Assured: The Isode Blog

Testing Messaging and Applications over HF Radio

Some of our friends from Cadmidium and Ask IT's Done Ltd visited Isode recently, bringing with them some RapidM HF Data Modems and three HF Radios for a day testing messaging and applications over HF radio.

  

Nick Phillips (Cadmidium), Simon Smith (Ask IT's Done Ltd), Ed Gaffney (Cadmidium), 

Ian Reissmann (Isode VP Engineering), Mick Drake (Cadmidium), Grayhame Orlebar (Cadmidium) 

We had a set up with three HF radios (a Yaesu FT817, a Yaesu FT847 and an Icom IC-7200) and Military Grade RM6 Modems from RapidM.  We used small aerials, using very low power ground wave. Tests were done with STANAG 4539 (NAT0 3G) Waveforms mostly operating at 600 bits per second. Link level used the RapidM STANAG 5066 servers and Isode STANAG 5066 clients. 

The basic configuration used ACP 142 (Military Reliable Multicast) operating over STANAG 5066. Our whitepaper on Messaging Protocols for HF Radio gives some background into the standards and protocols used.  We demonstrated:

• STANAG 4406 Formal Military Messaging, operating according to STANAG 4406 Annex E
• Internet Mail operating over ACP 142, mapping onto STANAG 5066 UDOP (Unreliable Datagram Oriented Protocol) using STANAG 5066 broadcast.
• Both messaging standards operating over Connection Orient ACP 142 mapping onto STANAG 5066 RCOP (Reliable Connection Oriented Protocol) using STANAG 5066 ARQ (reliable data link).
• Multicast Messaging using STANAG 5066 UDOP (STANAG 4406 and Internet Mail) 
• Operation in EMCON (Emission Control) with nodes in radio silence (STANAG 4406 and Internet Mail). 

Using this messaging infrastructure we then successfully demonstrated two applications:

1. File Transfer by  Email (FTBE)  (as described in the Isode whitepaper File Transfer by Email) 
2. Directory Synchronization over FTBE.  At 600 bits per second, incremental directory replication with compression at the FTBE level was useful to get good performance.     

All in all a very successful day and we'd like to thank all of those involved for the time they put into helping us set all of this up and RapidM for the loan of the modems, and for help with making it all work. 

The only negative part of the day was when one of the trees bordering our car park collapsed onto the car of one of our visitors. Wrecking cars is normally the treatment we reserve for people who park in our spaces without permission (sorry Ed!).

 

Military Messaging Interoperability Testing

As a software company (and a server software at that) it's rare that we get to set up test labs with the actual equipment used in the field by some of our end-user customers. It was a nice change therefore to be recently visited by Gary Waddington of Boldon James and Mikko Huttunen and Pekka Puhakainen of SkySweep to do some interoperability testing involving Isode's M-Switch X.400 message switch, Skysweep's STANAG 5066 server and the Safemail.mil email client from Boldon James using radios from Park Air Systems.

David Wilson & Steve Kille (Isode), Mikko Huttunen (SkySweep), 

Gary Waddington (Boldon James), Pekka Puhakainen (SkySweep)

Over the course of two days we demonstrated:

1. STANAG 4406 Annex E messaging over radio using ACP 142 with the Microsoft Outlook based, safemail.mil X.400 mail client from Boldon James and our own M-Switch X.400 product.
2. Data application operation over radio using STANAG 5066 (using the Park Air VHF/UHF Radios and STANAG 5066 servers from SkySweep).

Two existing Isode whitepapaers can be consulted for background information; "Military Messaging over HF Radio and Satellite using STANAG 4406 Annex E" and "STANAG 5066: The Standard for Data Applications over HF Radio".

We showed non-ARQ operation using STANAG 5066 UDOP and ACP  142, and ARQ operation using STANAG 5066 RCOP and Connection Oriented ACP 142. An  overview of the messaging protocols and standards and why they are important in providing an efficient messaging service is given in the Isode whitepaper "Messaging Protocols for HF Radio".

XMPP over HF Radio?

Isode CEO, Steve Kille, gave a presentation yesterday to the High Frequency Industry Association meeting in San Diego (part of the Armed Forces Communication Electronics Association's "AFCEA West" Convention), the subject:

"Running XMPP over HF Radio"

(slides available in PDF format)

Instant Messaging, Presence and Chat are already used in secure environments, and the advantages of using the XMPP Open Standard protocol are well understood.

However running these services over a typical HF Radio connection (say 2400 bits/sec or 300 bytes/sec) presents some unique problems. The talk outlined those problems and proposed solutions.

You can read more about the problems of running XMPP over low bandwidth links in the Isode whitepaper:

"Operating XMPP over Radio and Satellite Networks"

(click for html version)

XMPP Solutions for Military & Government

Since the initial launch of Isode's XMPP server M-Link, we've noted a great deal of interest in instant messaging and presence from the Military and Government sectors.

Responding to this interest, we've created a new vertical solutions page on the Isode website which looks at how XMPP solutions in general and M-Link in particular meet military and government requirements, covering:

• XMPP & Directory
• Client/Server & Server/Server Security
• Data Confidentiality
• Integrity
• Strong Authentication
• Service Monitoring

You can find the page, XMPP Instant Messaging & Presence Solutions for Military & Government, by following the link.

Isode Partner Boldon James Demonstrates Tactical Messenger

Isode Partner Boldon James, a QinetiQ subsidiary, has announced a successful implementation of its Tactical Messenger product using non IP based radios.

The press release is reproduced in its entirety below, those readers with some knowledge of Isode's product set will be able to figure out where we fit in.

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BOLDON JAMES DEMONSTRATES TECTICAL MESSENGER

Maidenhead, Berkshire, U.K. – 9th September 2008 – Boldon James, a leading provider of secure information exchange solutions and a wholly-owned QinetiQ subsidiary, today announced a successful laboratory implementation of its Tactical Messenger solution with the Park Air Systems U/VHF 3000 series radio – widely used by armed forces around the globe.

Tactical Messenger is a solution designed to specifically address the requirement of STANAG 4406 Annex E. Primarily designed to provide a solution for electronic messaging in low bandwidth and high latency environments, Tactical Messenger also provides connectivity for those military units that deploy in emission control (EMCON) environments including areas where radio silence is critical.

The implementation at Boldon James’ Crewe laboratories comprises Windows PC’s configured with its SAFEmail client software, a STANAG 5066 server and a software modem. This solution is then connected to Park-Air Systems’ U/VHF 3000 series of military radios. Message exchange is achieved by using an ACP142 compliant X.400 message transfer agent and P7 connector.

Having successfully proven a COTS solution for STANAG 4406 Annex E messaging working with a non IP based radio, Boldon James will now showcase this solution at a number of upcoming exhibitions; the first of which is the Defendory exhibition in Greece (7-11th October 2008).

“Implementation of STANAG 4406 Annex E solutions is a complex business, even more so when the radios aren’t IP enabled,” comments Kieron Sambrook-Smith, Boldon James’ Sales and Marketing Director. “By carrying out the integration work ourselves, Boldon James significantly de-risks the implementation for our customers; enabling them to achieve electronic messaging in a tactical environment whether they have IP based radios or not.”

About Boldon James - Boldon James, a wholly-owned QinetiQ subsidiary since October 2007, has over 20 years’ experience specialising in secure messaging solutions tailored to meet the formal information exchange requirements of the worldwide defence and secure government sectors. Its Version 3 Secure Information Exchange architecture now provides a suite of Microsoft commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) functional extensions across the Unified Communications collaboration and conferencing suite, resulting in solutions with a low total cost of ownership (TCO) and significantly reduced deployment risk. Boldon James is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and exclusive 'Global Go To Market Partner for Secure Messaging'. www.boldonjames.com

Contact Information

Jim Kidd
Strategic Marketing Manager, Boldon James
+44 (0) 1628 506875, james.kidd@boldonjames.com

HF Radio & Network Centric Warfare

Modern military communications are a key component of Network Centric Warfare. HF Radios are used extensively for military communications, and, although very slow, provide effective long distance communication in a wide range of situations.

A new whitepaper on the Isode website looks at how HF Radio fits with Network Centric Warfare, and looks at approaches for integrating HF Radios to maximize their effectiveness.

"HF Radio & Network Centric Warfare"

US Military using XMPP

XMPP is the eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol, which is the Internet Standard for Instant Messaging, Real Time Messaging and Presence. On January 16th, the sale of an XMPP client and server solution by jabber.com to the US Marines for 280,000 users was announced.

This large sale ties in with XMPP activity at lead US Military groups such as JFCOM (Joint Forces Command) and SPAWAR (Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command) (more).

XMPP is also now included in US DoD IT Standards Register as Mandatory.

There is a clear trend towards the US military broadly adopting XMPP, which will have impact on Instant Messaging choices being made by other parts of the US Government as well as military organizations worldwide. We believe that this announcement is further confirmation that Isode's own Instant Messaging product development strategy and our choice of XMPP is the right one.

Isode Partner Boldon James wins MMHS contract

Isode Partner Boldon James have announced that they've won a large Military Messaging Handling System (MMHS) contract that includes components from Isode.

Our Military Messaging components are something that we've put a lot of work into and it's nice to be able to semi-publicly acknowledge a sale in a market that is understandably reticent about releasing details of sensitive contracts. Although even with this contract we're not allowed to say which 'European Ministry of Defence' the contract is for.

The details of the contract, which is being delivered via Hewlett Packard can be found on the Boldon James website here.

Our congratulations go to Boldon James, together with our hopes for many more successes of this type.

New Whitepaper: X.400 Bridgehead for Microsoft Exchange

X.400 Bridgehead for Microsoft Exchange is a new product from Isode partner Boldon James, produced in collaboration with Isode. It's primary goal is to provide X.400 protocol connectivity for Microsoft Exchange 2007; this capability was provided as a part of Exchange 2003 and earlier versions, but is not included with Exchange 2007.

In a new whitepaper now available from the Isode website, X.400 Bridgehead for Microsoft Exchange - Technical Architecture and Back-end Features, we describe the architecture of X.400 Bridgehead, and summarize it's key features. It is particularly oriented towards understanding the capabilities of X.400 Bridgehead in the context of older versions of Exchange and full X.400 Message Transfer Agents (MTAs).

The whitepaper which, like all Isode whitepapers, is free and can be viewed without registration, is available here.

New Isode Whitepaper: Sending FLASH Messages Quickly: Techniques for Low Latency Message Switching and Precedence Handling

As we approach the next major Isode release, R14, we'll be publishing whitepapers and making a series of announcements highlighting some of the benefits of that release.

Today we're publishing a new whitepaper on the Isode website "Sending FLASH Messages Quickly: Techniques for Low Latency Message Switching and Precedence Handling", which should be of particular interest to those involved with X.400 messaging.

Military Messaging systems, and other messaging systems with time critical operational requirements such as Aviation (AMHS), require that high precedence messages are submitted, transferred and delivered very quickly.

In this whitepaper we look at how messages can be handled to achieve message switching times of a few hundred milli-seconds, for both low and high volumes of traffic. The importance of Permanent Associations as a way of avoiding delays in opening a connection is described and consideration is given to Precedence Handling, describing techniques that ensure high precedence traffic gets optimum (low) latency. The paper explains why message pre-emption is not a useful approach and why DiffServ is important when there are bandwidth limitations.

The use of DiffServ to set IP packet precedence based on message precedence is one of the enhancements made to M-Switch X.400 in R14.

The whitepaper which, like all Isode whitepapers, is free and can be viewed without registration, is available here.