A Secure Splitting and Acceleration Strategy for TCP/QUIC in Interplanetary Networks
🤖 AI Summary
This work addresses the severe performance limitations of conventional TCP and QUIC in interplanetary networks, where extreme latency, high packet loss, and frequent disruptions are prevalent. The authors propose PEPspace, a transport acceleration architecture based on a Non-Transparent Secure Proxy (NTSP), which for the first time enables secure connection splitting while preserving end-to-end encryption. Tailored to deep-space link characteristics, the design integrates a rate-based congestion control algorithm, adaptive packet-level forward error correction, and a retransmission-free loss recovery mechanism, complemented by a theoretically grounded buffer optimization model. Evaluated in an Earth–Moon scenario, PEPspace achieves throughput approaching the link capacity, significantly outperforming existing TCP/QUIC implementations and performance-enhancing proxies, while simultaneously ensuring low latency and highly reliable data delivery.
Application Category
📝 Abstract
Interplanetary networks (IPNs) present unique challenges such as extreme delay, high loss, and frequent disruptions that severely degrade the performance of conventional transport protocols like Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Quick UDP Internet Connection (QUIC). To address these issues, we propose a secure transport acceleration strategy tailored for IPNs. This strategy is founded on our Non-Transparent Secure Proxy (NTSP) architecture, which enables connection splitting for end-to-end encrypted flows while preserving application layer security. Based on the NTSP, we design an IPN-aware transport policy that combines (i) a rate-based congestion control algorithm exploiting the pre-scheduled nature of deep-space links to achieve stable and efficient bandwidth utilization, and (ii) an adaptive packet-level forward error correction scheme to provide low-latency loss recovery without retransmissions. Furthermore, we introduce a theoretically grounded backpressure flow control mechanism, deriving an analytical model for optimal buffer sizing to mitigate rate mismatch and prevent bufferbloat. The strategy is implemented in a prototype system, PEPspace, and evaluated in representative Earth-Moon scenarios. Results show near-capacity and stable goodput and substantially improved delivery performance compared with TCP/QUIC variants and existing Performance Enhancing Proxies, while maintaining low latency and robust data delivery across intermittent links. The NTSP architecture is further discussed as a foundational framework for future unified IP/DTN architectures, bridging a key architectural gap in heterogeneous space networks.
Problem
Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.
Interplanetary Networks
TCP/QUIC performance
extreme delay
high loss
frequent disruptions
Innovation
Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.
Non-Transparent Secure Proxy
connection splitting
rate-based congestion control
adaptive forward error correction
backpressure flow control
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