Using simulation to evaluate traffic engineering management services in maritime networks

ABSTRACT

One of the critical problems in maritime tactical networks is how to maximize the Quality of Service (QoS) achieved by critical traffic while dealing with mobile and limited-capacity links. As part of a research effort to provide enhanced communications capabilities in a maritime tactical network, a number of traffic-engineering techniques have been investigated using the OPNET discrete-event simulation (DES) tool. In this paper, we describe the model developed to simulate the maritime environment and the impact on network traffic of three traffic-engineering based management services: first, a traffic-monitoring service matches the amount of traffic it produces with its knowledge of the current load of the network; second, a traffic-prioritisation service uses weighted fair queuing (WFQ) to prioritize critical traffic; and finally, an adaptive-routing service uses multi-path labelled switching (MPLS) to divert traffic from overloaded links. The effect of these services on network traffic has been simulated and the results are described in this paper.

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INDEX TERMS

Keywords:
QoS, discrete-event simulation, maritime networks, network management, traffic engineering