Evaluation of Modern Internet Transport Protocols over GEO Satellite Links
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
line 165: the stack model used in Internet have 5 layers (PHY, DATA LINK, NET, TRANSP, APP), so it makes no sense to indicate layer 7, but layer 5
line 165: is not streams, the correct is message (layer 5-> layer 4; segments layer 4->layer 3; datagram layer 3->layer 2 and frames layer 2->layer 1)
line 166 to 174: correct the names according to this: (layer 5-> layer 4; segments layer 4->layer 3; datagram layer 3->layer 2 and frames layer 2->layer 1), if we write protocols of layer 4, this mean that the term of data, is segment, we use the term of datagram only in layer 3
Figure 2: only suggestion adapt the design of figure to include TCP segment, join header+data
Author Response
Please find the response in the attached file
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Overall the contributions are good.
The Authors are recommended to clarify the following.
1. Abstract: the results show that HTTP/3 over QUIC will perform better in satellite networks specifically with a more aggressive congestion algorithm such as BBR. Justify the same with statistics.
2. Introduction chapter: Introduce a pictorial representation highlighting Internet Transport Protocols and their relationship with GEO satellite Networks which will help readers to understand the concepts better.
3. Experimental Setup: Justify the criteria for the selection of templates for test beds.
Minor editing can is required.
Author Response
Please find the response in the attached file
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
The authors' investigation of the performance of modern Internet transport protocols over satellite links, along with the development of an experimental testbed for satellite network emulation, presents an intriguing study. However, there are a few areas that require improvement prior to publication:
- It would be valuable to include a comparison with the protocol proposed in Monzon Baeza et al.'s work titled "Enhanced Communications on Satellite-Based IoT Systems to Support Maritime Transportation Services" (Sensors 2022, 22, 6450). This reference could provide additional insights and enrich the discussion on the topic.
- The paper suffers from numerous grammatical errors and fragmented sentences, which significantly hinder its readability. Addressing these issues will greatly enhance the overall clarity and coherence of the paper.
- It is recommended to provide more comprehensive details regarding the satellite link parameters. Expanding upon this information will offer a better understanding of the experimental setup and contribute to the reproducibility of the study.
- The contributions section needs to be rephrased to clearly articulate how the paper's findings and methodologies advance the state-of-the-art. Presently, the contributions are not distinctly highlighted, and refining this section will provide a more cohesive overview of the paper's significance in relation to existing research.
- Including a more detailed description of the experimental methodology used in the satellite network emulation would be beneficial. Providing insights into the specific setup, such as hardware and software configurations, will enable readers to understand the experimental environment better and replicate the study if desired.
- The paper would benefit from a more straightforward presentation of the evaluation metrics used to assess the performance of the Internet transport protocols. Including a discussion on the rationale behind selecting these metrics and their relevance to satellite networks will enhance the validity and comprehensibility of the results.
- It is recommended to comprehensively analyze the limitations and challenges associated with the experimental setup and methodology. Discussing potential sources of bias or factors that may have influenced the results will add depth to the study and improve its overall rigor. The conclusion section should be expanded to summarize the key findings and highlight their significance in the context of satellite networks. Additionally, discussing potential future research directions or practical implications from the study would contribute to the paper's overall impact and relevance.
Proofread the paper thoroughly to address the grammatical errors and sentence structure issues mentioned earlier. Clear and concise writing is essential to ensure the paper's readability and overall quality.
Author Response
Please find the response in the attached file
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 4 Report
This paper studies the application of Internet protocol to high-orbit satellites. In general, the paper lacks of innovation, theoretical analysis and experimental design explanation. I do not recommend accepting this article.
Some suggestions are as follows：
1）Using UDP or TCP to transmit data on the satellite is a relatively traditional research. It is not clear what new problems the authors are addressing or what innovative changes they are proposing.
2）For the high-orbit satellite scene, no relevant parameters were seen in the experimental design. At the same time, there is almost no network for high-orbit satellites, because there is only one high-orbit satellite. At the same time, since the use of DVB-RCS, the use of UDP is mainly to ensure the quality of broadcast services.
3）As with the above problems, it is not clear what problem the author is targeting, and the construction of a system model is lacking.
Minor editing of English language required.
Author Response
Please find the response in the attached file
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
The authors have incorporated the changes suggested in the previous review in the Abstract, Introduction Chapter, and Experimental Set-up.
Can be considered for further processing.
Author Response
Thanks for your valuable comments
Reviewer 3 Report
Although the authors have addressed most of my comments, I am still concerned that there is no comprehensive discussion with the SoTA. Currently, there are several papers that are not discussed or mentioned in the paper, and this does not allow for an accurate comparison of the contributions of the article.
Minor editing of English language required
Author Response
Kindly find our response in the attached response letter
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 4 Report
The author has made some modifications to the problems mentioned last time. However, there are still several defects in the paper, which need further modification by the author.
1） As mentioned last time, it is not clear how innovative the work done by the authors is. Of course, I don't think doing a simulation evaluation is innovative.
2） As for the modern Internet transport protocol mentioned by the author, I am not quite sure what the modern Internet protocol is. The author goes into detail about the various protocols in Chapter 3, which is not really necessary.
3） Although the author's work is simulation and evaluation, I think there is still a lack of theoretical model construction and analysis, and the simulation results obtained have not been verified with the theory. So, I suggest adding system modeling and problem modeling instead.
4） There is one point that the author needs to clarify, how to do congestion control specifically, which is not mentioned in the article, although the author of course thinks that the congestion control in the existing transport protocol, but still needs the process. What I don't quite understand here is that DVB is a broadcast satellite, there is no transmission node in the network, there is no gateway, but only the function of service upload and broadcast, at the same time, because it is broadcast, congestion control is not necessary.
Author Response
Kindly find our response in the attached response letter
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 3
Reviewer 3 Report
I am satisfied with the answer, no further comments from my side.
Minor editing of English language required
Author Response
We have proof-read the paper again and corrected all the spelling and typing errors that we could see in the paper
