Scheduling TCP-friendly flows over a satellite network

We discuss in this paper basic requirements of an RCST gateway supporting VoIP traffic without strict QoS provisioning. Besides easing the system design, a QoS management not based on reservation is suitable to accomplish changes in traffic scenarios and to support new applications. The main elements of this architecture are illustrated throughout the paper following a layered structure. A preliminary set of simulations is presented to point out benefits and to identify major issues. Implications of buffer management, different scheduling algorithms, and bandwidth allocation protocols are analysed.