A Novel QoS Routing Method for LEO Rosette Constellation Network

Satellite networks can provide global coverage and broadband access to end users, thus enabling human communication worldwide. In satellite communication networks, routing is the key issue encountered by support services. Therefore, a novel Quality of Service (QoS) routing method (QRM) is proposed and evaluated in this study based on the characteristics of the low Earth orbiting satellite rosette constellation. We model the rosette constellation network according to network characteristics through a discrete-time figure and formulate the scheme as a binary integer programming problem in consideration of time-variant parameters, e.g., link capacity and link delay. The performance of QRM is compared with that of the Dijkstra-based routing protocols proposed in existing literature. Moreover, an improved QRM under a route similarity constraint is developed to reduce the handoff times in adjacent slots. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme exhibits lower blocking probability and maximum link utilization but higher average network delay than Dijkstra-based routing does.