[Bloat] lwn.net's tcp small queues vs wifi aggregation solved

[Jonathan Morton]

>> This is a case where inserting a teeny bit more latency to fill up the
>> queue (ugh!), or a driver having some way to ask the probability of
>> seeing more data in the
>> next 10us, or... something like that, could help.
> 
> Hmmn, that sounds like a pattern seen in physical switching systems: someone with knowledge that another car is coming (especially if it's  unexpected) waves a flag at the dispatcher to warn them to leave space and avoid a nasty ka-thump and the extra strain on the couplers (;-))

A more relevant railway analogy would be that a passenger train keeps its doors open while waiting for the departure signal to clear, permitting more passengers to board.  At large stations the crew will press a TRTS (Train Ready To Start) button on the platform about half a minute before departure time, to prompt setting of the departure route in time, but a conflicting movement may delay the signal actually clearing.

 - Jonathan Morton