ABR congestion control in ATM networks and proposal of EPRCAM

The Available Bit Rate (ABR) service of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks employs explicit rate notification algorithms to ensure better and fair distribution of available bandwidth among contending sources. The Enhanced Proportional Rate Control Algorithm (EPRCA) is one of the explicit rate control algorithms recommended by the ATM forum. In this paper, we identify deficiencies and problems associated with EPRCA and show that these cause unfairness in bandwidth utilization by the contending sources. We propose modification in EPRCA and call it Modified Enhanced Proportional Rate Control Algorithm (EPRCAM). We will argue and show through simulation results that EPRCAM leads to better link utilization and fair bandwidth allocation among contending sources. In our simulation model, EPRCAM results in as high as 97.8% link utilization without cell loss.