End-to-end QoS and global mobility management in an integrated satellite/terrestrial network

For decades, the development of the Internet was driven by the purpose of providing applications to non-mobile users. No specific Quality of Service (QoS) requirement is necessary, other than ensuring reliability in the end-to-end data transfers. As such, best effort service model was deemed more than appropriate to satisfy the users' needs. Nevertheless, the scenario has changed in the last few years. A new population of nomadic users, who requires access to Internet services regardless of their location and mode of transportation is growing, while new typologies of Internet applications are being continuously developed, in which best effort service level may no longer be adequate. The SUITED project has been devised to address the emerging issues generated by this new and challenging scenario. SUITED aims at contributing towards the design and deployment of the Global Mobile Broadband System (GMBS), a unique satellite/terrestrial infrastructure, which will ensure that nomadic users have access to Internet services with a negotiated QoS. An overview of the main results achieved in the SUITED project is provided in this article. Some of the most innovative solutions developed by the SUITED team for the joint management of global mobility and end-to-end QoS support are presented. The SUITED demonstrator platform, which was developed to validate the system specifications, is also described. Finally, the results of the experimental measurement campaigns carried out with this platform are reported. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.