IP-level satellite link emulation with KauNet

Abstract

Distributed applications and transport protocols communicating over a satellite link may react very strongly to conditions specific to that kind of link. Providing an evaluation framework to allow tests of real implementations of such software in that context is quite a challenging task. In this paper we show how the use of the general-purpose KauNet IP-level emulator combined with satellite-specific packet loss patterns can help by reproducing losses and delays experienced on a satellite link with a simple Ethernet LAN setup. We also describe a simple experimentation platform and how a typical demonstration is carried out. Such a platform is an essential tool for developers performing continuous testing as they provide new features for e.g. video codecs or transport-level software like DCCP and its congestion control components.