UltraStar: A Lightweight Simulator of Ultra-Dense LEO Satellite Constellation Networking for 6G

Xiaoyu Liu; Ting Ma; Zhixuan Tang; Xiaohan Qin; Haibo Zhou; Xuemin (Sherman) Shen

doi:10.1109/JAS.2023.123084

Volume 10 Issue 3

Mar. 2023

IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica

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Article Navigation > IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica > 2023 > 10(3): 632-645

X. Y. Liu, T. Ma, Z. X. Tang, X. H. Qin, H. B. Zhou, and X. M. Shen, “UltraStar: A lightweight simulator of ultra-dense LEO satellite constellation networking for 6G,” IEEE/CAA J. Autom. Sinica, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 632–645, Mar. 2023. doi: 10.1109/JAS.2023.123084

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X. Y. Liu, T. Ma, Z. X. Tang, X. H. Qin, H. B. Zhou, and X. M. Shen, “UltraStar: A lightweight simulator of ultra-dense LEO satellite constellation networking for 6G,” IEEE/CAA J. Autom. Sinica, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 632–645, Mar. 2023. doi: 10.1109/JAS.2023.123084

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UltraStar: A Lightweight Simulator of Ultra-Dense LEO Satellite Constellation Networking for 6G

doi: 10.1109/JAS.2023.123084

1.
School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
2.
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo N2L 3G1, Canada

Funds: This work was supported in part by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2020YFB1806104), the Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of Jiangsu Province (BK20220067), and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)

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Author Bio:
Xiaoyu Liu (Student Member, IEEE) received the B.S. degree in electronic and information engineering from Xidian University, in 2021. He is currently pursuing the M.S. degree with the School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University. His research interests include space-air-ground integrated networks, network simulation, and deep reinforcement learning

Ting Ma (Member, IEEE) received the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in statistics from Sichuan University, in 2013, 2016 and 2020, respectively. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow with the School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University. Her current research interests include robust hypothesis testing, space-air-ground integrated network, convex optimization theory, and game theory

Zhixuan Tang (Member, IEEE) received the B.S. degree in communication engineering from Nanjing University in 2020. She is currently pursuing the M.S. degree with the School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University. Her research interests include dynamic resource allocation, mobile edge computing, and satellite communication

Xiaohan Qin (Student Member, IEEE) received the B.S. degree in communication engineering from Central South University, in 2020. She is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree in communications and information system with Nanjing University. Her research interests include space-air-ground integrated networks, network resource management, and game theory

Haibo Zhou (Senior Member, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree in information and communication engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, in 2014. From 2014 to 2017, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Broadband Communications Research Group, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo. He is currently an Associate Professor with the School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University. He won the 2020 Norbert Wiener Review Award of IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica. He was named the 2020 highly cited researcher in cross-field. He was a recipient of the 2019 IEEE ComSoc Asia-Pacific Outstanding Young Researcher Award. He served as an Invited Track Co-Chair for ICCC’2019, VTC-Fall’2020 and a TPC member of many IEEE conferences, including GLOBECOM, ICC, and VTC. He served as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Comsoc Technically Co-Sponsored the Journal of Communications and Information Networks (JCIN) from April 2017 to March 2019, and a Guest Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology in 2021, the IEEE Internet of Things Journal in 2021, the IEEE Communications Magazine in 2016, the Hindawi International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks in 2017, and IET Communications in 2017. He is currently an Associate Editor of the IEEE Internet of Things Journal, the IEEE Network Magazine, the IEEE Wireless Communications Letter, and the JCIN. His research interests include resource management and protocol design in vehicular ad hoc networks, 5G/B5G wireless networks and space-air-ground integrated networks

Xuemin (Sherman) Shen (Fellow, IEEE) received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Rutgers University, USA, in 1990. He is a University Professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada. His research interests include network resource management, wireless network security, internet of things, 5G and beyond, and vehicular ad hoc and sensor networks.Dr. Shen is a registered Professional Engineer of Ontario, Canada, an Engineering Institute of Canada Fellow, a Canadian Academy of Engineering Fellow, a Royal Society of Canada Fellow, a Chinese Academy of Engineering Foreign Member, and a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society and Communications Society. Dr. Shen received the Canadian Award for Telecommunications Research from the Canadian Society of Information Theory (CSIT) in 2021, the R.A. Fessenden Award in 2019 from IEEE, Canada, Award of Merit from the Federation of Chinese Canadian Professionals (Ontario) in 2019, James Evans Avant Garde Award in 2018 from the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society, Joseph LoCicero Award in 2015 and Education Award in 2017 from the IEEE Communications Society, and Technical Recognition Award from Wireless Communications Technical Committee (2019) and AHSN Technical Committee (2013). He has also received the Excellent Graduate Supervision Award in 2006 from the University of Waterloo and the Premiers Research Excellence Award (PREA) in 2003 from the Province of Ontario, Canada. He served as the Technical Program Committee Chair/CoChair for IEEE Globecom 16, IEEE Infocom14, IEEE VTC10 Fall, IEEE Globecom07, and the Chair for the IEEE Communications Society Technical Committee on Wireless Communications. Dr. Shen is the President of the IEEE Communications Society. He was the Vice President for Technical & Educational Activities, Vice President for Publications, Member-at-Large on the Board of Governors, Chair of the Distinguished Lecturer Selection Committee, Member of IEEE Fellow Selection Committee of the ComSoc. Dr. Shen served as the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE IoT Journal, IEEE Network, and IET Communications
Corresponding author: Haibo Zhou, e-mail: haibozhou@nju.edu.cn
Received Date: 2022-08-27
Accepted Date: 2022-11-02

Available Online: 2023-01-31

Abstract

Abstract

The mega-constellation network has gained significant attention recently due to its great potential in providing ubiquitous and high-capacity connectivity in sixth-generation (6G) wireless communication systems. However, the high dynamics of network topology and large scale of mega-constellation pose new challenges to the constellation simulation and performance evaluation. In this paper, we introduce UltraStar, a lightweight network simulator, which aims to facilitate the complicated simulation for the emerging mega-constellation of unprecedented scale. Particularly, a systematic and extensible architecture is proposed, where the joint requirement for network simulation, quantitative evaluation, data statistics and visualization is fully considered. For characterizing the network, we make lightweight abstractions of physical entities and models, which contain basic representatives of networking nodes, structures and protocol stacks. Then, to consider the high dynamics of Walker constellations, we give a two-stage topology maintenance method for constellation initialization and orbit prediction. Further, based on the discrete event simulation (DES) theory, a new set of discrete events is specifically designed for basic network processes, so as to maintain network state changes over time. Finally, taking the first-generation Starlink of 11 927 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites as an example, we use UltraStar to fully evaluate its network performance for different deployment stages, such as characteristics of constellation topology, performance of end-to-end service and effects of network-wide traffic interaction. The simulation results not only demonstrate its superior performance, but also verify the effectiveness of UltraStar.
- Discrete event simulation (DES),
- mega-constellation,
- network dynamics,
- performance evaluation,
- simulation architecture design

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A systematic and extensible simulation framework for mega-constellations is proposed
Modules of topology, network, discrete event and visualization are newly designed
This is the first trial to simulate such constellations of more than 10,000 satellites
The topology characteristic, transmission performance and network dynamics are evaluated

UltraStar: A Lightweight Simulator of Ultra-Dense LEO Satellite Constellation Networking for 6G

doi: 10.1109/JAS.2023.123084

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