Tactical Wireless Communications and Networks: Design Concepts and Challenges

6.5 Networking at the Tactical GIG

Now that we have covered the tactical GIG main waveforms, let us explain how these waveforms may be linked together to form the hierarchy of networks shown in Figure 6.1. Figure 6.21 shows a platform²⁴ notional architecture. This architecture plays a major part in forming seamless IP gateways between subnets. This platform could be a communications vehicle (TOC) or a stationary platform in a command and control. At the heart of this platform is a gateway IP router (could be a COTS Cisco router). At the right-hand side are multiple HAIPE devices, each of which forms a security enclave (a local LAN in the platform). This platform can have many of these separated security enclaves. Each enclave can be at secret, top secret, or unclassified level. A platform can have one or more security enclaves that offer the network services at the corresponding classification. Notice that HAIPE allows these different encryption levels to share the core network. At the left-hand side of the COTS router, different waveform capabilities can be used, depending on the platform's role in the deployment. A WNW radio at this platform acts as the gateway node to the GIG. It does so by using the GIG port, explained in Figure 6.3, which is connected to an IP interface of the COTS router; this allows IP traffic to flow seamlessly to and from the WNW subnet. The WAN waveforms (HNW and NCW) can be present in this platform as terminals. These terminals are layer 3 capable and ...