Robust QUIC-Based Signalling for WebRTC in Impaired Networks

Serreli, Luigi;Bingol, Gulnaziye;Porcu, Simone;Floris, Alessandro;Martalo, Marco

2023-01-01

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Abstract

WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) has significantly impacted real-time communication in online applications, but the need for standardised signalling protocols still poses significant challenges to its full potential. This paper investigates the impact of using the QUIC (Quick UDP Internet Connections) protocol at the transport layer for signalling and information exchange in WebRTC. A new QUIC-based signalling server for WebRTC is proposed to address the challenge of establishing robust connections between peers in poor network conditions by leveraging the benefits of QUIC. To demonstrate its effectiveness, the performance of the proposed QUIC server is compared with that of the WebSocket-based signalling system, implemented by standard WebRTC solutions, across a network impaired by controlled network distortions, i.e., delay and packet loss. The results show that the proposed QUIC server provides a more robust and efficient solution (i.e., connection is always established and the average connection time is largely reduced) for WebRTC signalling in challenging network conditions.