SENTINEL™ |
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| OVERVIEW |
The Sentinel is an integrated, scaleable, and reconfigurable solution designed for rugged
transportable applications with a small form factor and ease of maintenance. The modules are hot-swappable allowing field reconfiguration without downtime. Modules are removable from the front of the chassis, accommodating transportable installations where the rear of the chassis is not accessible in the field. |
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| Dual redundant hot-swappable power supplies provide increased reliability and ease of maintenance.
Even the fans and internal reference oscillator can be accessed via a fan tray from the front of the chassis. This modular architecture
yields significant logistics, sparing, and life cycle cost benefits. Control and status is provided locally or remotely over a TCP/IP Ethernet connection. A Java-based GUI provides control/status of each module. Optionally, the Sentinel can host the Compass TM Terminal M&C Network Management Application for control of the Sentinel, as well as other terminal equipment. |
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| NETWORK MANAGEMENT APPLICATION |
Equipped with the Compass terminal M&C network management application, the Sentinel provides terminal
and network management. Users benefit from Compass with reduced workload, while owners benefit from reduced operation costs and higher levels of
customer satisfaction. Compass is a complete software package for managing all types of networks and devices. Compass Creator is a unique application
that automatically configures your M&C interface at the touch of a button. When equipment is added to the system, Creator builds device detail pages
and overview pages, and configures the database. |
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| AUTOMATIC CARRIER MONITORING |
The system allows a centralized Network Operations Center to monitor performance of numerous satellite links. This system automatically compares the measured performance of each link with the expected and desired performance. At any time, the operator can perform manual spectrum measurements without stopping or interrupting the automatic monitoring process. The operator defines the monitoring plan which may include transponders, carriers, beacons, pilots, and guard bands. The measurement data is stored for later retrieval and analysis. |
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Monics provides the capability to automatically find interfering signals even if there are buried beneath the desired traffic. Once detected, the
interference/jamming is characterized without requiring the desired link(s) to be taken down. The interference characterization includes identification of
the modulation type, data rate, carrier frequency, and power level. By comparing this information with a list of known and authorized carriers, the
problem can often be corrected immediately. Monics employs a distributed architecture enabling monitoring at numerous locations even though they may be widely separated geographically. The distributed architecture also reduces the required data bandwidth between the monitoring sites and the central operations center. A network diagram of the distributed architecture is shown. |
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| SPECTRUM ANALYSIS and INTERFERENCE DETECTION |
A Digital Spectrum Analyzer (DSA) is available as an integrated Sentinel option. The DSA provides a digitally implemented replacement for the traditional analog spectrum analyzer. In addition, the DSA provides significant capabilities which cannot be achieved with traditional implementations including: |
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Carrier-under-carrier interference detection I/Q constellation diagrams with vector signal processing Automatic signal characterization
The carrier-under-carrier interference detection is a powerful tool to ensure link performance is not being degraded by unauthorized transmissions. The DSA determines the modulation type and symbol rate of the desired carrier and uses this information to determine the Eb/No. The measurement provides the ability to subtract the desired signal from the measured spectrum and reveal the underlying, residual spectrum. This capability allows the operator to see underneath the desired carriers without having to bring the link down. The following screen-shot illustrates this feature. |
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| UPLINK POWER CONTROL |
Uplink Power Control (UPC) is available as an integrated option of the Sentinel. This provides a highly reliable method of minimizing
downlink power variations at the earth station terminal. These variations are typically due to rain fades and/or HPA output power
fluctuations. A centralized data server controls multiple measurement sites allowing power control in multiple links. The following capabilities are available:
Power monitoring measurements are provided over any selected RF frequency with an instantaneous measurement bandwidth of 85 MHz. The system monitors individual carrier power as well as total integrated power within a transponder. The system can support single or redundant HPA configurations and automatically switch to the redundant equipment or to a dummy load in the event of an HPA malfunction. Typically an earth terminal transmits sufficient power to achieve the link budget under worst case environmental conditions. Accurate and real time power control often allows the transmission of lower power under nominal conditions. This reduces HPA intermodulation distortion and potentially enables the earth terminal to transmit additional low priority traffic. This maximizes the bandwidth and power efficiency of the earth terminal. Additional information on the Uplink Power Control option is available upon request. |
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| TRANSPORTABLE APPLICATIONS |
The Sentinel chassis was designed for rugged, transportable applications. The inner card cage is vibration/shock isolated from Sentinel
chassis. Compressive gasket material with urethane foam center is utilized to cushion the inner chassis. This gasket is conductive for
EMI shielding. The internal 10 MHz reference oscillator is vibration/shock isolated. The modules are mounted vertically to minimize flexure due to up/down vibration and shock. There is continuous support along top and bottom of each module. The face plate handles latch the modules into the card slots and captive screws are used to secure module into card cage. Additionally, the compact form factor, modularity, and ease of maintenance are key benefits for transportable applications. |
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| FIXED SITES |
At fixed sites, the Sentinel provides space and power savings by replacing stacks of traditional rack-mount converters, test loop
translators, spectrum analyzers, etc. The remote control/status capability enables lights-out operation. The modularity of the architecture
provides significant logistics, sparing, and life cycle cost benefits. Automatic carrier monitoring is an integrated option available for the Sentinel. This system allows a centralized Network Operations Center to monitor performance of numerous satellite links to ensure proper and efficient operation. This system automatically compares the measured performance of each link with the expected and desired performance. |
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| TELEPORTS |
For teleports, the modularity also allows new frequency bands or different balances of uplinks and downlinks to be achieved quickly and
easily without having to install new chassis and racks. The hot-swappability permits these changes to be made without link downtime.
These features enable the teleport to maximize flexibility in services with minimal effort. The ease of maintenance, dual redundancy, and hot swap features virtually eliminate link downtime. The DSA and interference detection/location options ensure availability by continuously monitoring link conditions. The Compass M&C network management option provides the ability to control the teleport equipment and network with a centralized, configurable, and easy to use system. |
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| SPECS |
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