Slashdot Mirror
DoD to Put Internet Router in Space
narramissic writes "ITworld is reporting that the Department of Defense plans to launch in the first quarter of 2009 a satellite-based router to deliver military communications. Satellite operator Intelsat will manage the three-year Internet Routing In Space (IRIS) project, while Cisco will provide IP networking software for the on-board router. After testing, the satellite will be available for commercial use. From the article: 'Potential nonmilitary benefits of the IRIS program include the ability to route IP (Internet Protocol) traffic between satellites in space in much the same way packets are moved on the ground, reducing delays, saving on capacity and offering greater networking flexibility, Lloyd Wood, space initiatives manager in the Global Defense, Space & Security division of Cisco, said Thursday.'"
Well, the Army is getting routed in Iraq, might as well get a head start on getting routed in space as well.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
Can't wait til the hackers of the world try to hack into that one. I wonder what laws would apply? Are there any "space" laws per se?
Indeed, what if routing packets over satellite becomes that much cheaper than underwater fiber that it replaces it entirely and the country controlling those satellites can shutdown a nation's access to the internet on a whim?
They have, I don't think the article is saying this will be the first IP router in space. In fact, Cisco just carried out the first IPv6 routing in space the other day ...
I am, therefore you think.
WEP or WPA?
What kind of bandwidth are we talking here? but I guess the better question is what routing protocol is it going to use, EIGRP? OSPF? BGP?
In a world of acronyms, the words are the real victims.
traceroute is going to be more interesting.
"Piter, too, is dead."
Speaking of which, how DO they manage "realtime" data on that w/o the lag? It wouldn't exactly be true realtime if ~250ms delay keeps chucking in there. While that may be no biggie now, I can see where that would/could be a factor as real battlefields become just as data-dependant as the game ones. (cue lots of "haha, you got pwned by the Chinese!" jokes here, but seriously... I wonder how they're going to eventually get around that; the physics would be gnarly at best...)
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
Think seconds, not milliseconds.
Yes, but that's irrelevant.
The article didn't say it was going to be in geostationary orbit. Don't assume that just because a geostationary satellite internet satellite has 650ms pings that all satellites will.
A satellite could orbit as low as 100 miles. The latency could be a few ms.
I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
Piiiiinnngs iiiiiin Spaaaaaaace!
.... the SSID will be Linksys right?
This is my opinion. To make sure you don't steal it, it's covered by the DMCA.
years ago (around 1999) my family got to be a tester for a new (potential) satellite ISP. they gave us a free PC, stuck a satellite dish in the ground, and said "have fun."
it sucked. it wasnt reliable at all, and it was very slow. it was the same for everyone else. jackasses never removed the satellite dish either. i heard about one guy who took an axe to his just to get the damn thing out.
TFA said the existing system involves
source - satellite#1 - ground-based router - satellite#2 - destination
The new system will be
source - satellite #1 - space router - satellite #2 - destination
or even better
source - space router - destination
Depending on where the satellite is, you may have just shaved a few tenths of a second off the one-way trip.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
I guess I'll have to step up and take one for the team.
In Soviet Russia, router launches you!
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
As one satellite pings the router that's passing below in a different orbit:
...
geostat1# ping spacerouter1
Pinging spacerouter1 [300.300.300.300] with 128 bytes of data:
Reply from 300.300.300.300: bytes=128 time1ms TTL=128
Reply from 300.300.300.300: bytes=128 time 100ms TTL=128
Reply from 300.300.300.300: bytes=128 time 700 TTL=128
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 300.300.300.300: bytes=128 time 700 TTL=128
Reply from 300.300.300.300: bytes=128 time 100ms TTL=128
Reply from 300.300.300.300: bytes=128 time1ms TTL=128
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
DOD To Boldy Route Where No Man Has Routed Before.... These are the voyages of the Star switch Cisco...
News Reporters Make Tasty Polar Bear Treats!
Is it just me or does anyone else think that putting a satellite into space that will route critical information for our Defense Department is a bad idea after China made clear it is working on satellite killer technology?
The race isn't always to the swift... but that's the way to bet!
spaceroute!!!
Anyone want to take a bet they leave the default security settings on so you can hack in using the admin/password combo?
Works for my neighbor!
spoonerize "magic trackpad"
If I were DirectPC I'd want my satellite to be as simple and lightweight as possible. Is this like packets being routed like usa-satellite-satellite-satellite-africa? See the article for an explanation.
The long and short of it is this is designed to replace traffic that is currently going
somewhere-satellite-ground based router-satellite-somewhere
where the "somewheres" on either end are optional.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
I work at Johnson Space Center and we are testing this right now. The idea is that in the future (ie when we have a moonbase, etc) that all communication will be in IP packets over RF links.
Currently the RF links use multiplexed frames with different PN sequences and frame sync headers to communicate, so the position of each bit within the frame means something.
With IP packets, we wouldn't really have to decode/demux the frames to get the information. Each entity could send data based on its IP address. As mentioned before - the lag time issue is gonna be pretty messy, unless we used UDP or something similar. We are just in the beginning stages right now for our purposes, so just configuring the routers and getting the data into an RF link and be errorless is what we are fighting.
Hope that sheds some light on why. Also - the frequencies we are talking about are going to be S, K, Ku, Ka, and higher, so it isn't likely that a script kiddy will have access to that kind of equipment. Also - the links will be encrypted and PN spread, making it less likely to be intercepted/hax0r'd...
My Slashdot Journal! YAY!
You might try actually fact-checking those numbers. The actual number of US casualties in Iraq is almost 3,300, with another 23,000 wounded.
And yes, "wounded" includes losing limbs, eyes, and all sorts of other body parts that don't, on average, sustain major damage when you're out and about in Washington DC.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
Well, Blackboard Software had better hurry and file another patent then: "Method of sharing educational media... on the internet... in space!"
FATMOUSE + YOU = FATMOUSE
. . . it's a Network Operations Center !
using an elevator made of carbon nanotubes, duh.
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
First: Learn how moderating works on slashdot. They can't comment non-AC because their accurate flamebait moderations would go away.
Second: You ARE bating flame. Hence your flamebait moderations, which in my opinion, were correctly applies.
Third: This is not the place for a debate on why you're a dick bag and why the guy who made the joke you're getting all pissed off about is an asshole.
Fourth: Just because you have family in the armed forced doesn't mean we automatically give half a shit about your opinion.
Fifth: I'm an asshole for making this reply.
Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
Maybe I'm being dense... but don't satellite internet providers route packets through space all day long?
to "star topology".
I'm sorry if I haven't offended anyone