A cluster-based load balancing between satellite gateways in a MANET

Abstract

Mobile Ad-hoc Network, associated with satellite connectivity, is a promising solution to provide communication for safety professionals where the standard terrestrial network is not available. Since satellite links are throughput and delay constrained, load distribution is a key mechanism in order to meet safety requirements. As a consequence, this paper presents a load balancing mechanism which distributes traffics among different satellite gateways of a mobile ad-hoc network. The principle is based on the OLSR routing protocol and relies on the correspondence between satellite gateway load and the size of the cluster served by this gateway. The specificity of the proposed mechanism is to tailor the load balancing procedure to the satellite parameters. Besides, the principle is very simple and the complexity lies in the additional mechanisms that limit untoward aftermath of load balancing with inappropriate scenarios.