Challenges for Satellite Communications in the Tactical Environment

Major Clifford White

Directorate of Network Enabled Warfare (DNEW-A) [email protected] Ph: +61 2 62667039

Session 1.5b 10 November 2009

THIS PRESENTATION IS UNCLASSIFIED

!! Disclaimer !! The information content covered in this presentation does not reflect Army requirements in any way. The information is a tutorial only providing a theoretical overview and the issues Army are likely to face in adopting these technologies. The information presented in this brief is available in the Public Domain

Tutorial Aim

Wideband SATCOM on the Move (SOTM) in the Land Domain

Fundamental design considerations for SOTM systems

Basic theory of operation, constraints, system design considerations in the Land tactical environment.

SOTM Terminals and how they differ from fixed terminals SOTM frequency selection SOTM architectures

Modems / Waveforms IP Over Satellite Communications Cover Issues that the Military face using IPv4 over tactical satellite communication systems Basic overview of IPv4 and the protocol limitations over satellite.

Baseband Network Architecture and issue

Real Life Design examples of Military SOTM System Assumption is that Audience has a fundamental understanding of SATCOM and IP principles.

Wideband SATCOM on the Move

Design Process and Engineering Considerations

SATCOM Fundamentals

Common SATCOM Terminology

Bandwidth (MHz) vs Information Rate (Mbps) Symbol Rate (sps) Forward Error Correction (FEC) coding Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) Rolloff Factor () FDMA / TDMA Eb/No and Es/No G/T Bit Error Rate (BER) Antenna Aperture Block Up Converter (BUC) High Power Amplifier (HPA) Solid State Power Amp (SSPA) Low Noise Block (LNB) Look Angle Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP)

Satellite Engineering 'the game of Tradeoffs'

For a 1.5Mbps (T1) link, what is the satellite bandwidth I require if I use a QPSK modulation, a 7/8 FEC and my modem tx/rx has a cosine filter of 1.2.

QPSK has 2 bits per symbol My overhead from FEC is 1 bit in 8 (8/7 = 1.14) Symbol Rate = data rate * overhead / modulation = 0.857 Msps Bandwidth = symbol rate * = 1 MHz

To transmit with the same information rate with a FEC would require 1.3MHz.
Requires less power but more bandwidth

Increasing to a high order modulation such as 8 PSK (3 bits per symbol) with 7/8 FEC would require 0.57MHz.
Less bandwidth but requires more power

Review of Basic SATCOM Terminal Components / Terminology

SOTM Design Process

1. 2. 3. 4. User Requirement Analysis Frequency Band Selection Antenna Selection Satellite Network Architecture Design
Modem / Waveform Selection

5. Baseband Network Architecture Design 6. Implementation

Stage One : User Requirement Analysis

Information Exchange Requirements

What is the Concept of Employment? What are the applications and services that will drive the bandwidth requirements?
VoIP : How many concurrent calls? CODEC? Video : frame rate vs image quality? Data : E-Mail, Web, SA Tools, collaboration tools? Management / Network traffic? Security overhead for IP Encryption?

What Quality of Service (QoS) do these applications require? Will the SOTM be used as a reach back or network extension capability?
Gateway for other systems?

Final result should be a table listing the information rates for all IERS
Half-duplex / Full-duplex information rates !!

Environmental Considerations

Possible Deployment locations Weather wet, dry, average rainfall

Link to possible freq band selection Linked to the ability of the system to reacquire after possible blockages

Urban vs open area

Desert, light or heavy foliage

Platform Requirements

What variants of the Platform will the system go into? Real estate to mount antenna and system components? HMI impact of using SOTM.

How does one operate a PC/ VoIP phone while on the move?

Available on board power? Room for cabling? Camouflage?

Training

System cannot introduce an increased training overhead? Where possible use existing trades to maintain the system? Must be very easy to use and seamless to the User? Complexity should be at the Hub; dumb remote terminals.

Stage Two: SOTM Frequency Band Selection

SOTM antenna will be small aperture Small aperture antennas have lower gain at lower the frequencies. Low frequencies use larger waveguides. Higher frequencies have high cable losses. Low frequencies have larger beam width.

Mobile Satellite Frequency Bands of Interest

Frequency Band (GHz) 1.5 1.6 7.9 8.4 (uplink) 7.25 7.75 (downlink) 13.75-14.5 (UL) 10.95 12.75 (DL*) 29.5 30.0 19.7 20.2 (uplink) 30.0 31.0 (uplink) 20.2 21.2 (Downlink) Band Letter L X Usage L Band Inmarsat (BGAN, etc..) Military (Wideband Global Satellite)

Ku

Commercial (Intelsat, etc..)

Ka Ka

Commercial Ka (eg Wildblue Satellite Internet) Military Ka (Wideband Global Satellite)

* Region Dependant

Rain Attenuation

More significant at Ka than Ku and X band

Extremely problematic at Ka band Rain fade margins are a big consideration in link budgets How do small aperture antennas and low power BUCs perform in rain?

Rain Attenuation
L X Ku Ka

Loss for Heavy Rain @ 3km high L 0 dB X 0.3 dB Ku 3 dB Ka 18 dB

Atmospheric Attenuation

Look Angles

Low look angles have differing attenuation

More impact at Ka than Ku and X band

Satellite Constellation Selection

Must try and choose a Satellite in an operating region with a high down link saturated EIRP (Hot Bird).

Figure relates to entire transponder saturated power and is equally shared amongst all carriers that are using it.

Lets choose Alaska with a +41dBW down link contour and see the power equivalent bandwidth that a 4MHz carrier takes.

Ku Footprint map

SOTM Power Equivalent Bandwidth

Assuming it is a multi-carrier transponder with a bandwidth of 36MHz with a 9dB Input Back Off and a -4.0dB Output Back Off.

The downlink operating EIRP will be +41-4 = +37dBW. Therefore for a 4MHz signal the available EIRP is +37 10 Log10(36/4) = 27.5dBW. 4MHz signal uses approximately 10dBW.

Critical in Link budgets and achieving desired information rates You can request more power at the cost of available bandwidth on the carrier. Very important to understand the power equivalent bandwidth of SOTM systems !!!!

Not just their actual bandwidth usage. Some SOTM systems use high order spreading and low FECS which increases BW requirement.

Satellite Constellation Selection

SOTM has the advantage in using satellites that have gone inclined. Cheaper access and better availability in regions of high demand. More expensive hub as it requires a tracking dish.

Military V's Defence Satellites

Are commercial satellites still an option for Defence?

Adjacent Satellite Interference

This is the biggest impact on band selection. Ku commercial satellites are spaced 2o apart in North America and 3o in Europe. Currently there are very few Ka satellites however as more Ka satellites come online, it may become a problem.

Ka does have a smaller beam width

Aperture is a major factor on ASI.

Stage 3 : SOTM Antenna Selection

Platform real estate is the biggest factor in Antenna solution

No one antenna will suite all platforms Mr Dale White FT Gordon Battlelab Large difference between uplink and downlink frequencies in Ka band Ku band seems to be most popular Ka is future Some X band terminals are emerging on the market

Band selection

Phased Array

Phased Array

Partial phased array seems most popular.

Phased elements create beam, electronically steered. Flat Profile Lower gains and can have poor look angles

Parabolic Antennas

Parabolic

High Profile, sometime looks like a target. Higher gain (better throughput) and better off axis performance. Better Look Angles.

Unique SOTM Antennas

Ground Station Receive Antenna

Small gains from small SOTM aperture antennas with low power BUCs means receive signal strengths at ground station (Hub) receive sites are very low. Requires large aperture antenna. Also, due to reciprocity large ground earth station can tx more power, therefore small SOTM antennas can receive higher information rates than they can transmit.

Satellite Tracking

Servos must be quick to react to angular changes.

Tracking rates up to 200O /s Tracking Accelerations of 400O-600O /s2

Time to acquire satellite and maintain connectively is a key design selection criteria for a tracking system. Two basic type of Tracking systems

Closed Loop Open Loop

Closed Loop Tracking

Information on satellite location is fed back to the antenna control unit. Antenna control unit is the brain to track the satellite. Usually tracks a reliable, known out of band signal on the satellite of interest. Uses information (e.g. Eb/No) from modem to determine if locked onto the correct satellite. RADAR problem - can be complex to design but can be relatively easy to implement. Requires GPS and Flux Gate Compass to establish position in space. If system loses track due to blockage or sharp turn, must have unique algorithm to find satellite again.

Takes time to require when satellite signal is lost due to blockage.

Open Loop Tracking

Antenna Control Unit has exact information where it is in space. Information is usually fed from an Inertial Navigation Unit (INU) to Antenna Control Unit Still requires GPS and Flux Gate Compass to establish initial position in space. If system loses track due to blockage or sharp turn, never loses location of antenna and reacquires instantly. Can be very expensive due to cost of INU.

Amplifier/Block Up Converters

Link budget will determine the BUC size you will need (e.g. Grid Amplifier) BUC require high efficiency with low heat dissipation (most SOTM antennas are sealed units). Linear performance is very important. How do you power it? Reliability Vibration and harsh environments. Solid State Power Amps (SSPAs) provide better performance and reliability than traditional Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers

Stage 4 : Satellite Network Architecture

A complete Defence Satellite network is likely to have some the following attributes:

Large number of diverse satellite terminals all competing for the same bandwidth. Differing Satellite apertures varying from large (up to 3.6m) to VSAT terminals (down to .9m) No one dish has the same performance of another

Even those built to the same specification and from the same manufacture.

Communications is hierarchal (higher to lower) and vertical (across equivalent Command Elements) Some terminals have a large pull requirement (receiving orders, video, intelligence distribution) , while other terminals have a large push requirement (intelligence gathers, ISR) Some terminals transmit in a bursty nature while others transmit with a constant load.

Satellite Architectures

Traditional Point to Point Point to Multi Point : Hub Spoke

Every terminal is one satellite hop away from the center terminal and two satellite hops away from each other.

Fully Meshed

All terminals are one satellite hop away from each other. Due to small apertures, unlikely to be achieved in a SOTM architecture.

Satellite Architectures (cont)

Partial Meshed
Larger aperture terminals are all one satellite hop away from each other. Small aperture (disadvantaged) terminals work in a hub spoke arrangement, nominate best terminal (most advantageous) in network to transfer data to other terminals (hub assist) This is probably the most effective architecture to supporting a SOTM network that has different aperture satellite antennas Whatever the choice, you must overlay it on-top of your information exchange requirements.

Satellite Waveforms

Frequency Division Multiplex Access (FDMA)

Very spectrally efficient (bits/Hz) Hogs bandwidth if not used for constant traffic Relatively easy to set up and manage Separate channel required for receive and transmit channels Not scalable Good for large pipes from theater back to Australia Single Chanel Per Carrier Carrier in Carrier modems uses the Same rx and tx freqs Dynamic FDMA systems are around such as COMTECHs Vipersat ELBIT have developed Burst Mode - FDMA

Satellite Waveforms

Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)

Shares and divides bandwidth amongst terminal on an as needed basis Not very spectrally efficient (bits/Hz), however efficient in bandwidth sharing across a network. Allocate time slot for terminal to transmit on Used for Full and Partial Meshed networks Very scalable, add numerous terminals and more satellite bandwidth as required Complex to Manage Systems such as ViaSATs Linkway

DVB-S and DVB-S2

Digital Video Broadcast Satellite (DVB-S)

FEC and modulation standard for video broadcast MPEG-2 Useful for transmitting large amounts of data to multiple terminals Adaptive Code and Modulation (ACM) High order modulations up to 32 APSK Low roll off factor down to 1.2 Very efficient FECs (1/4 to 9/10) using concatenation of Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) and Bose and RayChaudhurin codes within 0.7 of Shannon Limit Use multiple video sources MPEG-2, MPEG-4 or H.264

DVB-S2 next generation of DVB-S

Spread Spectrum vs Low FEC

Due to ASI in some bands (Ku) and large beam widths of small aperture antennas, SOTM systems must transmit low power spectral densities. (ITU states -18dB/4kHz) One method to achieve this is to use spread spectrum to reduce the energy density of the signal.

2 times, 4 times, 8 times. 1/2 FEC is equivalent to 2 x spreading. 5/16 is equivalent to 3 x spreading.

Another method is to use very low FECs

Achieve coding gain using low FECs, no gain achieved from spreading

Illustration of Spread Spectrum

-18db/4kHz

Coding Gain from Low Order FECs

2 times spreading

3 times spreading

Link Budget

Once you have bandwidth requirements, chosen a satellite, selected antennas for SOTM system and ground station, a rough link budget can be completed. Link budget determine what BUC size you will need. Link budget will confirm selection of components and determine if you are bandwidth limited or power limited on the chosen satellite. Link Budget will assist in Modem selection

SOTM MODEM Requirements

Must reflect your overall satellite architecture. Must account for frequency shift due to doppler effect. Must understand your satellite architecture and adapt to your environment. Adaptive Code Modulation (ACM) adaptive power control. adaptive frequency and/or time burst allocation Support multiple concurrent low/high order FECs For example:
In a TDMA system, every TDMA burst parameter is set based on the receive and transmit terminal. Implemented by vendors such as Hughes iDirect and ViaSAT's Joint IP Modem

MPM-100 Network Centric Waveform

Source: US Army Communicator Summer 2008 Edition

Packet Loss in IP Modems

Due to high processing requirements of some IP satellite modems, can exhibit packet loss due to CPU overloading. Generally happens when processing lots of small packets such as voice. Reduce VoIP overhead by increasing voice sample size. Becoming less of a problem as with high processing CPUs and using FPGAs.

Stage 5: Network Architecture

Routing Protocols

How do you maintain network convergence with blockages and the ad-hoc nature of SOTM terminals? Baseband network must conform to layer 3 network architecture. Pro-active Reactive Flow oriented Situational aware routing Power Aware Routing Multicast routing

May require an ad-hoc routing protocol such as:

Non Real-Time Applications TCP over Satellite

TCP was designed for reliable delivery of packets. Assumes that links over the entire network are reliable, with very low latency.

Office type networks.

TCP was never initially designed to run over a satellite.

TCP Services Effected by Satellite

TCP provides the following services at Layer 4 of the OSI model:

Connection Establishment Data Transfer in correct order sequence Reliable Transmission Error Detection Flow Control Congestion Control Maximum Segment Size Selective Acknowledgements Window Scaling

TCP Flow Control and Sliding Window

TCP uses a scaling window for flow control to avoid the sender transmitting too much data too quickly. To avoid congestion, TCP slowly ramps up transmission speed until packets are lost. At this point TCP assumes that congestion is achieved. Process is controlled by a sliding window algorithm. Window Size tells sender how much data can be sent. Maximum Data rate is a function of the round trip time (RTT) and window size. This is known as the Bandwidth Delay Product.

Bandwidth Delay Product

Bandwidth Delay Product = TCP Window Size / RTT For example a 600ms delay and a 64 byte window, the max achievable TCP transmit rate is 64*8/.6 = 853 kbps
Throughput v's RTT
6000 5000

Max Transmission Rate (kbps)

4000

3000

65.54 32.77 16.38

2000

1000

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2

Round Trip Time (s)

Congestion Control

TCP uses lost packets as an indicator that it has reached congestion over the network.

Sender becomes aware of packet loss though acks from receiver.

No acks for a specific time Repeat acks

Major issue with high BER links.

Packet Error Rate (PER) vs BER

Some vendors are quoting systems by packet error rate. Very confusing as results will vary based on packet size, modulation and FEC. Traditional BER vs Eb/No should be applied

What does PER it Mean?

Always ask for BER waterfalls from the MODEM Vendor. Packet error rate presents a false picture.
PER v's BER
1.2E-02 1.0E-02

8.0E-03

1.0E-06

PER

6.0E-03

1.0E-07 1.0E-08

4.0E-03

2.0E-03

0.0E+00 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400

Packet Size (Bytes)

Application Layer Latency

Where applications, client server (Layers 4 through 7) exhibit a send and wait protocol. The most well know is Common Internet File System (CIFS) or SMB (Server Message Block).

Predominant in MS Client and Server Applications (MOS, active directory) and Samba (Linux) for file and print sharing. CIFS has embedded security feature for authentication, etc

Amplifies the Bandwidth Delay product if using TCP for transport.

Application Layer Latency

Maintaining SOTM Services

Blockages are a sure thing in SOTM and have the effect of inhibiting or stopping network services. Applications using TCP sessions can break down due to timeouts. VoIP call managers must be able to maintain calls during blockages. Must have SOPs in place to mitigate blockages. There is software to maintain all services.

WAN Optimisers

When selecting or testing a WAN Optimiser to improve TCP performance over satellite it must do the following:

Overcome Bandwidth Delay Product Improve effects of Bit Error Rates on TCP congestion control Overcome Application Layer Latency Be Space Communication Protocol Standard Transport Protocol (CCSDS 714.0-B-1) compliant for interoperability. Use bit level caching (nice to have) Need ability to keep application sessions open Information required by the WAN optimiser is lost after encryption

Needs to be on the red side of the IP encryptor.

Options: CISCO WAAS, Riverbed, CITRIX WAN Scaler, Comtech Turbo IP, Expand

Security Overheads on VoIP

Standard G.729 Packet with 2 x 10 ms Samples 140 Bytes * 50 Packets Per Second = 56 Kbps

Modified G.729 Packet with 4 x 10 ms Samples 160 Bytes * 25 Packets Per Second = 32 Kbps

This is accomplished with approximately half the CPU utilization. This allows for more CPU resources to be available for processing other traffic. Call Manager allows up to 6 x 10 ms samples per packet.

Stage 6: Implementation

Real world Examples

Source: Datapath

Source: Datapath

Source: ADM/Elbit

SOTM Design Example : Remote Combat Casualty Care on the Move (RC3OTM)

Up to two VoIP calls Integrated into existing US Army Medical network Video feedback from Ambulance to hospital Reachback for SINCGARS network using CNRoIP

Stage One: Information Exchange Requirements for RC3OTM

Application Bandwidth Requirements (kbps) Quality of Service Needs Comments G.729 20ms sample size with up to 2 possible concurrent calls H323 x frame per second. G.729 underlying voice Voice 112kbps real time highest priority

Video

328kbps

real time medium priority for video, high priority for voice channel non-real time, low priority

Blue Force Tracking CNRoIP Thin Client Total

36 kbps

56kbps 36 kbps 558kbps

real time highest priority

connected to CNR within the cabin of the vehicle.

Network Diagram

Other Components

40W Wavestream BUC Required a 200 amp alternator Small aperture 2.4m flyaway dish Cisco WiFi phones AES 256 encryption on all IP data No WAN optimiser, no TCP applications FDMA modem with 5/16 FEC (Point to Point link) Ku band operation C4 CNRoIP CISCO 2800 router with Call Manager Express

Lets Look at the Result