4 November 1999. Thanks to KC.
Source. http://outside.gsfc.nasa.gov/ESS/annual.reports/ess98/satnet.html

ESS Project                                 FY98 Annual Report

Objective

Facilitate and conduct research and evaluations of new high-performance computer networking protocols and related technologies that improve the interoperability of satellite and terrestrial networks.

Approach

Develop and demonstrate a high degree of interoperability between satellite- and terrestrial-based networks:

• Develop and evaluate enhancements to protocols such as ATM and TCP/IP
• Test and demonstrate new interface equipment hardware and software
• Utilize and showcase Advanced Communications Technology Satellite performance, especially its high-data-rate capabilities
• Extend HPCC network research program in Large-Scale Networks
• Open the TSTI to U.S. satellite and terrestrial communications carriers, equipment suppliers, and network providers

Accomplishments

Completed a baseline set of network measurements (http://everest.gsfc.nasa.gov/xtp.html and http://www.mentat.com/Documentation/white_papers/msat_data.html) comparing the throughput performance of the Express Transport Protocol and the Transmission Control Protocol, both with and without Selective Acknowledgments under various delay and bit error rate conditions. A diagram illustrating some of the results is provided below.

Involved the GSFC TSTI/High-End Computer Network (HECN) testbed as a lead participant in the National Security Agency (NSA)-sponsored Security Proof of Concept Keystone Project to evaluate Storage Technology/Network Systems Group's ATM Line Access and Security ATM firewall units among the Defense Information Systems Agency, GSFC, NASA Lewis Research Center, and NSA across parts of their respective connections with the Advanced Technology Demonstration Network and the NASA Research and Education Network, with the Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute and Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory as observers and the Naval Research Laboratory providing some operations support as needed. A diagram illustrating the high-performance network configuration used for these tests is provided below.

Also featured GSFC's HECN infrastructure in an overview of the TSTI in an invited presentation at the Satellite Networks Workshop, held in Cleveland on June 2-4, 1998. As part of the G7's Global Information Broadband Network (GIBN) Project, prepared plans for a trans-Pacific Digital Library Experiment to demonstrate applications over satellite and terrestrial high-data-rate networks between the U.S. and Japan.

Significance

The use of satellite links with even modest data rates in network protocol evaluations permits early investigation into problems associated with any large bandwidth-times-delay network and particularly those of future high-end computer networks.

Status/Plans

• FY99: Conduct evaluations of TCP performance enhancing gateways, IP switching, and ATM traffic management 4.0 explicit rate control in ABR. Also enable/expand TSTI/HECN use by other GIBN Projects and the Satellite Alliance USA.
• FY00: Initiate evaluations of IP RSVP, ATM QoS parameters, and/or other techniques for enabling differentiated services.

Point of Contact

Pat Gary
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
pat.gary@gsfc.nasa.gov
301-286-9539
http://everest.gsfc.nasa.gov/