viasat builds management system for next gen lte satellite system
TRANSCRIPT
ChallengeIn late 2006, ViaSat, the leading producer of innovative satellite, digital communication and ground station equipment, was contracted by Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems to build an LTE-satellite network and management system for their end customer, a US based large scaleservice provider. Debating between selecting an outsourced network management system (NMS) or building the system in-house, ViaSat needed a highly customizable, secure and comprehensive platform that would provide the fastest time to market possible, as the company was under tight deadlines to coincide with an unmovable and fast approaching satellite launch date.
OverviewIn essence, ViaSat and Boeing were developing technology for one of the most powerful commercial satellites ever built, and its Ground Based Beam-Forming (GBBF) system for North America. ViaSat provided the GBBF system comprised of the CMS (Control and Management System), UBS (Uplink Beacon Station), and Gateway for Boeing's mobile satellite communications, which beam the signals to multiple ground gateways in Ottawa, Saskatoon, Dallas and Napa in a ring topology where the beams are processed. Here, ground station equipment collects a large number of events and aggregates the data to a CMS into a consolidated management view. Running on blade servers using Cent OS Linux in HA mode and Active and Standby instances of MySQL, the CMS must monitor and control ground station equipment as it handles intense analog-to-digital conversion and signal processing, while constantly performing positioning with the satellite beam. An EMS/NMS system was required to communicate, aggregate and visualize all of the data and events between the CMS and the four ground stations.
IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINEViaSat’s top priority was getting the project completed as quickly as possible. With WebNMS, ViaSat was able to go from proof of concept to completion in just 12 develop-ment months over a two-year period.
ActionAfter considering in-house options and reviewing HP Openview, IBM Tivoli, NetBoss and even OpenNMS, ViaSat selected WebNMS. Based on its �exible architecture, ease of integrating standard and custom protocols and WebNMS’ comprehensive FCAPS (Fault, Con�guration, Accounting/Asset Inventory, Performance and Security) framework, WebNMS required less software and hardware than other products on the market, saving time and money in the overall project.
WebNMS was used to build two sets of management systems, one Gateway CMS to manage the four ground systems and another Central CMS to create a uni�ed view of the entire network. As a multi-protocol platform, WebNMS was customized to communicate between the Gateway and Central CMS via SOAP protocol. In addition, WebNMS’ functional modules including topology and inventory, fault, performance, security, maps, Java client and northbound were all employed as part of the ViaSat system.
ResultsViaSat’s �rst prototype was measured in just a few months and general acceptance of a distributed, fully redundant and highly complex signal processing system was achieved just over two years, saving the company considerable time, money and resources in the execution of the project.
Because WebNMS is highly customizable, Viasat was able to outsource its development to its preferred systems integrator, rather than being tied to one product vendor for customization – a critical element for both government and satellite companies that place a premium on both security and con�dentiality. Impressively, the Gateway CMS prototype was developed by one individual. In total, 30% of the overall development was conducted in house, with the remainder being outsourced to a 19-person team at its peak and reduced to just 5 members by the project’s completion.
As a comprehensive framework, WebNMS was able to meet all of ViaSat’s requirements around fault, performance and other functions with less hardware and software. This also enabled the company to use less expensive database products including MySQL and CentOS to e�ciently achieve its goals.
“We were amazed that one complete framework like WebNMS could deliver on its promises and provide an out-of-the-box framework to help us develop a massively complete satellite NMS system in 10-12 development months, said Ravi Khanna, Technology Architect, ViaSat. “The cost and resource savings are only matched by the incredibly abbreviated time to market. We wouldn’t consider building in-house again, now knowing the e�ciencies of using WebNMS.”
“From proof of concept to completed project in 12
development months. We couldn’t have done it without WebNMS.”
Ravi Khanna, Viasat
JAN 2007WebNMS selected. Proof of concept completed in 2 months.
JUN 2007Prototype developed and included Ground System to Central System communications, basic fault and con�guration and SOAP Protocol integration.
JAN 2008Critical Design Review completed.
FEB 2009Ground Gateway System accepted.
WebNMS Case StudyViasat Builds Management System for Next Gen LTE Satellite System
4900 Hopyard Rd. Suite 310Pleasanton CA 94588 [email protected]+1 925 924 9500
continued
ChallengeIn late 2006, ViaSat, the leading producer of innovative satellite, digital communication and ground station equipment, was contracted by Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems to build an LTE-satellite network and management system for their end customer, LightSquared. Debating between selecting an outsourced network management system (NMS) or building the system in-house, ViaSat needed a highly customizable, secure and comprehensive platform that would provide the fastest time to market possible, as the company was under tight deadlines to coincide with an unmovable and fast approaching satellite launch date.
OverviewIn essence, ViaSat and Boeing were developing technology for one of the most powerful commercial satellites ever built, and its Ground Based Beam-Forming (GBBF) system for North America. ViaSat provided the GBBF system comprised of the CMS (Control and Management System), UBS (Uplink Beacon Station), and Gateway for Boeing's mobile satellite communications, which beam the signals to multiple ground gateways in Ottawa, Saskatoon, Dallas and Napa in a ring topology where the beams are processed. Here, ground station equipment collects a large number of events and aggregates the data to a CMS into a consolidated management view. Running on blade servers using Cent OS Linux in HA mode and Active and Standby instances of MySQL, the CMS must monitor and control ground station equipment as it handles intense analog-to-digital conversion and signal processing, while constantly performing positioning with the satellite beam. An EMS/NMS system was required to communicate, aggregate and visualize all of the data and events between the CMS and the four ground stations.
ActionAfter considering in-house options and reviewing HP Openview, IBM Tivoli, NetBoss and even OpenNMS, ViaSat selected WebNMS. Based on its �exible architecture, ease of integrating standard and custom protocols and WebNMS’ comprehensive FCAPS (Fault, Con�guration, Accounting/Asset Inventory, Performance and Security) framework, WebNMS required less software and hardware than other products on the market, saving time and money in the overall project.
WebNMS was used to build two sets of management systems, one Gateway CMS to manage the four ground systems and another Central CMS to create a uni�ed view of the entire network. As a multi-protocol platform, WebNMS was customized to communicate between the Gateway and Central CMS via SOAP protocol. In addition, WebNMS’ functional modules including topology and inventory, fault, performance, security, maps, Java client and northbound were all employed as part of the ViaSat system.
ResultsViaSat’s �rst prototype was measured in just a few months and general acceptance of a distributed, fully redundant and highly complex signal processing system was achieved just over two years, saving the company considerable time, money and resources in the execution of the project.
Because WebNMS is highly customizable, Viasat was able to outsource its development to its preferred systems integrator, rather than being tied to one product vendor for customization – a critical element for both government and satellite companies that place a premium on both security and con�dentiality. Impressively, the Gateway CMS prototype was developed by one individual. In total, 30% of the overall development was conducted in house, with the remainder being outsourced to a 19-person team at its peak and reduced to just 5 members by the project’s completion.
As a comprehensive framework, WebNMS was able to meet all of ViaSat’s requirements around fault, performance and other functions with less hardware and software. This also enabled the company to use less expensive database products including MySQL and CentOS to e�ciently achieve its goals.
“We were amazed that one complete framework like WebNMS could deliver on its promises and provide an out-of-the-box framework to help us develop a massively complete satellite NMS system in 10-12 development months, said Ravi Khanna, Technology Architect, ViaSat. “The cost and resource savings are only matched by the incredibly abbreviated time to market. We wouldn’t consider building in-house again, now knowing the e�ciencies of using WebNMS.”
JAN 2010Central Management System accepted.
MAR 2010GA announced.
NOV 2010SkyTerra 1 satellite launched on an International Launch Services Proton vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
JAN 2011Federal regulators give Customer clearance to provide wireless broadband services
continued
4900 Hopyard Rd. Suite 310Pleasanton CA 94588 [email protected]+1 925 924 9500
WebNMS Case StudyViasat Builds Management System for Next Gen LTE Satellite System
“We wouldn’t consider building in-house again, now knowing
the e�ciencies of using WebNMS.”
Ravi Khanna, Viasat