High Assurance SATCOM Policy-based Network Management

ABSTRACT: The key objective for Policy Based Network Management for SATCOM is to consider the satellite network system as a whole for planning, optimization, monitoring and control/reconfiguration so that the entire system resources can be used as efficiently as possible while providing the desired QoS and performance attributes needed by the users of the satellite network. Also, since the satellite network system is distributed across ground-based and space-based entities, the management policy that the PBNM tool generates and uploads on the different components should not introduce any unintended behavior or faults into the satellite system. In this Phase 2 SBIR effort, the combined Scalable Network Technologies and Applied Communication Sciences team proposes to build a Simulation-Assisted Policy Based Network Management Tool for Satellite Networks termed as P-3. The P-3 tool will combine cutting-edge network management and performance optimization techniques for satellite networks with high fidelity"faster than real-time"satellite network models of interest to ensure that the satellite network will be managed by treating the system as a"whole"and network management policies be comprehensively validated using the high fidelity network simulation models before being applied to the live system. BENEFIT: The simulated assisted policy based network management concept that will be researched has direct application towards enhancing existing network management of complex satellite and ground based wireless networks for better accuracy and assurance and will thus make the network management process more fault tolerant, efficient and effective. In the military space, the P-3 PBNM solution being developed has direct application in the WIN-T and JTRS MUOS program, where it can be used to automate the network planning, configuration and online re-configuration of the satellite networks.