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What is "back-to-back" packets?

wwjjj
Level 1
Level 1

 

Many articles use the expression "back-to-back" packets, but I have no clue what it is at all.

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Accepted Solutions

Hello,

 

the general meaning is 'consecutive, in succession', that is, one packet is sent after another. In what specific context did you hear about this ?

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Joseph W. Doherty
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

Generally "back-to-back" also implies packets are not only 'consecutive, in succession', as @Georg Pauwen describes, but they are grouped such that there's no time lag between them, as shown in @wwjjj post.  I.e.each packet is transmitted as rapidly as the medium will allow and they are, indeed, also physically, "back-to-back".

However, sometimes "back-to-back" might just denote they were transmitted "back-to-back", at source, but have medium gaps or other packets between packets of the same flow when they arrive at the destination.

An example of the latter, source transmits two packets "back-to-back" at 100 Mbps, but are delivered to the destination on a gig link.  At source transmission might look like [....P1....][....P2....] but at destination [P1]........[P2].........  As gig takes 1/10 the time to transmit at FE, we now have time gaps between the packets, which could allow another packet, or packets, during that time.  E.g. [P1]...[Q#]...[P2].........  NB: Q# is a different flow's packet interleaved with P's packets.

 

View solution in original post

3 Replies 3

Hello,

 

the general meaning is 'consecutive, in succession', that is, one packet is sent after another. In what specific context did you hear about this ?

I saw this expression many times, but cannot remember all of them. 

The most recent one is in this paper,

Sinem Coleri Ergen, Mustafa Ergen, Ahmad Bahai,"HEARW¡ P: EnHanced MEdium Access ContRol Protocol for Wireless Voice over IP",

 

Sending-Packets-Back-to-back-in-one-TXOP-duration.png

 

 

Joseph W. Doherty
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

Generally "back-to-back" also implies packets are not only 'consecutive, in succession', as @Georg Pauwen describes, but they are grouped such that there's no time lag between them, as shown in @wwjjj post.  I.e.each packet is transmitted as rapidly as the medium will allow and they are, indeed, also physically, "back-to-back".

However, sometimes "back-to-back" might just denote they were transmitted "back-to-back", at source, but have medium gaps or other packets between packets of the same flow when they arrive at the destination.

An example of the latter, source transmits two packets "back-to-back" at 100 Mbps, but are delivered to the destination on a gig link.  At source transmission might look like [....P1....][....P2....] but at destination [P1]........[P2].........  As gig takes 1/10 the time to transmit at FE, we now have time gaps between the packets, which could allow another packet, or packets, during that time.  E.g. [P1]...[Q#]...[P2].........  NB: Q# is a different flow's packet interleaved with P's packets.

 

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