Rethinking LEO constellations routing

Abstract

SummaryThis study investigates the unsplittable multicommodity flow (UMCF) as a routing algorithm for LEO constellations. Usually, LEO routing schemes enable the Floyd–Warshall algorithm (shortest path) to minimize the end‐to‐end latency of the flows crossing the constellation. We propose to solve the UMCF problem associated with the system as a solution for routing over LEO. We use a heuristic algorithm based on randomized rounding known in the optimization literature to efficiently solve the UMCF problem. Furthermore, we explore the impact of choosing the first/last hop before entering/exiting the constellation. Using network simulation over Telesat constellation, we show that UMCF maximizes the end‐to‐end links usage, providing better routing while minimizing the delay and the congestion level, which is an issue today over new megaconstellations.