Deconstructing MPTCP Performance

The paper seeks to broaden our understanding of MPTCP and focuses on the impact that initial sub-path selection can have on performance. Using empirical data, it demonstrates that which sub-path is chosen to start an MPTCP connection can have unintuitive consequences. Using numerical analysis and a model-driven investigation, the paper elucidates and validates the empirical results, and highlights MPTCP´s non-linear coupling between paths as a primary cause for this behavior. The findings are both of operational interest and may help design better MPTCP schedulers, as they are also exposed to complex interactions with MPTCP´s congestion control.