Tcp Performance Using Splitting over the Satellite Link

Satellites represent a well-assessed approach for delivering broadband service. Several satellite systems either currently operating or in various stages of development intend to support applications with increasing data-rates. Of course, to achieve success, these systems must provide Internet services requiring the support of Internet protocols, especially TCP. Unfortunately, TCP suffers from a number of problems when used with satellite links due to high errors and high delays. The problem becomes more severe if, using GEO architectures, longer delay and more frequent errors occur with larger bandwidth. One possible approach to solve this problem foresees dividing TCP connections into segments, or splitting the connection. This paper takes this approach one step further by exploring the use of a TCP proxy on board a satellite for the purpose of enhancing end-to-end TCP performance, subdividing end-to-end application paths into separate uplink and downlink TCP connections. To this aim we will focus upon using memory resources on board the satellite. We will demonstrate that an on-board proxy approach provides a number of advantages, especially for scenarios that include GEO constellations, multiple satellite segments and multicast applications. To further study this architecture, we employ the use of network simulation to demonstrate potential performance gains.