A Detailed Characterization of Starlink One-way Delay

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
Titel: A Detailed Characterization of Starlink One-way Delay
Autoren: Garcia, Johan, 1970, Sundberg, Simon, 1995, Brunstrom, Anna, 1967
Quelle: Proceedings of the 2025 3rd Workshop on LEO Networking and Communication. :43-49
Schlagwörter: Communication satellites, Computer network performance evaluation, Metadata, Orbits, Satellite communication systems, Software engineering, Delay component, Delay models, Global Internet, Internet access, Low earth orbit satellites, Network measurement, One-way delay, Performances evaluation, Satellite network, Starlink, Probes, Computer Science, Datavetenskap
Beschreibung: Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks, such as Starlink, are transforming global Internet access by delivering high-speed connectivity to underserved and remote regions. Despite extensive research into Starlink’s performance, latency characteristics remain under-explored. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of one-way delay components in the Starlink network using high-frequency, high-precision measurement probes. Over a 10-day period, more than 500 million probe packets were collected and analyzed. The results reveal minor diurnal latency variation and provide means to separate out the delay components contributing to the observed one-way delay, and we sketch a delay model and provide empirical distributions. By measuring both uplink and downlink paths, the study uncovers significant differences in scheduling behavior, with uplink delays more affected by Starlink’s periodic 15-second reconfiguration cycles. The results also highlight the limitations of using too coarse measurement intervals, which can introduce aliasing effects. Our OWD data set and traffic generation tool are made available to support further research in the area.
Dateibeschreibung: electronic
Zugangs-URL: https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-107494
https://doi.org/10.1145/3748749.3749090
Datenbank: SwePub
Beschreibung
Abstract:Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks, such as Starlink, are transforming global Internet access by delivering high-speed connectivity to underserved and remote regions. Despite extensive research into Starlink’s performance, latency characteristics remain under-explored. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of one-way delay components in the Starlink network using high-frequency, high-precision measurement probes. Over a 10-day period, more than 500 million probe packets were collected and analyzed. The results reveal minor diurnal latency variation and provide means to separate out the delay components contributing to the observed one-way delay, and we sketch a delay model and provide empirical distributions. By measuring both uplink and downlink paths, the study uncovers significant differences in scheduling behavior, with uplink delays more affected by Starlink’s periodic 15-second reconfiguration cycles. The results also highlight the limitations of using too coarse measurement intervals, which can introduce aliasing effects. Our OWD data set and traffic generation tool are made available to support further research in the area.
DOI:10.1145/3748749.3749090