A Routing Protocol for Hierarchical LEO/MEO Satellite IP Networks

The rapid growth of Internet-based applications pushes broadband satellite networks to carry on IP traffic. In previously proposed connectionless routing schemes in satellite networks, the metrics used to calculate the paths do not reflect the total delay a packet may experience. In this paper, a new Satellite Grouping and Routing Protocol (SGRP) is developed. In each snapshot period, SGRP divides Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites into groups according to the footprint area of the Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites. Based on the delay reports sent by LEO satellites, MEO satellite managers compute the minimum-delay paths for their LEO members. Since the signaling traffic is physically separated from the data traffic, link congestion does not affect the responsiveness of delay reporting and routing table calculation. The snapshot and group formation methods as well as fast reacting mechanisms to address link congestion and satellite failures are described in detail. The performance of SGRP is evaluated through simulations and analysis.