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We present the design and implementation aspects of a virtualized Performance Enhancing Proxy (vPEP), in a 5G compliant architecture involving the satellite as an alternate, additional backhaul link. The deployment of hybrid terrestrial-satellite configurations is realized through the vPEP agent, meant as a chain of Virtual Network Functions (VNFs), enhancing protocol performance and/or bringing value-added services in the end-to-end path. To this end, we discuss a possible integration approach of the satellite link into the 5G service-based architecture, outlining key functional components. In addition, we present a preliminary evaluation study employing a vPEP embodying the QUIC protocol in a possible web-browsing, 5G optimized slice.

The QUIC (Quick UDP Internet Connection) protocol suite is going to approach its final stages of standardization to become part of the official Internet standards (RFCs) and of the new HTTP/3 specification. Some of its disruptive characteristics, such as the 0-RTT establishment of secure communications and a connection-oriented management over a UDP-based connection-less transport, can be reused and tailored in the framework of a Performance Enhancing Proxy (PEP) architecture for the effective management of multiple links. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of a QUIC-based splitting solution to enhance the communication across multiple backhaul links, each associated with a different network technology (e.g., satellite and terrestrial). After discussing the working principles of the designed QUIC-based proxy, we present a software implementation, as well as preliminary results obtained, through a set of meaningful test-cases deployed over a Linux based testbed.

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) allows a fast deployment of customized solutions when and where needed, supporting breakthrough operational models compliant to multi-tenancy and slicing paradigms. This approach enables challenging communication scenarios overcoming possible performance flaws as well as enabling new disruptive services within future 5G based networks. In this framework a virtual Performance Enhancing Proxy (vPEP) is proposed, to foster the efficient use of satellite links either as a supplementary or complementary backhauling. The vPEP objective is to efficiently manage both switch-over (for performance optimization) and failover (for service continuity) of end-to-end Web traffic within an hybrid terrestrial/satellite backhaul network. To this aim, vPEP leverages several features of the new QUIC protocol, such as the 0-RTT establishment of secure communications and the connection-oriented flow management over a UDP-based connectionless transport. In this paper we describe the vPEP implementation as well as a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) demonstrator used for the validation activities.