Modeling Resource Demand, Resource Allocation, and Traffic Flow in Global MSS and Broadband Satellite Networks

摘要

This paper describes an abstract model of global satellite networks and their interaction with user traffic. The model includes satellites, phased arrays of spot beams, gateways, network links, transmissions, and to a limited extent, bandwidth access schemes. It has been implemented in software in the form of generic C++ class libraries to provide a flexible and convenient infrastructure for network prototyping and simulation. The software enables exploration of resource demand (hardware, bandwidth, power) and resource allocation under real or contrived traffic patterns. It accounts for many significant and complicated variables that affect entwork state over time. These include changes in satellite/spotbeam visibility to ground users, changes in network topology (satellite cross-links, satellite-gateway links), transmission handoffs (satellite-to-satellite, spotbeam-to-spotbeam), different data rates for different services, dynmaic bandwidth allocation to spot beams, anddiurnal variation in user activity. The resulting simulations are time-driven and run faster than real-world systems. They can be extremely useful in optimizing network design, network operation, and business models.