Kind of partially reliable transmission method based on hidden Markov model

A reliable transmission method based on a hidden Markov model (HMM model) to handle a quality and a real-time problem of a delay-sensitive video service over lossy satellite links, the method comprising:

• Step 1:
• Presenting a specification definition of the HMM model, including
• using the HMM model to forecast a retransmission rate;
• using an underlying network packet loss rate as a hidden state of the HMM model;
• using the retransmission rate as an observation state;
• by analyzing historically transmitted data sessions, establishing a relationship between a hidden state transition probability and an emission probability, and obtaining a robust and efficient retransmission rate prediction, such that:
• a random variable Wt is defined as the retransmission rate in a time period t;
• wt is defined as an actual retransmission rate measured in a network;
• Ŵt indicates a predicted value of the random variable Wt;
• a retransmission rate of a strategy Wt is changing with a variation of hidden state variables Xt∈χ, where χ∈{x1, x2, . . . , xN} represents a set of possible discrete state sequences and N=|χ| indicates a number of states;
• the hidden state variables Xt are a random variable and a probability distribution is defined as a vector π=(P(Xt=x1), . . . , P(Xt=xN));
• a current state varies with a Markov process, where a probability distribution of the current state is determined by a state of a previous period, expressed as P(Xt|Xt−1, . . . , X1)=P(Xt|Xt−1);
• a defined transition probability matrix is P={Pij}, where Pij=P(Xt=xi|Xt−1=xj), and πt+τ =πtPτ;
• and
• when a hidden state Xt is given, a probability distribution function (pdf) of the network packet loss rate follows the Gaussian distribution function:
• Wt|Xt=x˜N(μx, σx2);
• Step 2:
• Executing an offline training phase, including, when the number of states N is given and a training data set is Set (Ms*, s), utilizing a maximum likelihood estimation algorithm to calculate the parameters of the HMM model, which can be expressed by the equation θHMM={π0, P, {(μx, σx2), x∈χ}};
• Step 3:
• Executing an online prediction stage, including
• a prediction initialization including:
• providing a Set (Ms*, s) as a most matching feature for a transmission of flow s, which is defined as Ŵ1=Median (Set (Ms*, s)), where Set(Ms*, s) is a mean value of a data set and an initial network packet loss rate;
• a forecast phase including:
• in the time period t, providing an updated pdf of the HMM model, then according to a Markov feature, calculating the pdf of a current time period using the equation πt|1:t−1=πt−1|1:t−1P, and calculating the predicted retransmission rate Ŵt;
• and
• a parameter update of the HMM model including:
• when the network packet loss rate Wt=wt, and πt|1:t−1 are provided, using a Baum-Welch algorithm to update the parameters of the HMM model, such that πt|1:t−1 is updated as πt|1:t−1, and Pij is updated as Pij;
• Step 4:
• Executing Congestion Control, including
• a rate control for a video flow including:
• when a receiver uses the HMM model to determine a retransmission rate of a video, the receiver returning adaptive ACK feedback packets;
• and
• when a sender receives the adaptive ACK feedback packets, an APRT protocol congestion window control adopting loss based congestion indicators, and a cubic window growth function, which is defined in Cubic TCP, so as to update a congestion window increase;
• a fast retransmission including:
• when the network is in a non-congested state, the receiver returning almost all of the adaptive ACK feedback packets of all received data, and the sender performing fast retransmission after receiving duplicated adaptive ACK feedback packets or a timeout as a traditional transport protocol;
• when the network is predicted to be in a poor or a congested state, the receiver retransmitting the adaptive ACK feedback packets partially, and the sender only performing fast retransmission for confirmed lost packets;
• and
• when the network is predicted to be in extreme conditions, including when the network is in an idle time, regarding an APRT protocol as a completely reliable transmission protocol as a TCP protocol.