P2P in satellite networks: A tutorial on related problems and some possible solutions

In the last years, the peer-to-peer (P2P) paradigm, which replaces the client-server one, has experienced a great success. A possible reason is large-scale broadband access deployment. P2P is being used for many different applications: Grid computing, telephony, mail, etc. However, P2P is mainly associated to file-sharing applications, due to their popularity. On the other hand, satellite communication systems have been widely adopted to offer broadband Internet access in places where terrestrial access is unfeasible. Due to the special characteristics of satellite networks, P2P protocols are quite inefficient in them if compared to other technologies. In this paper, we describe P2P and how it operates on satellite networks. We focus on the problems that arise from the usage of P2P protocols over TCP connections and how they limit overall system performance. Finally, we comment some possible solutions. © 2005 IEEE.