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Benchmarking Methodology for Reliable Transport Protocols in Integrated Space and Terrestrial Networks
draft-lai-bmwg-istn-transport-01

Document Type Active Internet-Draft (individual)
Authors Zeqi Lai , Qi Zhang , Hewu Li , Qian Wu , Jihao Li
Last updated 2024-10-21
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draft-lai-bmwg-istn-transport-01
Benchmarking Methodology Working Group                            Z. Lai
Internet-Draft                                       Tsinghua University
Intended status: Informational                                  Q. Zhang
Expires: 24 April 2025                           Zhongguancun Laboratory
                                                                   H. Li
                                                                   Q. Wu
                                                     Tsinghua University
                                                                   J. Li
                                                 Zhongguancun Laboratory
                                                         21 October 2024

Benchmarking Methodology for Reliable Transport Protocols in Integrated
                     Space and Terrestrial Networks
                    draft-lai-bmwg-istn-transport-01

Abstract

   This document defines the terminology and methodology for conducting
   performance benchmarking of the transport protocols for low-earth
   orbit satellite user terminals within emerging integrated space and
   terrestrial networks (ISTN).  It encompasses the test environment
   setup and benchmarking methodology.

   The objective of this document is to enhance the applicability,
   repeatability, and transparency of performance benchmarking for
   reliable transport protocols (e.g.  TCP and QUIC) in ISTNs.

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
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   Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on 24 April 2025.

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Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2024 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/
   license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document.
   Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
   and restrictions with respect to this document.  Code Components
   extracted from this document must include Revised BSD License text as
   described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are
   provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   2.  Requirements Language and Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   3.  ISTN Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     3.1.  Space Segment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.2.  Terrestrial Segment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     3.3.  End-to-end Network Characteristics of ISTNs . . . . . . .   6
       3.3.1.  Long-term and burst packet loss . . . . . . . . . . .   6
       3.3.2.  Low delay floor, but with high jitter . . . . . . . .   7
   4.  Test Setup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     4.1.  Testbed Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     4.2.  DUT Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     4.3.  Testbed Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     4.4.  Testbed Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   5.  Benchmarking Tests  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     5.1.  Throughput  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     5.2.  Round-Trip Time (RTT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     5.3.  Transfer Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     5.4.  Buffer Delay Percentage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   6.  Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   7.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   8.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   9.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     9.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     9.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14

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1.  Introduction

   The history of using communication satellites to provide Internet
   services can date back several decades and has evolved significantly
   in recent years.  Users in remote or rural areas where deploying
   terrestrial infrastructure is challenging or cost-prohibitive can
   leverage satellites to access Internet applications such as web
   browsing, IP-based telephony and videoconferencing.  Since most
   today's Internet applications are built upon reliable transport
   protocols (e.g.  TCP and QUIC), and satellite networks have many
   unique characteristics that are different from traditional
   terrestrial networks, guaranteeing the network performance of
   reliable transport protocols over satellite networks should be
   important for both satellite operators and Internet content
   providers.

   The IETF has a number of previous efforts on recommending test
   methodologies [RFC6349] and suggesting performance enhancement
   strategies [RFC0346] [RFC0357] [RFC2488] [RFC2760] [RFC8975] for
   reliable transport protols over various satellite networks.  Thanks
   to the recent technological revolution, both satellite systems and
   transport protocols have evolved significantly.  On one hand,
   satellite networks have evolved from the traditional use of
   geostationary orbit satellite to transparently forward data, to a new
   form of providing low-latency Internet services through a network of
   massive low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites (i.e. a satellite
   constellation).  Such LEO satellite networks can further be
   integrated into terrestrial Internet, constructing an integrated
   space and terrestrial network (ISTN).  On the other hand, powered by
   a range of new features, new transport protocols such as the QUIC
   protocol [RFC9000] are designed to improve the speed, security, and
   reliability of end-to-end Internet connections.  In such an ecosystem
   with growing importance, well-defined benchmarking methodology and
   terminology are increasingly needed to support reasonable
   benchmarking and generate improvement guidelines for transport
   protocols in emerging ISTNs.

   To this end, this document describes a practical methodology for
   benchmarking several important aspects of TCP and QUIC in ISTNs.
   Specifically, we introduce the methodology to build a laboratory-
   level test environment simulating a real ISTN environment, and
   describe key considerations of benchmarking tests for measuring the
   performance of transport protocols.

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2.  Requirements Language and Scope

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [RFC2119].

   This document uses the following acronyms and terminologies:

   Mega-constellation: A group of networked satellites working as a
   system.

   LEO: Low Earth Orbit with an altitude no more than 2000 km.

   GEO: Geostationary Earth Orbit with an altitude of about 35786 km.

   ISTN: Integrated Satellite and Terrestrial Network.

   ISL: Inter-satellite Links.

   GSL: Ground-satellite Links.

   GS: Ground Station.

   QUIC: Quick UDP Internet Connections.

   This document provides testing terminology and testing methodology
   for reliable transport layer protocols in emerging ISTNs.  This
   document focuses on advanced, realistic, and reproducible
   benchmarking methods.  It describes the methodology for constructing
   a testbed environment which can mimic the network behaviors of large-
   scale ISTNs and illustrate benchmarking tests for assessing several
   major aspects of transport protocols.

3.  ISTN Architecture

   The first generation of satellite networks leverages communication
   satellite in Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) to provide network
   services.  In this architecture, GEO satellites are positioned at a
   very high altitude, approximately 35,786 kilometers (22,236 miles)
   above the earth's equator.  This altitude allows GEO satellites to
   maintain a fixed position relative to the earth's surface.  Thus, GEO
   satellites can provide a wide and continuous coverage area.  In
   particular, a single GEO satellite can cover approximately one-third
   of the earth's surface, making them suitable for providing global
   coverage with a limited number of satellites.  However, the high
   altitude of GEO satellites can also introduce high propagation
   latency in space-ground communication because signals have to travel
   a long distance to reach the satellite and return back to the earth.

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   Such a high latency can be noticeable in real-time applications like
   interactive online gaming or video conferencing.

   More recently, ''NewSpace'' companies, such as SpaceX and OneWeb, are
   actively deploying their mega-constellations with thousands of
   broadband satellites in low earth orbit (LEO) to provide Internet
   service globally.  LEO satellites orbit at much lower altitudes,
   typically ranging from about 180 to 2,000 kilometers (from 112 to
   1,242 miles) above the earth's surface.  Therefore, LEO satellites
   have a smaller coverage area compared to GEO satellites.  This is why
   satellite operators have to deploy large constellations of LEO
   satellites that collaboratively work together to provide global
   coverage.  One key benefit of LEO satellite networks is that they
   offer much lower latency because the distance signals need to travel
   is significantly shorter.  This makes them more suitable for real-
   time applications like online gaming and video conferencing.

   Broadband satellite mega-constellations can be integrated into the
   terrestrial Internet through ground-satellite links and further
   construct an integrated space and terrestrial network (ISTN), which
   typically contains two core components as follows.

3.1.  Space Segment

            ISLs     +---------+        +---------+          +---------+  ISLs              +----+----+
        -------------|Satellite|--------|Satellite|----------|Satellite|-------- ...        | Internet|
                     +----+----+        +-----+---+          +----+----+                    |         |
                    /                                      /           \                    +----+----+
                   /                                      /             \                        |
                  /                                      /               \                       |
        +----+----+                            +----+----+              +----+----+         +----+----+
        |   User  |                            |  User   |              | Ground  |         |Point-of |
        | Terminal|                            | Terminal|              | Station | --- --- |Presence |
        +---------+                            +----+----+              +---------+         +----+----+

                Figure 1: Emerging ISTN architecture.

   Emerging satellites can be equipped with high-speed inter-satellite
   links (ISLs) and ground-satellite links (GSLs) for inter-satellite
   and ground-satellite networking.  Figure 1 plots a typical ISTN
   architecture, which integrates communication satellites and today's
   terrestrial Internet.  Futuristic ISTN is expected to provide
   pervasive, lowlatency Internet services for various users such as
   residential, direct-phone-to-satellite, maritime, and airplane users
   etc.  In this architecture, satellites fundamentally perform two core
   functions.  On one hand, satellites work as ''space routers'' to
   build an ''Internet backbone in space''[Internet-backbones-in-space]
   and forward network traffic between any two satellites or ground

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   nodes in the network.  On the other hand, satellites also work as
   ''access points'' to provide last-mile connectivity for land-based
   users.

   Unlike existing terrestrial networks which typically have a flat and
   static structure, the network topology of an ISTN is three-
   dimensional and dynamic, as it includes multi-layer satellites, and
   these satellites in non-geostationary orbits are moving at a high
   velocity related to the earth's surface.  In addition, the ISTN
   topology is also predictable, since satellites move in their pre-
   planned orbits with predictable trajectories.  The position of each
   satellite can be tracked by terrestrial observation stations and
   published regularly.  Many details of connectivity patterns can be
   deduced from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requests and
   real-world measurements, making the ISTN topology likely to be public
   or at least estimable.

3.2.  Terrestrial Segment

   The terrestrial segment of an ISTN, including a number of geo-
   distributed ground stations and point-of-presence (PoP) connecting to
   the Internet, plays a crucial role.  Ground stations serve as the
   interface between the satellites and the terrestrial network,
   facilitating the transmission of data to and from the satellite
   constellation.  In addition, the terrestrial segment takes care of
   many other necessary functionalities such as tracking and control,
   telemetry and commanding, and network management.  When a user
   terminal accesses Internet services (e.g.,a web servive) through the
   ISTN, the user's request is first forwarded to a ground station
   through one (i.e., via bent-pipe transparent forwarding) or multiple
   satellites (i.e., via ISL-based space routing) and then to a PoP
   connecting the Internet, and finally to the destination.

3.3.  End-to-end Network Characteristics of ISTNs

   The unique LEO dynamics and error-prone satellite communication links
   involve several important network characteristics for end-to-end
   transmission in ISTNs.

3.3.1.  Long-term and burst packet loss

   Firstly, the high LEO dynamics can lead to frequent ground-satellite
   handovers during which ground devices have to change their ingress
   satellite and suffer from link disruptions.  Recent reports have
   shown severe packet loss rate during such handovers.  Besides,
   satellites will change their operational orbits to avoid collisions,
   resulting in inter-satellite links churns and packet losses.
   Secondly, since ISTNs are operated in an open space environment, they

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   are susceptible to various types of interference, such as space rays
   and artificial interference which can significantly affect the
   quality of inter-satellite communication.  As for satellite-ground
   links, bad weather and obstructed view will also cause the link
   quality decline.  For example, heavy rain will affect the signal
   transmission and unthoughtful placement of the satellite terminal can
   cause the satellite signal to be blocked by other objects (e.g.,
   dense leaves) during data transmission, resulting in packet loss.
   Collectively, frequent handovers caused by LEO dynamics and collision
   avoidance and signal attenuation or blocking will lead to ethernal
   packet loss.  Besides, current reports have revealed high packet loss
   rate in ISTNs, especially during the ground-satellite
   handovers[Endless-and-Bursty-Packet-Losses].

3.3.2.  Low delay floor, but with high jitter

   ISTNs are expected to provide low-delay Internet service for global
   users.  Firstly, free-space laser inter-satellite links can provide
   faster data transmission speed than terrestrial fibers.  Secondly, a
   large number of evenly distributed satellites can provide near-space-
   optimal route, outperforming circuitous terrestrial fiber routes for
   long-haul transmission[Internet-backbones-in-space].  However, to
   cope with packet losses, current widely used sender-based
   retransmission requires persistent loss detection and recovery.
   Therefore, in an environment with ethernal and burst packet loss,
   frequent and persistent sender-based recovery significantly increases
   the end-to-end delay jitter.  Higher delay jitter will affect the
   performance of delay-sensitive applications (e.g., WebRTC), which
   further results in an increase in user-perceived end-to-end delay and
   can not unleash the low-delay potential of ISTNs.

4.  Test Setup

   The test setup defined in this section applies to all benchmarking
   tests described in Section 5.  The test setup MUST be contained
   within an isolated test environment (see Section 3 of [RFC6815]).

4.1.  Testbed Setup

   Testbed Setup is expected to create an isolated benchmarking
   environment that appropriately simulates the unique characteristics
   of ISTN as mentioned in Section 3.

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   A data-driven way to building a testbed for ISTN was proposed in
   [draft-lai-bmwg-sic-benchmarking], emulating each network node in
   ISTN with a container and adjusting the links' characteristics with
   real data.  However, it's aiming at the general environment
   simulation rather than network layer or transport layer benchmarking
   and is still requesting for comments.  It is an OPTIONAL choice for
   testbed setup.

   To enhance applicability and repeatability of the benchmarking
   methodology, this document specifies a more concrete testbed setup
   given in Figure 2.  It is the RECOMMENDED testbed setup.  The two
   ends of the transport protocols (DUTs) are respectively connected to
   the user terminal and the gateway.  Except the DUTs, other equipments
   are all routers utilized to simulate ISTN nodes.  Two ingress/egress
   satellites were setup for each teresstrial end to simulate their
   handover between adjacent LEO satellites.  The handover simulation
   and links' setup will be specified in Section 4.3 .

           Terrestrial                        Space
         <---Segment---->        <-----------Segment---------->

         <-------------------------------------------------------+
                                                                 |
         +---+ +--------+        +-------------+        +------+ |
         |   | |        +--USL 1-+Ingress Sat 1+-ISL 1--+      | |
         |   | |  User  |        +--^----------+        |      | |
         |DUT+-+        |           | handover          |      | |
         |   | |Terminal|        +--v----------+        |      | |
         |   | |        +--USL 2-+Ingress Sat 2+-ISL 2--+      | |
         +---+ +--------+        +-------------+        |Relay | |
                                                        |      | |
                                                        |Sat(s)| |
         +---+ +--------+        +-------------+        |      | |
         |   | |        +--GSL 1-+ Egress Sat 1+-ISL 3--+      | |
         |   | |        |        +--^----------+        |      | |
         |DUT+-+Gateway |           | handover          |      | |
         |   | |        |        +--v----------+        |      | |
         |   | |        +--GSL 2-+ Egress Sat 2+-ISL 4--+      | |
         +---+ +--------+        +-------------+        +------+ |
                                                                 |
         <------------Network Path Under Test--------------------+

                          Figure 2: Testbed Setup.

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4.2.  DUT Configuration

   Generally, the DUTs could be configured with any reliable transport
   protocols, like TCP and QUIC.  As the DUT is supposed to be designed
   for / applied to unique ISTN environments, their critical parameters
   (e.g. the congestion control strategy) SHOULD be reported in the
   result and stay the same throughout the benchmarking process.  In
   addition, the concrete congestion control algorithms (CCA) can be
   configured on demand, based on the benchmarking requirement.

4.3.  Testbed Configuration

   Handover simulation.  In an ISTN, the communication links between
   terrestrial segment and space segment experience frequent handovers,
   e.g., each user terminal of Starlink, an operational ISTN network,
   handovers to another satellite every 15 seconds.  Two ingress
   satellites are setup for the user terminal to simulate the handover
   behaviours.  At each time, only one group of ingress satellite and
   its corresponding links (e.g., USL 1 and ISL 1 for Ingress Sat 1) are
   activated, through which the user terminal connects to the relay
   satellite (s).  When a handover occurs, the another (un-activated)
   group of ingress satellite and its corresponding links are activated.
   The handover between two egress satellites and their corresponding
   links are likewise.  The handover bewteen satellites and user
   terminals, and handovers between satellites and gateways, do not
   necessarily occour at the same time.

   Link loss rate.  As aforementioned, the USLs and GSLs experience
   ethernal and burst packet losses, due to environmental attenuation
   and frequent losses.  Their packet loss rate SHOULD be set
   dynamically according to real measurement.  No known models are now
   available for loss rate setup of USLs and GSLs.  Other links SHOULD
   be setup with no link loss.

   Link latency.  The latency of space segment route could be setup with
   two halves, on the two activated ISLs of the Relay Sat. The latency
   of all the links SHOULD be set dynamically according to the dynamic
   propagation latency of satellite network paths.

   Link bandwidth.  The bottleneck link is RECOMMENDED to be the USL and
   setup with (at least) 50Mbps, 100Mbps, 200Mbps, 500Mbps.  Test with
   other bottleneck bandwidth COULD be reported in the result.  Other
   links MUST be setup with bandwidth greater than the bottleneck
   bandwidth and be reported in the result.

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   Terminal type.  User terminals are typically classified into two
   types, (1) Residential terminal and (2) Mobile terminal.  They
   generally experience different network conditions in terms of link
   losses and latencies.  Benchmarking under both types is RECOMMENDED
   and reported.

4.4.  Testbed Considerations

   The following considerations SHOULD be verifed ahead of all the
   benchmarking tests.  If not, the reason MUST be noted in the report.

   (1) Link performance verification.  The link bandwidth, loss rate and
   latency should be verified for each link with no end-to-end traffic.
   The average result of each link under each terminal type.

   (2) Steady testbed.  As [RFC9411] describes, Several factors might
   influence stability, specifically for virtualized testbeds.

5.  Benchmarking Tests

   Testing framework for TCP throughput was proposed in [RFC6349], this
   document adopts the following tests from [RFC6349] for transport
   protocol benchamrking in ISTN.  This document adpated them to the
   ISTN environment, and extends to QUIC where necessary.

5.1.  Throughput

   Several common tools for throughput measurement are readily available
   in the network community, e.g. "iperf" for TCP and "qperf" for QUIC.
   With the tools installed at each end of the network path, one acting
   as a client and the other as a server, the achieved throughput can
   then be measured, either uni-directionally or bi-directionally.  The
   parameters like Send Socket Buffer of both client and server can be
   manually set, referring to [RFC6349].

   However, for the ISTN environment, this document recommends that the
   throughput test SHOULD be run over a relatively longer duration
   (i.e., greater than 3 mins or 180 seconds) to improve the
   repeatability.

   Throughput under each terminal type SHOULD be reported.

5.2.  Round-Trip Time (RTT)

   As [RFC6349], RTT is defined as the elapsed time between the clocking
   in of the first bit of a TCP segment / QUIC Packet sent and the
   receipt of the last bit of the corresponding Acknowledgment.

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   The RTT of each TCP segment / QUIC Packet SHOULD be recorded for the
   calculation of the aftermentioned buffer delay metric.  The average
   and each quartile value of the RTT records SHOULD be reported.

5.3.  Transfer Efficiency

   Transfer efficiency represents the percentage of Bytes that were not
   retransmitted.  The TCP Efficiency defined in [RFC6349] applies to
   transfer efficiency for both TCP and QUIC here.

                           Transmitted Bytes - Retransmitted Bytes
   Transfer Efficiency % = --------------------------------------- X 100
                                   Transmitted Bytes

   Transmitted Bytes are the total number of Bytes to be transmitted,
   including the original and the retransmitted Bytes.  See [RFC6349]
   for calculation examples.

   Transfer Efficiency SHOULD be reported for each test.

5.4.  Buffer Delay Percentage

   Buffer Delay Percentage represents the increase in RTT during a TCP
   Throughput test versus the inherent or baseline RTT [RFC6349].

   As the baseline RTT [RFC6349] also changes in ISTN, this document
   suggests calculating Buffer Delay Percentage at each second and the
   average value throughout each test SHOULD be reported.

   Specifically, for each second (t), the Buffer Delay Percentage is
   calculated as follows:

                       Average RTT during t - Baseline RTT (t)
   Buffer Delay % (t)= ------------------------------------------ X 100
                                 Baseline RTT(t)

6.  Acknowledgements

7.  IANA Considerations

   This document makes no specifc request of IANA.

   IANA has assigned IPv4 and IPv6 address blocks in[RFC6890] that have
   been registered for special purposes.  The IPv6 address block
   2001:2::/48 has been allocated for the purpose of IPv6 benchmarking
   [RFC5180], and the IPv4 address block 198.18.0.0/15 has been
   allocated for the purpose of IPv4 benchmarking [RFC2544].  This
   assignment was made to minimize the chance of confict in case a

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   testing device were to be accidentally connected to the part of the
   Internet.  The testbed setup in this document SHOULD adopt this
   assignment.

8.  Security Considerations

   Benchmarking activities as described in this memo are limited to
   technology characterization using controlled devices in a laboratory
   environment, with dedicated address space and the constraints
   specified in the sections above.  The benchmarking network topology
   as well as its parameter configurations will be an independent test
   setup, and the laboratory environment MUST NOT be connected to
   devices that may forward the test traffic into a production network,
   or misroute traffic to the test management network.

   In addition, benchmarking is performed on a "black-box" basis,
   relying solely on measurements observable external to the DUT/SUT.
   Special capabilities SHOULD NOT exist in the DUT/SUT specifically for
   benchmarking purposes.  Any implications for network security arising
   from the DUT/SUT SHOULD be identical in the lab and in production
   networks.

9.  References

9.1.  Normative References

   [RFC0346]  Postel, J., "Satellite Considerations", RFC 346,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC0346, May 1972,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc346>.

   [RFC0357]  Davidson, J., "Echoing strategy for satellite links",
              RFC 357, DOI 10.17487/RFC0357, June 1972,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc357>.

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC2488]  Allman, M., Glover, D., and L. Sanchez, "Enhancing TCP
              Over Satellite Channels using Standard Mechanisms",
              BCP 28, RFC 2488, DOI 10.17487/RFC2488, January 1999,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2488>.

   [RFC2544]  Bradner, S. and J. McQuaid, "Benchmarking Methodology for
              Network Interconnect Devices", RFC 2544,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2544, March 1999,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2544>.

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   [RFC2760]  Allman, M., Ed., Dawkins, S., Glover, D., Griner, J.,
              Tran, D., Henderson, T., Heidemann, J., Touch, J., Kruse,
              H., Ostermann, S., Scott, K., and J. Semke, "Ongoing TCP
              Research Related to Satellites", RFC 2760,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2760, February 2000,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2760>.

   [RFC5180]  Popoviciu, C., Hamza, A., Van de Velde, G., and D.
              Dugatkin, "IPv6 Benchmarking Methodology for Network
              Interconnect Devices", RFC 5180, DOI 10.17487/RFC5180, May
              2008, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5180>.

   [RFC6349]  Constantine, B., Forget, G., Geib, R., and R. Schrage,
              "Framework for TCP Throughput Testing", RFC 6349,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC6349, August 2011,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6349>.

   [RFC6815]  Bradner, S., Dubray, K., McQuaid, J., and A. Morton,
              "Applicability Statement for RFC 2544: Use on Production
              Networks Considered Harmful", RFC 6815,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC6815, November 2012,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6815>.

   [RFC6890]  Cotton, M., Vegoda, L., Bonica, R., Ed., and B. Haberman,
              "Special-Purpose IP Address Registries", BCP 153,
              RFC 6890, DOI 10.17487/RFC6890, April 2013,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6890>.

   [RFC8975]  Kuhn, N., Ed. and E. Lochin, Ed., "Network Coding for
              Satellite Systems", RFC 8975, DOI 10.17487/RFC8975,
              January 2021, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8975>.

   [RFC9000]  Iyengar, J., Ed. and M. Thomson, Ed., "QUIC: A UDP-Based
              Multiplexed and Secure Transport", RFC 9000,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC9000, May 2021,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9000>.

   [RFC9411]  Balarajah, B., Rossenhoevel, C., and B. Monkman,
              "Benchmarking Methodology for Network Security Device
              Performance", RFC 9411, DOI 10.17487/RFC9411, March 2023,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9411>.

9.2.  Informative References

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   [draft-lai-bmwg-sic-benchmarking]
              "[I.D.] Considerations for Benchmarking Network
              Performance in Satellite Internet Constellations.", 2023,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-lai-bmwg-sic-
              benchmarking/>.

   [Endless-and-Bursty-Packet-Losses]
              "SatGuard: Concealing Endless and Bursty Packet Losses in
              LEO Satellite Networks for Delay-Sensitive Web
              Applications.", 2024,
              <https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3589334.3645639>.

   [Internet-backbones-in-space]
              "Internet backbones in space.", 2020,
              <https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3390251.3390256>.

Authors' Addresses

   Zeqi Lai
   Tsinghua University
   30 ShuangQing Ave
   Beijing
   100089
   China
   Email: zeqilai@tsinghua.edu.cn

   Qi Zhang
   Zhongguancun Laboratory
   Beijing
   China
   Email: zhangqi@zgclab.edu.cn

   Hewu Li
   Tsinghua University
   30 ShuangQing Ave
   Beijing
   100089
   China
   Email: lihewu@cernet.edu.cn

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   Qian Wu
   Tsinghua University
   30 ShuangQing Ave
   Beijing
   100089
   China
   Email: wuqian@cernet.edu.cn

   Jihao Li
   Zhongguancun Laboratory
   Beijing
   China
   Email: lijh@zgclab.edu.cn

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