A robust active queue management algorithm in large delay networks

Active Queue Management (AQM) can maintain smaller queuing delay and higher throughput by purposefully dropping the packets at intermediate nodes. Almost all the existing AQM schemes neglect the impact of large delay on their performance. In this study, we first show an unexpected fact through simulation experiments, which is the dramatic oscillations appear in the queues controlled by several popular AQM schemes, including RED, PI controller and REM, in large delay networks. With appropriate model approximation, we design a robust AQM controller to compensate for the delay using the principle of internal mode compensation in control theory. Our novel algorithm restrains the negative effect on queue stability caused by large delay. Simulation results show that the integrated performance of the proposed algorithm outperforms that of several well-known schemes when the connections have large delay, while keeping buffer queue short.