Dynamic routing with link state information in ADNS and future SATCOM network

Abstract

A future satellite communications system is envisioned that will provide a number of enhancements over predecessor satellite communication systems. It will employ high capacity packet switched service in space, high rate circuits between terminals, and utilize Dynamic Bandwidth Resource Allocation which dynamically assigns resources to terminals based on current channel conditions and traffic demand. However, to realize these potential benefits, we must be able to integrate the future satellite network seamlessly with the existing communication networks. In this paper, we assess the impact of variable rate satellite links on the existing communication network and propose possible solutions to mitigate the adverse impact. With no awareness of the variable rate uplink in the future satellite network, the data routed by the existing user network into the satellite network may be dropped at the edge of the two different networks due to a rate mismatch, or conversely, the satellite links may be underutilized. Here, our proposed method will prevent significant packet drop and make more efficient use of available links by dynamically rerouting traffic based on the real-time link capacity of the satellite network.