In this paper we analyze a large scale delay tolerant network (DTN) of transoceanic aircraft. We assume that each airplane in our network is equipped with a simple communication system based on IEEE802.11b/g, with a communication link of around 20 km. The characterization of this large aeronautical DTN will be used to choose routing strategies for passenger or company data, only through the contacts between airplanes, in order to use this network as a cheaper alternative to other communications systems, or as backup when no other communication systems are available. Instead of relying on synthetic data, we carry our analysis from the actual traces of 2,550 trans-Atlantic flights in the ns-3 simulator, to provide a detailed study of the network connectivity and mobility metrics (node degree, clustering, any contact time and inter any contact time). The impact of other parameters (such as radio coverage) on the network is also analyzed.

In this paper we analyze information propagation inside a large scale delay tolerant network (DTN) of transoceanic aircraft. We characterized this network at LeN 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. I. INT RODUCTIONData communication in aeronautical scenarios is very lim ited [12]. Airplanes periodically send to ground stations their identification, position, and company related data Gust a few tens of bytes per second). Any other control information is sent over traditional voice-based radio links. These limitations in data communication become more evident when looking for the causes of aerial accidents, as in the case of the ill-fated MH370's disappearance [16].Regarding passenger data communication, some companies have deployed, for domestic flights, solutions based on ex ternal antennae directed to ground [2]. As to transoceanic flights, very few companies choose to use expensive satellite links [6] while, in most of the cases, passengers must remain disconnected for hours. On the other hand, most of the research papers on aeronautic transoceanic communications propose the use of communication systems with large coverage (from 300 to 600 km) and thus consider airplanes connected to form an Aeronautical Ad-hoc Network (AANET) [13], [15], [12].Looking for a cheaper solution than those based on radio links with high coverage or satellite links, we proposed in LCN 2013 [14] a new approach based on aircraft equipped with IEEES02.11 bIg conununication links of only 20 km. This limited range leaded to a network with a reduced node degree, fully in range with the characteristics of Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs) [7], [3]. To build our proposal, instead of using synthetic data, we departed from traces of 2,550 transAtlantic flights to reach a characterization of a large-scale real-world aeronautical DTN. We analyzed the distributions of active nodes, node degree, number of clusters, any contact time (ACT), and inter-any-contact time (IACT) of that network.The objective of this paper is to analyze how data propagates inside our proposed transoceanic aircraft delay tolerant net work, in order 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.Our contributions are as follows:• We provide an evaluation of two different routing proto cols for t...

a b s t r a c tIn this paper, we use graph analysis to evaluate the network architecture of a large scale delay tolerant network (DTN) of transoceanic aircraft. At LCN (Local Computer Networks) 2014 we analyzed information propagation inside a pure opportunistic version of this network, a scenario constructed from more than 2,500 traces of transatlantic flights in which communications relied only on the sporadic contacts between airplanes. As only a small percentage of the nodes were capable of performing efficient air-to-ground communications we concluded the need to devise a more suitable network architecture by combining opportunistic and satellite communication systems. We propose a generic methodology based on graph analysis (both static and dynamic temporal) to evaluate the different ways to create this new architecture. We show the architectural combination that most improves the network delivery performance while minimizing its deployment costs.

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We measure quality of service (QoS) in a wireless network architecture of transoceanic aircraft. A distinguishing characteristic of the network scheme we analyze is that it mixes the concept of Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) through the exploitation of opportunistic contacts, together with direct satellite access in a limited number of the nodes. We provide a graph sparsification technique for deriving a network model that satisfies the key properties of a real aeronautical opportunistic network while enabling scalable simulation. This reduced model allows us to analyze the impact regarding QoS of introducing Internet-like traffic in the form of outgoing data from passengers. Promoting QoS in DTNs is usually really challenging due to their long delays and scarce resources. The availability of satellite communication links offers a chance to provide an improved degree of service regarding a pure opportunistic approach, and therefore it needs to be properly measured and quantified. Our analysis focuses on several QoS indicators such as delivery time, delivery ratio, and bandwidth allocation fairness. Obtained results show significant improvements in all metric indicators regarding QoS, not usually achievable on the field of DTNs.