Optimal packet size for maximum throughput in space Internet

The future satellite communication is expected to merge all the services including Internet, mobile communication, multimedia applications etc. TCP do not perform well in satellite channel due to the unpredictable environmental conditions. The main reason for the degradation of throughput in Internet is congestion. Several algorithms have been developed to improve the throughput for Internet traffic. In contrast to wired networks, the degradation of throughput in satellite channel is not only caused by the congestion, but also due to high BER of the radio channels, limited bandwidth and also the asymmetric nature of the channels etc. The algorithms, mechanisms and architecture of wired channel cannot be directly applicable for satellite channel with out proper analysis.;The default packet size of the terrestrial Internet is not optimal for space communication due to the environmental differences. This thesis studies the optimal packet size for maximum throughput for future space Internet. The study is done by evaluating the throughput performance of various packet sizes over the simulated symmetric and asymmetric LEO/GEO-satellite links using the SGLS test-bed. To achieve high throughput it is suggested to tune the channel to the packet size much smaller than the default size of 1500 bytes according to bit-error-rate and link delay experienced by the link.