Title :
Routing strategies for maximizing throughput in LEO satellite networks
Author :
Sun, Jun ; Modiano, Eytan
Author_Institution :
Lab. for Inf. & Decision Syst., Massachusetts Inst. of Technol., Cambridge, MA, USA
Abstract :
This paper develops routing and scheduling algorithms for packet transmission in a low Earth orbit satellite network with a limited number of transmitters and buffer space. We consider a packet switching satellite network, where time is slotted and the transmission time of each packet is fixed and equal to one time slot. Packets arrive at each satellite independently with a some probability during each time slot; their destination satellite is uniformly distributed. With a limited number of transmitters and buffer space on-board each satellite, contention for transmission inevitably occurs as multiple packets arrive at a satellite. First, we establish the stability region of the system in terms of the maximum admissible packet arrival rate that can possibly be supported. We then consider three transmission scheduling schemes for resolving these contentions: random packet win, where the winning packet is chosen at random; oldest packet win, where the packet that has traveled the longest distance wins the contention; and shortest hops win (SHW), where the packet closest to its destination wins the contention. We evaluate the performance of each of the schemes in terms of throughput. For a system without a buffer, the SHW scheme attains the highest throughput. However, when even limited buffer space is available, all three schemes achieve about the same throughput performance. Moreover, even with a buffer size of just a few packets the achieved throughput is close to that of the infinite buffer case.
Keywords :
buffer storage; mesh generation; packet radio networks; packet switching; satellite communication; scheduling; telecommunication network routing; LEO satellite networks; low earth orbit; mesh network; packet arrival rate; packet switching satellite network; random packet win; routing algorithms; scheme throughput performance; shortest hops win; transmission scheduling schemes; transmitters; Artificial satellites; Hypercubes; Intelligent networks; Low earth orbit satellites; Packet switching; Routing; Telecommunication traffic; Throughput; Topology; Transmitters;
Journal_Title :
Selected Areas in Communications, IEEE Journal on
DOI :
10.1109/JSAC.2003.819975