Data delivery delay and cross-layer packet size analysis for reliable transmission of Licklider transmission protocol in space networks

Abstract

Delay/disruption tolerant networking (DTN) is proposed as a networking architecture to overcome challenging space communication characteristics for reliable data transmission service in presence of long propagation delays and/or lengthy link disruptions. Bundle protocol (BP) and Licklider Transmission Protocol (LTP) are the main key technologies for DTN. LTP red transmission offers a reliable transmission mechanism for space networks. One of the key metrics used to measure the performance of LTP in space applications is the end-to-end data delivery delay, which is influenced by factors such as the quality of spatial channels and the size of cross-layer packets. In this paper, an end-to-end reliable data delivery delay model of LTP red transmission is proposed using a roulette wheel algorithm, and the roulette wheel algorithm is more in line with the typical random characteristics in space networks. The proposed models are validated through real data transmission experiments on a semi-physical testing platform. Furthermore, the impact of cross-layer packet size on the performance of LTP reliable transmission is analyzed, with a focus on bundle size, block size, and segment size. The analysis and study results presented in this paper offer valuable contributions towards enhancing the reliability of LTP transmission in space communication scenarios.