The satellite transmission protocol of the universe project

Abstract

The Universe network uses a broadcast satellite channel to connect local area networks into a high speed wide area network. The satellite channel is scheduled using a packet TDMA scheme. Time allocation is controlled by one site acting as master, but is based on indications received from each participating site about its own requirements. The TDMA scheduling is thus based not on circuits or the requirements of individual packets, but on a picture of the distributed requirements of the network as a whole. The paper describes the protocol currently implemented on the Universe network and looks forward to a more general way of applying this technique.