Title :
Enabling gigabit network access to end users
Author :
Zeadally, Sherali ; Zhang, Liqiang
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Comput. Sci., Wayne State Univ., Detroit, MI, USA
fDate :
2/1/2004 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
To achieve innovative network architectures capable of delivering high-speed data transfers to end users, considerable efforts have been invested in minimizing or eliminating the bottlenecks that exist in high-speed network environments. These bottlenecks exist primarily at two levels, namely, network data transmission to the end system and data delivery within the end system to the user. For wired networks, improvements in fiber optic technologies have shifted the bottleneck from the underlying physical network to the end system. However, wireless networks still face obstacles at both levels to achieving high, end-to-end performance data delivery, particularly at gigabit per second rates. We first present current wireless communication technologies aimed at delivering gigabit per second transmission rates to end systems. We then investigate the bottleneck at the end system by exploring experimentally the performance benefits of a network interface architecture designed to enable high-performance, low-latency applications using minimal host resources. We compare the performance of our network interface architecture with the traditional one, using commodity PCs connected by gigabit per second local area networks running protocols such as TCP/IP and UDP/IP. We argue that such a network interface architecture can eliminate the bottlenecks prevalent in current end systems and, consequently, enables users to reap the full benefits of the high-speed networks available today.
Keywords :
broadband networks; data communication; internetworking; radio access networks; telecommunication network planning; transport protocols; wireless LAN; TCP/IP; UDP/IP; bottlenecks; broadband communications; computer network performance; data communication; end system; gigabit network access; high-speed data transfers; local area networks; network architectures; network interface architecture; transport protocols; wireless access communication technologies; wireless communication; Communications technology; Data communication; High-speed networks; Network interfaces; Optical fiber LAN; Optical fibers; Personal communication networks; Protocols; Wireless communication; Wireless networks;
Journal_Title :
Proceedings of the IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/JPROC.2003.821905