US Patent 7168022 Transmission control method and system

A first elapsed time from transmission of a data segment until receipt of an acknowledgement is measured. A probability distribution of the first elapsed time is generated for a client device 50 on the basis of the measured first elapsed time. A second elapsed time from retransmission of a data segment until receipt of an acknowledgement is measured. A probability distribution of the second elapsed time is generated for a client device 50 on the basis of the measured first elapsed time. An estimation is made as to whether an acknowledgment pertains to which data segment on the basis of the generated probability distribution.