An analysis of TCP/IP in the CODE network

CODE (Co-Operative Data Experiment) is a VSAT (very small aperture satellite terminal) system for LAN interconnection which is operating as part of the Olympus Utilisation Programme funded by the European Space Agency. CODE was developed as a co-operative project to stimulate work in both 20/30 GHz technology and LAN interconnection in industry, universities, and research centres. In contrast to most commercially available VSAT LAN interconnect systems, CODE employs routers connecting individual remote LANs to a backbone network provided by the VSATs. The use of routers eases administration, and allows a level of performance enhancement which is not easily provided in a bridged network. The paper describes networking experiments performed using the CODE system and analyses the performance of the TCP/IP protocol suite connecting the remote LANs