Abstract
Space communications are continuously challenged by extreme conditions that include large propagation delays, intermittent connectivity, and random losses. To combat these problems, the Licklider Transmission Protocol (LTP) splits data blocks into small segments that are radiated independently and retransmitted as needed, through a process that can be paused during long link disruptions. Given the extreme delays involved, the end performance of this protocol is driven by the number of transmission rounds needed to successfully deliver each block. LTP links are defined as overlays with one or more physical channels in the underlay, therefore with sections that may be on different administrative domains and experiencing different conditions. The question of how to select the length of the segments has received negligible attention and the use of improper values can easily lead to suboptimal performance. The segmentation process used by LTP is examined in this paper to determine the role that segmentation parameters and the conditions of the underlay have on the block delivery times. This goal is achieved through the definition of a basic model of LTP’s transmission process that allows deriving the optimal segmentation parameter. Simulation results provide additional evidence of LTP’s performance contrasting the results of the optimal segment length with fixed-length segments. The results provide a theoretical performance reference for practical parameter optimization methods.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
The Interplanetary Overlay Network (ION) software distribution: ION-DTN. https://sourceforge.net/projects/ion-dtn. Accessed 01 Apr 2018
Basagni, S., Petrioli, C., Petroccia, R., Stojanovic, M.: Optimized packet size selection in underwater wireless sensor network communications. IEEE J. Ocean. Eng. 37, 321–337 (2012)
Bisio, I., Marchese, M.: Analytical expression and performance evaluation of TCP packet loss probability over geostationary satellite. IEEE Commun. Lett. 8(4), 232–234 (2004)
Caini, C., Cornice, P., Firrincieli, R., Livini, M., Lacamera, D.: Analysis of TCP and DTN retransmission algorithms in presence of channel disruptions. In: 2009 First International Conference on Advances in Satellite and Space Communications, pp. 174–179, July 2009
Wang, R., Burleigh, S.C., Parikh, P., Lin, C.J., Sun, B.: Licklider Transmission Protocol (LTP)-based DTN for cislunar communications. IEEE/ACM Trans. Netw. 19(2), 359–368 (2011). http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TNET.2010.2060733
Wang, D.: Performance of Licklider Transmission Protocol (LTP) in LEO-satellite communications with link disruptions. In: 2016 IEEE 15th International Conference on Cognitive Informatics Cognitive Computing (ICCI*CC), pp. 154–159, August 2016
Wang, R., Reshamwala, A., Zhang, Q., Zhang, Z., Guo, Q., Yang, M.: The effect of “window size” on throughput performance of DTN in lossy cislunar communications. In: 2012 IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), pp. 68–72, June 2012
Bezirgiannidis, N., Burleigh, S., Tsaoussidis, V.: Delivery time estimation for space bundles. IEEE Trans. Aerosp. Electron. Syst. 49(3), 1897–1910 (2013)
Wei, Z., Wang, R., Zhang, Q., Hou, J.: Aggregation of DTN bundles for channel asymmetric space communications. In: 2012 IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), pp. 5205–5209, June 2012
Wang, R., Modi, B., Zhang, Q., Hou, J., Guo, Q., Yang, M.: Use of a hybrid of DTN convergence layer adapters (CLAs) in interplanetary Internet. In: ICC, pp. 3296–3300. IEEE (2012)
Wang, R., Wu, X., Wang, T., Liu, X., Zhou, L.: TCP convergence layer-based operation of DTN for long-delay cislunar communications. IEEE Syst. J. 4(3), 385–395 (2010)
Farrell, S., Cahill, V.: Evaluating ltp-t: a DTN-friendly transport protocol. In: 2007 International Workshop on Satellite and Space Communications, pp. 178–181, September 2007
Alessi, N., Burleigh, S.C., Caini, C., de Cola, T.: LTP robustness enhancements to cope with high losses on space channels. In: 8th Advanced Satellite Multimedia Systems Conference and the 14th Signal Processing for Space Communications Workshop, ASMS/SPSC 2016, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 5–7 September 2016, pp. 1–6 (2016)
Iannicca, D., Hylton, A., Ishac, J.: A performance evaluation of NACK-oriented protocols as the foundation of reliable Delay-Tolerant Networking convergence layers. NASA technical memorandum (2012)
Shi, L., et al.: Integration of reed-solomon codes to Licklider Transmission Protocol (LTP) for space DTN. IEEE Aerosp. Electron. Syst. Mag. 32(4), 48–55 (2017)
Bezirgiannidis, N., Tsaoussidis, V.: Packet size and DTN transport service: evaluation on a DTN testbed. In: International Congress on Ultra Modern Telecommunications and Control Systems, pp. 1198–1205, October 2010
Carek, D.A.: Packet-based protocol efficiency for wireless communications. JACIC 2, 238–251 (2005)
Korhonen, J., Wang, Y.: Effect of packet size on loss rate and delay in wireless links. In: IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference, WCNC, vol. 3, pp. 1608–1613, April 2005
Lu, H., Jiang, F., Wu, J., Chen, C.W.: Performance improvement in DTNs by packet size optimization. IEEE Trans. Aerosp. Electron. Syst. 51(4), 2987–3000 (2015)
Lent, R.: A cognitive networking technique for LTP segmentation. In: The International Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing Conference, June 2020
Burleigh, S., Ramadas, M., Farrell, S.: Licklider Transmission Protocol - motivation. RFC 5325, RFC Editor, September 2008
Ramadas, M., Burleigh, S., Farrell, S.: Licklider Transmission Protocol - specification. RFC 5326, RFC Editor, September 2008
Farrell, S., Ramadas, M., Burleigh, S.: Licklider Transmission Protocol - security extensions. RFC 5327, RFC Editor, September 2008
Lent, R.: Regulating the block loss ratio of the Licklider Transmission Protocol. In: 2018 IEEE 23rd International Workshop on Computer Aided Modeling and Design of Communication Links and Networks (CAMAD), pp. 1–6, September 2018
Lent, R.: Analysis of bundle throughput over LTP. In: 2018 IEEE 43rd Conference on Local Computer Networks (LCN). pp. 271–274 (October 2018)
Acknowledgment
The author would like to thank Gilbert Clark at NASA Glenn Research Center for his useful comments on this research. This work was supported by an Early Career Faculty grant from NASA’s Space Technology Research Grants Program.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Lent, R. (2020). Analysis of the Block Segmentation Method of the Licklider Transmission Protocol. In: Gaj, P., Gumiński, W., Kwiecień, A. (eds) Computer Networks. CN 2020. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1231. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50719-0_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50719-0_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-50718-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-50719-0
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)