Empowering Maritime Service Providers - Uplogix · PDF fileiDirect, Sea Tel, Uplogix and Parallel have created an integrated network architecture to help maritime VSAT service providers

iDirect, Sea Tel, Uplogix and Parallel have created an integrated network architecture to help maritime VSAT service providers meet growing customer demand

Maritime companies are transforming their businesses through the power of VSAT networks. Vessels can now run an increasingly wide range of critical applications like electronic navigation, real-time engine monitoring and Voice over IP – gaining greater productivity and improving business operations.

Yet, as maritime companies increasingly rely on broadband networks, there’s more at stake for service providers. They need the most reliable and powerful hardware and network technology to support demanding broadband applications. They need to integrate and control a diverse set of communications devices located onboard customer vessels. And they require deep visibility into the performance of their network in order to manage operating costs and deliver constant customer satisfaction.

In this complex market, service providers must develop an integrated network architecture that addresses all these requirements. How well they accomplish this will impact their profitability, business reach and customer reputation. Today, iDirect, Sea Tel, Uplogix and Parallel are partnering to unite their respective technology strengths. In this report, learn how these four industry leaders enable service providers to build and manage a best-in-class maritime network.

Empowering Maritime Service Providers

IP broadband infrastructure

Service providers face several critical choices as they look for the right technology to handle growing

market demand. The first consideration is core satellite communications infrastructure. iDirect is widely considered to be the clear leader in TDMA-based satellite systems. And today, eight of the top ten maritime service providers have built their business on iDirect technology.

The iDirect Intelligent PlatformTM is comprised of several powerful technologies. A universal TDMA hub enables service providers to integrate satellite capacity across up to five satellites in Ku-band or C-band. Highly efficient broadband routers are engineered to handle real-time business software, Voice over IP traffic and other bandwidth-intensive applications. And the platform features advanced technologies specifically designed to help service providers efficiently manage globally deployed mobile networks.

iDirect first made waves more than seven years ago when it introduced a TDMA-based VSAT system that shares bandwidth efficiently across multiple vessels. TDMA networks are a game changer. They enable service providers to offer a much-needed broadband upgrade to pay-per-use narrowband connectivity. And they establish an affordable alternative to SCPC systems, which can lock each vessel into the high, and often unnecessary, cost of a dedicated satellite link.

iDirect’s TDMA system combined with the company’s award-winning Group Quality of Service technology stretches bandwidth efficiency even further. Service providers can establish customized Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and tailor them to the real-time needs of a vessel’s individual applications onboard. The iDirect platform improves upon the traditional L-band service model, which only guarantees best effort data throughput. With iDirect, service providers can guarantee predictable data rates within a more attractive flat-fee pricing model that encourages greater network usage.

Marine antenna platforms

The second major decision for a maritime service provider concerns interoperability with marine antenna systems. Having a reliable and powerful router onboard is critical for customer satisfaction, but is not the only concern. Service quality also depends heavily on the precision and reliability of a vessel’s satellite antenna and how well a satellite router and antenna work together to ensure connectivity and performance.

For decades, Cobham Sea Tel has been the world’s market share leader in stabilized Ku-band and C-band marine antenna systems, with more antenna systems installed and operating than any other company.

Many of the leading maritime VSAT deployments feature both iDirect and Sea Tel equipment

onboard. And today, iDirect and Sea Tel have completely integrated all of their

respective hardware products.

This provides several advantages for service providers. One critical benefit is the ability to enable Automatic Beam Switching. When a vessel approaches a satellite

beam edge, an iDirect router initiates an automatic re-pointing of

the antenna and transfers connectivity to a new beam. The iDirect router

communicates to the antenna through the control unit, ensuring the switchover happens

reliably and smoothly. To facilitate this, iDirect has developed a standard called OpenAMIP that ensures full interoperability between the antenna control unit and the router.

The integration of iDirect and Sea Tel technology also enables service providers to reach the broadest possible market. iDirect’s Spread Spectrum capability enables VSAT connectivity to work efficiently over Sea Tel’s line of 60cm Ku-band antennas. These smaller Ku-band antennas are less costly and easier to install than traditionally larger systems, and are rapidly growing in popularity. With iDirect’s implementation of Automatic Beam Switching, service providers can provide seamless connectivity across multiple Ku-band beams, as integrated Ku-band networks become a new standard for global coverage.

Empowering Maritime Service Providers

Integrated Network Hardware

iDirect and Sea Tel devices work in unison to provide reliable,

cost-efficient broadband service that can support bandwidth-

intensive applications and seamless global coverage.

networking devices. The onboard ARM appliance is linked to the Uplogix Control Center located at a service provider’s Network Operations Center (NOC). This provides a centralized point of remote access and control for satellite routers, antennas and terrestrial communications infrastructure.

The Uplogix solution continually monitors all communication devices onboard a vessel and can diagnose and automatically resolve 70% of the issues that impact networks and cause downtime. Uplogix serves as a remote pair of hands that can reconfigure servers, routers, PBXs and other devices as if a network technician was onboard, even re-booting devices through a remote power control feature. For more complex recovery actions, a service provider’s IT experts on land can securely access and control devices, even accessing an out-of-band connection if the primary network is down.

Automated remote management

With the core infrastructure in place, service providers need to manage a wide range of network devices. This is particularly challenging since maritime networks are comprised of disparate hardware systems that are beyond the easy reach of network technicians.

To address this, iDirect and Sea Tel have integrated their hardware with Uplogix, a leading provider of automated remote management technology. The Uplogix solution features two core components that make it easy and cost-effective to troubleshoot network issues when vessels are at sea.

The Uplogix Automated Remote Management (ARM) appliance is located onboard a vessel and serially connects a vessel’s disparate communications and

iVantage™ NMS Internet iDirect Hub

Teleport

Sea TelDAC iDirect Router

Sea Tel Antenna

Uplogix Appliance

Uplogix automates remote management and control of the entire onboard communications and networking infrastructure, resulting in higher uptime and lower maintenance costs.

Sea Tel provides industry leading stabilized C-band and Ku-band antennas and controllers. Through the OpenAMIP standard, Sea Tel antennas work in tandem with iDirect routers and send critical data to Uplogix and SatManage to improve service reliability.

iDirect’s Intelligent PlatformTM provides a complete set of satellite hubs, routers and management tools to deliver broadband connectivity onboard a vessel. iDirect’s iVantageTM operating software integrates with Sea Tel, Uplogix and SatManage to improve total network performance.

End User Applications

ParallelSatManage

Uplogix Control Center

SatManage provides a fully automated, integrated NOC for network performance reporting and management. In addition, SatManage extends critical network statistics and measurements to end customers.

Partnership at Work

iDirect • Sea Tel • Uplogix • Parallel

With a strategy to remotely access and control network devices, service providers can avoid costly site visits. And they gain peace of mind, knowing they can quickly respond to problems onboard a vessel to keep both their service and their customers’ operations online.

Network operations center and customer portal

A fourth major consideration for maritime service providers is creating a comprehensive Network Operations Center which can monitor and optimize overall service performance.

To enable this, iDirect, Sea Tel and Uplogix have integrated their systems with the widely acclaimed SatManage software suite developed by Parallel. With SatManage, service providers can fuse disparate NOC applications onto a single system, automate and execute NOC processes and view real-time key performance indicators through a Web-based portal.

One key benefit of SatManage is the ability to monitor and optimize bandwidth utilization. Service providers can gauge how satellite capacity is being consumed and receive real-time alerts when bandwidth quality is in jeopardy. Working with Uplogix and iDirect’s iVantageTM Network Management System (NMS), SatManage can pinpoint the root cause of a problem enabling service providers to address it immediately.

Another advantage is the ability to consolidate data from the iVantage NMS as well as from satellite routers, antenna controllers and other core network devices. Based on this information, service providers

can generate a wealth of statistical reports and gain critical insights to improve their operations and optimize SLAs.

SatManage also features built-in functionality to enable ship operators to adhere to ITU and FCC regulations relating to frequency coordination requirements and vessel tracking intervals for earth stations on vessels. SatManage creates automatic alerts when a vessel is on the fringe of violation, which allows vessels to rectify

operations quickly, enabling full compliance with regulations.

With SatManage, service providers also can offer their customers direct access to their network statistics. They can create a customer Web portal that shows vessel location, signal strength, SLA measurements and other information. This transparency

increases customer confidence and helps them make more informed and

timely operational decisions.

A high-performance, resilient network

Stretching VSAT broadband coverage across thousands of miles of ocean is a challenging business. To create a reliable maritime offering, service providers must be able to support real-time applications, manage distributed networks and integrate global network operations.

With the combined advantages of iDirect, Sea Tel, Uplogix and Parallel, service providers gain a winning formula. They can meet growing customer demands with the confidence that their network is built on the best technology available, and that it is fully integrated to provide greater reliability and manageability. Achieving this is a critical advantage as the market for broadband at sea accelerates.

Integrated Network Management

Uplogix and SatManage combine to give service providers the peace of mind that their network can be

immediately controlled and managed – from

communications hardware to satellite bandwidth.

Empowering Maritime Service Providers

www.idirect.net www.seatel.com www.uplogix.com www.satmanage.com