Evaluating TCP/IP performance over satellite networks

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Interest in TCP/IP as a communication protocol for use in space communication hasincreased substantially with the growth of the world wide web (WWW). TCP/IP is arelevant communication protocol for space based communication systems that need toaccess the broader terrestrial communication network.Low Earth Orbit(LEO) satellites have very short delay times between themselves andthe ground, and correspondingly very short connection times. Staying in contact with aLEO satellite continuously through a space-based network requires large constellations ofsatellites and complex routing strategies.Connectivity with the world wide web using a widely accepted protocol such as TCP/IPis desirable because it would make communication with the satellite over a terrestrialstation possible, were it to route communication onto the WWW.This thesis looks at the expected TCP/IP performance over satellite network links, identifiesproblem areas for current TCP/IP technologies, and makes suggestions for optimizingTCP/IP over such links.The thesis also introduces a new performance benchmark, the equivalence level, allowingfor the simplified description of TCP throughput behaviour over a broad range of networkparameters. The performance of the Linux kernel release 2.4.18 TCP/IP stack is alsoevaluated.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University