Multi-Satellite DVB-RCS System with RCST based on Software Defined Radio

Abstract-Multi-mode satellite terminals are actually the most desired devices on the market, thanks to their flexibility and suitability. A multi-mode radio communication terminal is a terminal allowing two or more transmission mode. In the last few years many research resources have been invested in the study of this new type of terminal. In this work, we define a multi-mode terminal as a terminal capable of communicating both with a Bent-Pipe (BP) satellite and with an On-Board Processor (OBP) satellite and dynamically setting its transmission parameters (e.g. transmission power and code rate). In order to realize this multimode functionality, the most suitable technology is the Software Defined Radio (SDR). The SDR is a set of Hardware and Software technologies that allow one to obtain reconfigurable architectures for network and wireless terminals. The goal of our work is to plan a satellite system based on Digital Video Broadcast with the Return Channel Satellite (DVB-RCS) standard in which the Return Channel Satellite Terminals (RCSTs) are able to adapt it to the channel state, configuring the transmission chain via software, respecting a certain Quality of Service (QoS) constraint on the Packet Error Rate (PER)

Preliminary study of cooperation in hybrid ad-hoc networks

In this paper, we present a first approach to evolve a cooperative behavior in ad hoc networks. Since wireless nodes are energy constrained, it may not be in the best interest of a node to always accept relay requests. On the other hand, if all nodes decide not to expend energy in relaying, then network throughput will drop dramatically. Both these extreme scenarios are unfavorable to the interests of a user. In this paper we deal with the issue of user cooperation in ad hoc networks by developing the algorithm called Generous Tit-For-Tat. We assume that nodes are rational, i.e., their actions are strictly determined by self-interest, and that each node is associated with a minimum lifetime constraint. Given these lifetime constraints and the assumption of rational behavior, we study the added behavior of the network.En este proyecto mostramos un primer acercamiento a la evolución de las redes Ad-Hoc cooperativas. Puesto que los nodos wireless disponen de energía finita, puede que no estén interesados en aceptar transmitir tráfico de otros nodos. Por otra parte, si ningún nodo decide gastar energía en retransmitir tráfico de otros, entonces la tasa de transferencia en la red cae críticamente. Estos casos extremos son desfavorables para el usuario. En este trabajo tratamos estas cuestiones gracias al desarrollo de un algoritmo llamado "Generous Tit-For Tat". Asumiremos que los nodos son egoístas y tienen energía finita, así que las decisiones se determinarán por propio interés y cada nodo será asociado con un tiempo limitado de energía. Dadas esas limitaciones y la suposición del comportamiento racional estudiaremos el comportamiento agregado de la red.En aquest treball mostrem una primera aproximació a l'evolució de les xarxes Ad-Hoc cooperatives. Donat que els nodes wireless disposen d'energia finita, poden no estar interessats en transmetre tràfic d'altres nodes. Per altra banda, si cap node decideix gastar energia en passar tràfic d'altres, llavors la tassa de transferència a la xarxa cau críticament. Aquests casos extrems son desfavorables per l'usuari. En aquest treball tractem aquestes qüestions gràcies al desenvolupament d'un algoritme anomenat "Generous Tit-For-Tat". Assumirem que els nodes son egoistes y tenen energia finita, així que les decisions es determinaran pel seu propi interès i cada node s'associarà amb un temps limitat d'energia. Donades aquestes limitacions y la suposició del comportament racional, estudiarem el comportament agregat de la xarxa.Nota: Aquest document conté originàriament altre material i/o programari només consultable a la Biblioteca de Ciència i Tecnologia

Contributions based on cross-layer design for quality-of-service provisioning over DVB-S2/RCS broadband satellite system

Contributions based on cross-layer design for Quality-of-Service provisioning over DVB-S2/RCS Broadband Satellite Systems Nowadays, geostationary (GEO) satellite infrastructure plays a crucial role for the provisioning of IP services. Such infrastructure can provide ubiquity and broadband access, being feasible to reach disperse populations located worldwide within remote areas where terrestrial infrastructure can not be deployed. Nevertheless, due to the expansion of the World Wide Web (WWW), new IP applications such as Voice over IP (VoIP) and multimedia services requires considering different levels of individual packet treatment through the satellite network. This differentiation must include not only the Quality of Service (QoS) parameters to specify packet transmission priorities across the network nodes, but also the required amount of bandwidth assignment to guarantee its transport. In this context, the provisioning of QoS guarantees over GEO satellite systems becomes one of the main research areas of organizations such as the European Space Agency (ESA). Mainly because, their current infrastructures require continuous exploitation, as launching a new communication satellite is associated with excessive costs. Therefore, the support of IP services with QoS guarantees must be developed on the terrestrial segment to enable using the current assets. In this PhD thesis several contributions to improve the QoS provisioning over DVB-S2/RCS Broadband Satellite Systems have been developed. The contributions are based on cross-layer design, following the layered model standardized in the ETSI TR 102 157 and 462. The proposals take into account the drawbacks posed by GEO satellite systems such as delay, losses and bandwidth variations. The first contribution proposes QoSatArt, an architecture defined to improve QoS provisioning among services classes considering the physical layer variations due to the presence of rain events. The design is developed inside the gateway, including the specification of the main functional blocks to provide QoS guarantees and mechanisms to minimize de delay and jitter values experienced at the application layer. Here, a cross-layer design between the physical and the network layer has been proposed, to enforce the QoS specifications based on the available bandwidth. The proposed QoSatArt architecture is evaluated using the NS-2 simulation tool. In addition, the performance analysis of several standard Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) variants is also performed. This is carry out to find the most suitable TCP variant that enhances TCP transmission over a QoS architecture such as the QoSatArt. The second contribution proposes XPLIT, an architecture developed to enhance TCP transmission with QoS for DVB-S2/RCS satellite systems. Complementary to QoSatArt, XPLIT introduces Performance Enhanced Proxies (PEPs), which breaks the end-to-end semantic of TCP connections. However, it considers a cross-layer design between the network layer and the transport layer to enhance TCP transmission while providing them with QoS guarantees. Here, a modified TCP variant called XPLIT-TCP is proposed to send data through the forward and the return channel. XPLIT-TCP uses two control loops (the buffer occupancy and the service rate to provide optimized congestion control functions. The proposed XPLIT architecture is evaluated using the NS-2 simulation tool. Finally, the third contribution of this thesis consists on the development of a unified architecture to provide QoS guarantees based on cross-layer design over broadband satellite systems. It adopts the enhancements proposed by the QoSatArt architecture working at the network layer, in combination with the enhancements proposed by the XPLIT architecture working at the transport layer.Actualmente, los satélites Geoestacionarios (GEO) juegan un papel muy importante en la provisión de servicios IP. Esta infraestructura permite proveer ubicuidad y acceso de banda ancha, haciendo posible alcanzar poblaciones dispersas en zonas remotas donde la infraestructura terrestre es inexistente. Sin embargo, en la provisión de aplicaciones como Voz sobre IP (VoIP) y servicios multimedia, es importante considerar el tratamiento diferenciado de paquetes a través de la red satelital. Esta diferenciación debe considerar no solo los requerimientos de Calidad de Servicio (QoS) que especifican las prioridades de los paquetes a través de los nodos de red, si no también el ancho de banda asignado para garantizar su transporte. En este contexto, la provisión de garantías de QoS sobre satélites GEO es una de las Principales áreas de investigación de organizaciones como la Agencia Espacial Europea (ESA) persiguen. Esto se debe principalmente ya que dichas organizaciones requieren la explotación continua de sus activos, dado que lanzar un nuevo satélite al espacio representa costos excesivos. Como resultado, el soporte de servicios IP con calidad de servicio sobre la infraestructura satelital actual es de vital importancia. En esta tesis doctoral se presentan varias contribuciones para el soporte a la Calidad de Servicio en redes DVB-S2/RCS satelitales de banda ancha. Las contribuciones propuestas se basan principalmente en el diseño ”cross-layer” siguiendo el modelo de capas definido y estandarizado en las especificaciones ETSI TR 102 157 [ETS03] y 462 [10205]. Las contribuciones propuestas consideran las limitaciones presentes de los sistemas satelitales GEO como lo son el retardo de propagación, la perdida de paquetes y las variaciones de ancho de banda causados por eventos atmosféricos. La primera contribución propone QoSatArt, una arquitectura definida para mejorar el soporte a la QoS. Esta arquitectura considera las variaciones en la capa física debido a la presencia de eventos de lluvia para priorizar los niveles de QoS. El diseño se desarrolla en el gateway e incluye las especificaciones de los principales elementos funcionales y mecanismos para garantizar la QoS y minimizar el retardo presente en la capa de aplicación. Aquí, se propone un diseño ”cross-layer” entre la capa física y la capa de red, con el objetivo de reforzar las especificaciones de QoS considerando el ancho de banda disponible. La arquitectura QoSatArt es simulada y evaluada empleando la herramienta de simulación NS-2. Adicionalmente, un análisis de desempeño de diversas variantes de TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) es realizado con el objetivo de encontrar la variante de TCP más adecuada para trabajar en un ambiente con QoS como QoSatArt. La segunda contribución propone XPLIT, una arquitectura desarrollada para mejorar las transmisiones TCP con QoS en un sistema satelital DVB-S2/RCS. Complementario a QoSatArt, XPLIT emplea PEPs (Performance Enhanced Proxies), afectando la semántica end-to-end de las conexiones TCP. Sin embargo, XPLIT considera un diseño ”cross-layer” entre la capa de red y la capa de transporte con el objetivo de mejorar las transmisiones TCP considerando los parámetros de QoS como la ocupación de la cola y la tasa de transmisión (_i, _i). Aquí, se propone el uso de una nueva variante de TCP es propuesta llamada XPLIT-TCP, que usa dos bucles para proveer funciones mejoradas en el control de congestión. La arquitectura XPLIT es simulada y evaluada empleando la herramienta de simulación NS-2. Finalmente, la tercera contribución de esta tesis consiste en el desarrollo de un arquitectura unificada para el soporte a la QoS en redes satelitales de banda ancha basada en técnicas ”cross-layer”. Esta arquitectura adopta las mejoras propuestas por QoSatArt en la capa de red en combinación con las mejoras propuestas por XPLIT en la capa de transporte

Call admission control for interactive multimedia satellite networks.

Master of Science in Engineering (Electronic). University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2015.Satellite communication has become an integral component of global access communication network due mainly to its ubiquitous coverage, large bandwidth and ability to support for large numbers of users over fixed and mobile devices. However, the multiplicity of multimedia applications with diverse requirements in terms of quality of service (QoS) poses new challenges in managing the limited and expensive resources. Furthermore, the time-varying nature of the propagation channel due to atmospheric and environmental effects also poses great challenges to effective utilization of resources and the satisfaction of users’ QoS requirements. Efficient radio resource management (RRM) techniques such as call admission control (CAC) and adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) are required in order to guarantee QoS satisfaction for user established connections and realize maximum and efficient utilization of network resources. In this work, we propose two CAC policies for interactive satellite multimedia networks. The two policies are based on efficient adaptation of transmission parameters to the dynamic link characteristics. In the first policy which we refer to as Gaussian Call Admission Control with Link Adaptation (GCAC-LA), we invoke the central limit theorem to statistically multiplex rate based dynamic capacity (RBDC) connections and obtain an aggregate bandwidth and required capacity for the multiplex. Adaptive Modulation and Coding (AMC) is employed for transmission over the time-varying wireless channel of the return link of an interactive satellite network. By associating users’ channel states to particular transmission parameters, the amount of resources required to satisfy user connection requirements in each state is determined. Thus the admission control policy considers in its decision, the channel states of all existing and new connections. The performance of the system is investigated by simulation and the results show that AMC significantly improves the utilization and call blocking performance by more than twice that of a system without link adaptation. In the second policy, a Game Theory based CAC policy with link adaptation (GTCAC-LA) is proposed. The admission of a new user connection under the GTCAC-LA policy is based on a non-cooperative game that is played between the network (existing user connections) and the new connection. A channel prediction scheme that predicts the rain attenuation on the link in successive intervals of time is also proposed. This determines the current resource allocation for every source at any point in time. The proposed game is played each time a new connection arrives and the strategies adopted by players are based on utility function, which is estimated based on the required capacity and the actual resources allocated. The performance of the CAC policy is investigated for different prediction intervals and the results show that multiple interval prediction scheme shows better performance than the single interval scheme. Performance of the proposed CAC policies indicates their suitability for QoS provisioning for traffic of multimedia connections in future 5G networks

Enlace de retorno satelital DVB-RCS2 : modelagem de fila e otimização de alocação de recursos baseada em teoria dos jogos

Tese (doutorado) — Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Tecnologia, Departamento de Engenharia Elétrica, 2022.É esperado que satélites tenham um papel fundamental no futuro dos sistemas de comunicação, integrando-se às infraestruturas terrestres. Esta dissertação de mestrado propõe três contribuições principais: primeiramente, se apresenta um arcabouço de simulação capaz de prover detalhes da performance de redes de comunicação satelital em cenários realistas. Este arcabouço aplica uma metodologia orientada a eventos, modelando a rede de comunicação como um sistema baseado em eventos discretos (DES), focando no enlace de retorno do protocolo DVB-RCS2. Três diferentes cenários simulados demonstram os possíveis usos das saídas do simulador para entender o comportamento dinâmico da rede e alcançar um ponto ótimo de operação do sistema. Cada cenário explora uma característica diferente do simulador, enquanto cobre um grande território de usuários, que em nosso caso estudo o país de escolha foi o Brasil. Em um segundo tópico, este trabalho introduz um novo algoritmo modificado do método de alocação de timeslots baseado em teoria dos jogos, aplicando-se no protocolo DVB-RCS2. Este procedimento considera a eficiência espectral do terminal como um parâmetro de peso para o problema de otimização convexa resultante da solução da barganha de Nash. Este novo método garante o cumprimento dos requisitos de Qualidade de Serviço (QoS) enquanto provê uma medida de justiça maior; os resultados mostram uma melhoria de 5% na medida de justiça, com uma diminuição de 75% no desvio padrão de justiça entre os quadros, também alcançando um aumento de 12% na satisfação individual média pela alocação de capacidade aos terminais. Por final, apresentamos uma modelagem alternativa para o enlace de retorno do DVB-RCS2 usando cadeias de Markov, predizendo parâmetros tradicionais de fila como a intensidade de tráfego, tempo médio de espera, dentre outros. Utilizamos dados coletados de uma série de simulações usando o arcabouço orientado a eventos para validar o modelo de filas como uma aproximação numérica útil para o cenário real de aplicação. Nós apresentamos o algoritmo de alocação de controle do parâmetro alfa (GTAC) que consegue controlar o tempo médio de espera de um RCST na fila, respeitando um limiar de tempo enquanto otimiza a taxa média média de transmissão de dados dos terminais.Satellite networks are expected to play a vital role in future communication systems, with complex features and seamless integration with ground-based infrastructure. This dissertation proposes three main contributions: firstly, it presents a novel simulation framework capable of providing a detailed assessment of a satellite communication’s network performance in realistic scenarios, employing an event-driven methodology and modeling the communications network as a DES (discrete event system). This work focuses on the return link of the Digital Video Broadcast Return Channel via Satellite (DVB-RCS2) standard. Three different scenarios demonstrate possible uses of the simulator’s output to understand the network’s dynamic behavior and achievable optimal system operation. Each scenario explores a different feature of the simulator. The simulated range covers a large territory with thousands of users, which in our case study was the country of Brazil. In the second theme, this work introduces a novel algorithm modification for the conventional game theory-based time slot assignment method, applying it to the DVB-RCS system. This procedure considers the spectral efficiency as a weighting parameter. We use it as an input for the resulting convex optimization problem of the Nash Bargaining Solution. This approach guarantees the fulfillment of Quality of Service (QoS) constraints while maintaining a higher fairness measure; results show a 5% improvement in fairness, with a 73% decrease in the standard deviation of fairness between frames, while also managing to reach a 12.5% increase in average normalized terminal BTU allocation satisfaction. Lastly, we present an alternative queuing model analysis for the DVB-RCS2 return link using Markov chains, developed to predict traditional queue parameters such as traffic intensity, average queue size, average waiting time, among others. We used data gathered from a series of simulations using the DES framework to validate this queuing model as a useful numerical approximation to the real application scenario, and, by the end of the scope, we present the alpha allocation algorithm (GTAC) that can maintain the average waiting time of a terminal in the queue to a threshold while optimizing the average terminal throughput

Satellite Communications

This study is motivated by the need to give the reader a broad view of the developments, key concepts, and technologies related to information society evolution, with a focus on the wireless communications and geoinformation technologies and their role in the environment. Giving perspective, it aims at assisting people active in the industry, the public sector, and Earth science fields as well, by providing a base for their continued work and thinking

Power and Rate Allocation in Cognitive Satellite Uplink Networks

peer reviewedIn this paper, we consider the cognitive satellite uplink where satellite terminals reuse frequency bands of Fixed-Service (FS) terrestrial microwave links which are the incumbent users in the Ka 27.5-29.5 GHz band. In this scenario, the transmitted power of the cognitive satellite terminals has to be controlled so as to satisfy the interference constraints imposed by the incumbent FS receivers. We investigate and analyze a set of optimization frameworks for the power and rate allocation problem in the considered cognitive satellite scenario. The main objective is to shed some light on this rather unexplored scenario and demonstrate feasibility of the terrestrial-satellite co-existence. In particular, we formulate a multi-objective optimization problem where the rates of the satellite terminals form the objective vector and derive a general iterative framework which provides a Pareto-optimal solution. Next, we transform the multi-objective optimization problem into different single-objective optimization problems, focusing on popular figures of merit such as the sumrate or the rate fairness. Supporting results based on numerical simulations are provided which compare the different proposed approaches.SATSEN

Cross-layer Optimization in the Next-generation Broadband Satellite Systems

Abstract Next-generation broadband satellite systems will have the capability to provide costeffective universal broadband access for the users. In order to meet users' requirements on high quality multimedia services, many enhancements have to be made on the existing satellite technologies. One of the promising methods is the introduction of cross-layer design. There are several advantages of a layered approach since modularity, robustness and ease of designs are achieved without difficulty. However the properties of the different layers have substantial interdependencies and a modularised design may therefore be suboptimal with regards to performance and availability in a hybrid satellite and mobile wireless environment. In this paper, we will carry out a review of the cross-layer design in satellite systems. Based on this, a cross-layer architecture for the next-generation broadband satellite system is proposed. The proposed cross-layer architecture has two main components: QoS and resource management and mobility management. In each component, the cross-layer techniques that have been used are described in details