Fulfilling Technology Needs for 40G–100G Network-Centric Operations and Warfare

With the tremendous success of commercial Internet and wireless technologies, the DoD has sought to implement a similarly interconnected infrastructure to enable NCOW information sharing and interoperability functions. The fragmented nature of the existing DoD IT infrastructure has measurable impacts on the pace of operations and the duplicative costs of redundant infrastructure.

Much as the current Internet integrates and connects multiple networks and data types, NCOW provides the ability to access, post, process, and protect data from anywhere within the network. This fundamental change in doctrine is designed to support advanced warfighter edge-of-the-network applications and information sharing across organizations.

This white paper identifies key technologies needed to enable the migration to the DoD NCOW mission. As commercial networks merged and migrated, network bridging, evolving standards, and network security provided important lessons in hardware design flexibility. This flexibility has been even more prevalent as technology moves from 10G to 40G and 100G networks. The unique ability of Altera® Stratix V FPGAs to implement these high-speed interfaces, coupled with reconfigurability and security, is a proven technology path for next-generation networking.

Global Information Grid

To overcome these informational and communication firewalls, a national strategy was developed to build and integrate the DoD enterprise architecture. One output of this strategy is the development of the GIG. The GIG is designed to provide information capabilities that enable the access and exchange of information and services within the DoD and extending to mission partners. The DoD describes the GIG as a “globally interconnected, end-to-end set of information capabilities, associated processes, and personnel for collecting, processing, storing, disseminating, and managing information.”

Several key developments are part of the GIG acquisition:

Transformational satellites (not necessarily TSAT)—Satellite systems capable of increased bandwidth and network routing and/or switching
Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS)—Interoperable radio systems supporting mobile users with multiple waveforms and encryption
Global Information Grid-Bandwidth Expansion (GIG-BE)—A state-of-the-art optical network designed for 40G to 100G and 400G technology transitions, including upgraded routers and switches to increase bandwidth for greater voice, data, and video transmissions
Network-Centric Enterprise Services (NCES)—A common set of services and applications to manage the network and help users locate and share information including cyber security
Information Assurance—Tools to protect sensitive information transmitted across the network
Horizontal Fusion—A portfolio of initiatives focused on developing and demonstrating data applications and tools for information sharing and net-centric operations

Communications Transformation

The rapid growth in commercial network bandwidth is driven by increasing numbers of broadband subscribers via xDSL, FTTx, WiMAX, and the proliferation of 3G/4G mobile wireless devices. The applications driving this bandwidth growth include IPTV, VoIP, and online gaming, as well as a growing number of online users accessing video-on-demand sites. Today, multiple commercial networks, such as wireline carrier networks, cable operators, and mobile operators, coexist, providing broadcast and on-demand content, including ever-increasing amounts of video content. Independent of the source of the content or the delivery mechanism, the network for all these services is IP based with huge bandwidth demands in the core of the transport network.

Author: Paul Quintana, Sr. Technical Marketing Manager, Military Business Unit, Altera Corporation

Paul Quintana focuses on secure communication and cryptography, DO-254, and software defined radio (SDR). Prior to joining Altera, Mr. Quintana spent more than ten years at Lockheed Martin IS&GS as a senior staff engineer in multiple capacities, including a principal investigator internal research and development for advanced computing architectures and chief engineer for signals intelligence programs. He also spent two years at Texas Instruments as a product engineer for military ASIC and was a graduate research assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Mr. Quintana holds an MSEE and a BSEE from New Mexico State University.