Title :
PETRA: performance enhancing transport architecture for Satellite communications
Author :
Marchese, Mario ; Rossi, Michele ; Morabito, Giacomo
Author_Institution :
DIST-Univ. of Genoa Res. Unit, Italy
Abstract :
This paper presents a performance enhancing transport architecture for the satellite environment. This solution improves the network transport performance by overcoming the limits imposed by a transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP)-based stack suite, while maintaining the interfaces offered by it. This is an important issue since TCP/IP is widely used and most of the applications are based on it. The work starts from the state-of-the-art about the transport layer over satellite by distinguishing two alternative frameworks: the black box (BB) and the complete knowledge (CK) approaches. In the former, the network is considered as a "black box" and only modifications in the terminal tools are permitted. In the latter, the complete control of any network element is allowed so as a performance optimization procedure is possible. The proposed architecture [called Performance Enhancing Transport Architecture (PETRA)] is designed in all details using the second approach. PETRA uses network elements, called relay entities, to isolate the satellite portions in case of heterogeneous networks, while a transport layer protocol stack is used to optimize the transport of information over satellite links. A special satellite transport protocol, that is part of the transport layer protocol stack, is used over such links to perform error recovery. Simulation results show that the proposed framework significantly enhances throughput performance.
Keywords :
optimisation; satellite links; transport protocols; TCP/IP; black box; complete knowledge approach; delay effect; error recovery; heterogeneous network; information transport optimization; interface maintaining; network element control; network transport performance improvement; performance enhancing transport architecture; performance optimization procedure; relay entity; satellite communication; satellite link; satellite portion isolation; satellite transport protocol; terminal tool; transmission control protocol/Internet protocol; transport layer protocol stack; Artificial satellites; Communication system control; Helium; IP networks; Optimization; Relays; Satellite communication; TCPIP; Throughput; Transport protocols;
Journal_Title :
Selected Areas in Communications, IEEE Journal on
DOI :
10.1109/JSAC.2003.819981