Introduction
A top European defense contractor designing state-of-the-art combat systems is leading the way in developing advanced Ethernet-over-fiber networking systems for battleships. A battleship uses many different systems that act together to carry out the ship's mission in the most efficient and reliable manner possible. Ethernet networks connect all of the major systems on a battleship, such as the main communications system, radar system, navigation, target ranging system, sonar, damage control and system status, power and electrical systems, monitoring systems, and weapons systems. Each major system has its own workstation to take care of calculations and data analysis. The situation room's main computer and servers are responsible for each major system's data. After completing an analysis, each system's status is available on the situation room's control monitors. The Ethernet network also includes data interchange services (gateways, routers, and bridges) and mechanisms for interfacing bulk data storage devices.

System Description
The ship's combat system incorporates a distributed, computer-based system architecture that uses a LAN (Local Area Network) for communication. For ultimate reliability, each sub-system is composed of a redundant LAN, and all LANs are connected to a redundant primary gigabit fiber backbone. LANs comprised of fiber technology offer great redundancy, high bandwidth, reliability, survivability, and resistance against electromagnetic disturbances. The systems on the battleship all operate in a real-time environment. Information from various systems is gathered and synchronized instantly for fast reaction times. For example, when an unknown contact appears, radar can detect the location of the target and send the information to the situation room. The situation room controls which combat system should be activated and controls the navigation required to prepare the battle systems. System response is considered to be near real time, with the Ethernet network and Gigabit redundant backbone providing the main data transfer paths.

The MOXA products used in this system include NPort serial-to-Ethernet device servers for connecting radar or other devices to PLCs to collect data. The PLCs use EDS-508-MM-SC Ethernet switches to connect to dual redundant local fiber ring topologies. Redundancy is critical for all subsystems, and for the system as a whole. The redundant subsystems are connected to the ship's dual gigabit redundant Turbo ring (using EDS-726) that connects all systems to the situation room.

Since the battleship's combat system integrates nearly all of the battleship's functions, the network used to exchange data needs to be extremely fast, reliable, and robust. By using a dual-fiber ring topology network architecture, if one of the networks is damaged, the other network will take over automatically. In addition, the high bandwidth of the fiber gigabit ring can completely satisfy the long distance and high transmission demands of a combat system. The system also needs to be user-friendly, affordable, efficient to maintain, and expandable and upgradeable. In short, a combat system must ensure 100% readiness.

Benefits from MOXA

• MOXA's EDS industrial Ethernet switch family is certified by DNV type approval and prime industry standards to ensure reliable operation in rugged ship environments.
• MOXA's Turbo Ring supports fast media redundancy, with a recovery time of less than 20 ms, providing customers with a reliable and stable network.
• MOXA's managed Ethernet switch series provides easy configuration and real-time administration with a browser-based management utility:
  > Virtual LAN eases network planning
  > QoS increases determinism of data transmission
  > IGMP snooping and bandwidth control provide better traffic management
• MOXA's EDS managed switches support e-mail and relay warning by user-configured events.
• The EDS-508-MM-SC and EDS-726 support fiber optic ports to handle long distance transmission from different decks to the ship's central control room.

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