Abstract

Broadband satellite constellation networks will be required to carry all types of IP traffic, real time interactive traffic as well as non-real time traffic, warranting the need for appropriate QoS for these different traffic flows. In this paper we investigate the need for MPLS traffic engineering in GEO/MEO/LEO satellite networks to address QoS issues. We compare the service received by TCP and UDP flows when they share a link and when they are routed on explicit MPLS traffic trunks. Since MPLS traffic trunks allow non-shortest path links also to be used, the total network throughput goes up with proper traffic engineering. If UDP and TCP flows are mixed in a trunk, TCP flows receive reduced service as the UDP flows increase their rates. Also, we found that with MPLS traffic engineering we can protect real time traffic and VoIP traffic from packet loss and excessive jitter by separating them from other congestion unresponsive flows Peer Reviewed

Abstract

We present the TOTEM open source Traffic Engineering (TE) toolbox and a set of TE methods that we have designed and/or integrated. These methods cover intra-domain and inter-domain TE, IP-based and MPLS-based TE. They are suitable for network optimisation, better routing of traffic for providing QoS, load balancing, protection and restoration in case of failure, etc. The toolbox is designed to be deployed as an on-line tool in an operational network, or used off-line as an optimisation tool or as a traffic engineering simulator. Peer Reviewed