white paper: five considerations for choosing a hts/dvb-s2x platform

The satellite communications industry is entering a new phase of growth. Today,

wave after wave of High Throughput Satellite (HTS) capacity is transforming

satellite economics and creating vast market opportunities. And we are now

seeing the emergence of Ultra High Throughput Satellites (UHTS) and the DVB-S2X

standard to drive unprecedented gains in performance and efficiency.

How satellite operators and service providers leverage HTS and DVB-S2X

technology will largely determine how they capitalize on growth opportunities.

And as they plan their migration forward, they must consider what ground

infrastructure capabilities will equip them with the greatest competitive advantage.

How will their platform address the constant need for higher throughput? Can the

platform manage scale at the right cost and pace? Will it equip you to be ever-ready

for new changes coming from every direction and in rapid succession — such as

new network applications, new end-user markets and the next wave of satellites?

Here are five critical points to consider for harnessing HTS and DVB-S2X

to its fullest and being ready for the future of our industry.

Five Considerations for Choosing a HTS/DVB-S2X Platform


1Copyright © 2017 VT iDirect. All Rights Reserved.

Enable Higher Capacity Efficiencies Implement Intelligent Terminals Scale Cost-Effectively Enable Mainstream Network Integration Make it Mobile

HTS, when combined with the right remote RF capabilities, delivers higher efficiencies and performance, effectively lowering the cost per bit of satellite capacity. The key to reaching the highest gains though, is to implement the highest possible MODCODs and saturate the wideband transponders — oftentimes with optimal carrier configurations.

The DVB-S2X standard defines higher modulations ranging up to 256APSK and standardized roll-off factors down from 20% to 5%. The right ground infrastructure platform should offer all these choices and provide full Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM) capabilities not just on the outbound, but also provide adaptivity on the inbound to harness the larger HTS transponders in the most efficient way. With the introduction of Ultra High Throughput Satellite (UHTS), a platform must support even larger transponders (500 MHz) with highly efficient carrier configurations utilizing new transmission methods such as DVB-S2X superframes and time slicing to maximize efficiencies and throughput at the remote side.

Another important measure of bandwidth performance is how well a platform can source and allocate satellite capacity across many spot beams. Look for a solution that can integrate any type of capacity into a global bandwidth pool, and then enables you to dynamically allocate bandwidth as needed to create tiered Service Level Agreements (SLAs). The ability to create highly flexible and customized service plans in a shared bandwidth pool will allow you to sell different services and monetize their capacity in the most effective way.

When DVB-S2X is implemented to its fullest, satellite operators can design next-generation architectures with features like beam hopping to adjust their payloads based on real-time demand on the ground. This capability will drive revolutionary efficiency gains in the years ahead. Intelligent payloads require the integration of ground and space infrastructures to measure and respond to demand. So when satellite operators are designing their next-generation payloads, they need a ground infrastructure partner that can support intelligent payloads on their platforms.

Enable Higher Capacity Efficiencies



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The remote design enabled with full DVB-S2X capabilities is a critical aspect of delivering performance and efficiency gains to the overall solution.

Traditionally, satellite remote performance and features were over-engineered to future capabilities to avoid having to swap out the remotes soon after rollout. The features were largely encoded in hardware, and pay-as-you-grow, while well established for various hub-side capabilities, were not available for remotes. As such, the latest remotes carry a high cost to operate and could become a network’s single greatest cost factor when rolling out large networks.

Today, service providers need a remote solution that’s engineered with a high degree of flexibility to adapt to changing requirements while only paying for the capabilities that you really need at any given time. Through software-defined and reprogrammable remote architectures, the next generation of remotes can be continually upgraded over the air to increase network capabilities and throughput levels, while dramatically extending the deployment life in the field.

This software-defined architecture also allows to incorporate support for other waveforms in the future, whether for working more efficiently on different GEO HTS platforms or different orbits such as MEO and LEO altogether.

A related architectural change in the remote design is called edge computing, where remotes combine the manufacturer’s core technology with third-party applications to create one-box solutions. This extends remote field life while providing rapid access to new capabilities that can drive revenue. Plus, these solutions reduce the hardware and energy footprint, lower deployment costs and better meet service requirements. Look for a provider with a full range of remote capabilities and form factors that operate on a common platform across all markets.

SOFTWARE-DEFINEDARCHITECTURE

INCREASEDNETWORKCAPACITY

EMBEDDED THIRD-PARTYSOFTWARE

Implement Intelligent Terminals



With this bandwidth management capabilities optimized for HTS multi-spot beam operation, satellite operators now have the flexibility to sell wholesale capacity, offer managed Mbps services or offer vertically integrated solutions that encompass the entire value chain. As for service providers, they now have the ability to choose from different business models while managing a blended capacity and managed services portfolio all on one platform.

3When it comes to scaling a satellite communications network, hub-side infrastructure is one of the largest capital expenses service providers face. In fact, the infrastructure decision can make or break the ability to profitably expand, enter new markets and introduce new services.

With HTS and DVB-S2X, this reality has reached a new level of importance. With greater demand for higher throughputs and more satellite bandwidth comes the need to deploy and manage large-scale networks. Network operators need to change the cost model for ground infrastructure deployment, keeping up with demand without dramatically increasing capital and operating expenses.

Today, there are key advances in gateway technology. Consider hub solutions leveraging virtualization for processing capabilities that significantly increase the teleport’s capabilities to support extensive networks and higher throughputs in the same space. When you can achieve greatly improved density, it results in a massive footprint reduction, decreasing cooling and IT management expenses.

Operating large networks spanning multiple spot beams versus one wide beam can make scaling more challenging for service providers, especially when expanding into new service areas.

Scale Cost-Effectively



With the right bandwidth management capabilities, satellite operators can manage Mbps across multiple spot beams and create a virtual bandwidth pool for service providers to use. This will allow service providers to not have to operate many spot beams but instead use the advantages of virtual network operations and still be in control of their own SLAs and service offerings to their end customers.

4Today, satellite connectivity is undergoing a technology and business transformation, overcoming barriers of interoperability to become part of mainstream converged services and dramatically expand its role in the global communications landscape. And because HTS is transforming the economics of satellite service, operators can strongly position satellite as a viable part of the end-to-end network.

The key to full mainstream adoption is for satellite networks to be defined by modern telco standards such as 4G/5G and Evolved Packet Core (EPC). A satellite platform should also support Layer 2 over Satellite (L2oS) capabilities. This offers the option to run a network in a Layer 2 bridging mode with high efficiency as an alternative to the traditional Layer 3 mode architecture. This allows a variety of modern, converged network architectures to be implemented, with easy integration with terrestrial networks and the ability to pass any Layer 3 protocol desired.

A platform that can take advantage of virtualized components and share virtual environments with cellular and telco functions such as Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Software-defined Networking (SDN) should also be a strong factor to move towards converged networks and enabling the unification of different networks through virtualized functions that allow for devices to roam across any access network.

And for true integration, a satellite platform’s management system must sync with a carrier’s existing Operational Support Systems (OSS) and Business Support Systems (BSS). Through full OSS/BSS integration, with the help of APIs, it’s easier to scale operations. The ultimate goal is a fully automated, programmable and orchestrated network that delivers service on demand to meet any requirement rapidly and cost-effectively.

Enable Mainstream Network Integration



5Combining HTS with mobility applications presents a major challenge when it comes to managing complex SLAs across a large coverage area that spans multiple spot beams. Consider a scenario where hundreds of airplanes or maritime vessels demand different bandwidth levels as they travel frequently across spot beams and distribute bandwidth to diverse users onboard running dynamic applications without major service interruptions.

Meeting the needs of mobility networks requires several specialized technologies. Look for a platform with a robust feature that can enable seamless connectivity in a high-speed mobility environment. This includes the ability for fast beam switching with no manual intervention across multiple satellite footprints in a high-speed environment. Internet sessions should not be interrupted as the plane moves through several beams on a flight. Features such as Doppler compensation, fast reacquisition after blockage and make-before-break are all working in sync to increase the seamless user experience.

In the future, ensuring seamless and consistent global coverage will require provider-to-provider service roaming. A ground infrastructure provider should therefore have a plan to offer this capability – enabling a customer to roam from a home network to a guest network while maintaining home service plans.

Make it Mobile

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iDirect’s technology strategy enables our customers to deliver the highest speed, the greatest efficiency and operate the most cost-effective networks over HTS and DVB-S2X.

The iDirect Solution: HTS and DVB-S2X

DVB-S2X Software and Hub Hardware. The transition to DVB-S2X starts with the new software release that enables the existing Universal Line Card to run in DVB-S2X mode, in Evolution® or iDirect Velocity® networks. These line cards operate in our existing Universal Hub chassis and support up to 119 Msps (or 125 MHz) in DVB-S2X mode with MODCODs up to 256APSK to achieve greater throughput on the same amount of bandwidth.

iQ Remote Series. The iQ Series is iDirect’s next-generation DVB-S2/DVB-S2X remote portfolio that features a programmable ASIC chipset, customized to exploit the capabilities of the DVB-S2X standard and optimized for iDirect’s highest performing Adaptive TDMA waveform. The iQ Series brings unprecedented performance in a futureproof software-defined architecture design. The iQ Series is designed to meet the needs of both fixed and mobility networks within a wide range of performance scenarios and software licensing features for pay-as-you-grow features. The iQ Series is targeted for broadband, enterprise and mobility applications and will be packaged in desktop, board-level and rack-mount form factors.

iQ Desktop

Intelligent Gateway

iDirect Intelligent Gateway. Featuring up to four powerful blades in a fully redundant virtualized configuration, the Intelligent Gateway supports dozens of protocol processors (PPs), while future proofing the gateway infrastructure for large-scale growth of your networks. The greatly improved density at the teleport results in a massive footprint reduction, decreasing cooling and IT management expenses, while vastly improving performance.



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Edge computing. Bringing greater intelligence to the customer edge boosts opportunity for software-defined service models. iDirect is adding embedded computing capabilities to our remotes so service providers can couple iDirect’s leading-class technology with third-party applications to create one-box solutions. This extends remote field life while providing rapid access to new capabilities that can drive revenue. Plus, the solutions reduce the hardware and energy footprint, lower deployment costs and better meet service requirements.

iDirect mobility. Features advanced mobility capabilities so that fast-moving remote terminals can automatically cross multiple spot beams within a short period of time while maintaining a seamless IP session.

Global bandwidth management: Enables operators to manage a single bandwidth pool to ensure a customer’s complex SLAs across a large coverage area spanning multiple spot beams. This includes load-balancing options for optimized spot-beam management in mobility networks.

Flexible core architecture. Manage an increasingly diverse and integrated network portfolio that comprises multiple satellites, frequency bands, market applications and network technologies, and optimized for offering different forms of managed service offerings.

Modular design for scalability. A hub chassis, which is designed to be populated with network line cards that can be upgraded with licensable features, enables HTS operators to increase throughput rates based on network demands.

Superior network management. A comprehensive Network Management System (NMS) to manage large-scale deployments, monitor network activity, drive profitability and integrate with third-party network management and operational support systems through open APIs.



More than ever, satellite operators need a platform that can deliver the right throughput rate at the right cost, run large networks cost-effectively, deploy new services rapidly- and continually stay ahead of the pace of technology. They need a platform that’s highly reliable, that can position them to serve any geography or vertical market and with advanced tools to run a tight operation. And they need a technology they can invest in smartly - entering the market affordably, capturing revenue quickly and scaling in line with business demand.

A ground infrastructure platform must be designed to address the broad diversity of requirements and opportunities represented by HTS and DVB-S2X. Your goal should be to invest in a single platform, not multiple solutions, that will create the greatest landscape of opportunity. And continuity is crucial; invest in a platform that protects and builds on your current technology investment. Consider iDirect as the right choice for your next DVB-S2X platform.

A New Model for Your Success

Find out more at www.IntelligentPathForward.com

The iDirect Solution: HTS and DVB-S2X

white paper: five considerations for choosing a hts/dvb-s2x platform

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