New System Could Speed Up Internet Downloads - Movies in seconds

Reuters ^ | June 4, 2003 | Reuters

[Damocles]

Technology - Reuters

New System Could Speed Up Internet Downloads

Wed Jun 4, 3:28 PM ET

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LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists in California are working on a fast new Internet connection system that could enable an entire movie to be downloaded in a matter of seconds.

Related Links

•	Packet tracking promises ultrafast internet (at New Scientist)

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The Fast TCP system, designed by a team of researchers at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, runs on the same Internet infrastructure currently used but is designed to be much quicker.

Internet traffic is controlled by a system called Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) which was developed in the 1970s and breaks down files into small packets of about 1500 bytes.

"The sending computer transmits a pack, waits for a signal from the recipient that acknowledges its safe arrival, and then sends the next packet," New Scientist magazine said on Wednesday.

But if there is no reply, the packet is sent again and again at successively slower speeds until it arrives. So minor problems can make connections sluggish.

 

"The difference (in Fast TCP) is in the software and hardware on the sending computer, which continually measures the time it takes for sent packets to arrive and how long acknowledgements take to come back," the magazine added.

The Fast TCP reveals the delays and predict the highest data rate the connection can support without losing data.

When the researchers tested 10 Fast TCP systems together it boosted the speed to more than 6,000 times the capacity of the ordinary broadband links.

"Caltech is already in talks with Microsoft and Disney about using it for video on demand," the magazine added.

[Damocles]

New porn pipeline...

[Consort]

The viruses will arrive much faster.

[Petronski]

The Fast TCP reveals the delays and predict the highest data rate the connection can support without losing data.

I would have bet anything TCP already did this. It's kinda obvious, isn't it?

[Michael Barnes]

TCP does do this..Sounds like error checking be damned...Why not use UDP if that is the case?

[Mr. K]

way cool

[Lazamataz]

Finally.

Porn the way we want it.

Fast and naughty.

[unixfox]

Live and in color !!

[ChadGore]

When the researchers tested 10 Fast TCP systems together it boosted the speed to more than 6,000 times the capacity of the ordinary broadband links.

I'm sorry, but we'll have to see their research. This is an incredible claim that will require incedible proof.

"Caltech is already in talks with Microsoft and Disney about using it for video on demand," the magazine added.

"in talks with", do you know what that means? We called the receptionist.

[FoxPro]

The net is destroying the music and hi tech consulting industries. Hollywood is next. The internet will make all media free.

[chachacha]

Isn't competition wonderful.

[StolarStorm]

If it is free, why would anyone produce it?

[corkoman]

If it is free, why would anyone produce it?

For the reasons all artists do what they do - they want to get a reaction from people. The issue of getting paid for it has always been a spoiler. Despite the fact that most any recorded music is available to me I still purcase CDs from my favorite artists and pay $$$ go to their live performances.

[babygene]

"If it is free, why would anyone produce it?"

We'd be better off if they didn't produce most of it. New music is crap, new movies are crap...

[Free the USA]

fyi

[sylar]

"We'd be better off if they didn't produce most of it. New music is crap, new movies are crap..."

man thats the truth, but you forgot to add tv to the list.

[csconerd]

The basic premise here seems to be looking at the delay between the end of the requesting GET command and the arrival of the first byte of the response. The bulk of the delay, is typically due to the server.

By measuring this round-trip timer (RTT), the max throughput can be calculated. By implementing slight modification to TCP's increase and decrease parameters for TCP connections with larger congestion windows, TCP should be able to achieve high throughput with more realistic requirements for the steady-state packet drop rate.

It's a relatively simple change to an old methodology. It takes the existing protocol stack and change behavior a bit. It will maintain compatibility with existing operations.

Since its window size is based on initial delay and a "slow start" (not starting with a large window size), it won't add congestion to existing infrastructure. It will only transmit what the network can handle, so there should be no additional risk of congetion collapse.

Since UDP has no such congestion mechanisms, it isn't a good choice for this type of operation.

I'll shut up now. . .

[FoxPro]

Looks like we will have to write and film our own movies. The Internet changes everything, just not in the way most people predicted.

[jlogajan]

The sending computer transmits a pack, waits for a signal from the recipient that acknowledges its safe arrival, and then sends the next packet," New Scientist magazine said on Wednesday.

Wrong! TCP sends packets in advance, times the return ack, and learns the sending rate required to maximize throughput of the channel. It can have many packets in transit before their acks start to arrive.

When the researchers tested 10 Fast TCP systems together it boosted the speed to more than 6,000 times the capacity of the ordinary broadband links.

Bull! TCP will fill a channel to about 80% of its maximum capacity.

[StolarStorm]

There is always going to be a market for big budget films regardless of the internet. Without compensation nobody is going to make a Lord of the Rings of the same quality. I agree with you guys on music... many artists will make their money with concerts and use the internet to promote them. Most bands hate the record companies anyway and don't see much money from actual record sales.

Perhaps everthing will go the route of shareware. Those that like the product will feel some obligation to contribute. Sadly there will always be freeloaders that will never contribute anything.

[Larry Lucido]

Porn the way we want it. Fast and naughty.

Maybe, but soon as I see "Laz does Dallas" offered, I'm quitting the internet for good!