-{}- : bidirectional link
! : management interface
C : where Network Coding techniques could be introduced 
                                        C             C
                      +--------+    +-------+    +--------+
                      |Physical|    |Access |    |Network |
                 +-{}-|gateway |-{}-|gateway|-{}-|function| 
                 |    +--------+    +-------+    +--------+
                 |                        !       !
+---------+    +---+              +---------------+
|Satellite|    |SAT|              | Control-plane |
|Terminal |-{}-|   |              | manager       |
+---------+    +---+              +---------------+
                 |                        !       !
                 |    +--------+    +-------+    +--------+
                 +-{}-|Physical|-{}-|Access |-{}-|Network |
                      |gateway |    |gateway|    |function| 
                      +--------+    +-------+    +--------+
                                        C             C