The interoperability and communication experiments of ATN using VDL-M3 subnetwork

Abstract

The ATN (Aeronautical Telecommunication Network) is designed to present a global internetworking infrastructure for future aeronautical telecommunications. To verify the protocols of ATN ICS (Internet Communication Service), we conducted an interoperability experiment between ENRI (Electronic Navigation Research Institute) and WJHTC (William J. Hughes Technical Center) of FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) using VDL (VHF Digital Link)-mode3 subnetwork and the Internet. And we also conducted an experiment using VDL-mode3 subnetwork to evaluate the performance of the Air/Ground applications of ATN. This report describes the outlines and results of those experiments. The results of the interoperability experiment show that the protocols and the ISO8208 mobile SNDCF (Subnetwork Dependent Convergence Function) of ENRI-ICS are compatible with those of FAA-ICS. But some differences and malfunctions were observed in connections between Air/Ground ATN Routers. And the results of performance experiment show that the ISO8208 mobile SNDCF is effective to the Air/Ground communications.