rf/if over ip considerations for the range

RF/IF over IP

Considerations

for the Range

Assuring Performance . . . from the Ground Up

Limitation of RF Transport

RFCable

FiberOptic

DistributionRF signals captured at an antenna

can only be transmitted over a short

distances before the signal degrades

<50 km

<0.5 km

ImpactConstrains ground system design

by requiring processing equipment

to be co-located with antennas


10

11

-9

-7

13

6

…

What is Digital IFEnables RF Spectrum to be captured, digitized and converted into IP packets

Sampled IF waveform

I/Q data from antenna /

downconverter

10

11

-9

-7

13

6

…

IP packets

ANSI/VITA 49.0Prefilter

VITA-49 Packets Converted

to RF Waveforms

IP packets

ANSI/VITA 49.0

10

11

-9

-7

13

6

…

10

11

-9

-7

13

6

…

Ability to Manage IP

Transport of VITA IP Packets1

Ability perform faithful RF

reconstruction after transport2

Interfacing to analog or

digital equipment3

Cost effective and

deployable technology4

Issues with Digital IF Adoption


The Packetized IF Solution

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3

Captures, Digitizes

and Packetized

RF Signals

Reliably Transports the

Packetized Signals

Recreates Original RF

Signal for Legacy

Processing Gear

0011010001011001001101101011011000100101011101010110

Private or

Public IP

Network

Simplex or Full Duplex

Instantaneous Bandwidth Range125 kHz up to 54 MHz

Input/Output Tuning Range950-2150 MHz

Deterministic Latency and Jitter Control

Lossless Transport

Faithful analog reconstruction

Precision Signal Alignment


Traditional A/D Translation

Baseband or IF

Oscillator

Low/Bandpass

Filtering

A/D

Digitizer

Mixer

Digitized Samples

RF Amplifier

Analog Translation to Baseband/IF


Direct A/D Translation

Tuned

Bandpass

Filtering

A/D Digitizer

and Digital

Mixer

RF/IF Tuned

Digitized Samples

RF

Amplifier

Direct Sampling and Digital Tuning to RF or IF


10xExpansion

375Mbps

Bandwidth Consumption and Management

RF over IP does require

sufficient IP bandwidth

to support transport

40MHz

750Mbps

8 bits per A/D

sample

20xExpansion

4 bits per A/D

sample


Bandwidth Consumption and Management

Ability to select the bandwidth of interest from the instantaneously captured BW

Instantaneous 54 MHz Bandwidth Capture

125

kHz

200

KHz

5

MHz

2

MHz

1.25 Mbps 2 Mbps50 Mbps20 Mbps

Network

throughput

required

at 4 bits

Spectral Channels


Packetized IF Use Cases

RF/IF Over IPRemoves the

Distance

Barrier of RF

Distribution

Centralization of Ground

System Operations

Mitigate Rain

Fade Provide

Guaranteed Service

Unlimited Antenna

Placement Flexibility

Enabling New

Backup and Disaster

Recovery Strategies

Interconnecting

Teleports to Enable

New Services

Virtualization of the

Ground Segment


Centralization of Ground System Operations

Today:

Equipment must located in close proximity to antennas due to RF/IF signal attenuation

Central Data

SiteEffectively Range limitation

1 km coax, 50 km RF fiber

WAN

Spectral Mon

Remote

Antenna Site

RF/IF IFL IF Switch

Modem Crypto

Gateway


Centralization of Ground System OperationsWith RF/IF over IP:The proximity constraints between antennas and processing equipment is eliminated

Direct A/D, D/A Using IP packets

Central Data

Site

Front End

A/D

Enables

WAN

Effectively NO Range limitation

Spectral Mon

Remote

Antenna Site

RF/IF

Modem Crypto

Gateway

Remote

End D/A

Equipment Pooling

Reducing space and power footprint

Centralized operations

Better use of personnel

1

3

2

4


Centralization of Ground System Operations


Central Data

SiteDigital Recording Enables

WAN

Spectral Mon

Remote

Antenna Site

RF/IF

Modem Crypto

Gateway

Digital Record/Playback Digital Record/Playback

Recorded contact data used in anomaly

resolution

Playback used in training environment

Data retrieval for analysis

Archival/history collection

1

3

2

4


Antenna Placement FlexibilityDynamic support

for tactical

environments

1

Optimize signal

reception2

Simplify disaster

recovery planning3

Central Data

Site


Front End

A/D

WAN

Range

Antenna Site

RF/IFRemote

End D/ARemote

Range Sites


RH/LHCP

RF over IP Legacy Support

A/D Digitizer

SpectralNet DigitalUp/Down Converter

GPS Timing Source

GPS Timing Source

Data + Clock

RHCP

LHCP

S-Band Receiver (s)

RF over IP VITA-49 Data Packets

1.750-2.450 GHzS/L-Bandor C-Band

A/D Digitizer

RF Capture

SpectralNet

S/L-Band Receiver (s)

D/A Digitizer

RHCP

D/A Digitizer

ConvertedIF Capture

LHCPS/L-Band Receiver (s)

S/L-Band Receiver (s)

Data + Clock LNARF

IF Capture

Front End A/DDigitizer

• Dual RF Inputs, sub-band tuning• Digital frequency conversion• RH/LHCP output transported using RF over IP• Supports legacy receivers for easier transition to RF over IP• Provides VITA-49 IF over IP Digital Interface for Future RF over IP Application

RH/LHCP RF Over IP

Remote EndD/A

Digitizer

Support for Legacy Receivers at Antenna

Relocated Legacy Receivers

RH/LHCPRF Over IP

Optional Consolidated Data Center


CombinedRF Over IP

RF over IP Combiner Range Application

A/D Digitizer

SpectralNet DigitalUp/Down Converter

GPS Timing Source

GPS Timing Source

Data + Clock

RHCP

LHCP

RF over IP VITA-49 Data Packets

1.750-2.450 GHzS/L-Bandor C-Band

A/D Digitizer

RF Capture

SpectralNet

Single, Combined Output

S/L-Band Receiver

D/A Digitizer

D/A Digitizer

LNARF

Front End A/DDigitizer

• Dual RF Inputs, sub-band tuning• Digital frequency conversion• Pre-Detect combined output transported using RF over IP• Adds combiner, AM tracking, and digital recording to reduce antenna hardware • Supports legacy receivers for easier transition to RF over IP• Provides VITA-49 IF over IP Digital Interface for all digital receivers

CombinedRF Over IP

Remote EndD/A Digitizer

Relocated Legacy Receivers

Diversity Combiner

AM Tracking Receiver

Digital Recording/Playback

To ACU

Digital Recording/Playback

All DigitalVITA-49

Range Receiver (s)

Data + Clock

S/L-Band ReceiverData + Clock

Additional Networked Site(s)

Remote End D/ADigitizer

Combined RF Over IP

Consolidated Data Center

GPS Timing Source

rf/if over ip considerations for the range

Documents