California Institute of Technology computer scientists have developed a new data transfer protocol for the Internet fast enough to download a full-length DVD movie in less than five seconds. The protocol is called FAST, standing for Fast Active queue management Scalable Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). The researchers have achieved a speed of 8,609 megabits per second (Mbps) by using 10 simultaneous flows of data over routed paths, the largest aggregate throughput ever accomplished in such a configuration. More importantly, the FAST protocol sustained this speed using standard packet size, stably over an extended period on shared networks in the presence of background traffic, making it adaptable for deployment on the world's high-speed production networks.

Internet traffic is controlled by a system called Transmission Control Protocol which was developed in the 1970s and breaks down files into small packets of about 1500 bytes. "The sending computer transmits a pack, waits for a signal from the recipient that acknowledges its safe arrival, and then sends the next packet," New Scientist magazine said on Wednesday. But if there is no reply, the packet is sent repeatedly at successively slower speeds until it arrives. So minor problems can make connections sluggish. "The difference (in Fast TCP) is in the software and hardware on the sending computer, which continually measures the time it takes for sent packets to arrive and how long acknowledgements take to come back," the magazine added. News sources: Wired, California Institute of Technology, New Scientist Magazine Background: FAST TCP: From Theory To Experiments PDF