HTTP Data Offloading Using Multipath TCP Proxy

Due to today´s plethora of smart devices and the pervasive usage of almost every kind of data communication technology, data networks start to have a hard time meeting end users´ demands regarding available bandwidth and quality of experience (QoE). Multipath TCP (MPTCP), as an extension to Legacy TCP, permits the concurrent use of multiple interfaces on a multihomed device, while presenting a single TCP connection to the application layer. As a result, MPTCP allows for bandwidth aggregation, data offloading due to its modified congestion control algorithm, as well as seamless vertical handover. As MPTCP implementation is still lagging behind, we propose and evaluate a mechanism that will allow for the gradual introduction of the protocol in the ISP infrastructure. Particularly, we examine the use of an HTTP Proxy as a protocol converter that will allow MPTCP-enabled clients to benefit from Multipath TCP even when communicating with a legacy server.