Enhancing transport layer in satellite systems

Satellite networks play a fundamental role in the provision of a broadband and global Internet access. Nonetheless, features of satellite systems imply worse performance of transport protocols, actually more suitable for wired terrestrial networks. In particular, TCP and UDP need enhancements to improve performance in various communication scenarios including both a satellite stand-alone network and satellite- terrestrial integrated networks. This paper addresses three specific study cases where performance of transport layer protocols is degraded. Analysis and performance evaluation have been carried out through two different platforms: a simulator based on Ns-2 and a Linux-based emulator.