Dynamic resource allocation based on a TCP-MAC cross-layer approach for interactive satellite networks

DVB-RCS is an open standard for interactive broadband satellite services. According to the standard, interactive terminals communicate with the network control center through the return channel adopting MF-TDMA. In this scenario, classical bandwidth allocation schemes do not take into account TCP evolution, leading to sub-optimal performance when TCP-based traffic share the return link. A cross-layer approach, based on exchange of information between not-adjacent layers, can help to improve efficiency. This paper presents an innovative allocation algorithm based on a cross-layer interaction between TCP and MAC layers. Such an algorithm aims to synchronize the requests of resources with the TCP transmission window trend. The obtained results show that our scheme permits both to reduce the delay, to increase the utilization of air interface resource and to achieve a fair share of resources among competing flows.