The 2nd QUIC and Satellite Open Stakeholder Meeting will examine performance when using an Internet path that includes a satellite communication (SATCOM) network.

13:30 – 16:00 CET, Thursday 2nd December 2021, On-Line, via Webex

IETF QUIC is defined in RFC9000 and related RFCs. It provides an extensible transport, improving performance for web and other traffic and adding support for connection migration. In contrast to TCP, QUIC encrypts and authenticates all header fields, providing enhanced privacy and security. QUIC’s design prevents existing methods to enhance satellite network performance - such as PEPs, Compression, DPI for QoS, and other cross-layer enhancements, but also provides opportunities to influence the specifications and QUIC extensions, which if widely supported, could offer significant benefit to satellite services. People attending the meeting are invited to discuss performance over satellite systems, what is needed by the satellite communications sector, how people can collaborate on research, and what steps might be taken to increase stakeholder engagement in the design and use of QUIC over satellite services.

This will be an open meeting organised by the ESA MTAILS project (https://artes.esa.int/projects/mtails). All participants will have to register on-line before they can join the webex meeting, details will be provided once the programme has been confirmed.

Topics of Interest

• Experience with IETF QUIC using Broadband Satellite
• New Transport Mechanisms for QUIC over Satellite
• Network-Layer Techniques for Encrypted Traffic (QoS, ECN, AQM)
• Analysis of Concatenated Transport Paths (e.g. QUIC with Satcom and WiFi or Cellular)
• Operating and Managing Encrypted Satellite Services

Program

Introduction/coordination - Gorry Fairhurst (5 minutes)

Meeting Organisation and Note Well

Part 1: QUIC Implementation and Performance

(1.1) Evolution of QUIC and Satellite over the Last 3 Years

Gorry Fairhurst, Tom Jones, Ana Custura

This presentation will trace the evolution of the IETF QUIC specifications and work in progress within the IETF, focussing on operation over a GEO satellite system It will identify key mechanisms impacted by the characteristics of satellite systems and review of current QUIC implementations. (15 minutes talks + 5 mins Q&A)

(1.2) Protocols, QUIC, and SATCOM

Joerg Deutschmann

This presentation will present experience on using a QUIC Interop running with satellite links; and measurement of the performance of web protocols. (15 minutes talks + 5 mins Q&A)

(1.3) Performance implications of interoperability

Nicolas Kuhn

This presentation will present experience when different combinations of QUIC servers and clients are considered. Looking at the file transfer time, this shows the importance of considering the acknowledgment strategy. (10 minute rapid talk including Q&A)

Break: 10 minutes

Part 2: Mechanisms to Enhance QUIC Performance

(2.1) Application-Layer QoS Metrics To Aid Network Performance Monitoring and Diagnostics For Encrypted Traffic

Chi-Jiun Su

Most network statistics do not capture the impact of network conditions on user's applications and their quality of experience (QoE). Active measurements can help, but their results may not accurately reflect the QoE at end users. In this work, a low complexity non-intrusive method is proposed to estimate application-layer Quality of Service (QoS) metrics experienced by end-users. The method passively and continuously monitors user's traffic from a vantage point within the ISP network to capture the network conditions experienced by end user’s devices or internet applications. This approach is designed for encrypted traffic. (15 minutes talks + 5 mins Q&A)

(2.2) Sliding Window FEC (SWF) over Satellite Networks

Matthieu Petrou

This presentation investigates the benefit to protect transport flows with a Sliding Window FEC (SWF) over satellite networks. We focus on QUIC protocol (picoquic version) and TCP in a SATCOM context with OpenSAND emulator. Considering several losses pattern scenarios, results show that CUBIC substantially gains from SWF protection compared to picoquic/BBR. We conclude that the use of SWF should not be only considered following the network loss characteristics, but also conjointly with the congestion control variant. (15 minutes talks + 5 mins Q&A)

(2.3) Can QUIC Proxies Help Satellite Performance?

Joerg Deutschmann

This talk introduces the new QUICSAT project and ideas for using Proxies with QUIC in a satellite context. (10 minute rapid talk including Q&A)

(2.4) Transport parameters for 0-RTT connections

N. Kuhn, E. Stephan, G. Fairhurst, T. Jones, C. Huitema

When clients resume a session to download a large object, the congestion control algorithms will require time to ramp-up the packet rate as a sequence of Round-Trip Time (RTT)-based increases. This presentation will describe plans for a method that can improve traffic delivery by allowing a QUIC connection to avoid a the slow process to discover key path parameters including a way to more rapidly grow the congestion window when used over paths with a larger bandwidth delay product. (10 minute rapid talk including Q&A)

Part 3: Questions and Observations about QUIC over Satellite

Open Mic -All workshop attendees. (20 minutes)

Final Remarks

Note Well

This meeting is expected to coordinate contributions that may be made to the Internet Engineering Task Force and Internet Research Task Force. The following note-well will therefore apply to all contributions at this meeting: https://irtf.org/policies/irtf-note-well-2019-11.pdf.