Application Layer Protocols for Disruption Tolerant Remote Sensor SATCOM Links

There is a critical need for commercial and military remote sensor links to function effectively over unreliable SATCOM Internet Protocol (IP) Service channels caused by disruptive conditions (for example lossy, disrupted, intermittent, limited, and/or targeted-attack) with high link-error rates and severe loss of end-to-end (E2E) connectivity. Considerable research has been devoted to Delay- and Disruption-Tolerant Network Protocols (D/DTN) in the context of deep space and MILCOM applications. This research developed paradigms for asynchronous interaction, additional inter-networking layers, and improving communications with connectivity disruptions. The paper focuses on a complementary IP Suite Application-layer approach that is applicable to packet data exfiltration (Exfil) and control (Infil) via commercial and military SATCOM systems from mobile or fixed sensors. It describes a set of integrated Application-layer protocols and processes running on sensor and destination hosts that operate through most encryption and privacy wrappers and positively impact the two essential E2E Quality of Service (QoS) metrics: probability of successful packet delivery and delivery timeline. They are especially useful for remote sensing capabilities that can function effectively with increases in delivery timelines while meeting packet delivery guarantees. Examples are provided for disruptions characterized by high bit-error-rate (BER), packet error-rate (PER), and loss of end-to-end connectivity during continuous Exfil/Infil operations.