Multipath TCP proxies
- Network operators want to leverage the unique capabilities of Multipath TCP for two main types of use cases:
- aggregate the bandwidth of heterogenous paths such as xDSL and cellular to support Hybrid Access Networks
- seamless handovers and cellular/Wi-Fi offload for smartphones and mobile devices
The Broadband Forum and 3GPP have standardised solutions architectures that rarely on Multipath TCP proxies to support those service since servers rarely support Multipath TCP. We had identified this problem several years ago and proposed efficient Multipath TCP proxies in Multipath in the Middle(Box) in 2013.
To enable network operators to deploy such proxies, it was important to document them in IETF RFCs. Despite the simplicity of the idea, it took several years of effort to convince the IETF of documenting this approach in the 0-RTT TCP Convert Protocol that is now published as RFC 8803.