Abstract
Adaptation of TCP for satellite links has been the subject of many research studies in the last decade. In many such studies, Performance Enhancing Proxies (PEPs) and modified TCP congestion control algorithms have been reported to considerably improve TCP performance over satellite systems. In parallel to Transport layer developments, Link layer mechanisms as well as satellite hardware design are also evolving, providing more reliable transmission and higher capacity utilisation. Under the new light of these evolutions, this paper presents a simulation campaign, comparing the performance of different TCP variants over a satellite network using PEPs. The second contribution of this paper is the performance assessment of a novel TCP congestion control mechanism based on cross-layer design. Cross-layer adaptation is a relatively new idea in network design, based on the vertical integration of protocol layers. Simulation results for this mechanism demonstrate the strong relationship between the Transport and Link layers and illustrate the benefits of joint analysis and design. © 2007 by University of Surrey.