Where network protocols fit in Bandwidth Requirements
Packet Loss Requirements
Latency (delay)
Jitter (delay variation
Voice
Low
Low
Low
Low
Video
High
Low
Low
Low
VDI
Variable
Low
Low
Low
High
Very Low
Low
Medium
Large File Transfer
Applications such as voice, video, and most VDI apps typically use UDP, whereas file transfer and real-time apps often use TCP as the underlying protocol. While TCP has its own flow control, other applications using UDP typically implement their own flow control to control loss detection, retransmissions, Forward Error Correction (FEC), etc. In a typical case, the user’s application traffic traverses multiple network segments (e.g., Wi-Fi/cellular, broadband, mid-mile, etc.) before it reaches the application server. Each network segment may have its own network characteristics with associated network impairments, for example:
Wireless including Wi-Fi and cellular: Wireless exhibits burst loss from interference, multipath fading, shadowing, and other signal inhibitors. This can result in low bandwidth and poor coverage, which leads to inconsistent throughput, delay, and jitter. (Wireless propagation fundamentals.) ● Broadband includes technologies such as DSL, cable, fiber, Satellite, and wireless (see above): Broadband suffers from a number of issues, including oversubscription, symmetry, rate limiting on certain ports, and “best effort” reliability and uptime. ● Mid-mile: This suffers from ISP/peering issues that impact loss, path selection, latency, and variable delay ●
