Congestion collapse
In data networking and queueing theory, network congestion occurs when incremental increases in offered load lead either only to small increases in network throughput, or to an actual reduction in network throughput.
Network protocols which use aggressive TCP network protocol over parts of the very early Internet. Congestion collapse is a condition where a system such as a data network has settled under load into a state where traffic demand is high but little useful throughput is available, with high levels of packet loss, delay, and delay variation.
Experience of widespread congestion collapse in the Internet in 1987 led to further improvements of the TCP congestion control mechanisms.
Modern networks use congestion control and network congestion avoidance techniques to try to avoid congestion collapse.
These include exponential backoff in protocols such as TCP and Ethernet, and fair queueing in devices such as routers.
RFC 2914 addresses the subject of congestion control in detail.
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