A Priority Based Multipath Routing Mechanism in the Tactical Backbone Network

Yongsin Kim, Sang-heon Shin, Younghan Kim

http://doi.org/

The tactical network is system based on wireless networking technologies that ties together surveillance reconnaissance systems, precision strike systems and command and control systems. Several alternative paths exist in the network because it is connected as a grid to improve its survivability. In addition, the network topology changes frequently as forces and combatants change their network access points while conducting operations. However, most Internet routing standards have been designed for use in stable backbone networks. Therefore, tactical networks may exhibit a deterioration in performance when these standards are implemented. In this paper, we propose Priority based Multi-Path routing with Local Optimization(PMPLO) for a tactical backbone network. The PMPLO separately manages the global and local metrics. The global metric propagates to other routers through the use of a routing protocol, and it is used for a multi-path configuration that is guaranteed to be loop free. The local metric reflects the link utilization that is used to find an alternate path when congestion occurs, and it is managed internally only within each router. It also produces traffic that has a high priority privilege when choosing the optimal path. Finally, we conducted a simulation to verify that the PMPLO can effectively distribute the user traffic among available routers.