SCTP - An analysis of proposed implementations

Sammanfattning: There are several weaknesses in the popular transport protocol TCP (Transmission Control Protocol). A possible replacement to TCP would be the newer protocol SCTP (Steam Control Transmission Protocol). This thesis presents three different proposed implementations of SCTP: HTTP over SCTP, online games over SCTP and IP mobility over SCTP. The proposed implementations are analyzed, based on relevant literature, and recommendations are issued on the importance of moving forward with them. The result of the thesis is that HTTP over SCTP is recommended. SCTP features such as multi-streaming, multi-homing and the four-way handshake addresses the inherent weaknesses with using TCP for HTTP traffic. IP mobility over SCTP is also recommended since it results in lower delay in the handover process compared to MIPv6 (Mobile IPv6). Online games over SCTP, however, is not recommended since the existing implementations of SCTP results in poor latency for the kind of traffic online games produce.