Satellite networking in the context of green, flexible and programmable networks

In order to support heterogeneous services, using the information generated by a huge number of communicating devices, the Future Internet should be more energy-efficient, scalable and flexible than today's networking platforms, and it should allow a tighter integration among heterogeneous network segments (fixed, cellular wireless, and satellite). Flexibility and in-network programma- bility brought forth by Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) appear to be promising tools for this evolution, together with architectural choices and techniques aimed at improving the net- work energy efficiency (Green Networking). As a result, optimal dynamic resource allocation strategies should be readily available to support the current workload generated by applications at the required Quality of Service/Quality of Experience (QoS/QoE) levels, with minimum energy expenditure. In this framework, we briefly explore the above-mentioned paradigms, and describe their potential application in a couple of satellite networking related use cases, regarding traffic routing and gateway selection, and satellite swarms, respectively.