An eBPF-Based Trace-Driven Emulation Method for Satellite Networks

TL;DR

A trace-driven emulation method based on Linux’s eBPF technology is proposed and implemented that can effectively and efficiently emulate the connection conditions, and therefore provides a means for evaluating applications on local hosts.

Abstract

System-level performance evaluation over satellite networks often requires a simulated or emulated environment for reproducibility and low cost. However, the existing tools may not meet the needs for scenarios such as the low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks. To address the problem, this paper proposes and implements a trace-driven emulation method based on Linux's eBPF technology. Building a Starlink traces collection system, we demonstrate that the method can effectively and efficiently emulate the connection conditions, and therefore provides a means for evaluating applications on local hosts.

Figures (4)

• Figure 1: Architecture of the eBPF-based emulation
• Figure 2: Starlink trace collection using irtt
• Figure 3: Comparison of the emulated and original delay traces
• Figure 4: Comparison of the emulated and original loss traces