Rate-Control System with Heterogeneous Time-varying Delays in Broadband Satellite Networks

J. S. Baras,H. Zeng and M. Hadjitheodosiou

Proceedings of the Ka and Broadband Communications Conference Navigation and Earth Observation Conference 2009 (KaConf2009), pp. 1-8, Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy, September 23 - 25, 2009.

Abstract

In this work, we describe a novel non-repudiation mechanism for an authentication protocol based on the extended TESLA certificate construct. With the non-repudiation mechanism, the authentication protocol is ideally suited for source authentication of low-powered nodes that participate in group communication in hybrid satellite/ wireless networks. Security is a necessary parameter in hybrid wireless networks (consisting of groups of terrestrial wireless nodes interconnected by a satellite overlay) if the communication between a pair of nodes, or a group of nodes, is to be protected from unauthorized access. The focus of our research work is on user authentication and message integrity protocols, which are required to enable communications and ensure that messages between communicating nodes are correctly delivered. This is a non-trivial problem in group communication, where authentication has been traditionally done using asymmetric cryptographic techniques such as public key certificates and digital signatures. However, such asymmetric techniques can be very expensive in terms of processing power and node energy for wireless nodes in hybrid networks. As a solution to this problem, we have proposed a new class of lightweight, symmetric key certificates called TESLA certificates, and we have designed an energy-efficient source authentication protocol for group communication that utilizes the infrastructure present in hybrid satellite networks