Project Description

A Multi-Layered Satellite Routing (MLSR) protocol is proposed in a dense satellite network architecture. The network is analyzed as stationary in given snapshot periods. The routing tables are calculated in an efficient manner using the collected delay measurements and updated regularly. Although the routing table calculation and link state exchange follows the network hierarchy, packets do not necessarily follow this hierarchy, which eliminates the drawback of hierarchical systems.

A Satellite Grouping and Routing Protocol (SGRP) is proposed for LEO/MEO satellite networks. Data is forwarded in the LEO layer and routing table calculations are performed in the MEO satellite layer. This protocol can be employed efficiently in sparse satellite networks and deliver better recovery response time performance under failure and congestion conditions.

Real-time multimedia applications impose strict delay bounds and are sensitive to delay variations. The proposed QoS-based routing protocol is proposed to support real-time multimedia applications in connection-oriented satellite networks. It utilizes the predictable satellite movement patterns in new connection setup and active connection handover. This algorithm achieves good performances such as low delay jitter, low rerouting frequency, and low rerouting processing overhead.

Multicast routing in satellite IP networks

Multicast routing problem in LEO satellite networks has been addressed first by the Multicast Routing Algorithm (MRA). MRA creates multicast trees with propagation delay constraints. The propagation delay between the source and each destination is bounded by the propagation delay of the longest minimum hop path. This protocol achieves a good balance between the total tree length and end-to-end delay between source and individual destinations.

Another multicast routing scheme is developed for hierarchical satellite IP networks. This multicast routing protocol creates a multicast tree in the dynamic network infrastructure. Furthermore, it also supports dynamic multicast group membership. This protocol is based on the same topological data as used in that of MLSR, and therefore, can be implemented as a suite.

Related Work

E. Ekici, I.F. Akyildiz, and M.D. Bender, “A multicast routing algorithm for LEO satellite IP networks,” IEEE/ACM Trans. on Networking, vol. 10, no. 2, April 2002, pp. 183-192.
I.F. Akyildiz, E.Ekici, and G. Yue, “A distributed multicast routing scheme for multi-layered satellite networks,” To appear in ACM/Kluwer Wireless Networks Journal (WINET).
G.Yue, E. Ekici, and I.F. Akyildiz, “A multicast routing algorithm for multi-layer satellite IP networks,” Proceedings of IEEE GLOBECOM 2002, vol. 3, Taipei, Taiwan, November 2002, pp. 2925-2929.

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Network layer integration of terrestrial and satellite IP networks

To accomplish network integration of terrestrial and satellite IP networks, a new exterior gateway protocol called “Border Gateway Protocol – Satellite version (BGP-S)” is introduced that enables automated discovery of paths that go through the satellite network. This protocol is designed to work in only one terrestrial gateway in every autonomous system (AS) and enables the forwarding of discovered paths in the Internet using the BGP-4 protocol. Since the delay in the satellite network can be much longer than in a terrestrial AS, the acceptance of paths involving satellite hops is accomplished through active delay measurements. BGP-S is independent of the satellite network topology and the routing protocol.

Related Work

E. Ekici and C. Chen, “BGP-S: A protocol for terrestrial and satellite network integration in network layer,” ACM/Kluwer Wireless Networks Journal (WINET), vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 595-605, September 2004.
E. Ekici, I.F. Akyildiz, and M.D. Bender, “Network layer integration of terrestrial and satellite IP networks over BGP-S,” Proceedings of GLOBECOM 2001, vol. 4, San Antonio, TX, November 25-29, 2001, pp. 2698-2702.

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