A simulation tool to validate and compare satellite TDMA access schemes

This paper proposes an architecture design for a tool suitable for emulatin g DA-TDMA (demand-assignment-time division multiple access) satellite acces s schemes. The tool presented, named FRACAS,(1) is particularly suitable fo r comparing the performance of different satellite channel allocation polic ies. Using FRACAS, a service provider can choose from different policies fo r sharing a satellite channel among a number of users. Some allocation poli cies, selected from those available in the literature, are built-in, while others can be designed from scratch and added without much effort. The para meters of the built-in allocation policies can easily be changed in order t o exploit the full potential of the allocation schemes. FRACAS's features p ermit the optimisation of satellite resource usage in accordance with the t raffic pattern supported. FRACAS enables research teams and students to exp lore and compare different multiple access schemes, and to develop simulati on runs for various kinds of service-induced traffic, including aggregate t raffic, which is typical in a local area network (LAN) interconnection envi ronment.