SIMPLE (military communications protocol)
TheStandard Interface for Multiple Platform Link Evaluation(SIMPLE) is amilitarycommunications protocoldefined inNATO'sStandardization AgreementSTANAG 5602.
Purpose
[edit]SIMPLE defines a communications protocol to provide the means for geographically (national and international) separatedTactical Data Link(TDL) equipment (C4ISR,C2and non-C2 test facilities) to exchangeenvironmentdata and TDL messages in order to conduct detailed TDLInteroperability(IO) testing. It is intended to provide specifications for a common standard to interconnect ground rigs of all types, such assimulationandintegrationfacilities. The SIMPLE allowstransmissionofM-SeriesandJ-Seriesmessages overIP-based protocols. Previously J-Series messages could be sent using theLink 16protocol. However, Link 16 is aradioprotocol with afrequencyrange that limits the exchange of information to withinline-of-sight.Use of flexible bearer protocols, such asIP,makes it easier to exchange such J-Series data, particularly for simulations and integration. However, the SIMPLE is not limited to use for simulation and integration, and is finding applications beyond its original purpose wherever transmission of J-Series data is not amenable over radio protocols such as Link 16.
Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) protocols
[edit]The SIMPLE standard specifies the distributed transfer of a simulated scenario/synthetic environment using theIEEEDistributed Interactive Simulation(DIS) protocols. DIS is a government/industry initiative to define an infrastructure for linking simulations of various types at multiple locations to create realistic, complex,virtualworlds for the simulation of highlyinteractiveactivities. A newprotocol data unit(PDU) definition, the DIS PDU was added to the baseline protocol to support the exchange of DIS PDUs for simulated entities. The content of the SIMPLE DIS PDU packet is related to the DIS PDUs defined in the IEEE 1278.1 standard. As such, most Transmitter and Signal PDU fields require no translation.
Structure of the SIMPLE protocol
[edit]The SIMPLE standard consists of several elements. These are:
- the communications bearer (e.g. telephone lines, digitalWANs)
- theencryptionmethods to be used to protect the secure information transmitted between sites
- the protocols/dataformatsfor the data transfer process
- additional aspects such astime co-ordination
SIMPLE is anapplication layerprotocol that is designed to be independent of thetransport layer.It can run using the following transport layer protocols:
TDL message exchange
[edit]In SIMPLE, the method for exchanging TDL messages is to take the host generated message traffic from theMIDS/JTIDSterminal interface and repackage it for transmission across the SIMPLE network. The receiving SIMPLE node extracts the TDL message traffic from the received packet and presents it to the host interface as if it had been received from a MIDS/JTIDS terminal.
Addressing
[edit]The addressing supports specific nodes, groups, and broadcast to all. These address forms are independent of the transport, which may have similar concepts (Serial and TCP point-to-point, UDP multicast and broadcast). Any SIMPLE addressing needs to go over any physical transport layer (although that may be open to interpretation).
History
[edit]The development of SIMPLE resulted from the requirement in February 1996 of the Ad Hoc Working Group (AHWG) on NATO Common Interoperability Standards (NCIS) Testing for a single interface standard to support the interconnection of NATO resources.
See also
[edit]- Link 16
- M-Seriesmessages
- J-Seriesmessages
- Tactical Data Links(TDLs)
- S-TADIL J(J-Series messages oversatellitelinks)
- JREAP(M-Series and J-Series messages over long-distance networks)
- Global Information Grid
- Network-centric warfare