A framework for modeling, analysis and optimization of robust header compression

Abstract

We present a modeling framework for header compression. For the first time, a source model is developed to study header compression. Modeling the way packets are generated from a source with multiple concurrent flows, the source model captures the real-world behavior of the IP Identification header field. By varying the parameters in the source and channel models of our framework, different source and deployment scenarios can be modeled. We use the framework to define and establish the relationship between performance metrics, offering new perspectives to their current definitions. We then introduce the objective of scheme design and the notion of optimal schemes. Based on this new paradigm, we present a novel way to study the tradeoff dependencies between performance metrics. We demonstrate how a scheme can be designed to optimize tradeoffs based on the desired level of performance.