Use of the Delay-Tolerant Networking Bundle Protocol from Space

The Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC), constructed by Survey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), is a multisatellite Earth-imaging low-Earth-orbit sensor network where captured image swaths are stored onboard each satellite and later downloaded from the satellite payloads to a ground station. Store-and-forward of images with capture and later download gives each satellite the characteristics of a node in a Delay/Disruption Tolerant Network (DTN). Originally developed for the Interplanetary Internet, DTNs are now under investigation in an Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) DTN research group (RG), which has developed a bundle architecture and protocol. The DMC is currently unique in its adoption of the Internet Protocol (IP) for its imaging payloads and for satellite command and control, based around reuse of commercial networking and link protocols. These satellites use of IP has enabled earlier experiments with the Cisco router in Low Earth Orbit (CLEO) onboard the constellation's UK-DMC satellite. Earth images are downloaded from the satellites using a custom IPbased high-speed transfer protocol developed by SSTL, Saratoga, which tolerates unusual link environments. Saratoga has been documented in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) for wider adoption. We experiment with use of DTNRG bundle concepts onboard the UKDMC satellite, by examining how Saratoga can be used as a DTN convergence layer to carry the DTNRG Bundle Protocol, so that sensor images can be delivered to ground stations and beyond as bundles. This is the first successful use of the DTNRG Bundle Protocol in a space environment. We use our practical experience to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the Bundle Protocol for DTN use, paying attention to fragmentation, custody transfer, and reliability issues

Cryptographic Key Management in Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs): A survey

Since their appearance at the dawn of the second millennium, Delay or Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTNs) have gradually evolved, spurring the development of a variety of methods and protocols for making them more secure and resilient. In this context, perhaps, the most challenging problem to deal with is that of cryptographic key management. To the best of our knowledge, the work at hand is the first to survey the relevant literature and classify the various so far proposed key management approaches in such a restricted and harsh environment. Towards this goal, we have grouped the surveyed key management methods into three major categories depending on whether the particular method copes with a) security initialization, b) key establishment, and c) key revocation. We have attempted to provide a concise but fairly complete evaluation of the proposed up-to-date methods in a generalized way with the aim of offering a central reference point for future research

Cryptographic Key Management in Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs): A survey

Since their appearance at the dawn of the second millennium, Delay or Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTNs) have gradually evolved, spurring the development of a variety of methods and protocols for making them more secure and resilient. In this context, perhaps, the most challenging problem to deal with is that of cryptographic key management. To the best of our knowledge, the work at hand is the first to survey the relevant literature and classify the various so far proposed key management approaches in such a restricted and harsh environment. Towards this goal, we have grouped the surveyed key management methods into three major categories depending on whether the particular method copes with a) security initialization, b) key establishment, and c) key revocation. We have attempted to provide a concise but fairly complete evaluation of the proposed up-to-date methods in a generalized way with the aim of offering a central reference point for future research

Information and Communication Technologies for Integrated Operations of Ships

Over the past three decades, information and communication technologies have filled our daily life with great comfort and convenience. As the technology keeps evolving, user expectations for more challenging cases that can benefit from advanced information and communication technologies are increasing, e.g., the scenario of Integrated Operations (IO) for ships in the maritime domain. However, to realize integrated operations for ships is a complex task that involves addressing problems such as interoperability among heterogeneous operation applications and connectivity within harsh maritime communication environments. The common approach was to tackle these challenges separately by service integration and communication integration, respectively: each utilizes optimized and independent implementations. Separate solutions work fine within their own contexts, whereas conflicts and inconsistencies can be identified by integrating them together for specific maritime scenarios. Therefore, connection between separate solutions needs to be studied. In this dissertation, we first take a look at complex systems to obtain useful methodologies applied to integrated operations for ships. Then we study IO of ships from different perspectives and divide the complex task into sub-tasks. We explore separate approaches to these sub-tasks, examine the connection in between, resolve inconsistencies if there are any, and continue the exploration process till a compatible and integrated solution can be accomplished. In general, this journey represents our argument for an integration-oriented complex system development approach. In concrete, it shows the way on how to achieve IO of ships by both providing connectivity in harsh communication environments and allowing interoperability among heterogeneous operation applications, and most importantly by ensuring the synergy in between. This synergy also gives hints on the evolution towards a next generation network architecture for the future Internet

Security Analysis of DTN Architecture and Bundle Protocol Specification for Space-Based Networks

A Delay-Tolerant Network (DTN) Architecture (Request for Comment, RFC-4838) and Bundle Protocol Specification, RFC-5050, have been proposed for space and terrestrial networks. Additional security specifications have been provided via the Bundle Security Specification (currently a work in progress as an Internet Research Task Force internet-draft) and, for link-layer protocols applicable to Space networks, the Licklider Transport Protocol Security Extensions. This document provides a security analysis of the current DTN RFCs and proposed security related internet drafts with a focus on space-based communication networks, which is a rather restricted subset of DTN networks. Note, the original focus and motivation of DTN work was for the Interplanetary Internet . This document does not address general store-and-forward network overlays, just the current work being done by the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) and the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) Space Internetworking Services Area (SIS) - DTN working group under the DTN and Bundle umbrellas. However, much of the analysis is relevant to general store-and-forward overlays

Vehicle-based Disconnected Data Distribution

The world today is highly connected and there is an immense dependency on this connectivity to accomplish basic everyday tasks. However much of the world lacks connectivity. Even in well-connected locations, natural disasters can cause infrastructure disruption. To combat these situations, Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs) employ to store and forward techniques along with intermittently connected transports to provide data connectivity. DTNs focus on intermittently connected networks however what if the regions are never connected? For example, Region A - is never connected to the internet, and Region B – has internet connectivity. Using a vehicle that travels between the two regions it is possible to transport the data from A to B and vice versa. Current vehicular-based DTN approaches make use of dedicated hardware infrastructures mounted on vehicles. Our research focuses to shift all this computing to personal smartphone devices. The users in disconnected areas will install the Disconnect Data Distribution(DDD Android application on their phones. This application will receive data from various applications on their phone via inter-process communication(IPC) and package the data into bundles using a DDD library. Vendors, transportation operators, delivery people, and others that regularly travel between connected and dis-connected areas can download the Bundle Transport Application on their Android phones. These devices will then communicate with each other using short-range wireless technology like WiFi-Direct in the disconnected region. The device on the transport can communicate with the Servers over the internet. For this project, we should assume that the Client and Server can provide data as desired and our focus is on the Transport