Experimental performance of DCCP over live satellite and long range wireless links

We present experimental results for the performance over satellite and long range wireless (WiMax) links of the new TCP-Friendly Rate Control (TFRC) congestion control mechanism from the Datagram Congestion Control Protocol (DCCP) proposed for use with real-time traffic. We evaluate the performance of the standard DCCP/CCID3 algorithm and identify two problem areas: the measured DCCP/CCID3 rate is inferior to the rate achievable with standard TCP and a significant rate oscillation continuously occurs making the resulting rate variable even in the short term. We analyse the links and identify the potential causes, i.e. long and variable delay and link errors. As a second contribution, we propose a change in the DCCP/CCID3 algorithm in which the number of feedback messages is increased from the currently standard of at least one per return trip time. Although it is recognised that the increase in control traffic may decrease the overall efficiency, we demonstrate that the change results in higher data rates which are closer to what is achievable with TCP on those networks and that the overhead introduced remains acceptable

Enhancing QUIC over Satellite Networks

The use of Satellite Communication (SATCOM) networks for broadband connectivity has recently seen an increase in popularity due to, among other factors, the rise of the latest generations of cellular networks (5G/6G) and the deployment of high-throughput satellites. In parallel, major advances have been witnessed in the context of the transport layer: first, the standardization and early deployment of QUIC, a new-generation and general-purpose transport protocol; and second, modern congestion control proposals such as the Bottleneck Bandwidth and Round-trip propagation time (BBR) algorithm. Even though satellite links introduce several challenges for transport layer mechanisms, mainly due to their long propagation delay, satellite Internet providers have relied on TCP connection-splitting solutions implemented by Performance-Enhancing Proxies (PEPs) to greatly overcome many of these challenges. However, due to QUIC's fully encrypted nature, these performance-boosting solutions become nearly impossible for QUIC traffic, leaving it in great disadvantage when competing against TCP-PEP. In this context, IETF QUIC WG contributors are currently investigating this matter and suggesting new solutions that can help improve QUIC's performance over SATCOM. This thesis aims to study some of these proposals and evaluate them through experimentation using a real network testbed and an emulated satellite link

Network emulation focusing on QoS-Oriented satellite communication

This chapter proposes network emulation basics and a complete case study of QoS-oriented Satellite Communication

On the quality of VoIP with DCCP for satellite communications

We present experimental results for the performance of selected voice codecs using DCCP with CCID4 congestion control over a satellite link. We evaluate the performance of both constant and variable data rate speech codecs for a number of simultaneous calls using the ITU E-model. We analyse the sources of packet losses and additionally analyse the effect of jitter which is one of the crucial parameters contributing to VoIP quality and has, to the best of our knowledge, not been considered previously in the published DCCP performance results. We propose modifications to the CCID4 algorithm and demonstrate how these improve the VoIP performance, without the need for additional link information other than what is already monitored by CCID4. We also demonstrate the fairness of the proposed modifications to other flows. Although the recently adopted changes to TFRC specification alleviate some of the performance issues for VoIP on satellite links, we argue that the characteristics of commercial satellite links necessitate consideration of further improvements. We identify the additional benefit of DCCP when used in VoIP admission control mechanisms and draw conclusions about the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed DCCP/CCID4 congestion control mechanism for use with VoIP applications

Online Gaming Performance Evaluation over Starlink Satellite Broadband

This thesis studies the performance and the Quality of Experience (QoE) of online gaming over the Starlink satellite network and compares it to terrestrial access technologies. Satellite broadband provides an opportunity to play games online from areas where traditional access networks are insufficient or not available. Modern games require certain standards of network performance, and games of different game genres have different requirements for certain metrics. Said met- rics and how Starlink performs are investigated in this thesis. Our work provides results from experimental scenarios in two games from different game genres. The objective of this work is to evaluate the performance of online gaming through Starlink, and if the QoE meets the expectations of players

Online Gaming Performance Evaluation over Starlink Satellite Broadband

This thesis studies the performance and the Quality of Experience (QoE) of online gaming over the Starlink satellite network and compares it to terrestrial access technologies. Satellite broadband provides an opportunity to play games online from areas where traditional access networks are insufficient or not available. Modern games require certain standards of network performance, and games of different game genres have different requirements for certain metrics. Said met- rics and how Starlink performs are investigated in this thesis. Our work provides results from experimental scenarios in two games from different game genres. The objective of this work is to evaluate the performance of online gaming through Starlink, and if the QoE meets the expectations of players

Online Gaming Performance Evaluation over Starlink Satellite Broadband

This thesis studies the performance and the Quality of Experience (QoE) of online gaming over the Starlink satellite network and compares it to terrestrial access technologies. Satellite broadband provides an opportunity to play games online from areas where traditional access networks are insufficient or not available. Modern games require certain standards of network performance, and games of different game genres have different requirements for certain metrics. Said metrics and how Starlink performs are investigated in this thesis. Our work provides results from experimental scenarios in two games from different game genres. The objective of this work is to evaluate the performance of online gaming through Starlink, and if the QoE meets the expectations of players

Towards the deployment of software defined networks over satellites - an in-laboratory demonstration for GEO satellite services

Traditional satellite communications missions are based on artificial satellites that can communicate with ground stations. This type of network provides wide-area coverage as well as resilient communications. Satellite systems are expected to be merged with the introduction of 5G/6G mobile systems to offer seamless connection and ubiquitous coverage for users worldwide. SDN/NFV are two of the most important enabling technologies for deploying new 5G/6G mobile network architectures, and they are widely used in telecommunications to deliver different services. Its method is based on network softwarization, which abstracts the physical infrastructure by separating the functionality of the hardware. Furthermore, using SDN, it is possible to reconfigure the network in flexible topologies that adapt to the performance necessary at any given time, thereby maximizing resources and lowering costs. SDN/NFV, on the other hand, relies on a strong and continuous network layer to construct a control plane and deploy VNF. However, establishing a stable link is difficult in constellations of several LEO/MEO satellites. TALENT is a software platform created with the purpose of supplying satellite and ground connection by coordinating satellite and terrestrial systems from a single location, developed under the SaTG5 project that defined the integration of satellite solutions for 5G. Regardless of these solutions, a robust testbed is required to help in the discovery of novel protocols for delivering and orchestrating network services over satellite networks that take dynamic network architecture on satellite constellations into account. This thesis addresses the lack of a testbed for deploying VNF via a satellite network, as well as the orchestration and deployment of VNF across various satellite constellations. Its main contribution is an update to TALENT to allow it to work with newer Open Source MANO versions, and a testbed for deploying a VNF across a simulated satellite network based on the OpenSand satellite simulation tool.Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::9 - Indústria, Innovació i Infraestructur

Satellite Networks: Architectures, Applications, and Technologies

Since global satellite networks are moving to the forefront in enhancing the national and global information infrastructures due to communication satellites' unique networking characteristics, a workshop was organized to assess the progress made to date and chart the future. This workshop provided the forum to assess the current state-of-the-art, identify key issues, and highlight the emerging trends in the next-generation architectures, data protocol development, communication interoperability, and applications. Presentations on overview, state-of-the-art in research, development, deployment and applications and future trends on satellite networks are assembled

Watching Stars in Pixels: The Interplay of Traffic Shaping and YouTube Streaming QoE over GEO Satellite Networks

Geosynchronous satellite (GEO) networks are a crucial option for users beyond terrestrial connectivity. However, unlike terrestrial networks, GEO networks exhibit high latency and deploy TCP proxies and traffic shapers. The deployment of proxies effectively mitigates the impact of high network latency in GEO networks, while traffic shapers help realize customer-controlled data-saver options that optimize data usage. It is unclear how the interplay between GEO networks' high latency, TCP proxies, and traffic-shaping policies affects the quality of experience (QoE) for commonly used video applications. To fill this gap, we analyze the quality of over $2$k YouTube video sessions streamed across a production GEO network with a $900$Kbps shaping rate. Given the average bit rates for the selected videos, we expected seamless streaming at $360$p or lower resolutions. However, our analysis reveals that this is not the case: $28\%$ of TCP sessions and $18\%$ of gQUIC sessions experience rebuffering events, while the median average resolution is only $380$p for TCP and $299$p for gQUIC. Our analysis identifies two key factors contributing to sub-optimal performance: (i)unlike TCP, gQUIC only utilizes $63\%$ of network capacity; and (ii)YouTube's imperfect chunk request pipelining. As a result of our study, the partner GEO ISP discontinued support for the low-bandwidth data-saving option in U.S. business and residential markets to avoid potential degradation of video quality -- highlighting the practical significance of our findings