Data Relay Board With Protocol for High-Speed, Free-Space Optical Communications

In a free-space optical communication system, the mitigation of transient out-ages through the incorporation of error-control methods is of particular concern, the outages being caused by scintillation fades and obscurants. The focus of this innovative technology is the development of a data relay system for a reliable high-data-rate free-space-based optical- transport network. The data relay boards will establish the link, maintain synchronous connection, group the data into frames, and provide for automatic re-transmission (ARQ) of lost or erred frames. A certain Quality of Service (QoS) can then be ensured, compatible with the required data rate. The protocol to be used by the data relay system is based on the draft CCSDS standard data-link protocol "Proximity-1," selected by orbiters to multiple lander assets in the Mars network, for example. In addition to providing data-link protocol capabilities for the free-space optical link and buffering the data, the data relay system will interface directly with user applications over Gigabit Ethernet and/or with high-speed storage resources via Fibre Channel. The hardware implementation is built on a network-processor-based architecture. This technology combines the power of a hardware switch capable of data switching and packet routing at Gbps rates, with the flexibility of a software-driven processor that can host highly adaptive and reconfigurable protocols used, for example, in wireless local-area networks (LANs).