Performance modeling of licklider transmission protocol (LTP) in deep-space communication

Delay/disruption tolerant networking (DTN) offers a solution to communications in “challenged” networks. Some work has been seen in evaluating the performance of DTN protocols based on simulated or emulated file transfer experiments. However, there is a need for a model of the performance of the DTN Licklider transmission protocol (LTP), which particularly targets reliable data transmission in deep space. In this paper, we present a performance model of LTP-based DTN data transmission in challenging communications characterized by extremely long signal propagation delay, lengthy link disruptions, and highly lossy channels that are typical of deep-space links. The model is verified by file-transfer experiments using a PC-based testbed.