IP Mobile Multicast over Next Generation Satellite Networks. Design and Evaluation of a Seamless Mobility Framework for IP Multicast Communications over a Multi-beam Geostationary Satellite Network

The inherent broadcast nature of satellites, their global coverage and direct access to a large number of subscribers give satellites unrivalled advantages in supporting IP multicast applications. A new generation of satellite systems that support regenerative on-board processors and multiple spot beam technology have opened new possibilities of implementing IP multicast communication over satellites. These new features enable satellites to make efficient use of their allocated bandwidth resources and provide cost effective network services but equally, create new challenges for mobile satellite terminals. IP mobility support in general and IP mobile multicast support in particular on mobile satellite terminals like the ones mounted on continental flights, maritime vessels, etc., still remain big challenges that have received very little attention from the research community. Up till now, there are no proposed mechanisms to support IP multicast for mobile receivers/sources in multi-beam satellite networks in open literature. This study explores the suitability of IP multicast mobility support schemes defined for terrestrial networks in a satellite environment and proposes novel schemes based on the concepts of Home and Remote subscription-based approaches, multiple interface and PMIPv6 protocol. Detailed analysis and comparison of results obtained from the proposed schemes, Mobile IP (MIP) Home and Remote subscription-based approaches (for terrestrial networks) when implemented on a reference multi-beam satellite network are presented. From these results, the proposed schemes outperform the MIP Home and Remote subscription-based approaches in terms of gateway handover latency, number of multicast packets lost and signalling cost over the satellite air interface

Multicast source mobility support for regenerative satellite networks

YesSatellite communications provides an effective solution to the ever increasing demand for mobile and ubiquitous communications especially in areas where terrestrial communication infrastructure is not present. IP multicasting is a bandwidth saving technology which could become an indispensable means of group communication over satellites since it can utilise the scarce and expensive satellite resources in an efficient way. In Source-Specific Multicast (SSM) the data is sent through a multicast tree from the source to all the receivers. However, if a source is a mobile node moving from one network to another, then special mechanisms are required to make sure this multicast tree does not break. Until now, while many research efforts have been made to provide IP multicast for the mobile nodes, they are mainly focused on terrestrial networks. Unfortunately, the terrestrial mobile multicast schemes are not directly applicable in a satellite environment. This paper, proposes a new mechanism to support multicast source mobility in SSM based applications for a mesh multi-beam satellite network with receivers both within the satellite network and in the Internet. In the proposed mechanism, the SSM receivers continue to receive multicast traffic from the mobile source despite the fact that the IP address of the source keeps on changing as it changes its point of attachment from one satellite gateway (GW) to another. The proposed scheme is evaluated and the results compared with the mobile IP home subscription (MIP HS)-based approach. The results show that the proposed scheme outperforms the MIP HS-based approach in terms of signalling cost and packet delivery cost

IP multicast receiver mobility support using PMIPv6 in a global satellite network

YesA new generation of satellite systems that support regenerative on-board processors (OBPs) and multiple spot beam technology have opened new and efficient possibilities of implementing IP multicast communication over satellites. These new features have widened the scope of satellite-based applications and also enable satellite operators to efficiently utilize their allocated bandwidth resources. This makes it possible to provide cost effective satellite network services. IP multicast is a network layer protocol designed for group communication to save bandwidth resources and reduce processing overhead on the source side. The inherent broadcast nature of satellites, their global coverage (air, land, and sea), and direct access to a large number of subscribers imply satellites have unrivalled advantages in supporting IP multicast applications. IP mobility support in general and IP mobile multicast support in particular on mobile satellite terminals like the ones mounted on long haul flights, maritime vessels, continental trains, etc., still remain big challenges that have received very little attention from the research community. This paper proposes how Proxy Mobile IPv6 (PMIPv6)-based IP multicast mobility support defined for terrestrial networks can be adopted and used to support IP mobile multicast in future satellite networks, taking cognizance of the trend in the evolution of satellite communications

Source mobility support for source specific multicast in satellite networks

N

PMIPv6-based IP mobility management over regenerative satellite mesh networks

NoNew generation of satellite systems with on-board processing (switching/routing) and support for multiple spot beams will play a key role in the provision of mobile and ubiquitous Internet-based communications. To achieve this `anywhere anytime' communication in a global multi-beam satellite network with many gateways (GWs), the challenges of beam, gateway and satellite handovers faced by the satellite terminals mounted on mobile platforms such as long haul flights, global maritime vessels and continental trains must be adequately dealt with. Network-based localised mobility protocol proxy mobile IPv6 (PMIPv6) where the IP mobility procedures are relocated from the mobile nodes to the network components has been defined by the IETF for terrestrial networks. This paper proposes how the concept of PMIPv6 could be used to support IP mobility in a mesh regenerative multi-beam satellite network. What makes this proposed approach different from that defined by the IETF is the absence of tunnelling throughout the system and the difference in the roles played by the mobility agents

IP multicast receiver mobility using multi-homing in a multi-beam satellite network

NoThere are several merits of mobile communication devices having multiple network interfaces as compared to traditional devices with just one interface. Smart phones these days are a true example of a mobile multi-homed communication device with heterogeneous network interfaces. Several solutions are available for unicast applications to provide seamless handover using the multiple interfaces of a multi-homed device in terrestrial networks. However, very little has been done on similar support for IP multicast mobility support for mobile satellite terminals in a ubiquitous multi-beam satellite network. Most of the schemes proposed for handovers in multi-homed devices place a lot of emphasis on maintaining the multi-homed device identity especially when the second interface joins the communication session. This increases complexity in the whole system. The issue of maintaining the multi-homed device identity plus the additional signalling messages involve are neither necessary nor desired in an IP multicast communication handover in a multi-beam satellite scenario. This paper seeks to exploit the group communication features of IP multicast (i.e., the fact that anyone can join or leave a multicast group at any time and from any location) and the multiple interfaces of a mobile Return Channel Satellite Terminal (RCST) to support IP multicast communication during handover when a mobile multi-homed RCST changes its point of attachment to the network from one satellite gateway to another

Satellite mobile multicast for aeronautical communication

NoSatellite communication with its world-wide coverage has now become an indispensable part of the Aeronautical communication. Support for high-speed Internet access by the new generation satellite systems has made the provision of IP-based multimedia applications on-board the aircraft possible at all times. Considering the expensive nature of satellite resources, IP multicast can provide a cost-effective and bandwidth saving means of delivering real-time group communication and streaming media to air passengers and crew during a flight. In IP multicast communication, traffic from the source travels along the established multicast tree to reach all group members. For mobile receivers like the aircraft which may move from one satellite beam to another, then special techniques are required to ensure that a branch of the multicast tree follows the mobile receiver into the target beam. This paper proposes a novel technique based on the Proxy Mobile IPv6 (PMIPv6) protocol to support IP multicast receiver mobility over satellite networks for an aircraft as it moves and changes its point of attachment from one satellite gateway (GW) to another. Performance evaluation shows that the proposed scheme is better than the Mobile IPv6-based approach in terms of GW handover (GWH) latency and number of packets lost during GWH

Network coding for multicast communications over satellite networks

NoRandom packet errors and erasures are common in satellite communications. These types of packet losses could become significant in mobile satellite scenarios like satellite-based aeronautical communications where mobility at very high speeds is a routine. The current adaptive coding and modulation (ACM) schemes used in new satellite systems like the DVBRCS2 might offer some solutions to the problems posed by random packet errors but very little or no solution to the problems of packet erasures where packets are completely lost in transmission. The use of the current ACM schemes to combat packet losses in a high random packet errors and erasures environment like the satellite-based aeronautical communications will result in very low throughput. Network coding (NC) has proved to significantly improve throughput and thus saves bandwidth resources in such an environment. This paper focuses on establishing how in random linear network coding (RLNC) the satellite bandwidth utilization is affected by changing values of the generation size, rate of packet loss and number of receivers in a satellite-based aeronautical reliable IP multicast communication. From the simulation results, it shows that the bandwidth utilization generally increases with increasing generation size, rate of packet loss and number of receivers

Network coding applications to high bit-rate satellite networks

NoSatellite networks are expected to support multimedia traffic flows, offering high capacity with QoS guarantees. However, system efficiency is often impaired by packet losses due to erasure channel effects. Reconfigurable and adaptive air interfaces are possible solutions to alleviate some of these issues. On the other hand, network coding is a promising technique to improve satellite network performance. This position paper reports on potential applications of network coding to satellite networks. Surveys and preliminary numerical results are provided on network coding applications to different exemplary satellite scenarios. Specifically, the adoption of Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC) is considered in three cases, namely, multicast transmissions, handover for multihomed aircraft mobile terminals, and multipath TCP-based applications. OSI layers on which the implementation of networking coding would potentially yield benefits are also recommended