Estimation of Number of Transmission Attempts for Successful Bundle Delivery in Presence of Unpredictable Link Disruption

The effect of a link disruption on reliable data transmission of bundle protocol (BP) is currently under study. In this paper, a study of the effect of link disruption on BP's reliable data delivery in space communications is presented employing both analytical and experimental methods. The effect is studied from spatial and temporal perspectives, and it is modeled by considering the physical distance the bundle has traversed when the link disruption starts and ends, the duration of link disruption in time, and the physical span of the link disruption. The number of transmission attempts that fail due to link disruption and the total number of transmission attempts needed for successful bundle delivery in presence of a link disruption are estimated. The models are validated by realistic bundle delivery over a PC-based experimental testbed.