Reliability Analysis of Multi-Hop Routing in Multi-Tier LEO Satellite Networks

This article studies the reliability of multi-hop routing in a multi-tier hybrid satellite-terrestrial relay network (HSTRN). We evaluate the reliability of multi-hop routing by introducing interruption probability, which is the probability that no relay device (ground gateway or satellite) is available during a hop. The single-hop interruption probability is derived and extended to the multi-hop interruption probability using a stochastic geometry-based approach. Since the interruption probability in HSTRN highly depends on the priority of selecting communication devices at different tiers, we propose three priority strategies: 1) stationary optimal priority strategy; 2) single-hop interruption probability inspired strategy; and 3) density inspired strategy. Among them, the interruption probability under the stationary optimal priority strategy can approach the ideal lower bound. However, when analyzing an HSTRN with a large number of tiers, the stationary optimal priority strategy is computationally expensive. The single-hop interruption probability inspired strategy is expected to be a low-complexity but less reliable alternative to the stationary optimal priority strategy. In numerical results, we study the complementarity between terrestrial devices and satellites. Furthermore, analytical results for reliability are also applicable to the analysis of satellite availability, coverage probability, and ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC) rate. Finally, we extend our original routing strategy into a multi-flow one with dynamic priority strategy.