Computation Offloading and Resource Allocation in LEO Satellite-Terrestrial Integrated Networks With System State Delay

Computing offloading optimization for energy saving is becoming increasingly important in low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite-terrestrial integrated networks (STINs) since battery techniques have not kept up with the demand of ground terminal devices. In this paper, we design a delay-based deep reinforcement learning (DRL) framework specifically for computation offloading decisions, which can effectively reduce the energy consumption. Additionally, we develop a multi-level feedback queue for computing allocation (RAMLFQ), which can effectively enhance the CPU’s efficiency in task scheduling. We initially formulate the computation offloading problem with the system delay as Delay Markov Decision Processes (DMDPs), and then transform them into the equivalent standard Markov Decision Processes (MDPs). To solve the optimization problem effectively, we employ a double deep Q-network (DDQN) method, enhancing it with an augmented state space to better handle the unique challenges posed by system delays. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed learning-based computing offloading algorithm achieves high levels of performance efficiency and attains a lower total cost compared to other existing offloading methods.