• emulator
• gstreamer
• iperf
• mininet
• networking
• satellites
• starlink
• traffic traces
• wireshark

The rapid rise of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, such as Starlink, introduces significant opportunities and challenges for internet performance research. LEO networks differ from traditional geostationary systems due to their frequent satellite handovers, variable propagation delays, and dynamic routing behavior. This thesis presents a trace-driven emulation framework that replicates a simplified Starlink-like bent-pipe architecture using the Mininet network emulator. The emulated setup models the full end-to-end communication path, integrating real latency traces to simulate satellite-induced delay variations. Protocols such as ICMP (ping), UDP (iPerf), and RTP (via GStreamer) are tested in this environment to evaluate their performance under fluctuating network conditions. Packet captures are used to extract key metrics like RTT, jitter, packet loss, and throughput. Additionally, real and synthetic audio streams are analyzed to assess Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE). The framework offers a reproducible, cost-effective alternative to live satellite testing and highlights critical performance impacts due to handovers and asymmetric links. Overall, this work contributes to understanding protocol behavior in LEO environments and supports the development of resilient, mobility-aware network designs for future space-ground internet architectures.