URLM: Utilising reinforcement learning to schedule subflows in MPTCP

Abstract

Summary Parallel transmission in multiple access networks using MultiPath TCP (MPTCP) greatly enhances the throughput. However, critical packet disorder is commonly observed due to traffic fluctuation and path diversity. Although several predictive scheduling algorithms have been proposed to solve this problem, they cannot accommodate prediction accuracy and real‐time adaptation simultaneously in a dynamic network environment. The time overhead in modifying scheduling parameters to adapt to network changes leads to performance degradation in throughput and packet disorder. In this study, we propose a scheduling algorithm called Utilising Reinforcement Learning to Schedule Subflows in MPTCP (URLM). We apply reinforcement learning to select an optimal scheduling parameter in real time, which brings significant time benefits for modifying the parameters. The simulation comparison experiments show that URLM reduces the average number of out‐of‐order packets and the time overhead in adapting to network changes while improving global throughput.