LINKWAY S2 System Description

LinkWay
SYSTEM
DESCRIPTION

SDD00077_04 (August 23, 2007)
LinkWay
System Description

Publication Information
Revision Number Date Released Comments
03 August 26, 2004 CO-016408
04 August 23, 2007 CO-041681

ViaSat, Inc.
Corporate Headquarters
6155 El Camino Real
Carlsbad, CA 92011-1699
Phone: (760) 476-2200
Fax: (760) 929-3941
Germantown, MD
20511 Seneca Meadows Parkway
Suite 200
Germantown, MD 20876
Phone: (240) 686-4400
Fax: (240) 686-4800
Duluth, GA
1725 Breckinridge Plaza
Duluth, GA 30096
Phone: (678) 924-2400
Fax: (678) 924-2480
SDD00077_04 (August 23, 2007) ViaSat Proprietary Page ii

LinkWay
System Description
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LINKWAY SYSTEM DESCRIPTION.................................................................................................. 1
Section 1THE LINKWAY NETWORK ............................................................................................... 3
1.1 SUPPORT FOR A BROAD RANGE OF NETWORK TOPOLOGIES.............................. 4
1.2 NATIVE SUPPORT FOR PACKET-SWITCHING PROTOCOLS.................................... 6
IP SERVICE FEATURES.................................................................................................................... 6
FRAME RELAY SERVICE FEATURES........................................................................................... 6
LEGACY PROTOCOL SUPPORT..................................................................................................... 7
1.3 FLEXIBLE CONNECTIVITY AND SATELLITE ACCESS............................................... 7
1.4 EFFICIENT DEMAND-ASSIGNED BANDWIDTH MANAGEMENT............................. 7
1.5 DIVERSE NETWORK APPLICATIONS.............................................................................. 7
VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORKS................................................................................................... 8
PRIVATE CORPORATE NETWORKS............................................................................................. 8
INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS.................................................................................................. 9
REAL-TIME DIGITAL VIDEO INTERNETWORKING.................................................................. 9
WIRELESS INTERCONNECTIVITY .............................................................................................. 10
1.6 LINKWAYS SUBSTANTIAL BENEFITS.......................................................................... 10
DRAWBACKS OF OTHER TDMA SYSTEMS.............................................................................. 10
Section 2LINKWAY NETWORK COMPONENTS ......................................................................... 13
2.1 THE LINKWAY INDOOR UNIT ......................................................................................... 13
THE LINKWAY MODEM................................................................................................................ 14
THE LINKWAY 2100 and LINKWAY.IP TERMINAL SPECIFICATIONS...................................... 16
THE LINKWAY
S2
TERMINAL SPECIFICATIONS....................................................................... 19
2.2 THE LINKWAY OUTDOOR UNIT..................................................................................... 21
THE LINKWAY RADIO FREQUENCY TERMINAL.................................................................... 21
THE LINKWAY ANTENNA............................................................................................................ 21
2.3 THE LINKWAY NETWORK CONTROL CENTER......................................................... 22
Section 3LINKWAY NETWORK OPERATIONS............................................................................ 23
3.1 LINKWAY TDMA ARCHITECTURE ................................................................................ 23
FRAME FORMAT AND HIERARCHY........................................................................................... 23
LINKWAY
S2
DVB-S2 Operation...................................................................................................... 25
SINGLE-BEAM AND MULTIPLE-BEAM OPERATION.............................................................. 26
SITE AND TERMINAL ADDRESSING.......................................................................................... 26
ACQUISITION AND SYNCHRONIZATION................................................................................. 26
SDD00077_04 (August 23, 2007) ViaSat Proprietary Page iii
LinkWay
System Description

CLOCK MANAGEMENT................................................................................................................. 26
3.2 LINKWAY MANAGEMENT FEATURE............................................................................ 28
CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................. 28
ACQUISITION AND SYNCHRONIZATION CONTROL.............................................................. 28
BANDWIDTH MANAGEMENT ..................................................................................................... 29
FAULT PROTECTION..................................................................................................................... 29
ACCOUNTING................................................................................................................................. 29
PERFORMANCE AND ALARM MANAGEMENT........................................................................ 30
SECURITY MANAGEMENT........................................................................................................... 31
3.3 THE LINKWAY NETWORK MANAGEMENT WINDOWS........................................... 31
NMS ARCHITECTURE.................................................................................................................... 31
NMS WINDOW HIERARCHY ........................................................................................................ 32
NMS HOME PAGE........................................................................................................................... 32
NETWORK STATUS........................................................................................................................ 33
BURST TIME PLAN......................................................................................................................... 34
SERVICE USAGE............................................................................................................................. 34
PERFORMANCE .............................................................................................................................. 35
DIAGNOSTIC TESTING.................................................................................................................. 35
ALARMS........................................................................................................................................... 36
CONFIGURATION........................................................................................................................... 36
SECURITY ........................................................................................................................................ 36
REMOTE ACCESS........................................................................................................................... 37
SOFTWARE UPGRADES................................................................................................................ 37
3.4 LINKWAY NETWORK PROTOCOLS AND SERVICES ................................................ 37
LINKWAYS IP SERVICE............................................................................................................... 37
LINKWAYS FRAME RELAY SERVICE....................................................................................... 39
APPENDIX AGLOSSARY.................................................................................................................. 41
APPENDIX BLINKWAY RFT DESCRIPTION............................................................................... 57

SDD00077_04 (August 23, 2007) ViaSat Proprietary Page iv

LinkWay
System Description
LIST OF EXHIBITS
Exhibit 1- 1: A LinkWay Network ............................................................................................................ 4
Exhibit 1- 2: LinkWayThree Topologies, One Platform..................................................................... 4
Exhibit 1- 3: Single-Beam Configuration.................................................................................................. 5
Exhibit 1- 4: Multiple-Beam Configuration ............................................................................................. 6
Exhibit 1- 5: Virtual Private Network Application.................................................................................. 8
Exhibit 1- 6: Multiple-Services Private Corporation Network............................................................... 8
Exhibit 1- 7: Internet Service Provider Network..................................................................................... 9
Exhibit 1- 8: Real-Time Surveillance Network ........................................................................................ 9
Exhibit 1- 9: Wireless Interconnect Application.................................................................................... 10
Exhibit 2- 1: LinkWay Network .............................................................................................................. 13
Exhibit 2- 2: Spares Required for 100-Node Network........................................................................... 13
Exhibit 2- 3: LinkWay Modulator and Demodulator............................................................................ 14
Exhibit 2- 4: LinkWay Modem Performance Table .............................................................................. 15
Exhibit 2- 5: LinkWay 2100 Front Panel................................................................................................ 16
Exhibit 2- 6: LinkWay 2100 Back Panel ................................................................................................. 16
Exhibit 2- 7: Terminal Characteristics ................................................................................................... 16
Exhibit 2- 8: Terrestrial Interface Options for 2100.............................................................................. 17
Exhibit 2- 9: Terrestrial Interface Options for LinkWay.IP ................................................................. 17
Exhibit 2- 10: Rear Panel FunctionsLinkWay 2100 and LinkWay.IP.............................................. 17
Exhibit 2-11: LinkWay
S2
Front Panel ........................................................................................... 19
S2
Back Panel....................................................................................................... 19
S2
Terminal Characteristics............................................................................... 19
S2
Terrestrial Interface Options ....................................................................... 20
Exhibit 2- 15: Rear Panel Functions LinkWay
S2
................................................................................ 20
Exhibit 2- 16: Redundant NCC Elements............................................................................................... 22
Exhibit 3- 1: TDMA Frame Hierarchy ................................................................................................... 23
Exhibit 3- 2: Multi-Carrier TDMA Frame Alignment.......................................................................... 24
Exhibit 3- 3: LinkWay Burst Types ........................................................................................................ 24
Exhibit 3- 4: General TDMA Burst Structure ....................................................................................... 24
Exhibit 3- 5: DVB-S2 Operation.............................................................................................................. 25
Exhibit 3- 6: Single- and Multiple-Beam Configurations...................................................................... 26
Exhibit 3- 7: Clock-Generation Algorithm............................................................................................. 27
Exhibit 3- 8: Data Rates and Packet Sizes .............................................................................................. 27
SDD00077_04 (August 23, 2007) ViaSat Proprietary Page v
LinkWay
System Description

Exhibit 3- 9: Redundant NCC Options ................................................................................................... 29
Exhibit 3- 10: NMS Architecture............................................................................................................. 32
Exhibit 3- 11: NMS Window Hierarchy ................................................................................................ 32
Exhibit 3- 12: NMS Home Page............................................................................................................... 33
Exhibit 3- 13: Terminal List..................................................................................................................... 33
Exhibit 3- 14: Burst Time Plan................................................................................................................ 34
Exhibit 3- 15: Traffic Information .......................................................................................................... 34
Exhibit 3- 16: Service History.................................................................................................................. 35
Exhibit 3- 17: Service Connections.......................................................................................................... 35
Exhibit 3- 18: Diagnostic Testing............................................................................................................. 35
Exhibit 3- 19: Configuration Windows ................................................................................................... 36
Exhibit 3- 20: Frame Relay Service Compliance ................................................................................... 40
Exhibit B- 1: LinkWay RFT Transmit Specifications ........................................................................... 57
Exhibit B- 2: LinkWay RFT Receive Specifications.............................................................................. 57
Exhibit B- 3: LinkWay RFT Operating Characteristics ....................................................................... 58

SDD00077_04 (August 23, 2007) ViaSat Proprietary Page vi

LinkWay
System Description
LINKWAY SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
Satellite technology is often the preferred choice
for a variety of telecommunications applications,
such as:
Transaction-oriented or point-of-sale net-
works.
IP multicasting and backbone connectivity.
Television broadcast distribution.
Basic voice and data communications
where the terrestrial infrastructure is either
insufficient or nonexistent.
It is now possible to address wideband multimedia
applications with new advances in VSAT technol-
ogy, thereby seamlessly extending terrestrial infra-
structure over large geographic areas. LinkWay
provides native support for important telecommu-
nications standards such as IP and Frame Relay.
LinkWay products provide a range of enterprise
networking and telecommunications capabilities to
fit almost every satellite and wireless network en-
vironment. These products offer full-mesh, wide-
band multi-service solutions on a single compre-
hensive platform with multi-frequency TDMA sat-
ellite air interface and packet transport services.
This document provides a high-level overview of
the LinkWay network products to demonstrate how
those products provide sensible solutions to chal-
lenges in satellite networking. The three main sec-
tions include:
Section 1The LinkWay Network explains fea-
tures and capabilities of the LinkWay networking
equipment across a variety of applications.
Section 2LinkWay Network Components de-
scribes the physical elements of the LinkWay net-
work sitethe indoor unit, the outdoor unit, and
the Network Control Center hardware.
Section 3LinkWay Network Operations demon-
strates how LinkWay uses TDMA to efficiently
provide Frame Relay and Internet Protocol ser-
vices.
This document also includes two appendices to aid
in understanding the sophisticated utility of the
LinkWay system in addressing satellite communi-
cation solutions:
Appendix ATerms & Acronyms is a useful
guide to the LinkWay terminology.
Appendix BLinkWay Radio Frequency Termi-
nal Specifications describes the requirements for
all LinkWay radio frequency terminals.
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LinkWay
System Description

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LinkWay
System Description
Section 1THE LINKWAY NETWORK
LinkWay is a multi-carrier, multi-rate, time-
division multiple access (TDMA), VSAT-like
(very small aperture terminal) platform that works
with conventional satellites. It provides seamless
full-mesh connectivity for flexible, on-demand
broadband corporate networking applications. The
LinkWay system can support hundreds of low-cost
terminals with small antennas. Single-hop connec-
tivity is a standard feature without the need for an
expensive central hub station.
The current LinkWay products include:
LinkWay 2100This terminal fully supports
Frame Relay and IP, and uses an integrated radio
frequency terminal. LinkWay 2100 is more cost
effective for remote VSAT applications. This ter-
minal uses an L-band RFT interface in support of
broadband applications that span multiple satellite
transponders.
LinkWay.IPThis terminal fully supports IP.
Packaged with smaller RFTs (2W, 4W, 5W) for
star topologies, it is targeted for ISPs and corporate
intranet applications. Unique IP software allows
higher throughput IP applications.
LinkWay
S2
This terminal fully supports IP and
frame relay. With an integral DVB-S2 receiver,
LinkWay
S2
supports both mesh and broadband
star IP networks, in addition to mesh frame relay
networks. LinkWay
S2
uses an L-band RFT inter-
face in support of broadband applications that span
multiple satellite transponders.
Using this family of LinkWay products, the system
automatically allocates satellite bandwidth on an as
needed, basis using dynamically measured traffic
levels or on a fixed-assignment basis, if required.
In addition to efficient TDMA and automated
bandwidth on demand (BoD), LinkWay eliminates
the need for additional third-party networking
equipment. This results in improved overall net-
work reliability, lowered costs, and simplified in-
tegration with terrestrial networks.
The LinkWay platform incorporates enhanced fea-
tures providing a unique architecture that supports
mesh, star, virtual star, and hybrid topologies. The
products inherent flexibility allows individual
VSAT locations to be configured as very low-cost
remote terminals and economical high-capacity
gateways. LinkWay broadband VSATs support
multiple antenna and RF transceiver configurations
with flexible carrier parameters that include vari-
able bit-rates, power levels, and forward error cor-
rection (FEC) settings for each carrier.
A LinkWay network has three basic parts:
The LinkWay terminal contains the satellite mo-
dem and the necessary interfaces to provide Frame
Relay and IP access.
The LinkWay outdoor unit (ODU) includes a ra-
dio frequency terminal (RFT) and an antenna. The
RFT consists of a solid state power amplifier
(SSPA) and block up-converter (BUC). The termi-
nal and ODU are connected by an interfacility link
(IFL), which includes both a transmit (Tx) and a
receive (Rx) cable. In addition, the LinkWay 2100,
LinkWay.IP, and LinkWay
S2
have the RFT inte-
grated into the terminal, providing an L-band IF
interface.
The heart of the LinkWay network is the Network
Control Center (NCC), a Sun workstation that
provides the management and control functions for
all network terminals. The NCC is the platform for
the LinkWay Network Management System
(NMS) server. The NMS is the graphical user in-
terfaceaccessed using a standard web browser,
which the operator uses to configure the network
and to request information from the NCC. The
system supports NCC redundancy to increase net-
work reliability.
Exhibit 1-1 illustrates four sites in a single net-
work, with its NCC and NMS collocated with a
LinkWay terminal and ODU combination, called a
LinkWay site.
LinkWay
System Description

LINKWAY
(NMS Server)
LINKWAY
LINKWAY
LINKWAY
LINKWAY
LINKWAY
Internet
LAN
Internet
Frame
Relay
LINKWAY
NETWORK
Multi-Carrier
TDMA
Customer Premises
IP
IP
Office Park Site
LAN
IP
NC
C
To NMS
Clients
via PSTN
or PDN
Frame
Relay
IP
I
F
Gateway Site
Customer Premises

Exhibit 1- 1: A LinkWay Network
Broadband VSATs like LinkWay are ideal for
wideband multimedia applications encountered by
multinational corporations, carriers, service pro-
viders, virtual private network operators, and
Internet service providers (ISPs). An
effective broadband VSAT platform
must provide the following capabilities
in order to address todays diverse
multimedia networking applications,
which are discussed below:
Support for a broad range of
network topologies (Section
1.1).
Native support for packet- and
circuit-switching protocols (Sec-
tion 1.2).
Flexible connectivity and
satellite access (Section 1.3).
Efficient demand-assigned
bandwidth management (Section
1.4).
Diverse network applications (Section
1.5).
Substantial benefits (Section 1.6).

1.1 SUPPORT FOR A BROAD RANGE OF NETWORK TOPOLOGIES
LINKWAY LINKWAY
LINKWAY LINKWAY
Mesh LINKWAY
LINKWAY LINKWAY
LINKWAY LINKWAY
Star
LINKWAY LINKWAY
LINKWAY LINKWAY
Virtual Star
(Hybrid)
Hub w/ 1 or more
Linkway Units

Exhibit 1- 2: LinkWayThree Topologies,
One Platform
The three most popular and regularly encountered
topologies include star (hub-and-spoke
networks), mesh (any-to-any
connectivity in one satellite hop), and
virtual star (hybrid networks with
multiple hub locations). These are
illustrated in Exhibit 1-2:
A typical star network consists of a
central hub location with many
remotes supporting asymmetric
outbound and inbound traffic
requirements. Applications include
applicationspecific interactive sys-
tems in banking, retail, and other
industrial sectors; PSTN network
extensions; broadcast services; and
Internet network extensions.
LinkWay
System Description
NCC
NMS
NMS
MRT
TT3
TT1
TT2
ODU
ODU
Site A
Site B
AMRT
NCC
MRT Site

Exhibit 1- 3: Single-Beam Configuration
A mesh network consists of many
terminals with one or two assigned to
administer the network, no central hub
location (although optional higher traf-
fic gateways are possible), and support
for any-to-any connectivity.
Applications include telemedicine,
corporate wide-area voice and data
communications, LAN extensions and
videoconferencing.

A virtual star or hybrid network consists of two or
more hubs or gateways, and provides mesh con-
nectivity between hubs, remote-to-multiple hub
connectivity, and asymmetric data rates. Virtual
star networks are essentially two-tiered topologies
supporting high-traffic gateways with mesh con-
nectivity to each other and small remote locations
connected to the high-traffic gateways. Each tier
requires links that provide fiber-like bit error ratio
(BER) performance and asymmetric transmission
rates. Typical applications include multinational
corporate intranets, and service provider-operated
virtual private networks.
LinkWay supports all three topologies, as well as:
Standard interfaces for packet-switched IP
and frame relay networking applications.
Broadband data rates between 312 ksps
and 5 Msps.
Demand-assigned allocation of bandwidth.
LinkWay is a powerful platform, supporting high-
rate, multiple protocol services for high-end appli-
cations, and affordable (small-aperture) remote
terminals operating over low-rate carriers as well.
The system operates seamlessly because larger
VSAT sites can carrier-hop between large and
small carriers as required by changing connectivity
requirements.
In a single-beam configuration, as illustrated in
Exhibit 1-3, the NCC links all of the traffic termi-
nals in the network through the master reference
terminal (MRT). (In Exhibit 1-3, the arrows be-
tween the NCC and MRT, and the NCC and
AMRT, indicate redundancy.) In all cases, each
LinkWay terminal is capable of serving both as a
reference and a traffic terminal. (The MRT and
AMRT, however, must reside at the same site as
the NCC.)
For instance, the MRT in Exhibit 1-3 controls all
geographic locations in the network. The NCC is
collocated with the MRT, and both can be backed
up by using an alternate master reference terminal
(AMRT) and another NCC in a redundant configu-
ration. NCC and MRT redundancy offers a one-
time switchover from the active unit to the backup
unit. If the configuration is multiple-beam, as in
Exhibit 1-4, there is also a supporting reference
terminal (SRT) to control the traffic terminals as-
sociated with each satellite beam the MRT cannot
see. The SRT relays NCC commands from the
MRT.

LinkWay
System Description

NCC
TT
SRT MRT
TT

Exhibit 1- 4: Multiple-Beam Configuration

1.2 NATIVE SUPPORT FOR PACKET-SWITCHING PROTOCOLS
Broadband VSATs need to provide native support
for the most important and widely used packet-
switching protocols. This allows seamless transi-
tions between the terrestrial and the satellite net-
works and reduces or eliminates the need for addi-
tional third-party networking equipment. The
LinkWay indoor unit supports IP, and Frame Relay
packet-switching protocols (Section 3.4 provides
more detail about LinkWay and these two proto-
cols.) Legacy protocols, such as X-25, are sup-
ported over LinkWay via a connected router using
a standard LinkWay interface.
IP SERVICE FEATURES
LinkWay dynamically routes IP packets using RIP-
1 and RIP-2, protocols, and supports unicast and
multicast services, as well as static and default
routing. LinkWay also supports RFC 1490 for IP
access over Frame Relay. A native 10BaseT
Ethernet connection (100BaseT in LinkWay
S2
)
simplifies connectivity between the terrestrial net-
working equipment and the LinkWay terminal.
The LinkWay system manages the routing table for
IP and dynamically assigns bandwidth as needed.
When a point-to-multi-point burst is allocated for a
data stream, all network nodes designated a con-
trol group receive the burst assignment.
LinkWay allows multicast traffic bandwidth classi-
fied as real-time connections to be assigned a
higher priority than unicast traffic. Additionally,
the operator can manage the available bandwidth
by specifying a unicast allocation factor.
A variety of applications are possible with native
IP support, including data multicasting, video
streaming, voice over IP, and LAN-to-LAN and
WAN-to-LAN connections.
FRAME RELAY SERVICE FEATURES
Each Frame Relay connection can be configured
for a specific quality-of-service requirement.
LinkWay allocates bandwidth as required with a
combination of static and dynamic TDMA bursts
to the satellite.
The LinkWay terminal provides EIA-530/RS-
449/V.35 synchronous serial interfaces via cables
to frame relay routers, access devices, and
switches.
LinkWay supports RFC-1490, which allows IP
packets to be extracted from Frame Relay frames
over the serial interface.
LinkWay
System Description
LEGACY PROTOCOL SUPPORT
LinkWay supports legacy protocols such as SDLC,
X.25, and 2-wire/4-wire analog voice requirements
by combining the IP or Frame Relay interfaces
with external routers or Frame Relay access de-
vices.
1.3 FLEXIBLE CONNECTIVITY AND SATELLITE ACCESS
Broadband multimedia applications require flexi-
ble network architectures and a variety of satellite
connectivity options. LinkWay provides a multi-
carrier (up to 256 carriers), multi-data-rate TDMA
platform that can operate on one or more satellite
transponders and supports flexible connectivity for
any networking requirement.
The TDMA burst modem within the VSAT plat-
form operates at symbol rates between 312 ksps
and 5 Msps depending on the LinkWay platform to
address a diverse range of broadband multimedia
content. The transmit and receive data rates can be
set independently for asymmetric transmission ap-
plications, such as those typically encountered with
IP applications. In addition, robust satellite links
are possible with fiber-like BER performance since
each carrier is assigned a convolutional-Viterbi
inner code and a Reed-Solomon outer code.
LinkWay is operable on any international or re-
gional geosynchronous satellite system. Common
frequency bands include C- and Ku-band; the sys-
tem will also operate on bent-pipe Ka-band satel-
lite systems.
1.4 EFFICIENT DEMAND-ASSIGNED BANDWIDTH MANAGEMENT
The LinkWay system runs a central bandwidth
management program in order to efficiently use
space segment and provide high levels of end-user
data throughput.
The bandwidth management function performs
both fixed bandwidth allocation and dynamic
bandwidth allocation (bandwidth on demand):
Fixed bandwidth allocationCertain traffic cate-
gories in Frame Relay require bandwidth to be al-
located for the entire duration of the call. In these
cases, bandwidth is allocated at call (or connec-
tion) setup and remains allocated for the entire du-
ration of the call. The bandwidth is de-allocated
when the call ends (or the connection is torn
down).
Dynamic bandwidth allocation (bandwidth on
demand)Every LinkWay terminal runs a Band-
width Reporter program that continuously moni-
tors the incoming user traffic. The dynamic band-
width allocation function collects the
reports from all traffic terminals and periodically
runs an algorithm to distribute available bandwidth
resources fairly and efficiently using three levels of
fairness:
Outgoing FairnessAll connections
originating from a particular terminal
compete for the terminals total trans-
mission capacity in a fair manner.
Incoming FairnessAll connections
terminating at a particular terminal
compete for the terminals total re-
ceive capacity in a fair manner.
System FairnessAll connections in
the entire network compete for the to-
tal system capacity in a fair manner.
This algorithm provides bandwidth alloca-
tion in response to changing incoming user
traffic rates in a dynamic manner.
1.5 DIVERSE NETWORK APPLICATIONS
LinkWay is particularly well-suited to the diverse
topologies needed for todays wideband networks.
Service providers and multinational corporations
can economically establish mesh, star, or virtual
star networks using a single platform. This is im-
portant for service providers, because:
LinkWay
System Description

Mesh networks support teleconferencing require-
ments.
Star networks support Internet access and data dis-
tribution.
Virtual star networks support corporate data intra-
nets connecting remote offices to headquarters,
factories, and MIS centers.
Popular broadband VSAT network examples, de-
scribed below, include:
Virtual private networks.
Private corporate networks.
Internet service providers.
Real-time digital video internetworking.
Wireless interconnectivity.
Disaster recovery.
VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORKS
Frame Relay/
IP
LINKWAY
Company C
LINKWAY
LINKWAY
LINKWAY
LINKWAY
Company C
Company C
Company B
Company B
Company A
Company A
Company B
Company A

Exhibit 1- 5: Virtual Private Network Application
A virtual private network service provider, as illus-
trated in Exhibit 1-5, can establish virtual IP or
Frame Relay connections over satellites using
broadband terminals as entry points for client loca-
tions. The operators investment includes installing
an NCC and leasing partial transponder space on
any commercially available C- or Ku-band geo-
stationary satellite. The operator takes advantage
of the bursty nature of client traffic and demand-
assigned bandwidth to reuse the same transponder
resources among a pool of clients. Because most
applications do not require a full-time dedicated
data pipe, the network resources are made avail-
able only for active applications.
The service provider bills customers for actual us-
age. Smaller customers (fewer than 10-20 sites)
can interconnect branch or remote offices without
major investments in bandwidth and network man-
agement infrastructure. The service providers
monthly bill to the end customer includes the
equipment lease, installation expenses, and band-
width use.

PRIVATE CORPORATE NETWORKS
Voice
/Fax
PABX
PSTN
LAN
Video
PABX
Router
Video
PSTN
LAN
LAN
TCP/IP
PABX
LINKWAY
LINKWAY
LINKWAY

Exhibit 1- 6: Multiple-Services Private Corporation
Network
Private multinational corporate networks en-
counter a wide variety of applications, such as
intranets and LAN extensions. Typical require-
ments include file and image distribution, in-
ventory control, video conferencing over FR
and IP, e-mail, database backup, voice-over-
digital PBXs, and voice over IP. Because Link-
Way is configurable for any network topology,
corporations can affordably provide broadband
content to and from multiple locations. Exhibit
1-6 illustrates a multiple-services corporate
network.

LinkWay
System Description
INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS
LINKWAY
LI NKWAY
LINKWAY
Server
PSTN
LINKWAY
LINKWAY
Content
Provider
4 Mbps
250Kbps
Gat eway
ISP Servi ce
POP-t o-POP Connecti vi ty
(E-mai l, Voi ce, LAN)
POP #1
POP#25
POP #50

Exhibit 1- 7: Internet Service Provider Network
Because LinkWay networks support asymmetric
traffic applications, they are ideal for Internet ser-
vice providers (ISPs). An asymmetric circuit con-
sists of high-rate and low-rate connections. Exhibit
1-7 illustrates an ISP application using multiple
high-rate connections and several low-rate connec-
tions. The high-rate connection broadcasts IP con-
tent to all point-of-presence (POP) locations, each
of which serves a large community of dial-in users.
Low-rate connections are shared among POPs to
transport requests to the content-provider. The
low-rate connections can also be used for adminis-
trative traffic (such as e-mail, technical support,
reports, request for spare equipment, and voice
applications) among the individual POPs in a sin-
gle satellite hop.

REAL-TIME DIGITAL VIDEO INTER-
NETWORKING
Video teleconferencing, telemedicine, and video
surveillance are growing applications for broad-
band VSATs, and all require transporting real-time
digital video over IP. For example, the digital
video surveillance network shown in Exhibit 1-8
comprises several distinct user groups. These are
combined to form one network of many remote
surveillance sites, each monitoring highway traffic.
Each remote surveillance site broadcasts digital
video signals to gateway locations using IP multi-
casting at a user-specified data rate. The data rates
and the specific user groups can be programmed
for video transmissions. All other network com-
munications, such as group-to-group connectivity,
can be implemented with IP unicasting on de-
mand.
Satellite Dish
Sensor
Video
Asymmetric
Communications

Exhibit 1- 8 Real-Time Surveillance
Network

LinkWay
System Description

WIRELESS INTERCONNECTIVITY
LinkWay can accommodate cellular or base station
connectivity over the satellite by using VoIP or
VoFR call routing, and high-speed TDMA carriers.
Typical base stations require T1/E1 connections to
the central office on demand. A broadband VSAT
facilitates the rapid extension of a countrys wire-
less telephony infrastructure to smaller cities and
rural areas that either lack E1/T1 infrastructure or
need to augment their E1/T1 capacity. A wireless
interconnection application is illustrated in Exhibit
1-9.
MTS
BS BS
LINKWAY
PSTN
LINKWAY LINKWAY

Exhibit 1- 9: Wireless Interconnect
Application
1.6 LINKWAYS SUBSTANTIAL BENEFITS
Networks based on LinkWay products have clear
advantages over the existing VSAT systems in the
market. The benefits of LinkWay networks in-
clude:
LinkWay networks use a hub-less architec-
ture.
Multi-protocol support enables easy migra-
tion to emerging applications.
LinkWay networks support asymmetric
traffic requirements.
LinkWay networks support both full-mesh
and star topologies on a single platform in
a single hop.
LinkWays unique patented dynamic band-
width-on-demand (BoD) algorithm dis-
tributes network bandwidth among many
sites effectively and efficiently as needed.
LinkWay networks support wideband traf-
fic on demand.
In situations where the wideband content is pro-
vided from various destinations, LinkWay net-
works support multiple gateway network architec-
tures without a hub.
LinkWay networks support multimedia applica-
tions through standard native, Frame Relay, and IP
interfaces. This enables LinkWay terminals to in-
terface seamlessly with existing terrestrial net-
works and to improve overall network reliability
by minimizing the need for additional third-party
devices.
LinkWay networks offer flexible satellite carrier
definition configuration to support variance in the
transponder and remote antenna. This includes the
ability to define a transponder frequency offset, if
known and defined, to enhance the tracking Rx
capability for the terminals. In addition, the ability
to define signal power level on carrier basis sup-
ports smaller and larger antennas in the same net-
work.

DRAWBACKS OF OTHER TDMA SYSTEMS
As compared with LinkWay, other TDMA systems
have substantial drawbacks:
Other TDMA systems cannot support high-speed
IP-unicast, IP-multicast, and frame relay applica-
tions on a single platform, which drastically limits
future migration choices.
The multi-board design of the indoor units in these
systems makes maintenance and sparing costly and
decreases reliability and efficiency.
LinkWay
System Description
The other TDMA systems have limited carrier-
hopping capability for the asymmetric topologies
and applications required by Internet service pro-
viders.
Limited modulation and coding capabilities of
these systems combine to increase their bandwidth
consumption, space segment cost, and station size.
The fixed burst of these systems result in frag-
mented space segment, lower bandwidth effi-
ciency, and longer response time.
Because these systems do not support cross-
strapped transponders and inclined orbit satellites,
they have limited connectivity and growth poten-
tial.
The bandwidth-on-demand capabilities of these
systems are inefficient.
These systems support multi-carrier-hopping re-
quirements among no more than a few carriers,
which severely limits true wideband networking
applications.
These systems require a separate network man-
agement system for every eight to ten carriers,
which results in bandwidth fragmentation and
complicated operation.
Other TDMA systems have limited carrier
throughputs.

LinkWay
System Description

This Page Intentionally Left Blank.

LinkWay
System Description
Section 2LINKWAY NETWORK COMPONENTS
A LinkWay network consists of
LinkWay sites managed by a
Network Control Center (NCC)
workstation at one of the sites. The
LinkWay hardware includes:
LINKWAY
Ethernet
Hub
PC with Application
Software
BUC SSPA
AMP
Controller
IF Input fromLNB
L-BandIF Output
to ODU
1
0

B
a
s
e

T
SSPA 48VDC
WR75
TxIFL
TNC (10MHz)(12/15vdc)
LNB
WR75
vdc)
RxIFL L-Band(950)-1640MHz)
15vdc
"F" Female

Exhibit 2- 1: LinkWay Network
The terminalthe upper left
portion of Exhibit 2-1the speci-
fications for which are described in
Section 2.1 below.
The outdoor unit, or ODU,
consists of the radio frequency
terminal (RFT) and antenna. Their
specifications are listed in Section
2.2 and Appendices B and C.
The NCC includes a Sun workstation and a PC.
Their specifications are detailed in Section 2.3.
LinkWay is an extremely reliable system. The ta-
ble in Exhibit 2-2 shows the mean time between
failures (MTBF) for the network elements and,
consequently, how many spares are required in a
100-node LinkWay network.
Exhibit 2- 2: SPARES REQUIRED FOR 100-NODE NETWORK
Replaceable Units
MTBF
(Hours)
Number of
Units
Number of
Spares*
Remote Terminal 70,000 100 6
Remote ODU 50,000 100 7
Single NCC 40,000 1 1
Terrestrial Interface
Adapter (TIA)
100,000 100 5
*Based on an accumulated Poisson distribution model using an availability of 99.9
percent and assuming failed units are replaced in 40 days.
2.1 THE LINKWAY INDOOR UNIT
The LinkWay terminals are housed in compact
rack-mountable packages with L-band interfacility
links (IFL) to radio frequency terminals (RFTs)
operating in C-, Ku-, or Ka-band.
The modulator output and demodulator input can
be set as indicated in Exhibit 2-3. To optimize per-
formance, LinkWay performs automatic coarse
setting of the internal front-end attenuator. Based
on the satellite system and geographic location, the
LinkWay terminal can be deployed with a variety
of RFTs, ranging from 1.2-m/2-Watt Ku-band
units to 3.8-m/60-Watt C-band units.
The LinkWay contains a TDMA burst modem,
TDMA frame controller, and terrestrial traffic in-
terfaces.
Up to three physical interfaces can be activated on
LinkWay
System Description

the LinkWay 2100 unitthe Internet Protocol (IP)
interface is built-in, and the customer can select up
to two Frame Relay (V.35, RS-449, RS-530), inter-
faces as optional interfaces. The LinkWay.IP ter-
minal supports only IP. The LinkWay
S2
has built-in
interfaces for IP and FR, and can support two op-
tional plug-in interface cards.
Exhibit 2- 3: LinkWay Modulator
and Demodulator
Modulator Out-
put
Demodula-
tor Input
LinkWay 2100
& LinkWay.IP
-5 to 25 dBm in
dBm steps
-35 to 75
dBm
LinkWay
S2
0 to -30 dBm in
dBm steps
-35 to -75
dBm

THE LINKWAY MODEM
LinkWay incorporates a multi-carrier, multi-rate,
time-division multiple access (TDMA) modem.
Each carrier in the LinkWay network can be con-
figured with different speeds and forward error
correction (FEC) rates. Larger carriers increase
terminal throughput, but also increase outdoor unit
(ODU) power and size requirements. Smaller car-
riers limit connectivity to star or partial-mesh to-
pologies, but also reduce capital investment per
remote terminal. With the exception of the ODU
size, the system administrator can modify the con-
figuration at any time.
As many as 256 carriers can be supported in a
LinkWay network. Initially, however, only one
carrier is required for each network. Additional
carriers can be added as the network traffic in-
creases. All carriers in a transponder can be auto-
matically shared among the users on demand. As-
signment of terminals to carriers is performed dy-
namically by the Network Control Center (NCC)
collocated with one terminal.
LinkWay 2100, LinkWay.IP supports the following
modem TDMA symbol rates:
312.5 ksps
625 ksps
1.25 Msps
2.5 Msps
5 Msps
LinkWay
S2
supports the following TDMA symbol
rates:
312.5 ksps
625 ksps
1.25 Msps
2.5 Msps
5 Msps (optional)

This multi-rate feature accommodates various net-
work applications and antenna sizes. Regardless of
the selected modulation and coding scheme, carrier
bandwidth occupancy remains constant. Modula-
tion and coding selection affect power require-
ments, as well as user information throughput.
Therefore, it is common to configure the traffic
bursts with QPSK modulation to increase user in-
formation throughput. The NCC automatically
configures modulation and coding for each burst.
The transmit and receive side of the modem can
operate and hop asymmetrically and independ-
ently. This feature is ideal for Internet Service Pro-
vider (ISP) point-of presence (POP) applications,
or corporate networks with asymmetric traffic ar-
chitecture.
The LinkWay
S2
, in addition to incor-
porating a multi-carrier, multi-rate,
time-division multiple access (TDMA)
modem, incorporates an integrated
DVB-S2 receiver which provides
high-speed download capability from a
central site, as well as interoperability
with ViaSat s LinkStar system.
LinkWay-S2s DVB-S2 receiver uses
EN 302 307 compliant coding, so that
operators may use LinkWay-S2 with a
standard EN 302 307 DVB-S2 modu-
lator and IP encapsulator, or with Vi-
aSats LinkStar-S2 hub.
The LinkWay Modem Performance Table in Ex-
hibit 2-4 provides a performance summary.
LinkWay
System Description
LinkWay2100, LinkWay.IP, and LinkWay
S2
use
Viterbi FEC with concatenated Reed Solomon
(236, 216) coding. The FEC is configurable by
carrier.
Turbo product code is optional for the LinkWay
S2
.
Modulation for the LinkWay 2100 and Link-
Way.IP is QPSK.
The LinkWay
S2
uses QPSK modulation in the
standard configuration. 8PSK modulation is op-
tional for the LinkWay
S2
.
The LinkWay modem has a rolloff factor of 0.3;
the carrier spacing factor is 1 +(roll-off) =1.3.
Thus, the allocated bandwidth is the symbol rate x
1.3.
The IF looped E
b
/N
o
performance for BER =10-8
is listed in the following table. Additional margin
(typically 0.4 to 0.8 dB) above these values should
be allocated to account for RF looped performance.
The LinkWayS2 operates up to 2.5 Msps as stan-
dard. An option is available for operation up to 5.0
Msps.

Exhibit 2-4: LINKWAY MODEM PERFORMANCE TABLE
Carrier
Symbol
Rate
FEC Satellite
Link Bit
Rate
Eb/No
Ksps Kbps dB
5000 1/2 4590.2 4.6
5000 2/3 6120.2 5.2
5000 3/4 6885.2 6.1
5000 7/8 8032.8 7.8
2500 1/2 2295.1 4.6
2500 2/3 3060.1 5.2
2500 3/4 3442.6 6.1
2500 7/8 4016.4 7.8
1250 1/2 1147.5 4.6
1250 2/3 1530.1 5.2
1250 3/4 1721.3 6.1
1250 7/8 2008.2 7.8
625 1/2 573.8 4.9
625 2/3 765.0 5.5
625 3/4 860.7 6.4
625 7/8 1004.1 8.1
312.5 1/2 286.9 5.2
312.5 2/3 382.5 5.8
312.5 3/4 430.3 6.7
312.5 7/8 502.0 8.4

LinkWay
System Description

THE LINKWAY 2100 and LINKWAY.IP TERMINAL SPECIFICATIONS
The tables and figures below detail the LinkWay
2100 and IP terminal specifications:

Exhibit 2- 5: LinkWay 2100 Front Panel
Exhibit 2-5 displays the LinkWay 2100 front
panel.
Exhibit 2-6 displays the LinkWay 2100 back
panel with optional TIAs installed.
Exhibit 2-7 details the LinkWay terminals ba-
sic characteristics.
Exhibit 2-8 details LinkWays terrestrial inter-
face options for LinkWay 2100.
Exhibit 2-9 details LinkWays terrestrial inter-
face options for LinkWay.IP.
Exhibit 2-10 displays rear panel functions for
the LinkWay 2100 and LinkWay.IP.
Exhibit 2- 6: LinkWay 2100 Back Panel

Exhibit 2- 7: TERMINAL CHARACTERISTICS
LinkWay 2100 and LinkWay.IP
Dimensions 8.9 cm/3.5 (h) x 43.8 cm/17.25 (w) x 36.8.4 cm/14.5 (d) and mount-
able in a standard 19 rack
Weight 5 kg/11 lbs
Temperature Operating: 0 to +40C Storage: 0 to +70 C
Relative Humidity Operating: 0 to 95% Storage: 0 to 95%
Power supply 50/60 Hz; auto-range: 100 VAC to 240 VAC
Power consumption 80VA without ODU
Fuse 3 Amps at 264 V
Certification CE, UL, and FCC

LinkWay
System Description

Exhibit 2- 8: TERRESTRIAL INTERFACE OPTIONS FOR 2100
Ethernet Serial Synchronous
Protocols

IP: RIP-1, RIP-
2
Frame Relay, RFC 1490
Maximum Data Rate 3 Mbps 2 Mbps
Clock Rate 10 Mbps 64 to 2,048 kbps
Standards

RFC 1058
RFC 1490
RFC 1112

EIA/TIA-449
EIA/TIA-530
V.35
Physical Interface 10BaseT, IEEE
802.3
RS-449/RS-422
RS-530/RS-422
V.35
Connectors 6-pin RJ -45 26-pin SCSI
RS-449 37-pin, D-type
RS-530 25-pin, D-type
V.35

Exhibit 2- 9: TERRESTRIAL INTERFACE OPTIONS FOR LINKWAY.IP
LinkWay.IP
Ethernet
Protocols IP, RIP-1, RIP-2
Maximum Data Rate 3 Mbps duplex
Clock Rate 10 Mbps
Standards RFC 1058, RFC 1112
Physical Interface 10BaseT, IEEE 802.3
Connectors 8-pin RJ -45

LinkWay
System Description

Exhibit 2- 10: REAR PANEL FUNCTIONSLINKWAY 2100 and LINKWAY.IP
Function Rear Panel Label Specification
Power supply 50/60 Hz
Auto-range100 VAC to 240 VAC
ODU IF connec-
tions
IF INPUT TO
ODU
IF OUTPUT
FROM ODU
Tx950-1525 MHz (L band), 50 Ohm, Type N
female
Rx950-1750 MHz (L band), 75 Ohm, Type F
female
TVRO950-1750MHz (L band), 75 Ohm,
Type F female
Craft Interface CONSOLE 4-Pin RJ-11 JackRJ -11 to DB25 converter
cable supplied. Supports RS-232, external mo-
dems.
LAN Interface 10BaseT 8-Pin RJ-45 JackIEEE 802.3 compatible.
10BaseT physical interface
Network Clock In-
terface (10 MHz)
EXT REF 50 BNC1V peak-to-peak sinusoidal clock
waveform input
Interface 1 No Label
Left Slot
Supports 1 LinkWay Interface Card,Frame
Relay, (not available on LinkWay.IP)
Right Slot
Supports 1 LinkWay Interface Card, Frame
Relay, (not available on LinkWay.IP)

LinkWay
System Description
THE LINKWAY
S2
TERMINAL SPECIFICATIONS
The tables and figures below detail the Link-
Way
S2
terminal specifications:

Exhibit 2- 11: LinkWay
S2
Front Panel
Exhibit 2-11 displays the LinkWay
S2
front pan-
el.
Exhibit 2-12 displays the LinkWay
S2
back
panel.
Exhibit 2-13 details the LinkWay
S2
terminals
basic characteristics.
Exhibit 2-14 details terrestrial interface options
for LinkWay
S2
.
Exhibit 2-15 displays rear panel functions for
the LinkWay
S2
.

Tx Out, 75 , Type-F J ack
10 MHz Ref., 50 , BNC J ack
10/100 MHz Ethernet, RJ -45
RS-232 Console Port, RJ -11
Form C Alarm Auxiliary ODU Power
Rx In, 75 , Type-F J ack
USB Port
Ground Stud
IEC Power Connector w/ Switch
Expansion Interface 2
Expansion Interface 1
Frame Relay, 26 pin SCSI-2

Exhibit 2-12: LINKWAY
S2
BACK PANEL

Exhibit 2- 13: LINKWAY
S2
TERMINAL CHARACTERISTICS
LinkWay
S2
P
Dimensions 4.4 cm/1.73 (h) x 43.1 cm/17 (w) x 39.6 cm/15.6 (d) and mountable in
a standard 19 rack
Weight 3.4 kg/7.5 lbs
Temperature Operating: 0 to +50C Storage: 0 to +70 C
Relative Humidity Operating: 0 to 95% Storage: 0 to 95%
Power supply 50/60 Hz; auto-range: 100 VAC to 240 VAC
Power consumption 55 VA without ODU
Fuse 3 Amps at 264 V
Certification CE, UL, and FCC

LinkWay
System Description

Exhibit 2- 14: LINKWAY
S2
TERRESTRIAL INTERFACE OPTIONS
Ethernet Serial Synchronous
Protocols

IP: RIP-1, RIP-2 Frame Relay, RFC 1490
Maximum
Data Rate
Variable 2.048 Mbps
Clock Rate 10/100BT, FDX 64 to 2,048 kbps
Standards

RFC 1058
RFC 1490
RFC 1112

EIA/TIA-449
EIA/TIA-530
V.35
Physical
Interface
10/100BaseT, IEEE
802.3
RS-449/RS-422
RS-530/RS-422
V.35
Connectors 6-pin RJ -45 26-pin SCSI

Exhibit 2- 15: REAR PANEL FUNCTIONSLINKWAY
S2
Function Rear Panel Label Specification
Power supply 50/60 Hz
Auto-range100 VAC to 240 VAC
ODU IF connec-
tions
IF INPUT TO
ODU
IF OUTPUT
FROM ODU
Tx950-1750 MHz (L band), 75 Ohm, Type F
female
Rx950-1750 MHz (L band), 75 Ohm, Type F
female
Craft Interface CONSOLE 4-Pin RJ-11 JackRJ -11 to DB25 converter
cable supplied. Supports RS-232, external mo-
dems.
LAN Interface 10BaseT
100BaseT (s2)
8-Pin RJ-45 JackIEEE 802.3 compatible.
10/100BaseT physical interface
Multi-Function
BNC Connector
EXT REF 50 BNCProgrammable 10MHz clock refer-
ence input/output; SORF/SOTF trigger
Left Slot
Supports 1 LinkWay
S2
Interface Card
PMC Expansion Slot
Right Slot
Supports 1 LinkWay
S2
Interface Card,
PMC Expansion Slot
LinkWay
System Description
2.2 THE LINKWAY OUTDOOR UNIT
A LinkWay network will function efficiently with
a variety of radio frequency terminals (RFTs) and
antennas, including customer-owned equipment.
The specifications for the LinkWay RFT are
briefly described in The LinkWay Radio Fre-
quency Terminal section below and detailed in
Appendix B.
The specifications for the LinkWay antenna are
briefly described in The LinkWay Antenna section
below.
THE LINKWAY RADIO FREQUENCY TERMINAL
The Ku-Band radio frequency terminals (RFTs) for
LinkWay 2100, LinkWay.IP, and LinkWay
S2
can be
configured for 2-, 4-, 8-, 16-, or 25-Watt operation
and the C-Band transceivers for 5-, 10-, 20-, 40-,
and 60-Watt operation:
In LinkWay 2100, LinkWay.IP, and LinkWay
S2

the RFT interface is integrated into the terminal for
a substantial cost savings to the customer.
A monitoring feature verifies system status and
isolates faults in the field-replaceable unit.
The RFT, housed in a weatherized enclosure, can
be either mounted on or adjacent to the antenna
feed support and has the following circuitry:
Transmit and receive RF converters.
Transmit RF power amplifier.
Summary alarm circuitry.
Configurations employ a standard BUC integrated
with an SSPA or booster amplifier. The SSPA is a
galium arsenide field effect transistor (GaAs FET)
based for highly linear operation. Both the gain
and the detected power are calibrated over tem-
perature and frequency. Control data for these
functions are stored in lookup tables.
All ViaSat-supplied LNBs (C and Ku-Band) are
phase-locked (PLL) and externally referenced to a
10 MHz signal. The LinkWay terminal generates
the 10 MHz reference signal. The externally locked
PLL LNBs ensure proper acquisition of TDMA
bursts at all carrier symbol rates. Internally locked
LNBs cannot ensure successful burst acquisition
and should not be used.
Appendix B describes the RFT in some detail
The LinkWays RFT dimensions are detailed in
Exhibit B-1 and the transmit and receive specifica-
tions in Exhibits B-2 and B-3, respectively. Ex-
hibit B-4 details the LinkWay RFTs operating
characteristics.
THE LINKWAY ANTENNA
The LinkWay network is typically supplied with a
1.2-m, 1.8-m, 2.4-m, or 3.8-m antenna system type
approved by EUTELSAT or INTELSAT. Link-
Way can also be used with most customer-supplied
antennas, as well as specially configured antennas.
1.2-m Antenna SystemFor both C-band
and Ku-band. The latter includes the EU-
TELSAT-type approved option of long-
focal-length.
and Ku-band.
1.8-m Antenna SystemINTELSAT-
type-approved for C-band and EUTEL-
SAT-type-approved for Ku-band.
and Ku-band.
2.4-m Antenna SystemINTELSAT-
type-approved for C-band and EUTEL-
SAT-type-approved for Ku-band.
3.8-m Antenna SystemFor linear and
circular C-band and for Ku-band.

LinkWay
System Description

2.3 THE LINKWAY NETWORK CONTROL CENTER
The NCC performs overall management and con-
trol of the LinkWay network. Network configura-
tion is defined at the NCC and automatically dis-
tributed to the terminals. The NCC can be config-
ured in a redundant or non-redundant architecture,
either at the same site or at geographically sepa-
rated sites.
A single LinkWay traffic terminal is always desig-
nated as Master Reference Terminal (MRT) and
connected to the NCC using an Ethernet interface.
The NCC then communicates with other LinkWay
terminals through the MRT via the satellite link.
Operators located remotely can log on to the NCC
using PCs (or Macs) with Web browsers. This re-
mote clientthe Network Management System
(NMS)is the operators interface to the network
configuration and status screens. The NCC is a
hosted on a Sun workstation. Exhibit 2-16 illus-
trates a redundant NCC setup. A non-redundant
situation uses a single Sun workstation, external
modem, and universal power supply.

PC Computer
Sun Workstation
NCC
External Modem
Universal
Power Supply
LINKWAY
LINKWAY
Sun Workstation
Associated
NCC
External Modem
Universal
Power Supply
Linkway MRT
Linkway AMRT
Network Control Center Components
(Locally Redundant)
PSTN
PSTN
Ethernet
Switch

Exhibit 2- 16: Redundant NCC Elements
LinkWay
System Description
Section 3LINKWAY NETWORK OPERATIONS
This final section ties together four elements in
order to complete this high-level description of the
LinkWay network:
Section 3.1 describes LinkWays TDMA architec-
ture.
Section 3.2 describes LinkWay network manage-
ment features.
Section 3.3 illustrates LinkWay network manage-
ment windows.
Section 3.4 details LinkWay protocols and ser-
vices.
3.1 LINKWAY TDMA ARCHITECTURE
In order to access the space segment, LinkWay
uses time division multiple access (TDMA) tech-
niques. Frame Format and Hierarchy describes
the frame format and hierarchy that LinkWay uses.
LinkWay can function in either Single-Beam or
Multiple-Beam Operation, and can efficiently ac-
commodate very large or small networks. The
manner in which LinkWay handles all these alter-
natives is described in Site and Terminal Address-
ing, while LinkWays acquisition and synchroniza-
tion techniques are outlined in Acquisition and
Synchronization. LinkWays clock management is
described in Clock Management. Packet and Cir-
cuit Transport Services outlines LinkWay packet
and circuit transport services.
FRAME FORMAT AND HIERARCHY
Reference
SOF Frame Period EOF
SOMF
SOCF
Frame 1 Frame 2 Frame 3 Frame n Frame n-1
MF 2 MF 1 MF 3 MF m-1 MF m
Control Frame Period
Multiframe Period

Exhibit 3- 1: TDMA Frame Hierarchy
LinkWay employs a hierarchical frame structure
composed of frames, multiframes, and
control frames as illustrated in Exhibit 3-1.
TDMA Frame Structure
A TDMA frame is the basic periodic
interval of time during which a terminal
transmits or receives one or more bursts.
LinkWay frame duration has a nominal
value of 27 ms. Every frame boundary is
delineated by a start-of-frame (SOF)
instanta point relative to the position of
the beginning of the first symbol of the
reference burst in the frame. Each
reference burst frame is identified
numerically by a frame identifier.
As Exhibit 3-2 illustrates, each carrier in a
multi-carrier operation transports a TDMA
frame that is time aligned with all other carriers
frames on SOF, start of multiframe (SOMF), and
start of control frame (SOCF). A multiframe is the
duration of N consecutive frames. The nominal
value for N is 8. Multiframe boundaries are deline-
ated by an (SOMF) instant encoded in the frame
identifier.
LinkWay transmits and receives bursts on speci-
fied frames of the multiframe.
A control frame is the duration of M consecutive
frames. The nominal value for M is 128. Control
frame boundaries are delineated by an SOCF in-
stant encoded in the frame identifier. LinkWay
transmits and receives bursts on specified frames
of the control frame.
LinkWay
System Description

Exhibit 3- 3: LinkWay BURST TYPES
Burst Type
Transmitting
Terminal
Type Purpose
Reference
(RB)
Reference Conveys outbound NCC
signaling
Conveys timing feedback
data to traffic terminals
Establishes receive timing
Signaling
(SB)
Traffic Conveys inbound traffic
terminal signaling
Acquisition
(AB)
Traffic Conveys transmit response
message
Used to acquire traffic ter-
minal transmit timing
Control
(CB)
Traffic Conveys traffic terminal
status report
Used to maintain traffic ter-
minal Transmit timing
Traffic
(TB)
Reference and
Traffic
Conveys circuit and packet
data
SOF
SOMF
SOCF
SOF
SOMF
SOCF
Carrier 1
Carrier 2
Carrier N

Exhibit 3- 2: Multi-Carrier TDMA Frame
Alignment

TDMA Burst Structure
In LinkWay, the burst is the high-level unit of
transmission, with multiple burst types providing
efficient space-segment use. Exhibit 3-3 itemizes
the burst types.
Bursts are composed of several fields. Exhibit 3-4
displays the burst structure and its relationship to
frames and carriers. The burst structure has the
following elements:
The carrier and bit timing recovery (CBTR) data
pattern aids receiving modems in obtaining carrier
and symbol clock acquisition. The CBTR consists
of 128 consecutive symbols of alternating binary
1's and 0's. The CBTR beginning defines the burst
position in the frame.
The unique word (UW) data pattern aids receiving
modems in locating the first symbol of the first
channel in the data field. The UW consists of 48
consecutive symbols. Reference bursts have a UW
that differs from non-reference bursts.
RB SB CB AB TB TB
TDMA Frame
Carrier 1

TB
RB SB TB TB TB TB TB
CBTR UW Channel 0 Channel 1 Channel C Guard Burst
Data Bits
Circuit Packet
Packet 1 RS Channel RS Packet 2 Packet P
Carrier 2

Exhibit 3- 4: General TDMA Burst Structure (Channel
structure for illustrative purposes onlycircuit and packet
data are never on the same burst)

LinkWay
System Description
Channel structureBursts can carry either 64-
kbps circuit or packet data within their channels.
Packet bursts may have up to 8 channels. Circuit
bursts are either 64-kbps data or 8-kbps com-
pressed voice. Circuit-data channels are simply
filled with encoded data. Packet-data channels con-
tain many packets of varying length. To facilitate
error detection and depending on correction, Reed-
Solomon check bytes are included in both circuit-
and packet-data channels.
Guard timeEvery burst is defined in the frame
with guard space to prevent transmit burst timing
errors from resulting in burst overlap and loss of
data. Each terminals bursts are controlled in order
to limit timing variations at the satellite to 1/2
guard time.
LINKWAY
S2
DVB-S2 Operation

LinkWay
S2
incorporates a built-in DVB-S2 re-
ceiver, in addition to its TDMA modulator and
TDMA demodulator, which shares a common
receive input with the TDMA demodulator. The
LinkWay
S2
integrated DVB-S2 receiver/decoder
can receive a broadband IP data stream from a
DVB-S2 hub, providing efficient broadband star
connectivity to a central data source while si-
multaneously providing full-mesh capability.
LinkWay
S2
, for example, can support band-
width- intensive IP applications such as stream-
ing video over the DVB-S2 link while support-
ing intrinsically mesh applications such as VoIP
over mesh TDMA. Also, LinkWay
S2
is interop-
erable with ViaSats LinkStar
S2
system, provid-
ing a universal, flexible networking solution.

Exhibit 3- 5: DVB-S2 Operation in LinkWay
S2

DVB-S2
HUB
LinkWay-S2 combines full-mesh networking with broad-
band DVB-S2 downlink in one integrated package.
LinkWay
S2
LinkWay
S2
LinkWay
S2
LinkWay
System Description

SINGLE-BEAM AND MULTIPLE-BEAM OPERATION
LinkWay is designed for both single-beam and
multiple-beam operation. Exhibit 3-6 depicts a
simple example of each. As shown in the figure, in
the single-beam case, all terminals have transmit
and receive access to all carriers assigned to the
system. The MRT directly supports all terminals.
In the multiple-beam case, terminals have transmit
access to one set of carriers and receive access to
another. The MRT supports terminals in Beam 2
and the supporting reference terminal (SRT) sup-
ports traffic terminals in Beam 1.
BEAM1 BEAM2
CARRIERS
SRT
TT1
NCC/
NMS TT2
MRT
MULTIPLE-BEAMCONFIGURATION
NCC/ NMS
CARRIERS
SINGLE-BEAMCONFIGURATION
TT1
TT2
MRT
Exhibit 3- 6: Single- and Multiple-Beam
Configurations
SITE AND TERMINAL ADDRESSING
The LinkWay site and terminal addressing scheme
efficiently accommodates a wide range of network
configurations and is designed to support thou-
sands of sites. Each site can have multiple termi-
nals. In addition to individual terminals, the system
can also address sites and groups of sites. This ad-
dressing scheme provides for very large networks
without penalizing small ones.
Although only one terminal will be designated as
the MRT in a LinkWay network, each LinkWay
terminal can perform as both reference and traffic
terminal. The NCC dynamically assigns the refer-
ence terminal function, which simplifies configura-
tion, maintenance, and upgrade procedures, while
increasing the systems flexibility.
ACQUISITION AND SYNCHRONIZATION
Because the Doppler motion of the satellite and
oscillator drift normally cause timing variations,
maintaining synchronization is critical to the error-
free operation of any network. LinkWay terminals
use TDMA acquisition and synchronization proce-
dures to establish and maintain burst synchroniza-
tion.
LinkWay procedures enable new terminals to join
the network quickly. Typically, a terminal will en-
ter the network within 30 seconds of power up. A
network of 100 terminals ready to enter the net-
work typically completes entry within 10 minutes.
As the network grows, or if faster entry is desired,
multiple acquisition bursts can be defined. Termi-
nals can enter the network at approximately the
rate of 10 per minute per acquisition burst.

CLOCK MANAGEMENT
To minimize timing error in the system, each
LinkWay terminal automatically monitors and ad-
justs its direct digital synthesizer (DDS) to match
that of its MRT or supporting reference terminal.
To further minimize timing error, an industry-
standard, highly accurate external clock source can
be connected to the reference terminal as an op-
tion. The reference terminals DDS tracks the ex-
ternal clock in frequency and phase, while all other
terminals continue to track the reference terminals
DDS. This is a cost-effective method for highly
accurate timing throughout the system. Without an
external clock source, the DDS is accurate to 1 part
in 10
7
. An accurate external clock typically raises
accuracy to 1 part in 10
11
.
LinkWay
System Description
LinkWay terminal interfaces accept data timed to
the terrestrial data-receive clock and use the terres-
trial data-receive clock in transmitting data to the
terrestrial network
In order to generate accurate clocks in its distrib-
uted TDMA system, LinkWay uses a distributed
algorithm that requires an accurate clock source at
the TDMA terminal. (See Exhibit 3-7.) The local
clocks of all other terminals are phase locked to the
reference terminals clock.
Clock Correction
ru
rd tu
td
Satellite
GPS
Disc
OSC
Ref Clock
(20 MHz)
Freq
Counter
(error)
TX/ RX
corrections
Clock Algorithm
Reference Terminal
VCXO
TX/ RX
Timing
Terr/ Modem
Clock Ref
(doppler free) Freq
Counter
(error)
TX/ RX
corrections
Clock Algorithm
Traffic Terminal
VCXO
TX/ RX
Timing
Terr/ Modem
Clock Ref
(doppler free)

Exhibit 3- 7: Clock-Generation Algorithm
LinkWay
System Description

3.2 LINKWAY MANAGEMENT FEATURE
The NCC is the central control for the entire LinkWay network. Hosted on a Sun workstation, the
NCC software runs as a single application process and performs the following functions:
Configuration Management.
Acquisition and Synchronization Control.
Bandwidth Management.
Fault Management.
Accounting.
Performance and Alarm Management.
Security Management.
CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT
The NCC stores all configuration data for the en-
tire LinkWay network. Each configuration data file
is similar to a file (or a relation) in a regular data-
base management system. The NCC software reads
the configuration data into RAM at startup; this
RAM copy is used during network operation. The
files are written to only when configuration data
changesfor example, additions and deletions to
existing data.
The NCC Configuration Management function
interfaces with the J ava-based NMS to add, delete,
or modify the configuration data.
At terminal startupand upon any configuration
changesthe NCC downloads configuration data.
Should the configuration data change, the NCC
sends modifications to the terminals.
ACQUISITION AND SYNCHRONIZATION CONTROL
The NCC controls acquisition and synchronization
of the LinkWay network. Upon startup, the NCC
establishes contact with the MRT (and SRT) and
commands it to initiate reference station acquisi-
tion and synchronization. The reference station
starts transmitting the reference burst. In loopback-
beam operation, the reference station hears its own
transmission in order to achieve synchronization.
In multiple-beam operation, the MRT hears the
SRTs reference burst and vice-versa in order to
achieve synchronization.
After the MRT (and SRT) achieves synchroniza-
tion, the NCC initiates the acquisition and syn-
chronization procedure for traffic terminals in the
system, using the reference terminals as a relay to
communicate with the terminals. Traffic terminals
are commanded to transmit a sequence of acquisi-
tion bursts, whose arrival time and frequency are
measured by the MRT. Using these measurements,
the NCC sends back frequency and timing correc-
tions to the traffic terminals, and they are then
ready to carry user traffic.
After initial acquisition and synchronization, traffic
terminals periodically transmit control bursts,
whose timing and frequency are measured by the
MRT or SRT. Using these measurements, the NCC
sends back further frequency and timing correc-
tions to the terminals. These corrections keep the
terminals synchronized with satellite movements.
LinkWay
System Description
BANDWIDTH MANAGEMENT
Please see the earlier section, 1.4 EFFI-
CIENT DEMAND-ASSIGNED BANDWIDTH
MANAGEMENT for more detail.
FAULT PROTECTION
LinkWay has three levels of fault protection:
System faults are handled through the NMS
and its alarm functions.
A: Non-redundant
B: Local ly redundant
C: Geographical ly redundant
Satellite
Sun Station
LINKWAY 2000 LI NKWAY 2000
LINKWAY 2000
Sun Station
LINKWAY 2000
SunStation Sun Station
SunStation

Exhibit 3- 8: Redundant NCC Options
Terminal faults are minimized using redun-
dant-terminal operation for terrestrial interfaces
(see, for illustration, Exhibit 1-3).
Network faults are minimized in two ways: (a)
redundant NCC configuration and (b) re-
dundant MRT configuration.
The NCC can be configured as either locally or
geographically redundant (see Exhibit 3-8 for
several options). In a geographically redundant
configuration, the NCC functions are passed to
a standby NCC on a backup Sun workstation
located at a different site.
In redundant MRT cases, the NCC monitors its
connection to the MRT and AMRT. When it
detects that the MRT is not responding, the NCC
automatically switches the reference station func-
tions to the alternate master reference terminal.
This switch-over mechanism allows continuous
operation of the TDMA network, even when the
MRT fails.
The LinkWay NCC and MRT redundancy scheme
offers a single rollover from active to passive unit,
ensuring no unscheduled disruption in network
synchronization.
ACCOUNTING
The NCC accounting function generates account-
ing reports for all user IP and frame relay connec-
tions A resource utilization record is written at
connection startup and shutdown.
The accounting management subsystems architec-
ture consists of an accounting manager module at
each terminal and the NCC communicating over
the reliable packet transport protocol.
The NCC accounting manager receives accounting
records from all terminal accounting managers and
stores them in accounting files. There is one ac-
counting file per service per accounting session,
with each accounting session being a 24-hour pe-
riod.
Each call has a unique call ID that appears in all
accounting records written for it. This ID holds
across terminal and NCC resets. Intermediate re-
cords are generated at the end of every accounting
session for calls lasting more than a day. If a ter-
minal fails, appropriate records are generated for
ongoing calls. Call beginning and end times are
noted in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), although
accounting sessions may end at midnight GMT or
local time.
For more detail, refer to document item #1025156,
LinkWay Accounting Features available on the
ViaSat Extranet Web site.
LinkWay
System Description

PERFORMANCE AND ALARM MANAGEMENT
The performance management function is useful in
monitoring a terminals health and for diagnosing
problems. It enables the NMS operator to view
transmit and receive burst data and to collect per-
formance dataBER and link statistics and IP
trafficfrom individual terminals. The NMS op-
erator can also assess service statistics from Frame
Relay, or IP connections. The NCC collects data
for each burst containing the selected connection.
Data are gathered for channel access control
transmissions to and from the satellite, and for the
terrestrial interfaces by link and connection.
The operator can collect performance statistics
from individual terminals for monitoring the health
of a particular terminal and for diagnosing prob-
lems. Various fault alarms are collected from the
terminals and distributed to the NMS for display
on the operator screen. Some of the important pa-
rameters monitored are:
Statistics for each receive burst.
Accumulated statistics for each transmit
burst.
Accumulated statistics on a per destination
basis (e.g., number of packets sent, allo-
cated packet bandwidth, average number
of bytes per sec).
Packets dropped at a node.
Packets forwarded at a node.
Throughput on the link.
The NCC monitors the following informa-
tion for each terminal:
Terminal ID.
Terminal typeMRT, SRT, or TT.
StateUp/down
Number of times the terminal has ac-
quired.
Number of acquisition commands sent to
the terminal.
Number of status request messages sent to
the terminal.
Number of status response messages re-
ceived from the terminal.
Number of reports received from the ter-
minal.
The following statistics are maintained on
a per-port basis:
Current port statusUp or down.
Loopback condition detectedYes or no.
Data packets received for transmission.
Data bytes received for transmission.
Data packets sent to the user.
Data bytes sent to the user.
Number of signaling packets received.
Number of status inquiry packets received.
Number of status packets received.
Number of signaling packets sent.
Number of status inquiry packets sent.
Number of status packets sent.
User procedure signaling errors, e.g., mes-
sage loss, sequence number, invalid
header.
Number of times user procedures declared
the channel inactive.
Network procedure signaling errors (mes-
sage loss, sequence number, invalid header
etc.).
Number of times network procedures de-
clared the channel inactive.
The operator can send diagnostic commands to a
terminal or the NCC. The major diagnostic func-
tions that can be executed via the NMS are:
Verifying TDMA performance by displaying burst
statistics. Along with the number of data segments
transmitted on each burst, the system reports burst
ID and the number of detects, misses, Viterbi cor-
rections, and cyclic redundancy check (CRC) er-
rors.
LinkWay
System Description
Verifying Frame Relay performance through the
Frame Relay connection control process in a ter-
minal, which handles making and breaking con-
nections within the LinkWay network.
Verifying IP performance by providing IP statis-
tics for each terminal in the network with IP traffic.
The alarm management function collects informa-
tion regarding various terrestrial interface alarms
from the terminals and distributes it to the NMS
for display on the operators screen. The system
displays information for all active alarms in the
system and identifies failures at the interface card
level. Alarms are sent only for equipment or inter-
face failure. Service performance or BER levels
will not trigger any alarms
In addition, whenever a terminal goes down, or the
NMS loses its connection to the NCC, the NMS
sounds a continuous beep alarm, and displays the
Beep Alarm window. The NMS operator must ac-
knowledge the alarm to turn off the beep.
SECURITY MANAGEMENT
The NCC maintains NMS operator login and
password information as part of the configuration
data and uses this information to authenticate op-
erators trying to log into the system. The system
has three levels of security:
Full AccessAllows the NMS operator to view
and modify all configurable databases.
Read-Only AccessAllows the NMS operator to
view only the configuration data. This privilege
can be further specified to limit access to configu-
ration data of one or a set of terminals.
Restricted AccessAllows the NMS operator to
read only portions of the network that have been
specified.
3.3 THE LINKWAY NETWORK MANAGEMENT WINDOWS
The LinkWay NMS is a web-based, platform-
independent J ava application that provides central
network management functionality. Any number of
NMS client systems, running on any platform us-
ing any J ava-capable Web browser can retrieve
data from and deliver information to the NCC.
This creates a significant cost advantage over other
network management systems requiring a specific
platform.
NMS ARCHITECTURE
The NMS-NCC interface follows the general
architecture in Exhibit 3-9. The NMS consists of
a web browser application that opens an HTTP
connection to the web server running on the
NCC host machine. The NCC machine is a Sun
workstation running a UNIX application. Run-
ning independent from the NCCbut on this
same Sun workstationis an off-the-shelf web
server. The web server manages incoming HTTP
socket connection requests.
LinkWay
System Description

Sun
SPARCstation
Sun
SPARCstation
NCC (WWW)
HTTP
NMS consists of a
platform-independent
web-browser applicaiton
NCC includes a web server that provides an
NMS applet via an http URL (descriptor file)
to any and all web client requests

Exhibit 3- 9: NMS Architecture
NMS WINDOW HIERARCHY
Exhibit 3-10 illustrates the hierarchy of NMS windows.

IP ISDN
Frame
Relay
ATM
Configuration
NMS Home Page
Performance Monitoring
Alarms
Network Configuration Site Configuration
ODU
Configuration
Service
Configuration
Accounting/Billing
Call Managemnt
Search
Network
Map
System
Log
Network Status
Diagnostic Testing
Terminal
Configuration
Service Connections
Exhibit 3- 10: NMS Window Hierarchy
NMS HOME PAGE
A map showing the status of the LinkWay network
automatically appears as the NMS Home Page.
(See Exhibit 3-11.) From this page, the operator
can explore the LinkWay network. The home page
enables the NMS operator to view sites and termi-
nals geographically and readily obtain status and
configuration information. When a detailed map is
available, zoom selection displays a larger map of
the area and shows the terminal icons. Map graph-
ics are enhanced for each customers locations.
The home page map shows the location of sites in
the network and updates the associated icons when
terminal status changes:
Green indicates a terminal is up.
Red indicates a terminal is down.
LinkWay
System Description

Exhibit 3- 11: NMS Home Page
Black indicates the site has no configured termi-
nals.
Yellow indicates (in multi-terminal sites) some
terminals are up and some are down.
Operators can also navigate to site, terminal, and
protocol configuration screens after selecting a
particular site or terminal on the map.
NETWORK STATUS
Clicking Network Status brings up detailed in-
formation on terminal status and network events.
For example, the Terminal List tab lists all cur-
rently configured terminals, as well as the cur-
rent status and alarm state of each. (See Exhibit
3-12.)

Exhibit 3- 12: Terminal List
The Event Log tab, on the other hand, lists all
major network events, each of which is time and
date stamped. Initially, the system retrieves the
last 10 log entries; the operator can request more
entries as desired.
LinkWay
System Description

BURST TIME PLAN
The Burst Time Plan window displays the cur-
rent burst allocation for each type of burst. (See
Exhibit 3-13.) The system dynamically updates
this display as bandwidth is allocated, enabling
the operator to graphically view the bandwidth-
on-demand feature in real timethe bursts ap-
pear and disappear as the NCC monitors the
LinkWay network and allocates and de-allocates
bandwidth based on user traffic requirements
.

Exhibit 3- 13: Burst Time Plan

SERVICE USAGE
Detailed accounting and billing
information is maintained on the NCC
Sun workstation. These resource
utilization records (or call detail
records) are stored in an easily im-
ported format.

Exhibit 3- 14: Traffic Information
The operator can generate graphic
representations of traffic information
for calls through any site. (See Exhibit
3-14.) Usage can be displayed by day,
week, month or other specified time
interval. The operator uses the Service
History button on the home page to
bring up lists of all service
connections. (See Exhibit 3-15.)
LinkWay
System Description

Exhibit 3- 15: Service History
PERFORMANCE
In a manner similar to service history, the operator
can view detailed information on active connec-
tions, physical interfaces, and TDMA transmit and
receive statistics. The Performance button brings
up a list of all service connections. (See Exhibit 3-
16.) Selecting any terminal or interface and press-
ing The Get Stats button displays details about any
current call for service to or from any site.

Exhibit 3- 16: Service Connections
DIAGNOSTIC TESTING
Diagnostic testing enables the operator to execute
and view the results of diagnostic commands.
(See Exhibit 3-17.) These commands can be
executed on the NCC or from any terminal.

Exhibit 3- 17: Diagnostic Testing

LinkWay
System Description

ALARMS
The operator can view and analyze all the systems
active terrestrial interface alarms with the click of a
button. In addition, the system issues an audible
beep alarm and displays a message window should
a terminal go down or the NMS lose connection
with the NCC.
CONFIGURATION
Beginning with the windows illustrated in Exhibit
3-18, the operator configures all network, site, and
service parameters for the network.
Exhibit 3- 18: Configuration Windows
SECURITY
The LinkWay NMS implements several levels
of security. The first is enforced by the web
server. Clients requesting access are checked for
valid IP addresses and domain names. When a
valid client address has been identified, the web
server then prompts for operator authentication.
After authenticating the operators identity, the
web server downloads the HTML files and app-
let bytecode to run on the local client machine.
The second level of security is implemented at
the applet level. The bytecode is compressed and
signed with a certificatea password-protected,
encrypted data file that ensures the identity of
the operator. This certificate allows each NMS
setup to independently allow or disallow various
operations to the NMS.
Finally, once the applet is downloaded and run-
ning, it opens a TCP socket connection to the
NCC. The applet then prompts the operator for a
LinkWay user ID and password, and the NCC
verifies.
After verifying the operators ID, the system
performs several levels of checks and filtering:
The operators ID is first checked against the
NMS client address to see if the operator has
connected from a valid host.
The operator is then identified with the appro-
priate security level and set of NMS functions
the operator is allowed to access.
LinkWay
System Description
Based on this security level, NMS operations are
limited to the information pertaining to the
LinkWay sites designated as accessible to that
particular operator.
REMOTE ACCESS
Because the NMS is a web-based application run-
ning on any J ava-compatible browser, operators
can access the NMS from any location on any PC
with an IP connection to the Sun workstation run-
ning the NCC.
SOFTWARE UPGRADES
Because all NMS software is web-based, it is con-
tained within a J ava applet maintained by the web
server on the NCC host machine. This enables
automatic software updating. Customers automati-
cally receive and install all software updates for
their NMS without any local installation proce-
dures.
3.4 LINKWAY NETWORK PROTOCOLS AND SERVICES
While the Internet Protocol (IP) is built into all
LinkWay terminals, the LinkWay 2100 and Link-
Way
S2
terminals can also support Frame Relay,
terrestrial interface protocols. The LinkWay 2100
uses a plug-in terrestrial Frame Relay interface
card, while the LinkWay
S2
has one built-in frame
relay interface. The following sections detail these
two LinkWay services.
LINKWAYS IP SERVICE
The LinkWay system supports IP networking using
an RJ -45 Ethernet LAN port as the physical inter-
face.
Internet protocols are the means by which a router
gains information about the network. Routers de-
termine the best path or route to get to the destina-
tion. The purpose of a router is effectively to sup-
ply efficient traffic flow and management of end-
to-end packet flow. For IP, a LinkWay terminal
acts as a network router and routes each IP packet
toward its destination. As a router, LinkWay
broadcasts advertisement packets (signifying its
presence) to all network nodes and communicates
with the other routers regarding their network con-
nections, the cost of connections, and traffic load
levels. The LinkWay network supports most of the
standard routing protocols, including the Routing
Information Protocol, both RIP-1 and RIP-2.
LinkWay uses dynamic routing, which automati-
cally reconfigures the routing table. Unlike a typi-
cal IP network, which supports only best-effort
service, LinkWay also allows configuring mini-
mum-guaranteed-packet throughput between two
sites. LinkWay also supports multicast routing,
where a source terminal can send a single trans-
mission to multiple terminals at the same time.
Convergencereconfiguring the routing tables
must occur quickly before traffic terminals with
incorrect information misroute data packets into
dead ends. To solve this, the LinkWay master ref-
erence terminal (MRT) acts as an integrated router
and exchanges information about the network's
topology with all traffic terminals in the network.
Using its bandwidth-on-demand function, the MRT
also continually re-balances the traffic load and
regularly updates a map of the entire network, in-
cluding all the devices operating at or below its
own protocol level. Using this network map, the
MRT ascertains the current status of all possible
paths to destinations and selects the best method
usually the fastestof transporting the packet.
Routing Information Protocol (RIP)
Because of the popularity of TCP/IP throughout
the world in today's networks, many vendors'
products have RIP implementations. LinkWay,
which supports RIP-1 and RIP-2, can handle nearly
all of these implementations. For example,
The major features of RIP include:
Using the user datagram protocol for
broadcasting routing tables.
LinkWay
System Description

Using a count of each router or gateway
the packet needs to pass throughcalled a
hop countto measure the distance be-
tween source and destination. The maxi-
mum number of hops allowed is 15. A
network is considered unreachable if it has
16 or more hops.
Updates to routing tables are sent by
routers every 30 seconds.
Routes are timed out in 180 seconds unless
an update for that path has arrived.
RIP operates with two types of user devices: active
and passive. Active users advertise their routes via
a broadcast over their networks, while passive us-
ers listen and update their routes based on the RIP
information, but do not advertise routes.
An active RIP usersuch as LinkWayadvertises
routes about every 30 seconds. Within a RIP
broadcast is a paired listing of every IP network
the sender of the RIP message can reach and the
distance, in hops, to that network. Within RIP, a
router is defined to be one hop away from directly
connected networks, two hops from networks that
are reachable from one other router, and so on.
IP Service Provisioning
Provisioning IP service involves two steps:
1. Submitting the LinkWay terminal IP ad-
dress and subnet mask, and the desired
routing protocol (RIP1, RIP2) to the NMS.
2. Defining any permanent virtual circuits
and related CIR values to be used within
the network.
Once these choices are entered, the NMS auto-
matically downloads the configuration to the NCC,
which sends it to all relevant terminals, and the
LinkWay system is ready for IP traffic.

IP Service Operations
The traffic terminal coordinates with the NCC via
a connection defined between the MRT and the
traffic terminal. When a traffic requirement exists,
the traffic terminal sends a connection request to
the NCC. The NCC then checks both sending and
receiving terminals to verify they are active (UP on
the network). It also checks the IP interfaces to
verify they are active. Any defined CIR for the
connection will be used first for sending the trans-
mission. The NCC allocates additional bandwidth
on an as-available basis, using bandwidth-on-
demand algorithms should more bandwidth be re-
quired.
Multicast traffic uses the same process as unicast
(single point-to-point transmission), with the mul-
ticast connection defining which terminals will
receive the transmission. The NCC allocates
bandwidth on demand to the multicast transmis-
sion, giving network priority to multicast traffic
over unicast. Receiving terminals accept the
transmission only if a client has requested it. Both
features ensure efficient bandwidth use in the
LinkWay network.
IP Special Features
Each LinkWay IP port acts as an interface of a vir-
tual satellite-based router. IP packets entering one
LinkWay interface are automatically routed by IP
address, and transported to the destination Link-
Way IP interface.
Quality of service is maintained via differential
services compatible prioritization with six transmit
queues. Application-triggered bandwidth allocation
ensures bandwidth is allocated to match specific
customer applications, such as voice or video.
Onboard TCP acceleration (available only on
LinkWay
S2
unit) removes satellite delay-induced
throughput limits. Built-in IP header compression
reduces bandwidth required for VoIP.
IP multicast feature enables one LinkWay site to
simultaneously communicate with multiple other
LinkWay sites perfect for multi-party video con-
ferencing or distance learning.
All LinkWay terminals are IPSec transparent and
can be used with peripheral IP encryption devices.
LinkWay
System Description
LINKWAYS FRAME RELAY SERVICE
LinkWays Frame Relay access is supported at the
UNI/NNI connection level with ANSI or ITU local
management interface (LMI) for access manage-
ment and is compliant with the ITU and ANSI
standards listed in Exhibit 3-19.
A serial synchronous port is the physical layer in-
terface, using V.35, RS-449, or EIA-530 connec-
tors with DTE or DCE options and internal or ex-
ternal clock rates up to 2 Mbps.
LinkWay performs frame switching and forward-
ing on a data link connection identifier (DLCI)
basis. Multiple connections (DLCIs) can be provi-
sioned to multiple destinations. Each connection is
configured with bi-directional committed informa-
tion rate (CIR), committed burst size (Bc), and ex-
cess burst size (Be) as QoS parameters. These are
soft configurable on a per-virtual circuit basis,
which allows the operator to tailor the virtual cir-
cuit to requirements:
Fixed-based CIR virtual circuits can be provi-
sioned with finite CIR, matching Bc, and zero Be.
The entire bandwidth is pre-allocated before the
virtual circuit is activated. This type of virtual cir-
cuit is more suitable for constant bit rate real-time
traffic like voice and leased-line applications.
Usage-based CIR can be provisioned by reserving
part of the bandwidth as CIR and allocating the
rest on demand using non-zero Bc. This type of
virtual circuit is suitable for real-time variable rate
applications like video conferencing or video
streaming.
Exhibit 3- 19: FRAME RELAY SERVICE
COMPLIANCE
Standards ITU-T ANSI
Service Description I.233 T1.606
Core Aspects Q.922 Annex A T1.618
Signaling for VCs Q.933 Annex A T1.617 Annex D
Zero CIR virtual circuit is intended for non time-
critical e-mail, file transfer, and applications like
web-browsing. With this service there is no guar-
antee of sustained bandwidth as the system does
not pre-allocate any bandwidth. Bandwidth gets
allocated as traffic increases. If the system has to
drop traffic, this type of traffic is first to be dis-
carded.
Asymmetric CIR allows different CIRs to be pro-
vided in each direction of the virtual circuit. It is
useful for applications such as file transfer that
require more traffic going in one direction than the
other.
Frame Relay over LinkWay gives users the cost
savings of a shared service with the quality of ser-
vice equal to a private line. Dynamic bandwidth
management enhances the inherent advantage of
Frame Relays statistical multiplexing.
Frame Relay Service Provisioning
Provisioning Frame Relay service is extremely
simple using the NMS and involves two steps:
1. Configuring the serial interface for
Frame Relay serviceSelect the rate of
transmission, clock source, and type of in-
terface (RS 449, V.35, EIA 530). Specify
the local management interface (LMI)
typeANSI or ITUand other related pa-
rameters.
2. Configuring the connectionSelect both
source and destination sites and interfaces,
and other related QoS parameters (e.g.,
CIR and Bc).
Once these choices are made, the NMS automati-
cally downloads the configuration to the NCC,
which sends it to all relevant terminals, and the
LinkWay system is ready for Frame Relay traffic.
Frame Relay Service Operation
In Frame Relay, the LinkWay terminal coordinates
establishing the virtual circuit with the NCC. It
waits for its local interface to be active before
sending the connection request to the NCC. (Ac-
tive means that LMI between the interface and the
connected user equipment is up and running.)
The NCC waits for a connection request from both
sides of the connection to arrive before bandwidth
allocation. Bandwidth equivalent to the configured
value of CIR is allocated and both terminals are
informed of this resource allocation.
LinkWay
System Description

The concerned terminals report the virtual channel
as New and Active at their LMI interface using
connection signaling information elements.
Following this, traffic on the connection begins.
Incoming traffic is policed for the traffic agree-
ment, with frames in excess of CIR tagged as non
confirming frames. Each connection has its own
queue of frames for transmission over the satellite
interface. LinkWay employs its patented band-
width-on-demand algorithms to allocate more
bandwidth, when available, for transporting traffic
in excess of CIR.
In the event an interface or terminal goes down, the
connection at the other end is reported as inactive,
and bandwidth is de-allocated. When the interface
recovers, the connection is re-established.

LinkWay
System Description
APPENDIX AGLOSSARY

TERM MEANING
AB See Acquisition burst (AB).
ABR See Available bit rate (ABR).
Access line A communications line interconnecting a Frame Relay, ATM, or IP-compatible
device (data terminal equipmentDTE) to a frame-relay, ATM, or IP switch
respectively (data communications equipmentDCE).
Access rate (AR) The access channels data rateThe maximum rate at which the end user can in-
ject data into a frame-relay network.
ACM See Address complete message (ACM).
Acquisition burst (AB) A LinkWay traffic terminal (TT) uses an AB while trying to achieve transmit syn-
chronization with the master reference terminal (MRT).
Address complete
message (ACM)
A message sent in backward direction indicating that all the address signals re-
quired for routing the call to the called party have been received.
Address resolution
protocol (ARP)
The Internet Protocol used to map dynamic Internet addresses to physical (hard-
ware) addresses on local area networks. (Dynamic means the ability to re-
spond instantly to changes as they occur.) Limited to networks that support
hardware broadcasts.
ALOHA A multi-access contention protocol used by LinkWay. The device transmits when
it wants. When it receives a reply, it continues to transmit. If it does not receive
a reply, the device starts again.
Alternate mark inver-
sion (AMI)
Line-coding format in T-1 transmission systems whereby successive marks are
alternately inverted.
Alternate MRT (AMRT) Alternate master reference terminalThe AMRT is a backup terminal for the
MRT in a LinkWay network. Normally, it acts as a traffic terminal until brought
on line as the MRT. It continues to carry traffic while acting as the MRT.
Alternate SRT Alternate supporting reference terminalThe ASRT is a backup terminal for the
SRT in a multiple-beam LinkWay network. Normally, it acts only as a traffic
terminal until brought on line as the SRT. It continues to carry traffic while act-
ing as the SRT.
AMI See Alternate mark inversion (AMI).
AMRT See Alternate MRT (AMRT).
ANM See Answer message (ANM).
Answer message
(ANM)
A message sent in the backward direction indicating that the call has been an-
swered:
In semi-automatic working, this message has a supervisory function.
In automatic working, this message is used in conjunction with charging in-
formation in order to either start metering the charge to the calling subscriber
(Rec. Q.28) or start measurement of call duration for international accounting
purposes (Rec. E.260)
LinkWay
System Description

TERM MEANING
AR See Access rate (AR).
ARP See Address resolution protocol (ARP).
ASRT See Alternate SRT.
Asymmetric CIR Asymmetric committed information rate (CIR) allows a different CIR to be con-
figured in each direction of a virtual circuit. It is primarily used for applications
such as file transfers that require more traffic transmitted in one direction than
the other.
Asynchronous A term generally used to describe occurrences that are repetitions but do not have
a constant repetition period. In communications, a data transmission format in
which each character is defined with a start bit at its beginning and a stop
bit at its end. This allows the receiving device to recognize, and to synchronize
to each individual character in a transmission, even though the time interval be-
tween characters may vary.
Asynchronous transfer
mode (ATM)
ATM is a flexible, high-speed packet-switched protocol. ATM is a transfer mode
in which the information is organized into fixed size cells. It is asynchronous in
the sense that the recurrence of cells containing information from an individual
user is not necessarily periodic. It integrates all communication forms, and its
services can be delivered through fiber optic bandwidths, as well as advanced
digital switching systems. These services include (1) multi-channel voice com-
munications, (2) high-speed data on demand, (3) video services on demand, (4)
integrated video, voice, and data for Internet services, and (5) high-resolution
fax services.
ATM See Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM).
Autonomous System On the Internet, an autonomous system is the unit of routing policyeither a sin-
gle network or a group of networks controlled by a common network adminis-
trator on behalf of a single administrative entity (such as a university, a business
enterprise, or a business division). An autonomous system is also sometimes re-
ferred to as a routing domain. An autonomous system is assigned a globally
unique number, sometimes called an autonomous system number (ASN).
Available bit rate (ABR) The ATM service category used for data traffic after higher priority quality of ser-
vice (QoS) traffic requirements have been satisfied. The ABR category can tol-
erate delays. For each data transmission, ABR negotiates a range of acceptable
bandwidths and an acceptable cell loss amount (the number of cells that can be
lost in any transmission). ABR connections support LAN traffic, such as e-mail
and file transfers.
Azimuth (AZ) look an-
gle
The direction the antenna must look in an east/west direction, in order for it to
point at the desired satellite. This, combined with the proper elevation look an-
gle, points the antenna to the correct satellite.
B channel Bearer channelAn ISDN data transmission channel with an 64-kbps capacity
used for the content of an ISDN call; also known as a B channel, it is used
for voice or data.
B8ZS Binary eight zero substitution, a line-coding algorithm.
LinkWay
System Description
TERM MEANING
Backward explicit con-
gestion notification
(BECN)
A signaling mechanism used in a Frame Relay network to notify an interface de-
vice (data terminal equipmentDTE) that congestion avoidance procedures
should be initiated by the sending device. A single bit in the frame header is
specified for BECN.
Bandwidth allocation,
fixed
Bandwidth is allocated for the entire duration of the call. The Network Control
Center (NCC) determines the amount of fixed bandwidth allocated based on the
aggregate traffic requiring a committed information rate (CIR).
Bandwidth allocation,
permanent
Bandwidth is reserved for certain PVC connections. This reserved bandwidth can-
not be allocated to other connections even if the designated PVC connections
have no data to send.
Bandwidth on demand
(BoD)
Bandwidth is allocated dynamically as a function of the traffic load presented to
the LinkWay network. The available bandwidth resource is distributed among
all terminals based on a terminal function called bandwidth reporter and a
fair, efficient bandwidth allocation algorithm. The bandwidth reporter continu-
ously monitors the incoming traffic rate on ATM, Frame Relay, and IP virtual
circuits and reports traffic requirements to the Network Control Center (NCC)
that then implements BoD.
Baseband The band of frequencies occupied by the signal before it modulates the carrier (or
subcarrier) frequency to form the transmitted line or radio signal.
Also: Range of frequencies within a source of information.
Basic rate interface
(BRI)
An ISDN call is an 64-kbps (per ANSI standard) end-to-end channel controlled
by a standardized protocol. A BRI includes two 64-kbps bearer (B) channels
and a single 16-kbps delta (D) channel. The B-channels are used for voice or
data, while the D-channel is used for signaling or X.25 packet networking.
B
c
See Committed burst size (B
c
).
B
e
See Excess burst size (B
e
).
BECN See Backward explicit congestion notification (BECN).
BER See Bit Error Ratio (BER).
BERT Bit error ratio test.
Bit Error Ratio (BER) Bit error ratioThe ratio of (a) the number of bits received in error in a specified
period to (b) the total number of bits received in the same period.
BoD See Bandwidth on demand (BoD).
Bps Bits per secondThe rate at which bits are transmitted.
BPSK Binary phase shift keying.
BRI See Basic rate interface (BRI).
BSS Broadcast satellite service.
BUC Block upconverter.
Burst A discontinuous sequence of signals, noise, or interference counted in accordance
with some specific measure or criterion.
LinkWay
System Description

TERM MEANING
C++ A high-level programming language, developed by Borland, used in developing
LinkWay products.
CAC Connection admission controlThe set of actions taken by the network during the
call set-up phase (or during call re-negotiation phase) in order to determine
whether a connection request can be accepted or should be rejected. Routing is
part of CAC actions.
Call detail record
(CDR)
See Resource Utilization Record (RUR).
Carrier and bit timing
recovery preamble
(CBTR)
The sequence of bits used by the LinkWay demodulator to acquire and synchro-
nize to the burst.
CB See Control burst (CB).
CBR See Constant bit rate (CBR).
CBTR See Carrier and bit timing recovery preamble (CBTR).
CCITT International Consultative Committee for Telegraphy and TelephonyA stan-
dards organization succeeded by the International Telecommunications Union
Telecommunications sector (ITU-T).
CCW CounterclockwiseMoving the antenna in a counterclockwise direction. The con-
vention is when the observer is standing at the back of the reflector looking at it.
CDR Call detail recordSee Resource Utilization Record (RUR).
CDV Cell delay variation, a component of cell transfer delay (CTD), induced by buffer-
ing and cell scheduling.
CE European Common Market Certification, one of the many certifications that
LinkWay equipment meets.
Cell A small, fixed length packet. ATM cells are 53 bytes long, consisting of a five-
byte header and 48 bytes of data.
Cell error ratio (CER) The ratio of the number of cells received containing one or more bit errors from
one location, in a given time interval, to the total number of cells received from
the same location within the same given time interval.
Cell loss ratio (CLR) Cell loss ratio for a channel is defined as the (Lost Cells/Transmitted Cells) for a
given interval of time. The CLR parameter is the value of CLR that the network
agrees to offer as an objective over the lifetime of the connection.
Cell misinserted ratio
(CMR)
The ratio of cells received at an endpoint that was not originally transmitted by the
source end, in relation to the total number of cells properly transmitted.
Cellular digital packet
data (CDPD)
An open standard for using existing cellular networks for wireless data transmis-
sion. Packets of data are transmitted along channels of the cellular network.
CER See Cell error ratio (CER).
CG See Control group (CG).
LinkWay
System Description
TERM MEANING
Channel A means of unidirectional transmission of signals between two points. A user ac-
cess channel across which data travels. Within a given T1 or E1 physical line, a
channel can be one of the following:
UnchannelizedAn entire T1 or E1 line is considered a channel.
ChannelizedChannel is any one of N time slots within a given line.
FractionalThe T1 or E1 channel is one of a grouping of consecutively or
non-consecutively assigned time slots.
Channel service unit
(CSU)
An ancillary device needed to adapt the V.35 interface to the T1 (or E1) interface.
CIR See Committed information rate (CIR).
CLR See Cell loss ratio (CLR).
CMR See Cell misinserted ratio (CMR).
CMR See Cell misinserted ratio (CMR).
Commissioning The process of setting up and initiatingor turning ona LinkWay terminal or
network.
Committed burst size
(B
c
)
The maximum amount of data (in bits) that a LinkWay network agrees to transfer,
under normal conditions, during a time interval T
c
.
Committed information
rate (CIR)
The CIR for each DLCI (data link connection identifier) specifies the maximum
average data rate (in bits per second) that the network undertakes to deliver un-
der normal conditions. The rate is averaged over a minimum increment of time.
If exceeded, the network discards any discard-eligible packets if there is con-
gestion. See Asymmetric CIR, Fixed-based CIR, Usage-based CIR, and
Zero CIR.
Committed rate meas-
urement interval (T
c
)
The time interval during which the user can send only the B
c
(committed) amount
of data and B
e
(excess) amount of data. T
c
is computed (from the subscription
parameters of CIR and B
c
) as T
c
=B
c
/CIR.
Connected telecom-
munications equip-
ment (CTE)
This is the European phrase for what in the US is called customer premises
equipment (CPE).
Connection access
control (CAC)
During call set up in an ATM network, CAC algorithms are used to negotiate the
traffic characteristics of the connection to ensure that sufficient network re-
sources are available to establish the end-to-end connection.
Constant bit rate (CBR) An ATM service category used for time-sensitive traffic, such as audio and video.
CBR guarantees that audio and video cells arrive on time, with a minimal varia-
tion in the spacing between cells, by reserving bandwidth for a virtual circuit.
Control burst (CB) The CB is sometimes also called QB.A LinkWay traffic terminal (TT) periodi-
cally transmits a CB to the master reference terminal (MRT) on a multiframe
basis. This burst is used for correcting the traffic terminals timing and fre-
quency.
Control group (CG) In a LinkWay network, the groups into which the community of network elements
in each satellite beam is partitionedtraffic terminals (TTs), master reference
terminal (MRT), supporting reference terminals (SRTs), alternate SRTs, and the
Network Control Center (NCC). Multiple CGs can be defined in each beam.
LinkWay
System Description

TERM MEANING
COTS Commercial off the shelf.
CPE See Customer premises equipment (CPE).
CPU Central processing unit.
CRC Cyclic redundancy check.
CSU See Channel service unit (CSU).
CTD Cell transfer delay. The collapsed time between a cell exit event at the measure-
ment point 1 and the corresponding cell entry event at measurement point 2 for
a particular connection.
CTE See Connected telecommunications equipment (CTE).
Customer premises
equipment (CPE)
This is the American phrase for what in Europe is called connected telecommuni-
cations equipment (CTE).
CW (1) Continuous wave.
(2) ClockwiseMoving the antenna in a clockwise direction (azimuthAZ).
The convention is when the observer is standing at the back of the reflector
and looking at it.
CW (1)Continuous wave.
(2) ClockwiseMoving the antenna in a clockwise direction (azimuthAZ). The
convention is when the observer is standing at the back of the reflector and
looking at it.
D channel Delta ChannelAn ISDN channel with a capacity of 16 kbps used for signaling or
X.25 packet networking, primarily for communications between the telephone
company switch and ISDN adapters.
DAMA See Demand assigned multiple access (DAMA).
Data communications
equipment (DCE)
The switching equipment, as distinguished from devices that attach to the network
(data terminal equipmentDTE). It also refers to the modem equipment.
Data link connection
identifier (DLCI)
A unique number attached to data frames in Frame Relay to identify the virtual
circuit and tell the network how to route the data. One or more DLCI numbers
is assigned to each line end point. In a mesh configuration, each end point can
have one or more DLCI addresses.
Data terminal equip-
ment (DTE)
The ultimate source or destination of data flowing through a network.
dB See Decibel (dB).
dBm Decibel milliwatt (mW).
DBS Direct broadcast satellite.
DCE See Date communications equipment (DCE).
DDS Direct digital synthesizer.
DE See Discard eligible (DE).
LinkWay
System Description
TERM MEANING
Decibel (dB) A logarithmic unit of measure used for comparing two power levels:
Ratio
dB
=Number of decibels =10 log
10
(ratio)
Demand assigned mul-
tiple access (DAMA)
. A time sharing resource allocation scheme. LinkWay is a DAMA-like system.
Discard eligible (DE) A user-set bit indicating that the frame may be discarded in preference to other
frames if congestion occurs. This is used to maintain the committed quality of
service within the network. (See Backward explicit congestion notification
BECN.)
DLCI See Data link connection identifier (DLCI).
DPSK Differential phase shift keying.
DQPSK Differential quadrature phase shift keying.
DS3 A user network interface (UNI) used for ATM service and supported by LinkWay.
DTE See Data terminal equipment (DTE).
DUT Device under test.
E.I.R.P. Equivalent isotropic radiated power.
E1 Transmission rate of 2.048 Mbps on E1 communications lines.
E3 A user network interface (UNI) used for ATM service and supported by LinkWay.
E
b
/N
0
Ratio of bit energy over the white-noise energy.
E
cb
Energy per channel bit.
EIA530 Synchronous serial terrestrial interface used in Frame Relay services and sup-
ported by LinkWay.
E
ib
Energy per information bit.
EL look angle The direction the antenna must look in an up/down direction, in order for it to
point at the desired satellite. This, combined with the proper AZ (azimuth) look
angle, point the antenna to the correct satellite.
Excess burst size (B
e
) The maximum amount of uncommitted data (in bits) in excess of B
c
that a Frame
Relay network can attempt to deliver during a time interval T
c
. These data (B
e
)
generally are delivered with a lower probability than are B
c
. The network treats
B
e
data as eligible to be discarded.
FCC United States Federal Communications Commission.
FEC Forward error correctionUsed to combat errors in the data stream.
FECN See Forward explicit congestion notification (FECN).
FID Frame identification value.
Fixed bandwidth allo-
cation
See Bandwidth allocation, fixed.
LinkWay
System Description

TERM MEANING
Fixed-based CIR The fix-based committed information rate (CIR) virtual circuit can be provisioned
with finite CIR, matching B
c
and zero B
e
. The entire bandwidth is pre-allocated
before the virtual circuit is activated. This type of virtual circuit is suitable for
constant bit rate traffic such as voice over Frame Relay and leased line types of
applications.
Forward explicit con-
gestion notification
(FECN)
A bit set used by a Frame Relay network to notify an interface device (data termi-
nal equipmentDTE) that congestion avoidance procedures should be initiated
by the receiving device.
FR See Frame Relay (FR).
Frame Relay (FR) An interface supported by LinkWay, FR is a wideband (64 kbps to 1.544 Mbps,
per ANSI) packet-based data interface standard that transmits bursts of data
over wide area networks. This service uses a form of packet switching in which
the packets are frames of variable length (7 to 1,024 bytes). Therefore, this pro-
tocol can accommodate data packets of various sizes associated with almost any
native data protocol. The native protocol data unit (PDU) is wrapped into a
Frame Relay frame, with header and trailer information attached. This service
interfaces with Frame Relay routers, access devices and switches and uses EIA-
530/RS-449/V.35 synchronous serial terrestrial interfaces up to 2 Mbps. In
LinkWay, it meets all ITU standards, including the quality of service perform-
ance standards.
Frame Relay frame A variable length unit of data, in Frame Relay format, that is transmitted through a
Frame Relay network as pure data.
Frequency shift keying
(FSK)
An FM modulation technique where frequency shifts occur because of binary digi-
tal level changes rather than modulation analog signal. The carrier shifts be-
tween pre-determined frequencies.
FSK See Frequency shift keying (FSK).
FTP File transfer protocol.
GaAs FETs Galium arsenide field effect transistorsType of components in an amplifier, such
as an LNA (low-noise amplifier) or SSPA (solid state power amplifier).
GEO Geostationary Earth orbit.
GPS Global positioning system.
GSM Global system for mobile communications.
GUI Graphical user interface.
HDLC See High-level data link control (HDLC).
HDTV High-definition television.
High-level data link
control (HDLC)
A generic link-level communications protocol developed by the International Or-
ganization for Standardization (ISO), HDLC manages synchronous, code-
transparent, serial information transfer over a link connection.
HTML Hyper text markup language.
Hz Hertz, unit for frequency measurement.
ICMP Internet control message protocol.
LinkWay
System Description
TERM MEANING
ID Identification or identifier.
ID Identification or identifier.
IDU Indoor unitor terminalin a LinkWay network. Each terminal contains a mo-
dem, a digital signal processor, a synthesizer, and supports IP, ATM, Frame Re-
lay, or ISDN. The terminal is connected to the ODU (outdoor unit) by the IFL
(interfacility link).
IESS INTELSAT Earth Station Standards
IF Intermediate frequency or interface, depending on context.
IFL Interfacility link by which the LinkWay indoor (terminal) and outdoor unit (ODU)
are connected at a LinkWay site.
Integrated Services
Digital Network (ISDN)
This is an ITU-T standard for a general digital telephone network that uses a digi-
tal signal instead of an analog signal for voice, video, and data transmission. An
international standard for voice, data, and signaling, ISDN supports both private
and public numbering plans and interfaces with voice, data, and video equip-
ment. It uses T1 (23B+D) or E1 (30B+D) terrestrial interfaces and provides
Nx64-kbps bearer circuit-mode service.
INTELSAT International Telecommunications Satellite Organization.
International Telecom-
munications Union,
Telecommunications
Section (ITU-T)
An international standards organization that succeeded the International Consulta-
tive Committee for Telegraphy and Telephony (CCITT). The ITU also includes
the Radio Section (ITU-R) and the Development Section (ITU-D).
Internet Protocol (IP) A protocol supported by LinkWay that keeps track of Internet addresses for nodes,
recognizes incoming messages, and routes outgoing messages.
IP See Internet Protocol (IP).
ISDN See Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN).
ISO International Organization for Standardization.
ISP Internet service provider.
ITU-D See International Telecommunications Union, Telecommunications Section
(ITU-T).
ITU-R See International Telecommunications Union, Telecommunications Section
(ITU-T).
ITU-T See International Telecommunications Union, Telecommunications Section
(ITU-T).
kbps Kilobit per secondThe standard measure of data rate and transmission capacity.
LAN Local area network, a configuration supported by LinkWay.
LIF See Logical interface (LIF).
Link management in-
terface (LMI)
A standard for the status polling function that determines the status of the network
and DLCI connections. This is an inquiry from the Frame Relay user to the
network every 10 seconds. If the user does not make this inquiry every 10 sec-
onds, the carrier network equipment generates an alarm.
LinkWay
System Description

TERM MEANING
LMDS Local multi-point distribution service.
LMI See Link management interface (LMI).
LNA Low-noise amplifier.
LNB See Low-noise block downconverter (LNB).
Logical interface (LIF) The LIF connects a LinkWay terminal to customers equipment and to the satel-
lite.
Low-noise block
downconverter (LNB)
The LNB is attached to the antenna feed output and downconverts RF to L Band.
Mbps Megabit per second.
MHz Megahertz (1,000,000 Hertz).
MPSK Minimal phase shift keying.
MRT Master reference terminal in a LinkWay network, which controls network timing
and resource allocation.
Msps Megasymbols per second.
MSK Minimal shift keying.
NCC See Network Control Center (NCC).
Network A LinkWay network consists of the Network Control Center (NCC) and a set of
sites, with the NCC collocated with one LinkWay terminal (the master refer-
ence terminalMRT) at one of the sites.
Network Control Cen-
ter (NCC)
The LinkWay NCC, hosted on a Sun Microsystems workstation, is the central con-
trol for the LinkWay network.
Network Management
System (NMS)
The web-based, platform-independent JAVA application that the LinkWay net-
work uses for monitoring network status and performance, and for performing
modifications to the network.
Network User Entity authorized to send or receive traffic on network.
NMS See Network Management System (NMS).
NMS User An individual who has been given access to the LinkWay network through the
Network Management System (NMS). The level of access rights varies.
ODU Outdoor unit in a LinkWay networkIn the LinkWay 2100 and LinkWay.IP, the
RFT is built into terminal. In all cases, the ODU is connected to the terminal by
the IFL (interfacility link).
PABX Private automatic branch exchange.
Payload type identifier
(PTI)
A part of the ATM cell identifier, used with virtual path identifier (VPI) and vir-
tual channel identifier (VCI) to recognize an ATM cell on a physical transmis-
sion medium.
PBX Private branch exchange.
PCB Printed circuit board.
PCM Pulse code modulation.
LinkWay
System Description
TERM MEANING
PCN Personal communications network.
PCR See Peak cell rate (PCR).
PDU See Protocol data unit (PDU).
Peak cell rate (PCR) A throughput parameter representing the maximum rate at which cells are to be
sent to the ATM connection.
Permanent bandwidth
allocation
See Bandwidth allocation, permanent.
Permanent virtual con-
nection or circuit (PVC)
The virtual connection the LinkWay NMS User sets up with static parameters
when configuring a network connection. PVCs are not tied to a given physical
path through the network. Bandwidth is always reserved for the virtual circuit,
whether the PVC is in use or not. PVCs are always available for immediate use.
PRI See Primary rate interface (PRI).
Primary rate interface
(PRI)
The ISDN PRI in North America and J apan consists of 24 channels, usually di-
vided into 23 B channels and 1 D channel, running over the same physical inter-
face as T1. In countries where E1 is the standard, the PRI has 31 user channels,
divided into 30 B channels and 1 D channel. PRI is typically used for connec-
tions such as between a PBX and a central office of a local or long distance
telephone company.
Private UNI See User-to-network interface (UNI).
Protocol data unit
(PDU)
Generic terminology for packet, i.e., a message that contains both data and con-
trol information. This enables two entities to coordinate their interaction.
PSK Phase shift keying.
PTI See Payload type identifier (PTI).
Public UNI See User-to-network interface (UNI).
PVC See Permanent virtual connection or circuit (PVC).
QAM Quadrature amplitude modulation.
QB See Control burst (CB).
QoS See Quality of service parameters (QoS).
QPSK Quadrature phase shift keying.
Quality of Service pa-
rameters (QoS)
Parameters specifying how many packets or cells can be lost during a transmis-
sion, how long it can take for packets or cells to reach their destination, and
how much the amount of time between cells can vary. These parameters are
used to determine the quality of service a given virtual circuit will provide.
RB See Reference burst (RB).
Redundancy One or more backup systems that is available in case the main system fails.
Reference burst (RB) The LinkWay master reference terminal (MRT) transmits the RBa point-to-
multi-point burstto provide timing and frequency information to all traffic
terminals (TTs).
LinkWay
System Description

TERM MEANING
Resource Utilization
Record (RUR)
The LinkWay Network Management System (NMS) collects traffic usage infor-
mation on a permanent virtual connection (PVC)- or circuit-call basis and inte-
grates the data into flat files that are saved daily. These RUR filessometimes
known as call detail record or CDRsare compatible with industry-standard
billing software packages and can be used as the basis for either pay-as-you-use
or flat policy based billing.
RF Radio frequencyRefers to frequency above baseband.
RFC 1490 This multi-protocol encapsulation enables Frame Relay from different vendors to
communicate efficiently.
RFID Received frame identification value.
RFT Radio frequency transmitter or terminal, one part of the LinkWay ODU (outdoor
unit).
RIP-1, -2 Routing Information Protocol versions 1 or 2
Router A system that controls message distribution between multiple optional paths in a
network. Routers use routing protocols to gain information about the network,
routing metrics, and algorithms to select the best route.
Routing Tables In data networks, routing tables at each switching node are set up to provide an
association between the incoming and outgoing links for each connection.
RS-232 A data terminal equipment (DTE) to data communications equipment (DCE) inter-
face standardDefines electromechanical interface, with several related stan-
dards, define signal level, conditions and polarity at each interface connection.
RS-422 A data terminal equipment (DTE) to data communications equipment (DCE) inter-
face standardSpecifies the functional and mechanical characteristics of the in-
terface between DTE and DCE.
RS449 Synchronous serial terrestrial interface used in data communication services and
supported by LinkWay.
RS530 Synchronous serial terrestrial interface used in data communication services and
supported by LinkWay.
RUR See Resource Utilization Record (RUR).
Rx Receive.
Satellite interface unit
(SIU)
The logical interface connecting a LinkWay terminal to a satellite.
SB See Signaling burst (SB).
SCPC Single channel per carrier.
SCR See Sustained cell rate (SCR).
SDLC Synchronous data link control.
Service Categories Classes of service used to provide different levels of service for different types of
traffic. For example, ATM service categories are CBR, VBR, UBR, and ABR.
Service profiles ID
(SPID)
SPIDS are used to identify the services and features a switch is to provide to an
ISDN device.
LinkWay
System Description
TERM MEANING
S
i
The set of sites that makeup a LinkWay network, with i equal to the total number
of sites in that network.
Signaling burst (SB) A LinkWay traffic terminal uses SBs in ALOHA fashion to send information to
the MRT (master reference terminal), which forwards the information to the
NCC (Network Control Center).
Site A LinkWay site consists of a set of one or more terminals (and may include a re-
dundancy controller switch) connected through an interfacility link (IFL) to an
ODU (outdoor unit) consisting of an RFT (radio frequency transmitter) and an
antenna.
Site ID A numerical value calculated by the LinkWay system based on the assigned con-
trol group and site number.
Site Number A unique number assigned to each site within a Control Group.
SIU See Satellite interface unit (SIU).
SOCF Start of control frame.
SOF Start of frame.
SOMF Start of multiframe.
SONET Synchronous optical network.
SPID See Service profiles ID (SPID).
SRT Supporting reference terminal in a LinkWay network.
SSP Service switching point.
SSPA Solid state power amplifier, such as is used in the LinkWay ODU.
Sustained cell rate
(SCR)
A throughput parameter.
SVC See Switched virtual circuit (SVC).
Switch A device that sets up a virtual circuit and forwards cells. Switches act like routers
while setting up virtual circuits; that is, they determine the best path for the cells
to take. Once the virtual circuit has been set up they act as bridges, simply for-
warding cells.
Switched virtual circuit
(SVC)
Virtual circuits that end stations establish and tear down on demand, when they
need to communicate.
T1 Transmission rate of 1.544 Mbps on T1 communications lines, the rate for ISDN
lines supported by LinkWay.
TB See Traffic burst (TB).
TBD To be determined.
T
c
See Committed rate measurement interval (T
c
).
TCP/IP See Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol.
TDM Time division multiplexing.
LinkWay
System Description

TERM MEANING
TDMA Time division multiple accessA satellite access method based on a frame struc-
ture in which each frame is defined as a basic periodic interval of time during
which data are transmitted and received in one or more bursts. This is the basis
of the LinkWay transport mechanism.
Terminal ID The number calculated by the LinkWay system to identify a terminal in a Link-
Way network site.
Terminal type Terminal types in LinkWay network are: master reference terminal (MRT), alter-
nate MRT (AMRT), supporting reference terminals (SRTs), alternate SRTs
(ASRT), and traffic terminals (TTs).
Terrestrial interface
adapter (TIA)
The logical interface connecting a LinkWay terminal to customer equipment.
TFID Transmitted frame identification value.
TIA See Terrestrial interface adapter (TIA).
Traffic burst (TB) The most common type, this point-to-point burst carries user traffic in a LinkWay
network.
Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Pro-
tocol (TCP/IP)
A data communication standard for interconnection of dissimilar networks and
computing systems, and one of many interface services supported by LinkWay.
Transponder The circuit on a communications satellite that receives the uplink signal sent from
the ground, shifts its frequency to the downlink frequency, amplifies it, and then
transmits it to the ground.
TSP See TTP (or TSP).
TT Traffic terminal in a LinkWay network.
TTP (or TSP) The protocol used by the terminals in the LinkWay network to communicate with
the NCC (Network Control Center) over special management bursts (RB, SB,
CB [or QB], and AB). The protocol is a connection-oriented protocol with se-
lective retransmission and is tuned to operate efficiently over satellite links.
Tx Transmit.
UBR See Unspecified bit rate.
UL Underwriters Laboratory, one of the many certifications that LinkWay equipment
meets.
UNI See User-to-network interface (UNI).
UNIX Operating system of the Sun Microsystems workstation that is the basis of the
LinkWay Network Control Center.
Unspecified Bit Rate
(UBR)
The ATM service category used for data traffic, such as TCP/IP, that can tolerate
delays. UBR does not reserve any bandwidth for a connection.
Usage-based CIR A usage-based committed information rate (CIR) virtual circuit (VC) can be provi-
sioned by reserving part of the bandwidth as CIR and allocating the remainder
on an on-demand basis, using non-zero B
c
. This type of VC is suitable for real-
time variable rate applications, such as video conferencing and video streaming.
LinkWay
System Description
TERM MEANING
User-to-network inter-
face (UNI)
A term used to describe the interface between an end station and a switch on a
switched network:
Public UNIConnects ATM equipment within a private network (either
hosts or switches) with public networks.
Private UNIUsed exclusively to connect hosts to switches where both are
managed by the same administrative entity.
V.35 International standard for trunk interface between a network access device and a
packet network that defines signaling for rates larger than 19.2 kbps. Refers to
data transmission up to 1,544 Mbps.
Variable bit rate (VBR) An ATM service category used for time-sensitive traffic with variable bandwidth
requirements. Like CBR (constant bit rate), VBR reserves a certain amount of
bandwidth for the connection but the actual bandwidth use can vary. Unlike
CBR, VBR can tolerate delays.
Variable bit ratenon-real time (VBR-NRT).
Variable bit ratereal time (VBR-RT).
VBR See Variable bit rate (VBR).
VC See Virtual circuit (VC).
VCC See Virtual channel connection (VCC).
VCI See Virtual channel identifier (VCI).
VCO Voltage controlled oscillator.
Vdc Volts, direct current.
Virtual channel con-
nection (VCC)
One of two types of connections in an ATM network for routing purposes. A vir-
tual path connection (VPC) is an aggregate of VCCs. Switching on cells is first
done on the VPC and then on the VCC.
Virtual channel identi-
fier (VCI)
A part of the ATM cell identifier. Virtual path identifier (VPI), virtual channel
identifier, and payload type identifier (PTI) are used to recognize an ATM cell
on a physical transmission medium. VPI and VCI are the same for cells belong-
ing to the same virtual connection on a shared transmission medium.
Virtual circuit (VC) The connection between two end stations for the duration of the connection.
Virtual path connection
(VPC)
One of two types of connections in an ATM network for routing purposes. A VPC
is an aggregate of virtual channel connection (VCCs). Switching on cells is first
done on the VPC and then on the VCC.
Virtual path identifier
(VPI)
A part of the ATM cell identifier. Virtual path identifier, virtual channel identifier
(VCI), and payload type identifier (PTI) are used to recognize an ATM cell on a
physical transmission medium. Virtual paths provide a convenient way of bun-
dling traffic directed to the same destination or traffic requiring the same Qual-
ity of Service (QoS). VPI and VCI are the same for cells belonging to the same
virtual connection on a shared transmission medium.
VPC See Virtual path connection (VPC).
VPI See Virtual path identifier (VPI).
LinkWay
System Description

TERM MEANING
VSAT Very small aperture terminal, such as in a LinkWay networkSatellite access
terminals with antenna diameters of 3.8 meter or smaller.
WAN Wide area networkLinkWay supports WAN interconnection.
WLL Wireless local loop, a network setup supported by LinkWay.
Zero CIR The zero committed information rate (CIR) virtual circuit is primarily intended for
non-real-time applications, such as browsing the World Wide Web. This type of
service does not pre-allocate bandwidth. Instead, it allocates bandwidth in re-
sponse to traffic demands. In cases of high bandwidth demand, this is the first
traffic type to be dropped. This algorithm saves satellite resources for bursty
non-real time traffic requirements.

LinkWay
System Description
APPENDIX BLINKWAY RFT DESCRIPTION
Standard Ku-Band RFT sizes include 4-, 8-, 16-,
or 40-Watts and standard C-Band RFT sizes in-
clude 5-, 10-, 20-, 40-, and 60-Watts.
All configurations are essentially the same, with
an SSPA or booster amplifier integrated with the
BUC. The SSPA is GaAs FET biased for highly
linear operation.
The RFT uses four low-noise block down-
converters (LNBs) to cover the entire Ku-band
receive frequency, (10.9512.75 GHz) and one
LNB for C-band receive frequencies (3.62-4.2
GHz).
The LinkWay 2100 terminal interfaces with the
BUC using two coaxial cables:
The Tx IFL cable carries +24VDC or +48 VDC
(all terminals shipped on or after October 1,
2001, carry the +24VDC drive voltage), the 10
MHz reference, FSK communications link, and
the modulated L-Band signal from the indoor
unit to the BUC. It is a double-shielded 50 co-
axial cable with a Type N male connector at
each end.
The Rx IFL cable carries the down-converted
receive signal from the LNB to the indoor unit,
as well as the +20VDC source voltage from the
indoor unit to the LNB. It is a 75 coaxial cable
with a Type N male connector at the indoor unit
end and a Type-F male at the LNB end.

Exhibit B-1: LINKWAY RFT TRANSMIT SPECIFICATIONS
Ku-BAND

C-BAND

Output Frequency 14.0 to 14.5 GHz 5.845 to 6.425 GHz
1 dB Gain Compression
Point
36, 39, 42, and 46 dBm 37, 40, 43, 46, and 48 dBm
Output Power Adjustment
Step Size (from IDU)
0.5 dB 0.5 dB
Spurious (in band) - 50 dBc - 50 dBc
IF Interface Connector Type N female on chassis
with adapter for Type F fe-
male interface
Type N female on chassis
with adapter for Type F fe-
male interface

Exhibit B-2: LINKWAY RFT RECEIVE SPECIFICATIONS
Ku-BAND

C-BAND

Input Frequency 11.7-12.2, 10.95 - 11.7,
12.25 - 12.75 GHz
3.625 to 4.2 GHz, 3.4 4.2
GHz, 4.5 4.8 GHz
Noise Temperature 90
o
K 45
o
K
IF Interface Connector Type F female Type F female

LinkWay
System Description

Exhibit B-3: LINKWAY OUTDOOR RFT OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS
Ku-BAND C-BAND
Operating Temperature -40 to +55
o
C -40 to +55
o
C
SSPA Power Supply
(8W Ku-band or higher, 10W C-
band or higher)
90-240 VAC, 47-63 Hz, 1
phase
90-240 VAC, 47-63 Hz, 1
phase
Humidity 0 100% Condensing 0 100% Condensing
Altitude Up to 15,000 feet Up to 15,000 feet
Solar 360 BTU/sq. ft/Hr @ 50
o
C 360 BTU/sq. ft/Hr @ 50
o
C
Salt As found in coastal areas As found in coastal areas
Shock As encountered in shipping As encountered in shipping


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