A cross-layer approach to dynamic bandwidth allocation in Satellite networks

This work presents an innovative cross-layer approach to dynamic bandwidth allocation (BoD) in Satellite DVB-RCS networks. The algorithm is based on the assumption that, by managing the traffic at IP level through interaction with MAC level, a meaningful reduction in packet loss can be achieved, thus resulting in better resource exploitation. The proposed mechanism has been embedded in a consolidated control scheme for dynamic bandwidth allocation ([23], [1]). The interaction consists in the computation of the exact amount of MAC cells to send to the air interface during the next frame; based on this computation, the proper number of IP packets are segmented, transmitted to the MAC layer and queued in the MAC buffers. In this way, a twofold result is obtained: 1) no duplication of the scheduling function, scheduling can be performed at IP layer only, and 2) avoidance of overflows of MAC buffers. Simulations results, obtained by Opnet®, confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach. © 2010 Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.