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IT bellwether Cisco, one of hundreds of companies attending CTIA Wireless (News – Alert) in Las Vegas next week, has successfully completed the in-orbit test of its IOS software’s networking capabilities and their on-board router. The company has claimed that its Internet Routing in Space technology has achieved a milestone with this test and this is also the first-ever deployment of an Internet Protocol router aboard a commercial GEO satellite.
IRIS is a program to build a radiation-tolerant IP router for satellite and related spacecraft and the technology was launched via Intelsat’s (News – Alert) IS-14 satellite on Nov. 23, 2009.
Exploding demand for satellite capacity is driven by IP services such as high-definition video and most applications on satellite networks today are IP applications, yet satellite networks have traditionally been deployed as a circuit-switched network. The Cisco (News – Alert) Space Router provides the ability to route IP traffic on the satellite, eliminating the need to send the data to and from an extra ground station to implement the circuit-switched function. Routing IP traffic natively on the satellite with the router’s built-in Cisco IOS Software can increase throughput, reduce latency, and enable flexible bandwidth-on-demand applications between users in different geographic regions without static configuration.
According to the company, the in-orbit test was conducted using SEAKR Engineering Inc.’s Application Independent Processor (News – Alert) which was used to host the router and software-defined radio functions necessary for on-board routing, enabling satellite routing capabilities to be reconfigured and updated dynamically from the ground.
The company has claimed that the Cisco Space Router revolutionizes the satellite industry by providing the ability to route IP traffic on the satellite and it eliminates the need to send data to and from an extra ground station, which can be expensive and time-consuming. The router and software will support network services for voice, video, and data communications so that government agencies and the military can communicate and data can be routed to ground receivers in a single step, saving valuable time and resources. Both the router and modem can even be upgraded in orbit.
Steven Boutelle, vice president of Cisco Global Government Solutions Group has said that this milestone is another step in their strategy to expand borderless networks into space and redefine how satellite communications are delivered. This technology can help transform satellite communications around the world by reducing latency and increasing efficiency.
Kay Sears, president of Intelsat General Corp has said that the IRIS demonstration is an important first step toward making Internet routing in space a reality that could ultimately enable the Intelsat system to make more efficient use of bandwidth.
