Web application performance has long been a focal point for technology researchers and developers, with QUIC emerging as a promising protocol aimed at enhancing efficiency. However, new research highlights substantial performance concerns when QUIC is deployed over high-speed networks. The study reveals that QUIC’s UDP-based stack, when combined with HTTP/3, demonstrates a noticeable reduction in data rate compared to the traditional TCP-based stack with HTTP/2.
The research, conducted across various platforms and network conditions, found that QUIC’s performance degrades by up to 45.2% over fast Internet connections. This drop is not limited to file transfers but extends to applications such as video streaming and general web browsing. The study highlights a performance gap that widens with increased bandwidth, indicating that QUIC’s advantages might be less pronounced under optimal conditions.
Analysis across different web browsers—including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Opera—on both desktop and mobile platforms, alongside diverse network environments like wired broadband and cellular networks, underscores the broad impact of these performance issues. The study’s rigorous examination involved packet trace analysis and profiling in both kernel and user spaces, pinpointing high receiver-side processing overhead as the primary culprit.
The high receiver-side overhead is attributed to several factors. Notably, QUIC’s reliance on UDP introduces excessive data packets, which contributes to increased processing demands. Additionally, the protocol’s use of user-space acknowledgments (ACKs) exacerbates the issue, further impacting data transmission efficiency. These factors collectively lead to a significant reduction in performance, which is particularly evident in high-speed network scenarios.
The implications of these findings are substantial, especially for applications relying heavily on data transfer and streaming. For instance, video streaming services experience up to a 9.8% reduction in video bitrate, which can degrade user experience. Similarly, general web browsing shows measurable performance declines, affecting both load times and responsiveness.