QoS Guarantees in Heterogeneous Systems Consisting of IP Core Networks with Satellite Access

This paper aims at investigating the issue of differentiated QoS provision to services over a heterogeneous terrestrial-satellite infrastructure. In particular, the implementation of a dynamic mapping of the main service classes offered by IP IntServ and DiffServ models over satellite bearer services is investigated. Objective of the research is to enable mobile subscribers to access broadband services offered within a fixed IP core network, through satellite links. This has to be performed while still guaranteeing the same Quality of Service (QoS) offered by the IP IntServ and DiffServ models over the terrestrial segment. In such an environment, the considered traffics derive from multimedia applications and are characterised by real-time and non-real-time constraints as well as variable (VBR) and constant (CBR) bit-rate profiles.