Closed-loop congestion control in a GEO satellite system

摘要

Congestion control is a key issue in broadband networks, which is particularly hard in a geostationary (GEO) satellite framework because of the long propagation delays, the limited satellite payload complexity and the scarce amount of capacity. This paper, partially supported by the WISDOM project, shows that the problem can be modelled as a closed-loop control system with two cascade controllers: the former on-board and the latter on-earth. The proposed novelties are (ⅰ) the application of control-theoretic methodologies to the congestion control in satellite networks, and (ⅱ) the introduction of global control parameters that, even if they are not connection-specific, meet the control objectives.