Forward Erasure Correction Code for Short-Delay-Sensitive Messages at the QUIC

The current network protocols are designed for stable wired networks, but they struggle to perform optimally in wireless environments characterized by fluctuating round trip times, high packet losses, and connection migrations. Google's QUIC protocol, launched in 2012, offers a promising solution by providing higher performance than traditional TCP in practical engineering scenarios. The protocol's open-source nature allows for flexibility in adapting the network stack to specific application use cases. The objective of this study is to leverage the Google QUIC framework to achieve improvement in end-to-end delay for short-session scenarios. The study highlights the impact of packet losses in wireless networks, with loss rates ranging from 3.5% to 7% in congested areas. In a sequential exchange of small packets, the loss of any packet can prevent the session from completing, leading to service disruptions such as failed user authentication. Redundancy codes can enhance the reliability of data transmission by allowing the receiver to recover from errors without relying on successful retransmissions. This is particularly valuable in scenarios where retransmissions may themselves be prone to errors or further packet loss, which we discovered in this study and applied to real world applications.