Making Sense of Constellations: Methodologies for Understanding Starlink's Scheduling Algorithms

Abstract

Starlink constellations are currently the largest LEO WAN and have seen considerable interest from the research community. In this paper, we use high-frequency and high-fidelity measurements to uncover evidence of hierarchical traffic controllers in Starlink - a global controller which allocates satellites to terminals and an on-satellite controller that schedules transmission of user flows. We then devise a novel approach for identifying how satellites are allocated to user terminals. Using data gathered with this approach, we measure the characteristics of the global controller and identify the factors that influence the allocation of satellites to terminals. Finally, we use this data to build a model which approximates Starlink's global scheduler. Our model is able to predict the characteristics of the satellite allocated to a terminal at a specific location and time with reasonably high accuracy and at a rate significantly higher than baseline.