Title of Invention	METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR THE AUTOMATED MANAGEMENT OF COMMUNICATION SERVICES ONBOARD A SHIP
Abstract	A method for the automated management, of a plurality of services envisaged by a predetermined communications: plan of a telecommunication system; on board a ship comprising a plurality of radiocommunication resources is described, said method comprising the operations of: - defining static constraints or criteria, indicating the normal characteristics of the resources forming part of the on-board system,and dynamic constraints or criteria, indicating the state of use and the current operating conditions of the abovementioned, resources; - searching for a resource adapted to perform a service required, on the basis of the static constraints; - checking for availability of the resource on the basis of the dynamic constraints; - assigning the resource to the service required, if it is available, or otherwise ". assigning a different resource available, selected on the basis of said static and dynamic constraints or criteria,

Title of Invention

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR THE AUTOMATED MANAGEMENT OF COMMUNICATION SERVICES ONBOARD A SHIP

Abstract

A method for the automated management, of a plurality of services envisaged by a predetermined communications: plan of a telecommunication system; on board a ship comprising a plurality of radiocommunication resources is described, said method comprising the operations of: - defining static constraints or criteria, indicating the normal characteristics of the resources forming part of the on-board system,and dynamic constraints or criteria, indicating the state of use and the current operating conditions of the abovementioned, resources; - searching for a resource adapted to perform a service required, on the basis of the static constraints; - checking for availability of the resource on the basis of the dynamic constraints; - assigning the resource to the service required, if it is available, or otherwise ". assigning a different resource available, selected on the basis of said static and dynamic constraints or criteria,

Full Text	Method and system for the automated mar\|apetnent of coipinufiicq^Hon services oiifebard a ', The present invention relates to the management of telecommunicatioii'siarvjp^s.on-board a naval unit and, more specifically, to a method and a system fof the dutbnlated jnanagenidit of the telecommunication services envisaged.by a pred^ermJIl^ communications plan. - . In connection with the operativity of a naval fle«?t dWng-'a.missipq; it is iiedessary jtp specify and use a common communicatiohs plan which i^ows direct intkactidn between . ■ . .,, ■ ■ ■ ':• ■."■ ■ V '• .'• ■■■■■ • '• ■'■:■• ':'■' i'; the various naval units and odier stations or units, for.exa\|&;\|le;l8aid bases; air ^ppQrt umts and the like. This communications plan envisages the .definition^of a plurality of communicatiqiis services which can be provided by means of la bundle bf.a^a];atus ^^ith diffCTMit characteristics, comprising data and voice sqrviceis in the'VHF; UflF, HF,.SHF or IjHF SAT bands, in encrypted or unmcrypfed foiin, whidi miist bie activated ra^idlyj i.e; within' a few seconds. These services, must be provided using the. limited communications resources of a naval unit and, if necessaty, the simultaneoiis, use of 1he?e resoxirdBs, together with any equipment &ults, must alsd be managed. ' At present a manual tedmique is used for activating/Fe^v&tiii;g the comm.uniciBCti'(J»s services, this technique having tiie disadvantage.that itdcpist be based on memorisatipn of .the chosen configurations of the appatatus (chains df devicteis ajid/or apparatuii in liie transmission and reception channel's) by the operator ai^dotfiqanual calculation using. ^ heuristic process or a tentative approach, of the conJSgiratibn'Jmo^ appropriate, for ea^ particular transmission anid findt situation fiom among tije' many pojisibld configprations.. The object of the present invention is to provide a method'and a-systtai adapted to allow the automated management of the commiinications services on-board-a ship, and; in particular adapted to perform analyses and predictions as to'thifetisibility arid the method of implementing these services; Accordijag to the present invention these objects are aciijeVed by means of a method^having the characteristic features referred to in Claim 1. The invention, relates fur&ermore to a system and to a, processing program' dir set of ' • ■ ■' •' ■ ' . •.,•',','■ programs as claimed. Convenientiy, according to the novel idea of the invMitioh,' it is" possible to s.elect in. a completely automatic manner _ the optimum chain, of .devices' and/or radio; and, • communications equipment (for example encrypting cfevi^,:n[ibdttlis, intercotii^ interfaces) in die transmission tod fecq)tion channels, tbibe used,ik 6rder to.provideithiB; ■ communication services required by the operativity of be'.'nayal'thiit, onthe basis'of ^^ constraints or criteria which, are both of a static nature, ritolely are predefined byi ■tjie'user.; • during the planning stage, these being rq)resentative of, the'tjfies', of devices, and/or apparatus forming the system, their nominal opera^ng parameters'and spedfications, tjhe- ■'■,.•■■.••.-■. '•■;• .: ■ ' "'i'' ■ predefined assignment of devices and/or ^patatus to prbdetetnuzied servit^es'and &e' . operating parameters required by them, and of a dyhainic.naturei'i^ese\being!repr6den^ .', of tlie operative state of'the entire communicatioris.syste!mj.^tiamelyfl3te state, of use oipt apparatus as well as their operating condition (faulty, not responding, Ibusyi.ietc.).. ' ■■■'■.; 1 :•."* . i' • 1 ' . . . ■ - ' The calculation is performed i4 order to achieve an assignmh^t ojf theresbiirces such as to' activate all the services required when possible; Jh.&e.caise wji^thb commufticatiohs' services are more than one in nirinber, th^are considCTed in anorcj®: whidi i&detechiiied. ^ by a priority associated witii theni and by thb static constraints specified by the.usOT during' planning, for example the use of a particular type of apparatus! qr :a;;speGific apparatus for ■ providing a given service, the idioice of a particular tranisniissidn poWo: to be usc^ diiring activation of a given service, etc. It is also taken into account the cunrent operating state of'the.syst.en^namely knowledge of the presence of apparatus already used by active services,'the presence of apparatus wtich are not available because they are faulty or inaccessible, etc. In the event of conflicts^ should there not be adequate 'commuiiibatioM resources,-the ■ .'■'■•■•'. '.■■.•■•' ^ ■■"■'■', ' method according to the invention is adapted to assij^t ahoperatpr, (or also,' where- • permitted, take the place,of the operator) .with regard !tx> the choic^;of ?!ftvi.cesi t6 bei =. deactivated, in order to free resources to be assigned to servicfes'^yhich are regarded as]' high-priority, or services whidi are npt to be activated'." ; Since on-boaid a.naval unit it is possible to useialso radio bamOTS-w]^t!h:^e liighiy-. reconfigurable, for example the HF multidiar\|nel, tiie'piethod .accdrdmg tp ibjp inveniioii, takes into account .also this .further computdtioM-cdrnpHctdid^'isstabHslung which ' donfiguratioft-,of the reconfigurable radio carriers i^'mQ^t suited fot maximisation and ; optimisation of use (for example, as regards the maximtinipow«\|'aVailable pdr oktnnifror. . : ' • •' . ■' '■'v■■ ;- '; i'•■•.,' the inaximum numbo* of diannels w^ch can be ustd simtidtaneoUsly). - Advantageously, with the method according to the invention it is ^Wible to considerably'. speed up and simplify the management of the comihunicationS' s^Oes- onl-board a ship,. ensuring an extremely high reactivity of the system in cionnectiqi'ivldtti this jopcrativity'of the ship. The main advantage of xise of the solution aooordirig.to theiavaation compared to the known iiianual techniques consists in the greatd' rtUabiliiy and .^efed of the;pro Further characteristic features pnd advantages of the inventioioi \|wiir.t\|e explained in greateir. detail in the detailed description which follows of an embodiiiient thereof, pro^4ded bj^ way of a noii-Uiniting example, with reference'to the'accQihpanymg drawings in which;- , Figure 1 is a high-level flow diagram illustrating i&ie .method according' to the-invention; and , Figure 2 is a flow diagram of a procedure for aulotnaticaily. reactivating a fault- •' tolerant service. With reference to Figure 1 it is \|shown in its 6ntiretya high-level flow ^agriam illustrating-the method according to the inv&ition. This method is designed to be implemented by means'of'apnxsessmg systdm cdmpri^iig. 'one or more processing modules, which is adapted to' estecute a proc^sing prograjn o;t^,s^,. of programs stored on a medium or accessible wiftiiri atelCTi,atic peiwprk.. ■ . ■ ; ■ •'.■■■,■••'•.■ • • . . ' Upon activation of. the system at stq) 100 a series of openitibnk'fbr checjdng the'data; ■ •■ . •. ' ■•'■ "' ' •■■' V' ..•1"T''- '■■ ' ,; . .' • ' previously introduced during a planning stage are perfprinisd, iti t)atallel or in sequence, i^e, i specifically, at step 120, the check'of all ttie c6nvi}um6afiohs jservices tp "be activated, including, for each of thiam,'indication of the fault-tolerant servnoes. and indicatidh of Uie priority levels of the services, at step 140,. flie. chedc of .fhe; state'of. ftie cunrMit^ communications resources available at step 160, the (^b(^bfthe'srtati;ccoi]:straints,to lisi^g of the available resources previously introducied during the.plaoiiiQ.g stage. '. The data'relating to whether a service is fiiult-tolei^t can'be ilitrbidUcediinto. the systefti • '■•■■•.■■■■■ ■ ...',. .■.■■; .'■ . ••. ; l- ',■ .'•■■«■•■:■■.•..'; during the services planning stage by the opeicatotj fpr (sxamph by means of a boolean fl?g;"; The data relating to the priority levels of the services cm'dM be iiiiroducid into thjs systcpi' by an oparator during the planning stage, for exatiaple by classi^gj^em accsording itq fdur' levels (hij^ mediiun, normal, low). A chedk as to whether tbete exist sufSdent commimicationsreisbufcies which can'be.used.; . , • I'M. for providing all the required sercvices is then pcaformeji at 'step 209r ■ ' If the outcome of the check is positive,'fte systwn performs .allocation of the available resources to the services at step 300 in accordance wit$ the predefined conununications' plan. If tlie outcome is negative, the system proposes c6rrective,;actiohs to,&euserat step^ 400 and, following the choices made by the latter, carries oiit a iiew check as' to availabilily of the resources for the services required, as ih step 200/ It may, qbvioxisly be' envisaged that, alternatively, the system itself, if it is etiabled to do- so., may peifonn autonomously; ■■'''■'■'•••.'■ ^ . these corrective actions. The sj^tem prefarably si^ports in an assisted,mpde,'thaefore,'an\|opea!atbr reispotisible'for • ' • '• ''■■'.■■ * i' . ' • " management of the telecommunications services ori-board,a naval'u^jit during, actiVatioji of a predetermined communications plan composed of. a p\|ur?di(y'of communications sfflryicM: which involve'a plurality of apparatus (several^teos'orsferVifcMiiiyplvingi hundreds of-apparatus), prevraiting conflicts of resourceis and-taking inti^agcojMt^b^^ constraints of use spedfied by ttie user and intrihsjc withiri the apjpiaka^'aind ffiedynamid: constraints iyhich are in turn detamined by the op^atiting stifei of^^^e systfem .ajipaifaitus. • In the case where the syst^ detects an anom^yi a fault or iihe'noii-aYailsible state of an. apparatus involved in a communications smdce in Use, if required :durmg planning (nabiely if the service is identified as being fault-tolerant, for exainple becatys^Jtis considered tbibe' critical), the system According to thiB inventiott is able to perform, r^ctiyatipn of the srarvice in a transparent and possibly completely automatic manner, wit(iout a^iy action oii Ibe part of the operator', performing the selePtion of altematiye appajitugp^iui'^alent to those which can no longer be used, provided that thfcy are.availal?le, mji.Ms Iminiibisingthe actual non^' availability of the service which is considered to be oitical. i This procedure is described below with reference to die flpw diagramshovito m Figure 2.. ■ Upon occurrence of .an operating anomaly or a feult. ih' aii iE4>paratus mvolved in the .! •' ■ •■■■,■• I',. • •'■■";.■•'•■■•■'•■■;' .'",■■' • ■ •'■' ■"': ppvision of a communications service and consequent deteotipnof tiiis anomaly or feult. ' • ■■■'■.'■.,'■ . 'i ■ i' by the system during a cyclical check of the pperatjng' State of thevappar^usat step. 1000, the system checks whether this apparatus is currently being'used by an active seryice'(step, 1100). If this is not' flie case, the system ends the procedure, possibly updating'the dynamic constraints of the communication system, while if the arisweris alOBnnativej.it identifies-the! service concerned as being faulty at step 1200. Subsequently at step 1300 it is diecked whether thie s^t^/idenitifieci asibdngfaul^ Required by the communications plan as a fault-tola-ant seryiciK'. If this is the case, the system checks, at step 1400,' &irtheixistKiibef';a difEiiraii appai^tus •' (or chain of devices and/or apparatus) which:has_eqmValiqat ch^actOTStics.fflid is-frw-an^ utilisable. In the affirmative, the system' manages reactivatioii oif mft' Sepd'ce:by naeanso£; ■ the new apparatus (stq) 1500). In the he^ve, the S5^tlca5i'p^5fek';te'!step i;60O^ ■,'.,.,• ■ '•■■■.,■'•; ■■■'■■ .'i ':■■'.'.■ ■ '■■ >,■".•' awaits manual action by the operator. • ■ ■ 1 :' ■■■ ■■■..' IJ"'," ' '■■! \ ■■ , '•'..■ ..J -, . If the .operator Svishes to ^reactivate the service in questioni he/she'-isi assisted by i^e:systeih.' ■ .-' , ..' ■ . ••(.•• ■. .'.;■>'.■•';■ ■■•'■.I-'. ■'.■■;'.■:;■'•.■•'■'. •/ which diecka at step 1610 or the existence of a dififftrdht'-^uiyalait appaxatud (of chain -of devices and/or apparatus) currently used by anoiJier. g^ce iandi,.if^e existence of Ithis • apparatus is idaitified, it carries out a further chedc at step.i;620';as1o whether: the aqtiye ; service .using this apparatus has a priority wWch. is" lqw;er'/bri}igjiei: thai'to service intehupted as aresult of the fault. For example, the system is arrangai to list all tiie qutroitly actiEvf service? whi In the case whefe the curreritly t^ve service-has a. lowjarinjoiity than .ti\|je";setyice ' ■ ' '. ■ ' ' • '• ' ' ■ ■■ ..-i' . ,""■•5; ■'■'•. .■' ■• .■■■•' '•■■•■'•'/•,■ '"'■ interrupted as a result of the fault, the systeih is ariaiged to. sugge^ deactivatibn of file. ' • .'■'•.■'■,■' . • . . service in progress (or autonomoiisly performs deactivtdon'of fie; is^^dce, where .this possibility is envisaged) and reactivation of 1hesMTicewhicih4s.t(5nipbrarily faulty, t&king' advantage of the operativity of the chosen apparatiis (step 1630).:; Conveniently, owing to the operathig cpntext. which is iiirejiltime'or "quasi real time" and; . for critical missions, the system has very high performance charsicteristics, being able to perform the activation and reactivation of services within the space;pf a few sedpndsj and, also offers a high level of reliability with regard to establishing the varibus communication services, so as to ensure, for example, correct use.thereof in military missions. Tlie methods used for representing the conamunications.rplan and fpr recdnfigiiringthe:; services involve consulting a graph represaitiftg flie spape pf ialj the possible solutions fioin. ■ which optimum solutions are searched for, depending on the-cbiistraihts s^plddfied diMhg.'^ the planning stage, the "optimum" condition'being ilinderetobd as refiMring to. the situation. • where all the constraints are satisfied. In connection with the ojperativity'of-tiiib liaval'unit ilifeipQ&^flJleto.deih^a.iU^tj^^^^ "schemes" for iinplonenting the telecommunication Services, i.'e;!\|)redefined,ili6dels which; detail how d particular service must be implerriraitisd iii,terals.^of the.eJtact sequKiceof • ' 'i '...••• • V;.'■•■':>' ' ■' •' ■■' ' ■■•■ apparatus to be interconnected. Th?, Systran re^rajs^to these pred^findd models.diorii^ its assessments. Obviously, without modifying'the principle of thte inveptioft !.the= e^bodii^eats, and ^t^^^^ constructional details may be widely Varied with resp 1. Method for the automated management of a plurality of services envisaged by a predetermined communications plan of a telecommunication system oa-board a naval unit comprising a plurality of ladioconummication apparatus, characterised in that it oompriaes the operations ot - defining static constraints or criteria during a planning stage, representative of die apparatus fonning part of the on-board system, including a respective first set of data indicating the nominal operating parameters of said apparatus and a re^eetive second set of data indicating the prederiSboed assignment of said i^aratus to predetennined services; • defining dynamic constraints or criteria during a planning stage, representative of the current c^erattng state of said apparatus, including a respective first set of data indicating the state of use of the apparatus by active services and a respective second set of data indicating ^ openrting condition of the apparatus; - acquiring a request fer activation of a service; - searching for a conanunications resource inohiding a oombinatioa of i^aratus, adapted to perform the service required on tb» basis of said static constraints associated with the selected i^axatus; • checking fbr availability of the resource, on the basis of said dynamic omstxaints associated witii tibe selected qiparatus; then - if ttie resource is avaUable. assigning said resource to ttte service required; - if the resource is not available, ssrijgoiag a dlflferwt resource inchiding a diflferent combination of apparatus available for the service required, selected on the basis of said static constraints or criteria and said (tynemic oonstraints or criteria, therein too assigament of the resources avaiUble fxa the basis of said static and dynamic constraints to tibie services required is perfoimed in accordance with a priority criterion associated with the swvices by an operator during the planning stai^, and - in the event of there being no free resources, resolving conflicts relating to the assignment of resources in accordance with a predetwmined criterion, including cheddng die existence of a different resource cunwatly used by another service and, where Ae coirently active service has a lower priority than the service required, suggesting to a human operator assignment of the occupied resource to the service with a hi^ar priority and deactivation of a previous active service with a loww priority, in which selection of flie combination of available apparatus fonning a communications resource is performed by consulting a gng>h representing the ^ace of all the possible combinations of apparatus and selecting an optfanum solution on the basis of &e constraints specified, the opthnum condition being defined as that where all Utie constraints are satisfied. 2. Method according to Claim 1, in which eadi communications resource includes a combination of apparatus con^nising devices for generating, processing and transmitting^ecdving signals. 3. Mettiod aocoixiing to Claim 1, oomprising Ae assignment of predetermined resources to respective predetezmined services in accordance with predefined planning constraints of the system. 4. MeHiod according to Gaim 1»coursing tiie assigoment of predetenniaed nominal operating parametens of a resource to respective predetermined services in accordance with predefined planning constraints of the system. 5. MeOxoA according to Claim 4, in which tiie assigmneat of predetemuned xxominal operating parameters of a resource to a service comprises reconfiguring muMdiannel radio carriers of predetecmined resoutees ibr optimisation of their use. 6. Method aooonling to Qaim 5. oonynising Oie assignment of a predetermined transmission power for each channd. 7. Method according to Claim 5, oomprising ttie simultaneous activation of a plurality of parallel channels. 8. Method according to Claim 1, comprising the detection of the non-availability of a resource and the assignmesnt of an alternative resonrce to a critical communication service identified as being fault-tolerant, where assignment of a resource whidbi is already occi^ied is perfonned in accordance \with said predetermined criterion fur the insolution of conflicts. 9. Processing system for the automated managonent of a pIuraliQ^ of services envisaged by a predetennined communications plan of a tdeoommusications system on¬board a naval umt» comprising a plurality of radiooommunicadon resources, programmed to carry out a method for die automated management of a plurality of services according to any one of Claims 1 to 8. 10. Processing program or set of programs wMdh can be executed by a processing system, oonxprising one or more code modules for implementing a method fi>r the automated management of a plurality of services envisaged by a predetermined communications plan of a tdeoommunication system on-board a naval unit, according to any one of Claims 1 to 8.

Full Text

Method and system for the automated mar|apetnent of coipinufiicq^Hon services oiifebard a ',
The present invention relates to the management of telecommunicatioii'siarvjp^s.on-board a naval unit and, more specifically, to a method and a system fof the dutbnlated jnanagenidit of the telecommunication services envisaged.by a pred^ermJIl^ communications plan. - .
In connection with the operativity of a naval fle«?t dWng-'a.missipq; it is iiedessary jtp
specify and use a common communicatiohs plan which i^ows direct intkactidn between
. ■ . .,, ■ ■ ■ ':• ■."■ ■ V '• .'• ■■■■■ • '• ■'■:■• ':'■' i';
the various naval units and odier stations or units, for.exa|&;|le;l8aid bases; air ^ppQrt umts
and the like.
This communications plan envisages the .definition^of a plurality of communicatiqiis services which can be provided by means of la bundle bf.a^a];atus ^^ith diffCTMit characteristics, comprising data and voice sqrviceis in the'VHF; UflF, HF,.SHF or IjHF SAT bands, in encrypted or unmcrypfed foiin, whidi miist bie activated ra^idlyj i.e; within' a few seconds. These services, must be provided using the. limited communications resources of a naval unit and, if necessaty, the simultaneoiis, use of 1he?e resoxirdBs, together with any equipment &ults, must alsd be managed. '
At present a manual tedmique is used for activating/Fe^v&tiii;g the comm.uniciBCti'(J»s services, this technique having tiie disadvantage.that itdcpist be based on memorisatipn of .the chosen configurations of the appatatus (chains df devicteis ajid/or apparatuii in liie transmission and reception channel's) by the operator ai^dotfiqanual calculation using. ^ heuristic process or a tentative approach, of the conJSgiratibn'Jmo^ appropriate, for ea^ particular transmission anid findt situation fiom among tije' many pojisibld configprations..
The object of the present invention is to provide a method'and a-systtai adapted to allow the automated management of the commiinications services on-board-a ship, and; in particular adapted to perform analyses and predictions as to'thifetisibility arid the method of implementing these services;

Accordijag to the present invention these objects are aciijeVed by means of a method^having the characteristic features referred to in Claim 1.
The invention, relates fur&ermore to a system and to a, processing program' dir set of '
• ■ ■' •' ■ ' . •.,•',','■
programs as claimed.
Convenientiy, according to the novel idea of the invMitioh,' it is" possible to s.elect in. a
completely automatic manner _ the optimum chain, of .devices' and/or radio; and, •
communications equipment (for example encrypting cfevi^,:n[ibdttlis, intercotii^
interfaces) in die transmission tod fecq)tion channels, tbibe used,ik 6rder to.provideithiB; ■
communication services required by the operativity of be'.'nayal'thiit, onthe basis'of ^^
constraints or criteria which, are both of a static nature, ritolely are predefined byi ■tjie'user.; •
during the planning stage, these being rq)resentative of, the'tjfies', of devices, and/or
apparatus forming the system, their nominal opera^ng parameters'and spedfications, tjhe-
■'■,.•■■.••.-■. '•■;• .: ■ ' "'i'' ■ predefined assignment of devices and/or ^patatus to prbdetetnuzied servit^es'and &e'
. operating parameters required by them, and of a dyhainic.naturei'i^ese\being!repr6den^ .',
of tlie operative state of'the entire communicatioris.syste!mj.^tiamelyfl3te state, of use oipt
apparatus as well as their operating condition (faulty, not responding, Ibusyi.ietc.)..
' ■■■'■.; 1 :•."* . i' •
1 ' . . . ■ - '
The calculation is performed i4 order to achieve an assignmh^t ojf theresbiirces such as to' activate all the services required when possible; Jh.&e.caise wji^thb commufticatiohs' services are more than one in nirinber, th^are considCTed in anorcj®: whidi i&detechiiied. ^ by a priority associated witii theni and by thb static constraints specified by the.usOT during' planning, for example the use of a particular type of apparatus! qr :a;;speGific apparatus for ■ providing a given service, the idioice of a particular tranisniissidn poWo: to be usc^ diiring activation of a given service, etc.
It is also taken into account the cunrent operating state of'the.syst.en^namely knowledge of the presence of apparatus already used by active services,'the presence of apparatus wtich are not available because they are faulty or inaccessible, etc.

In the event of conflicts^ should there not be adequate 'commuiiibatioM resources,-the ■
.'■'■•■•'. '.■■.•■•' ^ ■■"■'■', ' method according to the invention is adapted to assij^t ahoperatpr, (or also,' where- •
permitted, take the place,of the operator) .with regard !tx> the choic^;of ?!ftvi.cesi t6 bei =.
deactivated, in order to free resources to be assigned to servicfes'^yhich are regarded as]'
high-priority, or services whidi are npt to be activated'." ;
Since on-boaid a.naval unit it is possible to useialso radio bamOTS-w]^t!h:^e liighiy-. reconfigurable, for example the HF multidiar|nel, tiie'piethod .accdrdmg tp ibjp inveniioii, takes into account .also this .further computdtioM-cdrnpHctdid^'isstabHslung which ' donfiguratioft-,of the reconfigurable radio carriers i^'mQ^t suited fot maximisation and ;
optimisation of use (for example, as regards the maximtinipow«|'aVailable pdr oktnnifror.
. : ' • •' . ■' '■'v■■ ;- '; i'•■•.,'
the inaximum numbo* of diannels w^ch can be ustd simtidtaneoUsly). -
Advantageously, with the method according to the invention it is ^Wible to considerably'. speed up and simplify the management of the comihunicationS' s^Oes- onl-board a ship,. ensuring an extremely high reactivity of the system in cionnectiqi'ivldtti this jopcrativity'of the ship.
The main advantage of xise of the solution aooordirig.to theiavaation compared to the known iiianual techniques consists in the greatd' rtUabiliiy and .^efed of the;pro Further characteristic features pnd advantages of the inventioioi |wiir.t|e explained in greateir. detail in the detailed description which follows of an embodiiiient thereof, pro^4ded bj^ way of a noii-Uiniting example, with reference'to the'accQihpanymg drawings in which;-
, Figure 1 is a high-level flow diagram illustrating i&ie .method according' to the-invention; and

, Figure 2 is a flow diagram of a procedure for aulotnaticaily. reactivating a fault- •' tolerant service.
With reference to Figure 1 it is |shown in its 6ntiretya high-level flow ^agriam illustrating-the method according to the inv&ition.
This method is designed to be implemented by means'of'apnxsessmg systdm cdmpri^iig. 'one or more processing modules, which is adapted to' estecute a proc^sing prograjn o;t^,s^,. of programs stored on a medium or accessible wiftiiri atelCTi,atic peiwprk.. ■
. ■ ; ■ •'.■■■,■••'•.■ • • . . '
Upon activation of. the system at stq) 100 a series of openitibnk'fbr checjdng the'data;
■ •■ . •. ' ■•'■ "' ' •■■' V' ..•1"T''- '■■ ' ,; . .' • '
previously introduced during a planning stage are perfprinisd, iti t)atallel or in sequence, i^e, i
specifically, at step 120, the check'of all ttie c6nvi}um6afiohs jservices tp "be activated,
including, for each of thiam,'indication of the fault-tolerant servnoes. and indicatidh of Uie
priority levels of the services, at step 140,. flie. chedc of .fhe; state'of. ftie cunrMit^
communications resources available at step 160, the (^b(^bfthe'srtati;ccoi]:straints,to lisi^g
of the available resources previously introducied during the.plaoiiiQ.g stage. '.
The data'relating to whether a service is fiiult-tolei^t can'be ilitrbidUcediinto. the systefti •
'■•■■•.■■■■■ ■ ...',. .■.■■; .'■ . ••. ; l- ',■ .'•■■«■•■:■■.•..';
during the services planning stage by the opeicatotj fpr (sxamph by means of a boolean fl?g;";
The data relating to the priority levels of the services cm'dM be iiiiroducid into thjs systcpi'
by an oparator during the planning stage, for exatiaple by classi^gj^em accsording itq fdur'
levels (hij^ mediiun, normal, low).
A chedk as to whether tbete exist sufSdent commimicationsreisbufcies which can'be.used.;
. , • I'M.
for providing all the required sercvices is then pcaformeji at 'step 209r ■ '
If the outcome of the check is positive,'fte systwn performs .allocation of the available resources to the services at step 300 in accordance wit$ the predefined conununications' plan. If tlie outcome is negative, the system proposes c6rrective,;actiohs to,&euserat step^ 400 and, following the choices made by the latter, carries oiit a iiew check as' to availabilily

of the resources for the services required, as ih step 200/ It may, qbvioxisly be' envisaged
that, alternatively, the system itself, if it is etiabled to do- so., may peifonn autonomously;
■■'''■'■'•••.'■ ^ . these corrective actions.
The sj^tem prefarably si^ports in an assisted,mpde,'thaefore,'an|opea!atbr reispotisible'for
• ' • '• ''■■'.■■ * i' . ' • "
management of the telecommunications services ori-board,a naval'u^jit during, actiVatioji of a predetermined communications plan composed of. a p|ur?di(y'of communications sfflryicM: which involve'a plurality of apparatus (several^teos'orsferVifcMiiiyplvingi hundreds of-apparatus), prevraiting conflicts of resourceis and-taking inti^agcojMt^b^^ constraints of use spedfied by ttie user and intrihsjc withiri the apjpiaka^'aind ffiedynamid: constraints iyhich are in turn detamined by the op^atiting stifei of^^^e systfem .ajipaifaitus. •
In the case where the syst^ detects an anom^yi a fault or iihe'noii-aYailsible state of an. apparatus involved in a communications smdce in Use, if required :durmg planning (nabiely if the service is identified as being fault-tolerant, for exainple becatys^Jtis considered tbibe' critical), the system According to thiB inventiott is able to perform, r^ctiyatipn of the srarvice in a transparent and possibly completely automatic manner, wit(iout a^iy action oii Ibe part of the operator', performing the selePtion of altematiye appajitugp^iui'^alent to those which can no longer be used, provided that thfcy are.availal?le, mji.Ms Iminiibisingthe actual non^' availability of the service which is considered to be oitical. i
This procedure is described below with reference to die flpw diagramshovito m Figure 2.. ■
Upon occurrence of .an operating anomaly or a feult. ih' aii iE4>paratus mvolved in the
.! •' ■ •■■■,■• I',. • •'■■";.■•'•■■•■'•■■;' .'",■■' • ■ •'■' ■"':
ppvision of a communications service and consequent deteotipnof tiiis anomaly or feult.
' • ■■■'■.'■.,'■ . 'i ■ i'
by the system during a cyclical check of the pperatjng' State of thevappar^usat step. 1000,
the system checks whether this apparatus is currently being'used by an active seryice'(step,
1100).
If this is not' flie case, the system ends the procedure, possibly updating'the dynamic constraints of the communication system, while if the arisweris alOBnnativej.it identifies-the!

service concerned as being faulty at step 1200.
Subsequently at step 1300 it is diecked whether thie s^t^/idenitifieci asibdngfaul^ Required by the communications plan as a fault-tola-ant seryiciK'.
If this is the case, the system checks, at step 1400,' &irtheixistKiibef';a difEiiraii appai^tus •'
(or chain of devices and/or apparatus) which:has_eqmValiqat ch^actOTStics.fflid is-frw-an^
utilisable. In the affirmative, the system' manages reactivatioii oif mft' Sepd'ce:by naeanso£; ■
the new apparatus (stq) 1500). In the he^ve, the S5^tlca5i'p^5fek';te'!step i;60O^
■,'.,.,• ■ '•■■■.,■'•; ■■■'■■ .'i ':■■'.'.■ ■ '■■ >,■".•'
awaits manual action by the operator.
• ■ ■ 1 :' ■■■ ■■■..' IJ"'," ' '■■! \ ■■ , '•'..■ ..J -, .
If the .operator Svishes to ^reactivate the service in questioni he/she'-isi assisted by i^e:systeih.'
■ .-' , ..' ■ . ••(.•• ■. .'.;■>'.■•';■ ■■•'■.I-'. ■'.■■;'.■:;■'•.■•'■'. •/
which diecka at step 1610 or the existence of a dififftrdht'-^uiyalait appaxatud (of chain -of
devices and/or apparatus) currently used by anoiJier. g^ce iandi,.if^e existence of Ithis •
apparatus is idaitified, it carries out a further chedc at step.i;620';as1o whether: the aqtiye ;
service .using this apparatus has a priority wWch. is" lqw;er'/bri}igjiei: thai'to service
intehupted as aresult of the fault.
For example, the system is arrangai to list all tiie qutroitly actiEvf service? whi In the case whefe the curreritly t^ve service-has a. lowjarinjoiity than .ti|je";setyice '
■ ' '. ■ ' ' • '• ' ' ■ ■■ ..-i' . ,""■•5; ■'■'•. .■' ■• .■■■•' '•■■•■'•'/•,■ '"'■
interrupted as a result of the fault, the systeih is ariaiged to. sugge^ deactivatibn of file.
' • .'■'•.■'■,■' . • . .
service in progress (or autonomoiisly performs deactivtdon'of fie; is^^dce, where .this
possibility is envisaged) and reactivation of 1hesMTicewhicih4s.t(5nipbrarily faulty, t&king' advantage of the operativity of the chosen apparatiis (step 1630).:;
Conveniently, owing to the operathig cpntext. which is iiirejiltime'or "quasi real time" and; . for critical missions, the system has very high performance charsicteristics, being able to perform the activation and reactivation of services within the space;pf a few sedpndsj and, also offers a high level of reliability with regard to establishing the varibus communication

services, so as to ensure, for example, correct use.thereof in military missions.
Tlie methods used for representing the conamunications.rplan and fpr recdnfigiiringthe:; services involve consulting a graph represaitiftg flie spape pf ialj the possible solutions fioin. ■ which optimum solutions are searched for, depending on the-cbiistraihts s^plddfied diMhg.'^ the planning stage, the "optimum" condition'being ilinderetobd as refiMring to. the situation. • where all the constraints are satisfied.
In connection with the ojperativity'of-tiiib liaval'unit ilifeipQ&^flJleto.deih^a.iU^tj^^^^ "schemes" for iinplonenting the telecommunication Services, i.'e;!|)redefined,ili6dels which;
detail how d particular service must be implerriraitisd iii,terals.^of the.eJtact sequKiceof
• ' 'i '...••• • V;.'■•■':>' ' ■' •' ■■' ' ■■•■ apparatus to be interconnected. Th?, Systran re^rajs^to these pred^findd models.diorii^ its
assessments.
Obviously, without modifying'the principle of thte inveptioft !.the= e^bodii^eats, and ^t^^^^ constructional details may be widely Varied with resp

1. Method for the automated management of a plurality of services envisaged by a predetermined communications plan of a telecommunication system oa-board a naval unit comprising a plurality of ladioconummication apparatus, characterised in that it oompriaes the operations ot
- defining static constraints or criteria during a planning stage, representative of die
apparatus fonning part of the on-board system, including a respective first set of data
indicating the nominal operating parameters of said apparatus and a re^eetive second set
of data indicating the prederiSboed assignment of said i^aratus to predetennined services;
• defining dynamic constraints or criteria during a planning stage, representative of
the current c^erattng state of said apparatus, including a respective first set of data
indicating the state of use of the apparatus by active services and a respective second set of
data indicating ^ openrting condition of the apparatus;
- acquiring a request fer activation of a service;
- searching for a conanunications resource inohiding a oombinatioa of i^aratus, adapted to perform the service required on tb» basis of said static constraints associated with the selected i^axatus;
• checking fbr availability of the resource, on the basis of said dynamic omstxaints
associated witii tibe selected qiparatus; then
- if ttie resource is avaUable. assigning said resource to ttte service required;
- if the resource is not available, ssrijgoiag a dlflferwt resource inchiding a diflferent combination of apparatus available for the service required, selected on the basis of said static constraints or criteria and said (tynemic oonstraints or criteria,
therein too assigament of the resources avaiUble fxa the basis of said static and dynamic constraints to tibie services required is perfoimed in accordance with a priority criterion associated with the swvices by an operator during the planning stai^, and
- in the event of there being no free resources, resolving conflicts relating to the
assignment of resources in accordance with a predetwmined criterion, including cheddng
die existence of a different resource cunwatly used by another service and, where Ae

coirently active service has a lower priority than the service required, suggesting to a human operator assignment of the occupied resource to the service with a hi^ar priority and deactivation of a previous active service with a loww priority,
in which selection of flie combination of available apparatus fonning a communications resource is performed by consulting a gng>h representing the ^ace of all the possible combinations of apparatus and selecting an optfanum solution on the basis of &e constraints specified, the opthnum condition being defined as that where all Utie constraints are satisfied.
2. Method according to Claim 1, in which eadi communications resource includes a combination of apparatus con^nising devices for generating, processing and transmitting^ecdving signals.
3. Mettiod aocoixiing to Claim 1, oomprising Ae assignment of predetermined resources to respective predetezmined services in accordance with predefined planning constraints of the system.
4. MeHiod according to Gaim 1»coursing tiie assigoment of predetenniaed nominal operating parametens of a resource to respective predetermined services in accordance with predefined planning constraints of the system.
5. MeOxoA according to Claim 4, in which tiie assigmneat of predetemuned xxominal operating parameters of a resource to a service comprises reconfiguring muMdiannel radio carriers of predetecmined resoutees ibr optimisation of their use.
6. Method aooonling to Qaim 5. oonynising Oie assignment of a predetermined transmission power for each channd.
7. Method according to Claim 5, oomprising ttie simultaneous activation of a plurality of parallel channels.

8. Method according to Claim 1, comprising the detection of the non-availability of a
resource and the assignmesnt of an alternative resonrce to a critical communication service
identified as being fault-tolerant, where assignment of a resource whidbi is already occi^ied
is perfonned in accordance \with said predetermined criterion fur the insolution of conflicts.
9. Processing system for the automated managonent of a pIuraliQ^ of services envisaged by a predetennined communications plan of a tdeoommusications system on¬board a naval umt» comprising a plurality of radiooommunicadon resources, programmed to carry out a method for die automated management of a plurality of services according to any one of Claims 1 to 8.
10. Processing program or set of programs wMdh can be executed by a processing system, oonxprising one or more code modules for implementing a method fi>r the automated management of a plurality of services envisaged by a predetermined communications plan of a tdeoommunication system on-board a naval unit, according to any one of Claims 1 to 8.

Documents:

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Patent Number

278108

Indian Patent Application Number

73/CHENP/2010

PG Journal Number

52/2016

Publication Date

16-Dec-2016

Grant Date

14-Dec-2016

Date of Filing

05-Jan-2010

Name of Patentee

SELEX COMMUNICATIONS S.P.A.

Applicant Address

VIA PIERAGOSTINI 80, I-16151 GENOVA

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	COMPARE, DANIELE	VIA MONTEVELINO 28, L'AQUILA-I-67100
2	FLAMMINI, ROSSELLA	VIA B. MARINUCCI 12, L'AQUILA-I-67100
3	GUERRIERI, ALBERTO	PIAZZA G. MARCONI 24, ANTRODOCO (RIETI)-I-02013

PCT International Classification Number

H04L12/24

PCT International Application Number

PCT/IT07/00407

PCT International Filing date

2007-06-08

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1			NA