Jul 2026· Italian National Conference on Sensors· Vol 26, pp. 4623· 0 citations· 40 references
Medicine
TL;DR
A software-based modular testbed and performance-emulation framework for traceable STIN strategy evaluation for remote sensor networks, sensing-data backhaul, and remote-IoT service scenarios under explicit emulation assumptions is presented.
Abstract
Satellite–terrestrial integrated networks (STINs) can extend remote sensor telemetry, remote Internet of Things (IoT), and emergency communication services beyond terrestrial coverage, but their evaluation is complicated by heterogeneous mobility, channel, resource, and control-plane dynamics. This study presents a software-based modular testbed and performance-emulation framework for STINs. The framework integrates scenario generation, model-driven data processing, replaceable algorithm engines, scheduler-based execution control, and a Kafka-style message interface. It models terrestrial, unmanned aerial vehicle, and low-Earth-orbit satellite entities and provides link-budget abstraction, access control, mobility-aware handover, traffic generation, scheduling, load balancing, adaptive routing, and multi-mode transmission for mixed sensing and communication traffic. The representative strategies are evaluated using a lightweight emulation model parameterized by standards-informed NTN and link-budget assumptions. Representative results reveal tradeoffs between access, handover, routing, and scheduling strategies, together with sensitivity to workload, mobility, outage, demand, and selected model parameters. The proposed framework therefore supports traceable STIN strategy evaluation for remote sensor networks, sensing-data backhaul, and remote-IoT service scenarios under explicit emulation assumptions.
The integration of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks is a key enabler for seamless global connectivity in 6G systems. Existing simulation tools typically address only one domain, lacking unified architectures for capturing transient protocol-level behavior during satellite mobility events. This paper introduces BrightLight, a hybrid emulation–simulation testbed for space–terrestrial integrated networks (STINs) that combines Linux network namespaces, NS-3 mmWave channel modeling, and an Open5GS core to execute real protocol stacks under configurable satellite mobility and gateway impairments. To demonstrate the platform's ability to capture fine-grained handover dynamics, we evaluate backhaul-aware handover over a Starlink-based constellation topology, comparing conventional satellite switching against inter-satellite link (ISL) assisted rerouting under ground-segment congestion. BrightLight successfully captures transient throughput evolution, TCP buffer drainage effects, and RTT dynamics throughout the handover process, revealing that routing via ISLs to uncongested ground stations substantially reduces latency and eliminates throughput degradation. These results validate BrightLight as an effective platform for studying protocol-level handover behavior in 6G STIN architectures.
Murat Parlakisik, Ertan Ozturk· International Mediterranean...· 0 citations
Terrestrial–non-terrestrial (TN–NTN) integration can extend 5G coverage, but maintaining high goodput and low delay is challenging when a 28 GHz terrestrial layer is combined with moving LEO satellites. Existing studies mainly address architectures, analytical models, or handover-based operation, leaving the system-level behaviour of NR Dual Connectivity (NR-DC) with moving satellite secondary nodes insufficiently evaluated. This paper evaluates an integrated terrestrial–LEO 5G network using a customised Simu5G framework with NR-primary master cell group (MCG) operation, dynamic satellite secondary cell group (SCG) selection, PDCP split-bearer forwarding with MCG fallback, and a hybrid TN–NTN channel model. The NR-DC configuration is compared with satellite-only and terrestrial-only baselines under identical topology, traffic, and channel settings. Results show that NR-DC improves downlink delivery: CBR goodput increases by 321.29% and 28.95% over the satellite-only and terrestrial-only baselines, respectively, with corresponding delay reductions of 71.16% and 62.75%. TCP downlink goodput also improves, although delay increases because of heterogeneous path effects. In the uplink, NR-DC outperforms satellite-only operation but remains below terrestrial-only performance, indicating that the benefit depends on traffic direction and transport behaviour.
G. Pradhan, Babu R. Dawadi· Discover Networks· 0 citations
The proposed Digital Twin Satellite Network (DTSN) framework connects the physical satellite network with a synchronized virtual twin and combines real-time telemetry, Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC), predictive intelligence, and resilience-oriented control and successfully isolates compromised nodes and triggers proactive network reconfiguration.
Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite links are pivotal for ubiquitous vehicle connectivity, yet their performance is impacted by a complex interplay of weather, constellation dynamics, and physical obstructions. While individual models for these impairments exist, protocol and application designers lack a unified tool to evaluate behavior under realistic, composed LEO conditions. We present COSME, a route-aware, real-time mobility emulator that integrates multiple impairment models - including obstruction-based loss, constellation-induced jitter, precipitation-driven bandwidth reduction, and packet loss at handovers - into a single framework. By orchestrating Linux network namespaces via tc and netem, COSME enables the high-fidelity playback of merged impairment traces. We demonstrate COSME through five diverse application showcases, highlighting the impact of different congestion control algorithms and transport protocols on LEO connectivity.
Eric Lanfer, Dominic Laniewski, Till Zimmermann et al.· Proceedings of the ACM SIGCO...· 0 citations
Evaluating end-to-end network performance in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite mega-constellations requires systemlevel testbeds capable of capturing extreme satellite mobility, rapidly evolving topologies, and realistic protocol behavior at scale. Existing approaches rely on analytical models or eventdriven simulations that abstract away protocol-level interactions and time-varying orbital dynamics. This paper demonstrates the capability of our developing hybrid emulation-simulation testbed for end-to-end system-level evaluation of LEO megaconstellations, using ground station placement as a representative case study. The testbed instantiates each satellite as an isolated network namespace with a real protocol stack, computes all propagation delays from instantaneous satellite distances and the speed of light, and evaluates performance across a full orbital period rather than a single static snapshot. Using the testbed, we evaluate four placement strategies across Starlink Gen1, OneWeb, and Amazon Kuiper architectures. The results reveal previously unreported system-level insights, including latency saturation beyond approximately 100 ground stations, a reduction in orbital sensitivity from 10-15 ms to less than 1 ms, and fundamental performance differences between ISL-enabled and non-ISL architectures.
Murat Parlakisik, Ertan Ozturk· International Mediterranean...· 0 citations
Smart grids with renewable energy sources require communication platforms that can evaluate heterogeneous links before field deployment. This article presents a centralized software-defined radio (SDR)-based performance analytics platform for physical/MAC-layer assessment of RF900, G3-PLC, GPRS CS2–CS3, hybrid PLC–GPRS, and renewable-event communication profiles. The platform combines a controlled UPS SDR/USRP experimental-simulation reference with reproducible packet-level simulations using traffic generation, channel impairment abstractions, CRC-based integrity verification, and centralized metrics: latency, bit error rate (BER), packet error rate (PER), useful throughput, and offered channel load. The revised evaluation uses a 120 s window, 3444 packets per baseline scenario, and 30 independent random seeds. The RF900 AWGN baseline achieved 36.58±0.01 ms mean latency, 1.78×10−4 BER, 0.175±0.003 PER, and 24.23 kbps useful throughput. Hybrid PLC–GPRS reduced PER to 0.025±0.001, while the renewable-event hybrid profile achieved 89.33±0.13 ms and 0.028±0.001 PER. This study provides a reproducible pre-deployment analytics framework, not full utility field validation or application-layer interoperability certification.
A. Villarroel, Milton Ruiz· Electronics· 0 citations