philip Eardley: Very brief IETF status report

Costin Raiciu: Congestion control algorithm demo

Costin Raiciu: Application of MPTCP in data centres

Anthony Rowstron: Camcube: A novel data center

Tea break

Peter Key: Multipath