Improving TCP Performance in Mix Networks

Abstract

The rapid usage of wireless technology and the rise of user privacy concerns, mix networks have been identified as a technology that could ensure users anonymity and protect user privacy. Many noticeable efforts have been presented signifying different approaches to balance between Anonymity and the quality of service (QoS) in mix networks, but all of these efforts have limitations that made them impractical solutions. In this paper, we analytically discuss TCP performance issues in flow-based mix networks and address how batching and reordering of packets in mix network can radically reduce TCP throughput, because of out-of-order packet delivery. We present a solution to improve the performance of the TCP by using an adaptive TCP's duplicate threshold dupthresh. Our proposed approach will not degrade the system anonymity degree since they do not change the underlying anonymity mechanism. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015.