Conclusion

The overall conclusion that can be made from completing this project is that the initial goal of the project was achieved. A new Protocol was first designed and then implemented in the Network Simulator.

The Protocol was designed for VoIP signalling or possibly multimedia applications such as video conferencing etc. The basic need for a new Transport protocol is fundamentally because the transport protocols that are commonly used today do not suit the needs of multimedia applications.
Therefore the new RelUDP protocol that was designed and implemented incorporates the desired functionality of TCP and also the small packet size of UDP.

The basic requirements of the protocol are defined as follows;

• Reliability – Since the protocol is designed for Multimedia Applications reliability is a must. The new protocol must be able to guarantee that all packets sent will arrive at the desired destination. If reliability was not implemented in the protocol congested networks would cause large packet delays/losses which would effect multimedia applications.
• Retransmission – In congested networks, the protocol must be able to retransmit packets if they are lost or heavily delayed on the network. This will maintain a level of service to the Application from which it can function properly.
• Use Datagram to transport data – The RelUDP protocol, like UDP will use datagrams to transfer data across the network. This will allow the protocol to send the data quickly, as the packets are small.
• HOL blocking absent – The new protocol will avoid the phenomenon known as HOL blocking. This problem only occurs when the protocol implements in-order packet delivery. Consequently the new protocol does not implement in-order delivery.
• Minimal Congestion Control – For multimedia applications, congestion control mechanisms similar to those used in TCP may effect the performance of the application. This is fundamentally because congestion control mechanisms tend to decrease the rate at which the protocol is sending packets if the network is congested. Consequently the application ends up with delays in the incoming data, which effects the performance.
  

The protocol was tested in the Network simulator and simulated using the Network Animator. The results of these tests prove that the protocol was successful.