A Lightweight Core Network Function Deployment Strategy for LEO Satellites

Traditional space-ground integrated networks deploy the core network on the ground, resulting in high signaling overhead and long propagation delays, which limit the efficiency of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks. To address this, this paper designs a lightweight satellite-based core network (LSCN) architecture and establishes a signaling delay model that accounts for both processing and propagation delays. To optimize core network elements (CNE) deployment, a Constraint-Refined Genetic Algorithm (CRGA)-based deployment strategy is proposed to minimize signaling transmission delay. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method effectively reduces signaling delay and improves handover success rates, outperforming traditional deployment strategies.