Small remote islands often rely on satellites forInternet access, a scenario especially common in the author’s own“backyard,” the South Pacific. In most cases, a local InternetService Provider (ISP) on the island connects via a narrowbandsatellite link carrying IP traffic from and to some mainlandteleport connected to the wider Internet. The ISP then providesthis connectivity to end users via a comparatively low-latencynetwork on the island. Users on such links commonly reportproblems with downloads even when ISPs report significantspare link capacity.This paper reports on the design of a hardware-basedsimulator capable of simulating such traffic scenarios and theconsiderations underpinning its design
