Performance of packet networks in satellite clusters

A packet switched satellite cluster consisting of m satellites interconnected through intersatellite links is studied using an approximate performance model. The satellite cluster performance is expressed in terms of mean delay, throughput, and overflow probability. These system performance measures are derived as a function of the system load, traffic distribution, and system configuration in terms of the number of uplinks, number of buffers, number of transponders, and the intersatellite links capacity. The proposed model can be used to analyze the sensitivity of the system performance as a function of a system configuration. This analysis can aid in obtaining an optimal configuration for a required system performance.