ATM virtual path routing for LEO/MEO satellite networks with intersatellite links

An ATM based concept for the routing of information over an intersatellite link (ISL) network of a LEO/MEO satellite system is proposed. The approach is to prepare a virtual topology by means of virtual path connections (VPCs) connecting all pairs of end nodes in the ISL subnetwork for a complete period in advance, similar to implementing a set of (time dependent) routing tables. The search for the available end-to-end routes within the network is based on a modified Dijkstra shortest path algorithm, M-DSPA, with the capability to cope with the time dependent network topologies. An analysis of the optimization aspects for the selection of a path at the call serving time is presented and evaluated for example LEO and MEO ISL topologies, respectively