Network Performance

 

TCP Optimization

TCP was never designed to be transmitted over a congested radio network such as GPRS, with the result that data flow is inefficient and throughput is greatly reduced. The throughput achieved will be much less than the theoretical maximum of your terminal even when used in optimum conditions. For example a three slot handset with a theoretical maximum of 43kbps will only achieve an average throughput of 20-30kbps.

The best place for a TCP Optimization box is on your operators GPRS network, but if you are running IPSEC virtual private networks you will not be able to benefit from the optimization, as the IPSEC prevents any changes to the data stream. In this case private optimization servers may be located behind the VPN firewall.

HTML Optimization

The download of web pages may be greatly increased by combining a number of techniques

	On-the-fly recompression of graphics - a slight reduction in quality may be observed
	Removal of unnecessary HTML commands/comments etc.
	Reordering of content to display words first
	Recompression of any sounds or streaming audio

 

HTML optimization is best done alongside the TCP optimization on the core GPRS network, but if you are using security encryption such as VPN, then you will need to invest in your own optimization box as the GPRS core network no longer has access to your data.

E-mail Optimization

E-mail receive: While it may be unacceptable to change the text part of an e-mail, any attachment may be compressed to speed download and presented either as a CAB or ZIP file. To utilise this will require support by your ISP or GPRS supplier, or by a third party service provide where you can redirect your emails from you ISP to the optimization POP server.

E-mail send: It is usually up to the user to compress any attachment using a program such as WINZIP to efficiently compress documents.