CENTRALIZED GROUND-BASED ROUTE DETERMINATION AND TRAFFIC ENGINEERING FOR SOFTWARE DEFINED SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS

• US 20160037434A1
• Filed: 08/03/2015
• Published: 02/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hughes Network Systems LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hughes Network Systems LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: GOPAL, Rajeev, Ravishankar, Channasandra
• Granted Patent: US 9,763,167 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/1851 Systems using a satellite or space-based relay H04B7/18508, H04B7/18521 take precedence; providing specific services H04B7/18523 - H04B7/18576
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18519 Operations control, administration or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/124 using a combination of metrics
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/246 Connectivity information discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/248 Connectivity information update

Abstract

Approaches are provided for an SDSN that employs a satellite network nodes, where central L2 network nodes are controlled via a centralized Controller. Link status information is obtained regarding links of each L2 node. Global routing constraints, satellite ephemeris data, and resource allocation information are obtained. A constellation topology of the network nodes is determined based on the ephemeris data. Network routes between pairs of endpoints are determined. Each route includes links based on the link status information regarding the links, the global routing constraints, the bandwidth resources of the links and the current allocation of bandwidth resources, and/or the constellation topology. A forwarding table is generated for each network node, wherein each forwarding table includes route entries providing a next hop indicating a destination for data packets, wherein the destination is associated with a link of the respective network node that represents a link of a respective route.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

obtaining link status information regarding one or more links of each of a plurality network nodes of a communications network, wherein each link is between two of the network nodes;

obtaining global routing constraints from a network operations center;

obtaining satellite ephemeris data regarding each of one or more satellite nodes of the communications network;

obtaining resource allocation information regarding network bandwidth resources of the links and a current allocation of the network bandwidth resources to each of the links;

determining a constellation topology of the plurality of network nodes based at least in part on the satellite ephemeris data;

determining a plurality of network path routes between various pairs of endpoints of the communications network, wherein each path route includes one or more of the links, and wherein each path route is based at least in part on one or more of the link status information regarding the respective links of the path route, the global routing constraints, the network bandwidth resources of the links and the current allocation of the network bandwidth resources to each of the links, and the network node constellation topology; and

generating a forwarding table for each of the network nodes, wherein each forwarding table includes a plurality of route entries, wherein each route entry provides a network node next hop indicating a next hop destination for respective data packets, wherein the next hop destination is associated with a one of the links of the respective network node that represents a one of the links of a respective one of the network path routes.