On the effectiveness of an optimization method for the traffic of TCP-based multiplayer online games

Abstract

This paper studies the feasibility of using an optimization method, based on multiplexing and header compression, for the traffic of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) using TCP at the Transport Layer. Different scenarios where a number of flows share a common network path are identified. The adaptation of the multiplexing method is explained, and a formula of the savings is devised. The header compression ratio is obtained using real traces of a popular game and a statistical model of its traffic is used to obtain the bandwidth saving as a function of the number of players and the multiplexing period. The obtained savings can be up to 60 % for IPv4 and 70 % for IPv6. A Mean Opinion Score model from the literature is employed to calculate the limits of the multiplexing period that can be used without harming the user experience.The interactions between multiplexed and non-multiplexed flows, sharing a bottleneck with different kinds of background traffic, are studied through simulations. As a result of the tests, some limits for the multiplexing period are recommended: the unfairness between players can be low if the value of the multiplexing period is kept under 10 or 20 ms. TCP background flows using SACK (Selective Acknowledgment) and Reno yield better results, in terms of fairness, than Tahoe and New Reno. When UDP is used for background traffic, high values of the multiplexing period may stress the unfairness between flows if network congestion is severe.

Machine Learning Prediction of Gamer’s Private Networks (GPN®S)

“…This allows players with stable network conditions to receive an optimal experience as the affects of latency in highly competitive environments can heavily affect performance [11]. Another solution is the prospect of optimizing data flow at the network level [12]. This solution can provide positive results for slower networks but risks stressing the unfairness between flows if network congestion is severe.…”

Improving bandwidth utilization by compressing small-payload traffic for vehicular networks

“…They also studied the feasibility of applying this combination to the traffic of massively multiplayer online role-playing games. 11 To¨mo¨sko¨zi et al 12 presented the power consumption measurements for the tunnel with ROHC version 2, and they found that the usage of header compression on modern mobile devices is unlikely to result in increased power consumption and even decrease the battery drain when payloads are small. However, the tunnel overhead reduces the savings obtained by header compression, and a multiplexing delay is required to pack multiple packets together.…”