Performance modeling of a class of low Earth orbit satellite networks

The performance of a class of low Earth orbit satellite networks used for instant global communications is investigated. Three different topologies varying in connectivity are investigated. The average delay per message of these topologies under different traffic patterns is obtained through using stochastic Petri net (SPN) modeling schemes and the use of Little´s theorem. Analytical results, such as mean message traversal, are included in constructing the SPN models, thereby maintaining a manageable size of each model without sacrificing the accuracy. The problem of link contention is considered in the estimation of the average message delay of all three topologies. In a 64/8/3 delta network, it is roughly a 33% reduction in the average message delay if each satellite is equipped with four links, compared with three links. Furthermore, the SPN models presented in this paper are applicable to other data networks