Performance evaluation of SCTP as a transport layer solution for wireless multi-access networks

Future communication systems might he characterized by an integration of multiple access systems, and people are expecting excellent multi-access solutions for better services. However, currently proposed solutions in different layers are unable to completely fulfill the requirements. In this paper, we put forward the Stream Control Transport Protocol (SCTP) as a transport layer approach for multi-access, and propose an efficient SCTP load-sharing enhancement. The evaluation of performance has been investigated in the key multi-access scenarios with theoretical analyses, simulations in NS and some Linux-kernel experiments. Since SCTP supplies an effective multi-homing mechanism and the transport layer solutions for multi-access can quickly adapt to the fluctuating net-work conditions, our SCTP approach is able to bring more throughput for the simultaneous multi-access, perforin seamless behavior during the vertical handover between heterogeneous access networks, and provide better robustness and connectivity than other solutions in the wireless multi-access scenarios.