A QoS-Oriented Congestion Control Mechanism for Satellite Networks

The sharply increasing amount of data, which are transferred by the satellite network, requires the satellite network to provide quality-of-service (QoS). However, the upsurge in the data flow leads to the network congestion, impeding its ability to offer QoS. Congestion control mechanisms, deployed in the ground networks, have been thoroughly studied. But those deployed in the satellite networks have not been studied yet. As satellite networks are now important supplements to the ground backbone networks, this paper carefully analyzes the current challenges of developing the QoS-oriented congestion control mechanism for satellite networks. On this basis, a consequent mechanism QMCC (QoS-oriented mechanism of congestion control for satellite networks) is described in detail. Under that QMCC, the source nodes utilize an equation to compute the sending rate for each data flow; meanwhile, the intermediate nodes keep detecting real-time package-loss rates for timely adjustments. Simulation results indicate QMCC can provide superior congestion control performance, and raise network throughputs without reducing the QoS effects.