Analyzing information propagation in a transoceanic aircraft delay tolerant network

Abstract

In this paper we analyze information propagation inside a large scale delay tolerant network (DTN) of transoceanic aircraft. We characterized this network at LCN 2013, a scenario constructed from more than 2,500 traces of trans-Atlantic flights in which communications rely on the sporadic contacts between airplanes. We observe the traffic of this network and analyze how two epidemic based routing protocols behave in this scenario. We use simulations to compare their performance through metrics such as the network traffic per packet, end-to-end-delay and delivery ratio. The analysis of data propagation inside this DTN aims to evaluate the feasibility of using this network as a reliable way to deliver on-flight generated data (either from passengers or company) to the ground. This approach seeks to provide applications with a cheaper alternative to other communication systems.