Medium access control protocols performance in satellite communications

Author

Peyravi, Hassan

Author_Institution

Kent State Univ., OH, USA

Volume

37

Issue

3

fYear

1999

fDate

3/1/1999 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

62

Lastpage

71

Abstract

Medium access control protocols are at the core of all forms of electronic communications systems. MAC protocols are designed to coordinate the transmission of packets, retransmission of damaged packets, and resolution of collisions among stations during a contention period. MAC protocols are foundations in low-level network architecture and play a significant role in the performance of higher-level protocols such as multiservices and multimedia application protocols. In this article five classes of MAC protocols are investigated with respect to their applications in satellite communications. These classes include fixed assignments, demand assignment, random access, hybrid random access and reservation, and adaptive protocols. Among several QoS objectives described in high-speed networking and the limitations inherent in satellite communications systems, in this article a set of important performance criteria are identified and used to evaluate different MAC protocols for satellite communications. The performance criteria include high channel throughput, low transmission delay, channel stability, protocol scalability, channel reconfigurability, broadband applicability, and low complexity of the control algorithm. For this, a simulation study is performed among selected MAC protocols from different classes, and their performances have been evaluated for NASA´s Mars Regional Network

Keywords

access protocols; multi-access systems; packet radio networks; quality of service; satellite communication; MAC protocols; NASA Mars Regional Network; adaptive protocols; broadband applicability; channel reconfigurability; channel stability; collisions; complexity; control algorithm; demand assignment; fixed assignments; high channel throughput; high-speed networking; higher-level protocols; hybrid random access reservation class; low transmission delay; low-level network architecture; medium access control protocols performance; packets; protocol scalability; random access; satellite communications; Access protocols; Communication system control; Delay; High-speed networks; Media Access Protocol; Performance evaluation; Satellite communication; Scalability; Stability criteria; Throughput;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Communications Magazine, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0163-6804

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/35.751497

Filename

751497