iBuilder User Guide

iDX Release 3.1

A component of iVantage NMS

April 15, 2013

iBuilder User Guide i

iDX Release 3.1
Copyright © 2013 VT iDirect, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is
prohibited. Information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The specifications and information
regarding the products in this document are subject to change without notice. All statements, information, and
recommendations in this document are believed to be accurate, but are presented without warranty of any kind,
express, or implied. Users must take full responsibility for their application of any products. Trademarks, brand
names and products mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. All such references
are used strictly in an editorial fashion with no intent to convey any affiliation with the name or the product's
rightful owner.

Document Name: UG_iBuilder User Guide iDX 3.1_Rev C_05152013.pdf

Document Part Number: T0000436

ii iBuilder User Guide

iDX Release 3.1
 Revision History

The following table shows all revisions for this document. To determine if this is the latest
revision, check the TAC Web site at http://tac.idirect.net.

Revision Date Released Reason for Change(s) Who Updated?

A 03/27/2012 First release of document for iDX Release 3.1 JVespoli
B 08/31/2012 Added notes to clarify Evolution X1 fuctions: JVespoli
- No Mobility, Roaming, Geo Redundancy, ABS
- Static routing only
- Maximum of four VLANs
- No RIPv2, NAT, GRE Tunnels
- No Downstream Distributer
- Limits on Service Levels for X1 profiles
Added steps to run iBuilder in XP mode
Added note that 10 MHz to BUC is required for
sleep mode
C 04/15/2013 In section 5.11, “DVB-S2 Parameters” JVespoli
- Added note regarding incorrect setting of DVB-
S2 error margin.
- Added procedure to check and modify the DVB-
S2 error margin.

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iDX Release 3.1
 Contents

List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix

List of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxx

About This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxi

Purpose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxi
Intended Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxi
Contents Of This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxi
Document Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxii
Related Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxiii
Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxiii

The iVantage Network Management System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxv

1 iDirect System Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 Overview of the Network Management System for iBuilder . . . . . . 7

2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2 Gathering the Information You Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 Preparing Equipment in Advance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.4 Components of the Network Management System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.4.1 NMS Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
iBuilder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
iMonitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
iSite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.4.2 Server Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

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 Configuration Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Real-time Data Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Event Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Latency Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
NMS Controller Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
PP Controller Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Chassis Manager Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
NMS Monitor Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Consolidation Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Database Backup Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Database Restore Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.5 Installing iBuilder, iMonitor, and iSite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.5.1 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.5.2 Installation Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.6 Launching iBuilder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.6.1 Logging On To Additional Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.6.2 Multiple Users or PCs Accessing the NMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.6.3 Accepting Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.7 Pre-defined Components and Components Folders in iBuilder . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.7.1 Bench Test Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.7.2 Components Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Folders Containing Critical Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
QoS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Components: Remote Antenna Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Components: Hub RFT Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Folders Containing Reference Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Adding Entries to Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Canceling an Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.8 Using iBuilder’s Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.8.1 Clicking on Elements and Folders: What Happens? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Right-Clicking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Double-Clicking vs. Single-Clicking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.8.2 Globe Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Using the Docking Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Expanding the Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Collapsing the Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Sorting Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Sorting the Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.8.3 Network Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.8.4 Using the Interface Toolbars and Menu Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

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iDX Release 3.1
 Title Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Menu Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Find Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Status Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Connection Details on Status Bar Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Active Users Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Legend Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Configuration Changes Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Configuration States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Properties View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Collapse Details Hierarchy + Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Choose Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.9 Customizing and Creating New Detail Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.9.1 Customizing Detail Views for Configuration Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.9.2 Creating Additional Filters for Customized Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2.10 Working with Multiple Elements Simultaneously . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.10.1 Working with Multiple Configurations and Image Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.10.2 Modifying Parameters on Multiple Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Rules for Group Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Procedure for Group Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.11 Configuration Status of Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.11.1 What is a Configuration State? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.11.2 Possible Configuration States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.11.3 Configuration State Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.11.4 Viewing Configuration States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.11.5 Why Did My Configuration States Change? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.11.6 Configuration States and iMonitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.12 Understanding the Database’s Numbering Convention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.13 Viewing the Activity Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
2.14 Configuring Warning Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2.14.1 Setting Global Warning Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
2.14.2 Customizing Warning Properties for Individual Network Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
2.14.3 Clearing Customized Warning Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
2.15 Managing NMS Licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
2.15.1 Importing Your License Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
2.15.2 License Properties Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

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 2.15.3 Exporting iBuilder Data for Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
2.15.4 Permanently Enabling Chassis License Download . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
2.16 In Color versus Shaded Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

3 Defining Hub RFT Components and the Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

3.1 Preparing the Hub RFT Components Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3.1.1 Adding an Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.1.2 Adding an Up Converter or Down Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.1.3 Adding a High Power Amplifier (HPA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
3.2 Adding a Spacecraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
3.3 Adding a Transponder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
3.4 Adding Bandwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
3.5 Adding Carriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
3.5.1 Adding Downstream Carriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
3.5.2 Adding TDMA Upstream Carriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3.5.3 Adding SCPC Upstream Carriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
3.5.4 Estimating the Information Rate for a DVB-S2 Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

4 Defining Network Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

4.1 Adding a Teleport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.2 Adding a Backup Teleport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
4.3 Adding a Hub RFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
4.4 Adding a Protocol Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
4.4.1 TRANSEC Protocol Processors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
4.5 Setting Warning Properties for Protocol Processor Blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
4.6 Adding a Protocol Processor Blade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
4.7 Adding a VLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
4.7.1 Overriding Automatically-Assigned VLAN Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
4.7.2 Special VLAN Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
4.8 Adding a SkyMonitor Spectrum Analyzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

5 Defining Networks, Line Cards, and Inroute Groups . . . . . . . . . 103

5.1 iDirect Line Card and Hub Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
5.2 Adding a Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
5.3 Line Card Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

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 5.4 Adding a Transmit or Transmit and Receive Line Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
5.5 Setting Warning Properties for Line Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
5.6 Adding Receive-Only (Rx-Only) Line Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
5.6.1 Adding Multiple Receive Carriers to a Line Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
5.7 Deleting a Line Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
5.8 Changing to an Alternate Downstream Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
5.9 Defining a Standby Line Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
5.9.1 Overview of Line Card Redundancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
5.9.2 Adding a Standby Line Card to a Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
5.9.3 Managing Line Card Redundancy Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Viewing Line Card Redundancy Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Configuring Line Card Redundancy Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Assigning a Warm Standby to an Active Line Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Assigning a Cold Standby to an Active Line Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Removing a Warm Redundancy Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Removing a Cold Redundancy Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
5.9.4 Swapping an Active and Standby Line Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
5.9.5 Line Card Failover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
5.10 Adding Inroute Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
5.10.1 Carrier Grooming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
5.10.2 Frequency Hopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
5.10.3 Adding an Inroute Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
5.11 DVB-S2 Network Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
5.11.1 System Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
5.11.2 Configuring DVB-S2 Network Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Checking the DVB-S2 Error Margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
5.11.3 Adjusting DVB-S2 Parameters for CCM Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

6 Configuring Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

6.1 iDirect Remote Satellite Router Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
6.2 Before You Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
6.3 Adding Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
6.4 Remote Information Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
6.4.1 Transmit and Receive Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
6.4.2 Customers and Distributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
6.5 Remote IP Config Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
6.5.1 VLAN and LAN Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

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 Configuring LAN and Management Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Adding VLANs to a Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
6.5.2 Domain Name System (DNS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
6.5.3 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
6.5.4 RIPv2, Static Routes, Multicast Groups, Port Forwarding and NAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
RIPv2 (Routes Sub-Tab) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Static Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Using Static Routes with Multiple Protocol Processor Blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
NAT and Port Forwarding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Accelerated GRE Tunnels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Multicast Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
6.6 Remote Switch Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
6.7 Remote QoS Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
6.7.1 QoS Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Assigning a Filter Profile to a Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Assigning a Remote Profile or a Service Profile to a Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Assigning an Upstream Remote Profile to an SCPC Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
6.7.2 Rate Shaping Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Configuring MIR and CIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Configuring Minimum Information Rate and Idle and Dormant States . . . . . . . . . 172
6.7.3 EIR and MODCOD Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
6.7.4 Downstream and Upstream Distributor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
6.8 Remote Geo Location Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Mobile State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
6.9 Remote VSAT Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Configuring a Remote Transceiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
6.10 Setting Warning Properties for Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
6.11 Adding a Remote by Cloning an Existing Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
6.12 Roaming Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
6.12.1 Adding a Roaming Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
6.12.2 Managing Roaming Remote Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Managing “Must be the Same” Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Managing “Don’t Care” Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Adding Multiple Roaming Remotes to a Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Adding a Roaming Remote to Multiple Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
6.12.3 Beam Switching for Roaming Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Automatic Beam Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Manual Beam Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
“Round Robin” Beam Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

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 6.13 Enabling IP Packet Compression Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
6.13.1 TCP Payload Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
6.13.2 UDP Header Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
UDP Header Compression Performance Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
6.13.3 CRTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
RTP Header Compression Performance Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
6.13.4 UDP Payload Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
6.13.5 L2TP Payload Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

7 Configuring Quality of Service for iDirect Networks . . . . . . . . . 195

7.1 Group QoS Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
7.1.1 QoS Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Change to MIR and CIR Bandwidth Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Bandwidth Allocation Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
7.1.2 Group QoS Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Bandwidth Pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Bandwidth Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Service Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Service Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Remote Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Application Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Virtual Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Application Service Groups vs. Remote Service Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Group QoS and SCPC Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
7.1.3 QoS Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Remote Based Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Application Based Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Application Scaled Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Setting the QoS Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
7.1.4 Multicast Bandwidth Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
7.2 Configuring Group QoS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
7.2.1 The Group QoS User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Group View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Service Profile View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Service Profile-Remote View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Remote Profile View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Remote View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
7.2.2 Estimating Effective MIR and CIR for DVB-S2 Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
7.2.3 Effective Cost with Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

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 7.2.4 Allocation Fairness Relative to MODCOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
7.2.5 Adding a Bandwidth Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
7.2.6 Adding a Service Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
7.2.7 Working with Application Service Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Adding Applications to Application Service Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Creating Service Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Configuring Application Properties for Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Assigning Service Profiles to Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Overriding Application Properties on Individual Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Configuring Remotes for Multicast Fast Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
7.2.8 Working with Remote Service Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Remote Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Adding a Remote Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Assigning Remotes to Remote Service Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
7.2.9 Configuring Full-Trigger CIR for a Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
7.3 Working with Group Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
7.3.1 Saving Group Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
7.3.2 Copying Group Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
7.3.3 Modifying Group Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
7.3.4 Applying Group Profiles to Networks and Inroute Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
7.4 Application Profiles and Filter Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Adding a Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Copying a Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
7.4.1 Adding an Application Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
7.4.2 Adding a Filter Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
7.4.3 Adding a Rule to an Application Profile or Filter Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

8 Configuring a Hub Chassis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

8.1 Configuring the Chassis IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
8.1.1 Setting the IP Address for a Chassis with an EDAS Controller Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
8.1.2 Setting the IP Address for a Chassis with a MIDAS Controller Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
8.2 Chassis Licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
8.3 Configuring and Controlling the Hub Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
8.4 Configuring a Four-Slot Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
8.5 Sharing a 20 Slot Chassis in a Multi-NMS System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
8.5.1 Sharing the Chassis Manager Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
8.5.2 Configuring Chassis Slots for Access by Another NMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
8.5.3 Duplicating the Chassis Configuration on the Second NMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

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 8.5.4 Repointing an NMS to the Local Chassis Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
8.6 Changing a Chassis IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
8.7 Daisy Chaining Hub Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
8.7.1 Connecting Your Chassis in a Multi-Hub Chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Multi-Hub RCM Interface Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Multi-Hub RCM Interface Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Multi-Hub RCM Interface LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
8.7.2 Adding a Chassis Group in iBuilder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
8.7.3 Adding a Chassis to a Chassis Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
8.7.4 Changing the Order of the Chassis in a Chassis Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

9 Controlling Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

9.1 Activating and Deactivating Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
9.2 Moving Remotes Between Networks, Inroute Groups, and Line Cards . . . . . 305

10 Retrieving and Applying Saved and Active Configurations . . . . 309

10.1 Configuration Options Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
10.2 Hub-side and Remote-side Options Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
10.3 Modifying, Deleting, and Viewing Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
10.4 Retrieving Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
10.4.1 Retrieving a Single Saved or Active Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
10.4.2 Retrieving Multiple Saved or Active Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
10.5 Comparing Configuration Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
10.6 Applying Configuration Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Maintenance Window Consideration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Sequence of Download . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
10.6.1 Applying Multiple Configurations to Network Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Automated Configuration Downloader Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Stopping the Download . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
10.6.2 Applying a Configuration to a Protocol Processor or Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
10.6.3 Applying a Configuration to the Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
10.6.4 Applying a Configuration to the Line Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
10.6.5 Applying a TCP or UDP Configuration to a Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
10.7 Configuration Changes on Roaming Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
10.7.1 Roaming Options File Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
10.7.2 Pending Changes across Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
10.7.3 Applying Changes to Roaming Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324

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11 Upgrading Software and Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
11.1 Image Package Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
11.2 Downloading an Image to Remotes and Line Cards Concurrently . . . . . . . . 326
11.2.1 Multicast via UDP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
11.2.2 Multicast Download Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
11.2.3 Selecting the Download Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Package Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Modems and Hubs Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Download Parameters Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
11.2.4 Downloading an Image to Out of Network Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
11.2.5 Interactions with Other iBuilder Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
11.3 Resetting Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
11.4 Downloading an Image or Configuration File via TCP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
11.5 Downloading Remotes Using Revision Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
11.5.1 How the Revision Server Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
11.5.2 When to Use the Revision Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
11.5.3 Starting the Revision Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
11.5.4 Controlling the Revision Server Real-Time Event Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
11.5.5 Monitoring Upgrades Using the Revision Server Status Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
11.5.6 Cancelling an Upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

12 Commissioning a Line Card, Private Hub or Mini Hub . . . . . . . 343

12.1 Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
12.2 Add the Line Card in iBuilder and Retrieve the Configuration . . . . . . . . . . 344
12.3 Power on the Line Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
12.4 Determine the IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
12.5 Download the Image Packages and Options File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
12.6 Connect the Transmit and Receive Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
12.7 Perform 1 dB Compression Point Test with the Satellite Operator . . . . . . . 352
12.8 Set the Transmit Power for the Outroute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
12.9 Connect to the LAN and Apply the Line Card Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . 354
12.10 Set the TDMA Nominal C/N Parameter for an Inroute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354

13 Managing User Accounts and User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

13.1 Conversion of User Accounts During Upgrade Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

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 13.2 NMS User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
13.2.1 Visibility and Access for VNO User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Visibility and Access for Network Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Visibility and Access for Components Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
13.2.2 Visibility and Access for CNO User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
13.2.3 Creating and Managing VNO and CNO User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Adding or Modifying a VNO or CNO User Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
13.2.4 Setting Global Rate Limits for User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
13.2.5 Modifying per Node VNO Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
13.2.6 Changes Made by an HNO During a VNO Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
13.2.7 Sharing a Chassis Among Multiple VNO User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
13.2.8 Configuring VNO Access Rights for a Shared Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
13.2.9 Configuring VNO Access Rights for SCPC Return Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
13.2.10 VNO Operations on Line Cards in SCPC Return Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
13.3 Modifying Group QoS Settings for VNO User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
13.3.1 Restricting VNO Access to GQoS Tab Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
13.3.2 Assigning Ownership of Group QoS Nodes to a VNO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
13.3.3 Setting VNO Permissions for Group QoS Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
13.3.4 Viewing GQoS Nodes in a VNO Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
13.3.5 Setting VNO Permissions for QoS Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Managing VNO Visibility to QoS Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Allowing VNO Users to Create QoS Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Allowing VNO Write Access to Individual Filter Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
13.4 Adding and Managing User Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
13.4.1 Adding a User and Defining User Privileges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
13.4.2 Modifying a User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
13.4.3 Adding a User by Cloning a User’s Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
13.4.4 Viewing a User’s Account Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
13.4.5 Deleting an Existing User’s Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
13.4.6 Managing Accounts from the Active Users Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
13.5 Changing Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
13.6 User Privileges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
13.6.1 Super User and Guest Level Privileges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
13.6.2 Super User and Guest Privileges for VNOs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
13.7 Simultaneous Changes to the NMS Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390

14 Converting a Network to TRANSEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

14.1 TRANSEC Hardware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394

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 14.2 TRANSEC Host Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
14.3 Reconfiguring the Network for TRANSEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
14.4 Configuring the Initial ACC Keys on the Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
14.5 Changing from TRANSEC to Non-TRANSEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398

15 Converting Between iDirect iNFINITI and DVB-S2 Networks . . . 401

15.1 Download the New Firmware to the Tx Line Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
15.2 Assign the Carrier and Update the Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403

Appendix A Configuring a Distributed NMS Server . . . . . . . . . . . 405

A.1 Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
A.2 Distributed NMS Server Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
A.3 Logging On to iBuilder and iMonitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
A.4 Setting Up a Distributed NMS Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
A.5 Regenerating the Options Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
A.6 Granting Read Permissions to NMS 2 and NMS 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
A.7 Assigning QoS Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
A.8 Configuring Database Backup and Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
A.9 Verifying Correct Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
A.10 Running the NAT Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
A.11 Managing a Distributed NMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415

Appendix B Using the iDirect CA Foundry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

B.1 Accessing the CA Foundry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
B.2 Creating a Certificate Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
B.3 Logging On to a Certificate Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
B.4 Connecting to a Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
B.5 Bringing an Unauthorized Remote into a TRANSEC Network . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
B.6 Certifying a Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
B.7 Revoking a Remote’s Certificate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424

Appendix C Managing TRANSEC Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427

C.1 Configuring the ACC Key on a Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427

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 C.2 Updating the DCC Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
C.3 Changing the DCC Key Update Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
C.4 Updating the ACC Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
C.5 Verifying the ACC Keys on an In-Network Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
C.6 Identifying the Blade that Distributes TRANSEC Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
C.7 Setting Up Global Key Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
C.7.1 Installing the GKD Server Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
C.7.2 Configuring GKDs in iBuilder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
C.7.3 Creating a GKD Options File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
C.7.4 Certifying and Starting the GKD Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
C.8 Additional GKD Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
C.8.1 Logging On to the GKD Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
C.8.2 Changing the GKD Console Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
C.8.3 Determining the GKD Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
C.8.4 Viewing and Changing the ACC Key Update Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
C.8.5 Determining the Time of the Next ACC Key Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447

Appendix D Configuring Networks for Automatic Beam Selection . 449

D.1 Configuring and Running the Map Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
D.1.1 The Map Server Configuration File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
D.1.2 Adding Beams to the Beam Map File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
D.1.3 Running the Map Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
D.2 Configuring Remotes for Automatic Beam Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
D.2.1 Configuring an Antenna Reflector for ABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
D.2.2 Configuring a Remote for ABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
D.2.3 Changing the Minimum Look Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
D.3 Remote Custom Keys for Automatic Beam Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
D.3.1 Configuring the Network Acquisition Timers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
D.3.2 Changing the Download Timeout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
D.3.3 Muting a Remote’s Transmitter when Mapless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
D.3.4 Changing the Time a Beam is Considered Unusable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
D.3.5 Changing the GPS Interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
D.3.6 Enabling or Disabling the Receive-Only Mode Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
D.3.7 Enabling a Local Map Server on a Remote Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
D.4 Remote Console Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
D.4.1 latlong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
D.4.2 tlev . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
D.4.3 antenna debug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464

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 D.4.4 beam debug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
D.4.5 beamselector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
D.4.6 map debug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
D.4.7 map show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
D.4.8 map delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468

Appendix E High-Speed COTM Custom Keys and Optimizations . . 469

E.1 Mobile Remote Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
E.2 UCP Interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
E.3 Downstream Acquisition Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
E.4 Lost Contact Count and Out-of-Network Count . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
E.5 Link Layer Timeout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
E.6 TDMA Upstream Acquisition Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
E.7 TDMA Guard Band and Maximum Symbol Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
E.8 Inroute Map Stale Timeout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
E.9 UCP Algorithm Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
E.10 Bursts per Second . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
E.11 Minimum Symbol Rates for Mobile Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
E.12 SCPC Upstream Acquisition Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
E.13 FEC Blocks per Frame for Spread Spectrum SCPC Return Channels . . . . . . 476
E.14 Guard Band for SCPC Return Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
E.15 Remote LFO Correction Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477

Appendix F Remote Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

F.1 iDirect’s Traditional Remote Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
F.1.1 Locking a Remote Using Traditional Remote Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
Setting the Remote Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Checking Remote Locking Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
F.1.2 Unlocking a Remote Using a Valid Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
F.1.3 Remote Lock Tampering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
F.1.4 Requesting a Default Remote Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
F.2 Enhanced Remote Locking for Evolution X3 Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
F.2.1 Soft Locking versus Hard Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
F.2.2 Locking an Evolution X3 Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Setting a Soft Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482

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 Removing a Soft Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
Setting a Hard Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
Checking Remote Lock Status on an Evolution X3 Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484
F.2.3 Non-Warranty RMA Required to Remove X3 Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484
F.3 Enhanced Remote Locking for Evolution X1 Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
F.3.1 Locking an Evolution X1 Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
Setting the Remote Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
Checking Remote Lock Status on an Evolution X1 Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
F.3.2 Non-Warranty RMA Required to Remove X1 Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488
F.4 Configuring the Network Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488

Glossary of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495

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List of Figures

Figure 1. Example iDirect Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Figure 2. iDirect IP Architecture – Multiple VLANs per Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Figure 3. iDirect IP Architecture – VLAN Spanning Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Figure 4. iDirect IP Architecture – Classic IP Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Figure 5. Shortcuts for NMS GUI Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Figure 6. Windows Start Menu Entries for NMS GUI Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Figure 7. iBuilder Login Information Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Figure 8. Using the File Menu to Log On To iBuilder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Figure 9. Clearing Automatically Accept Configuration Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Figure 10. Accept Changes Button Indicating Configuration Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Figure 11. Configuration Changes Pending Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Figure 12. Bench Test Components in Initial NMS Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Figure 13. QoS Subfolders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Figure 14. Filter Profile Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Figure 15. Upstream Profile Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Figure 16. BUC Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Figure 17. LNB Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Figure 18. Folders Containing Reference Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Figure 19. Example of Entries in Manufacturers Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Figure 20. Adding a New Manufacturer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Figure 21. iBuilder’s Main Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Figure 22. Expand Tree Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Figure 23. Expanded Tree with Child Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Figure 24. Collapse Tree Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Figure 25. Collapsed Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Figure 26. Sorting Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Figure 27. Sort Preferences Dialog Box: Selecting Sort Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Figure 28. Sort Preferences Dialog Box: Selecting Sort Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Figure 29. Sort Preferences Dialog Box: Applying the Sort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Figure 30. Fully-Expanded Network in the iBuilder Network Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Figure 31. Fully-Expanded Folder in the iBuilder Network Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Figure 32. iBuilder Title Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Figure 33. iBuilder Menu Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Figure 34. iBuilder Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Figure 35. Selecting Search Criteria on Find Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Figure 36. Find Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Figure 37. iBuilder View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Figure 38. iBuilder Status Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

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 Figure 39. iBuilder Active Users Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Figure 40. iBuilder Legend Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Figure 41. Accept Configuration Changes Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Figure 42. Configuration Changes Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Figure 43. Example of Configuration States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Figure 44. Selecting Details from the View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Figure 45. Network Highlighted in Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Figure 46. Result in Details View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Figure 47. Network Highlighted in Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Figure 48. Result in Details View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Figure 49. Choose Details Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Figure 50. Selecting a Details Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Figure 51. Choose Details Dialog Box for Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Figure 52. View Details for Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Figure 53. Adding a Custom Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Figure 54. Custom Report Modify Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Figure 55. Custom Report Delete Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Figure 56. Selecting the Parent Element for Group Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Figure 57. Selecting Multiple Elements for Group Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Figure 58. Configuration States of an iDirect Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Figure 59. New Teleport with System-Generated Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Figure 60. Partial List of Activities Displayed in the Activity Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Figure 61. Activity Log Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Figure 62. Ellipsis Button and Graphical Clock Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Figure 63. Opening an Options File from the Activity Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Figure 64. Copying Multiple Rows from the Activity Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Figure 65. Modify Global Warning Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Figure 66. Modify Warning Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Figure 67. Warning Properties Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Figure 68. Viewing the iBuilder License Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Figure 69. Enabling Chassis License Download to Chassis Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Figure 70. Select License Type Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Figure 71. Selecting a License File for Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Figure 72. Accepting Changes Importing a License File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Figure 73. License Properties Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Figure 74. Selecting Export Data for Licensing on License Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Figure 75. Selecting Data for Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Figure 76. Saving Data for License Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Figure 77. Sample License Request CSV file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Figure 78. para_cfg.opt with Chassis License Download Enabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Figure 79. New Antenna Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

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 Figure 80. New Up Converter Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Figure 81. New HPA Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Figure 82. New Spacecraft Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Figure 83. Hub Transponder Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Figure 84. New Bandwidth Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Figure 85. New Downstream Carrier Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Figure 86. New TDMA Upstream Carrier Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Figure 87. SCPC Upstream Carrier Icon in iBuilder Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Figure 88. New SCPC Upstream Carrier Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Figure 89. MODCOD Distribution Calculator for DVB-S2 Carriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Figure 90. Calculating Estimated Information Rate for a DVB-S2 Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Figure 91. Teleport Information Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Figure 92. Teleport Geo Location Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Figure 93. Configuring a Backup Teleport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Figure 94. Roaming Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Figure 95. Automated Configuration Downloader Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Figure 96. New Hub RFT Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Figure 97. New Protocol Processor Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Figure 98. Persistent Multicast Group Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Figure 99. Protocol Processor Blades Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Figure 100. Protocol Processor Blade Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Figure 101. Uplink VLAN Segment in a PP Blade Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Figure 102. Protocol Processor VLans Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Figure 103. Protocol Processor VLAN Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Figure 104. Overriding Automatically-Assigned VLAN Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Figure 105. New SkyMonitor Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Figure 106. RF Port Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Figure 107. Associating a SkyMonitor Port with an iDirect Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Figure 108. SkyMonitor Port Configured for Two Carriers and Center Frequency . . . . . . . . 102
Figure 109. Network Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Figure 110. Persistent Multicast Group Dialog Box for a Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Figure 111. iBuilder Line Card Type Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Figure 112. New Transmit Line Card Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Figure 113. New Receive Line Card Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Figure 114. Line Card Receive Properties: Multiple Channel Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Figure 115. Adding an Rx Line Card: Select Carrier Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Figure 116. Viewing Other Assigned Upstream Carriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Figure 117. Associating an SCPC Return Channel with a VNO User Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Figure 118. Removing a Line Card from an Inroute Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Figure 119. Removing a Line Card from the Hub RFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

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 Figure 120. Deactivating a Line Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Figure 121. Setting a Line Card to Standby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Figure 122. Swapping the Downstream Carriers: Initial Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Figure 123. Selecting the New Alternate Downstream Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Figure 124. Selecting the New Primary Downstream Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Figure 125. New Standby Line Card Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Figure 126. Sample Chassis Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Figure 127. Manage Line Card Redundancy Dialog Box: By Standby View . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Figure 128. Manage Line Card Redundancy Dialog Box: By Active View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Figure 129. Assigning a Warm Standby Line Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Figure 130. Assigning a Cold Standby Line Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Figure 131. Removing a Cold Redundancy Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Figure 132. Choosing a New Active Line Card During Line Card Swap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Figure 133. Line Card Swap Event Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Figure 134. Inroute Group Relationships in TDMA Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Figure 135. Inroute Group Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Figure 136. Assign Hub to Inroute Group Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Figure 137. Inroute Group Dialog Box: Inroutes Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Figure 138. Inroute Group Acquisition/Uplink Control Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Figure 139. DVB-S2 Configuration Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Figure 140. DVB-S2 Error Margin Threshold Set to 0.5 dB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Figure 141. Remote Information Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Figure 142. Remote Information Tab: Transmit and Receive Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Figure 143. SCPC Initial Power Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Figure 144. Remote Information Tab: Customer and Distributor Parameters . . . . . . . . . . 149
Figure 145. Add Customers Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Figure 146. Customers Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Figure 147. Entering Customer Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Figure 148. Sample VLAN Network Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Figure 149. Remote IP Config Tab: Interface Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Figure 150. Remote IP Config Tab: Adding a VLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Figure 151. Add New VLAN Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Figure 152. Remote IP Config Tab: DNS Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Figure 153. Remote IP Config Tab: DHCP Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Figure 154. Remote IP Config Sub-Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Figure 155. Remote IP Config Tab: Routes Sub-Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Figure 156. Remote IP Config Tab: Static Routes Sub-Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Figure 157. Add Static Route dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Figure 158. Deactivating a Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Figure 159. Remote IP Config Tab: Port Forwarding Sub-Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Figure 160. Add Port Forwarding Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

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 Figure 161. Remote IP Config Tab: GRE Tunnels Sub-Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Figure 162. GRE Tunnel Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Figure 163. Remote IP Config Tab: Multicast Group Sub-Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Figure 164. Persistent Multicast Group Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Figure 165. Remote Switch Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Figure 166. Dedicating a Port to a VLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Figure 167. Switch Tab with Dedicated VLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Figure 168. Reconfiguring a Dedicated Port as a Trunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Figure 169. Selecting the Same Switch Setting for All Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Figure 170. Port Properties Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Figure 171. Remote QoS Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Figure 172. Remote QoS Tab: QoS Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Figure 173. Remote QoS Tab: Selecting a Filter Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Figure 174. Remote QoS Tab: QoS Profile Select Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Figure 175. Remote QoS Tab: Multiple Service Profiles Assigned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Figure 176. Selecting an Upstream Remote Profile for an SCPC Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Figure 177. Remote QoS Tab: Upstream and Downstream Rate Shaping . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Figure 178. Configuring Active, Idle and Dormant States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Figure 179. Remote QoS Tab: EIR and MODCOD Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Figure 180. Remote QoS Tab: Downstream Distributor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Figure 181. Remote Geo Location Tab: Settings for Stationary Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Figure 182. Remote Geo Location Tab: Settings for Mobile Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Figure 183. Remote VSAT Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Figure 184. Remote VSAT Tab with SeaTel ABS Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Figure 185. LNB Dialog Box: Frequency Band and Cross Pol Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Figure 186. Roaming Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Figure 187. Roaming Properties Update Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Figure 188. Modifying Shared Parameters of All Roaming Remote Instances . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Figure 189. iBuilder View Menu: Collapse Details Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Figure 190. iBuilder Details View with Collapsed Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Figure 191. Modifying Shared Parameters of Multiple Roaming Remotes Instances . . . . . . 187
Figure 192. Add Multiple Roaming Remotes Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Figure 193. Add Roaming Remotes to Networks Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Figure 194. Using the Console's beamselector Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Figure 195. Selecting Compression Types on the Remote Information Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Figure 196. Enabling L2TP Payload Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Figure 197. Group QoS Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Figure 198. Application Service Group vs. Remote Service Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Figure 199. Application Service Group Subtree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Figure 200. Remote Service Group Subtree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

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 Figure 201. SCPC Remote Upstream QoS Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Figure 202. Remote Based Mode vs. Application Based Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Figure 203. Selecting the QoS Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Figure 204. Selecting the Group QoS View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Figure 205. Group QoS: Group View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Figure 206. Group QoS: Service Profile View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Figure 207. Group QoS: Service Profile-Remote View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Figure 208. Remote Profile View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Figure 209. Group QoS: Remote View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Figure 210. Configured vs. Effective MIR and CIR before Estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Figure 211. MODCOD Distribution Calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Figure 212. Calculating Estimated Information Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Figure 213. Calculating Information Rate Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Figure 214. Configured vs. Effective MIR and CIR after Estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Figure 215. Effective MIR and CIR in the Group View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Figure 216. Competing Service Groups without Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR . . . . . . 223
Figure 217. Results of Selecting Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR on Parent . . . . . . . . . 224
Figure 218. Configured vs. Effective Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Figure 219. Selecting Allocation Fairness Relative to MODCOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Figure 220. Bandwidth Group Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Figure 221. New Bandwidth Group in Group QoS Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Figure 222. Service Group Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Figure 223. New Application Service Group Inserted Into a Bandwidth Group . . . . . . . . . . 229
Figure 224. QoS Application Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Figure 225. Selecting a User Multicast MODCOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Figure 226. New Application Inserted Into an Application Service Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Figure 227. QoS Service Profile Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Figure 228. Application Properties Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Figure 229. Multiple Service Profiles Assigned to a Single Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Figure 230. Moving Remotes Between QoS Service Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Figure 231. Dragging a Remote Between QoS Service Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Figure 232. Overriding Application Properties on Individual Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Figure 233. Example Downstream Multicast Application Profile and Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Figure 234. QoS Application Dialog Box: Selecting Multicast Fast Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Figure 235. Selecting a Fast Path Application Profile for a Multicast Application . . . . . . . 243
Figure 236. Opening the Multicast Service Profile View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Figure 237. Inserting a Multicast Service Profile into the Multicast Service Group . . . . . . . 244
Figure 238. Selecting a Fast Path Application for a Multicast Service Profile . . . . . . . . . . 244
Figure 239. Assigning a Multicast Fast Path Service Profile to Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Figure 240. Remote Profiles Folder in iBuilder Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Figure 241. Remote Profile Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

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 Figure 242. Adding a Remote Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Figure 243. Application Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Figure 244. Rearranging Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Figure 245. Inserting an Application Profile into an Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Figure 246. Rearranging Application Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Figure 247. Assigning a Remote Service Group on the Remote QoS Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Figure 248. Moving Remotes Between Remote Service Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Figure 249. Assigning Remote Profiles in the Remote Profile View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Figure 250. Dragging a Remote Between Remote Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Figure 251. Determining Virtual Remote Numbers for Remote Applications . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Figure 252. Defining the Full Trigger CIR Custom Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Figure 253. Creating a QoS Group Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Figure 254. Viewing Properties of QoS Group Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Figure 255. iBuilder Tree: QoS Group Profile Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Figure 256. Copying a QoS Group Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Figure 257. Modifying a QoS Group Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Figure 258. Selecting a QoS Group Profile to Apply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Figure 259. Viewing Properties of QoS Group Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Figure 260. QoS Folders in iBuilder Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Figure 261. Preconfigured Downstream Filter Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Figure 262. New Profile in iBuilder Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Figure 263. Clone As Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Figure 264. Application Profile Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Figure 265. Add Service Level Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Figure 266. Service Profile Rules Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Figure 267. Filter Profile Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Figure 268. Add Filter Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Figure 269. Application Profile Rules Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Figure 270. Selecting and Clearing the Show Protocols Name Check Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Figure 271. Adding a Rule to a Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Figure 272. Chassis Dialog Box: New 20-Slot Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Figure 273. Chassis Dialog Box: 20-Slot Chassis with Licensed Slots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Figure 274. Chassis Dialog Box: Selecting Assign Hub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Figure 275. Assigning a Line Card to a Chassis Slot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Figure 276. Chassis Dialog Box: Four-Slot Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Figure 277. Chassis Dialog Box: Four-Slot Chassis with Licensed Slots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Figure 278. Turning On/Off the 10 MHz Reference on a Four-Slot Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Figure 279. Sharing a Hub Chassis Among Multiple Network Management Systems . . . . . . . 287
Figure 280. Determining a Server MAC Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Figure 281. para_cfg.opt with Licensed Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

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 Figure 282. para_cfg.opt Reconfigured to Share Slots 1 and 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Figure 283. Locating the Chassis IP Address in para_cfg.opt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Figure 284. Chassis Group Interconnection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Figure 285. Multi-Hub RCM Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Figure 286. Chassis Group in iBuilder Network Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Figure 287. Chassis Group Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Figure 288. Adding a Chassis to a Chassis Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Figure 289. Chassis With All Jumpers Enabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Figure 290. Editing or Removing Chassis in a Chassis Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Figure 291. Changing the Order of Chassis in a Chassis Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Figure 292. Activating a Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Figure 293. Moving a Remote Between Networks or Inroute Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Figure 294. Moving a Remote from an Inroute Group to an SCPC Line Card . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Figure 295. Changes Pending Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Figure 296. Viewing and Deleting Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Figure 297. Options File Viewed in Notepad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Figure 298. Multiple Configurations Retrieve Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Figure 299. Save As Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Figure 300. Comparing the Active and Latest Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Figure 301. Comparing Configurations: Differences Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Figure 302. Automated Configuration Downloader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Figure 303. Viewing the Download Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Figure 304. Global NMS Options Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Figure 305. Multicast Download Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Figure 306. Selecting DVB-S2 or iNFINITI Firmware Package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Figure 307. Revision Server Duty Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Figure 308. Revision Server Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Figure 309. Revision Server Realtime Display Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Figure 310. Revision Server: Stop All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Figure 311. Revision Server: Start Highlighted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Figure 312. Revision Server Event Pane with Highlighted Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Figure 313. Revision Server: Stop Highlighted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Figure 314. Selecting Revision Server Status from the View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Figure 315. Revision Server Status Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Figure 316. Revision Server Details Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Figure 317. Chassis Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Figure 318. Tera Terminal Serial Port Setup Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Figure 319. laninfo Command Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Figure 320. iSite Main Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Figure 321. Creating a New Element in the iSite Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Figure 322. iSite Login Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348

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 Figure 323. Download Package Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Figure 324. Locating the Hub Packages for Download . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Figure 325. Evolution and iNFINITI Line Card Packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Figure 326. Assigning the Downstream Carrier Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Figure 327. Group Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Figure 328. Group Dialog Box: Modifying a User Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Figure 329. Setting a VNO Element to Visible with Create Permission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Figure 330. Setting a VNO Element to Visible Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Figure 331. Setting a VNO Element to Owned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Figure 332. Setting Rate Limits for User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Figure 333. Making an Element Visible to Multiple VNOs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Figure 334. Setting Element Permissions for a VNO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Figure 335. Selecting a New VNO Owner for an Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Figure 336. VNO Full View: Owned Slots vs. Visible Slots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Figure 337. HNO and VNO Views of Chassis Modify Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Figure 338. Chassis Modify: Attempting to Assign an Occupied Slot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Figure 339. Granting Chassis Rights to a VNO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Figure 340. Expanded Chassis in VNO Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Figure 341. Granting Control of Chassis Slots to a VNO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Figure 342. VNO View of Manage Line Card Redundancy Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Figure 343. VNO Full View: SCPC Return Channels Shared by two VNOs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Figure 344. Setting Ownership of an SCPC Return Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
Figure 345. Line Card Dialog Box: VNO User Selecting Configure Carriers . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Figure 346. VNO with Network Visibility and GQoS Node Ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Figure 347. VNO Network Menu with Owned GQoS Nodes but No Network Access . . . . . . . 373
Figure 348. VNO with Network Write Access and GQoS Node Ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Figure 349. VNO Network Menu with Owned GQoS Nodes and Write Access to Network . . . 374
Figure 350. VNO Ownership of Partial Bandwidth Pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Figure 351. VNO View of Partially-Owned Bandwidth Pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Figure 352. Request Property Access for GQoS Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Figure 353. Group Dialog Box: Viewing GQoS Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Figure 354. Selecting VNO Permissions for GQoS Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Figure 355. A Visible Bandwidth Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Figure 356. An Owned Service Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Figure 357. VNO View of the Group QoS Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Figure 358. Setting VNO Visibility for a QoS Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Figure 359. Enabling the Create Permission on a QoS Folder for a VNO User Group . . . . . . 381
Figure 360. Enabling the Write Permission for a QoS Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Figure 361. User Dialog Box: Adding a User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Figure 362. Change Password Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383

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 Figure 363. User Dialog Box: Cloning a User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Figure 364. Active Users Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Figure 365. Opening the Active Users Pane from the View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Figure 366. User Account Options from the Active Users Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Figure 367. Change Password Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Figure 368. Message Displayed if Another User Has Modified the Configuration . . . . . . . . . 391
Figure 369. Elements of a TRANSEC Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Figure 370. Enabling TRANSEC for an Existing Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
Figure 371. Automated Configuration Downloader Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
Figure 372. Selections for Downloading DVB-S2 Line Card Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Figure 373. Assigning a Line Card to a Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Figure 374. Selecting All Remotes for Configuration Download . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Figure 375. Sample Distributed NMS Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
Figure 376. Upstream Application Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
Figure 377. Edit Rule Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
Figure 378. Logging On to the NMS Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
Figure 379. Initial CA Foundry Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
Figure 380. Exiting the CA Foundry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
Figure 381. Creating a New Certificate Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
Figure 382. Configuring the New Certificate Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
Figure 383. Logging On to a Certificate Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
Figure 384. CA Foundry Status Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
Figure 385. Certificate Authority Connected to a Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
Figure 386. Warning Message when Disabling Authentication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
Figure 387. Flushing a Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
Figure 388. CA Foundry Issuing a New X.509 Certificate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
Figure 389. Determining the Derived ID in iBuilder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
Figure 390. Determining Certificates Issued by a CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Figure 391. Listing of Issued Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Figure 392. Revoking a Certificate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Figure 393. Updating the Chain of Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
Figure 394. getGACCkey Command Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
Figure 395. Changing the DCC Key Update Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
Figure 396. Viewing the ACC Key Data Structure on the Protocol Processor . . . . . . . . . . . 432
Figure 397. Creating a Secure Connection to a Remote Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Figure 398. Viewing the Key Roll Data Structure on a Remote Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Figure 399. ACC Keys After Successful Key Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Figure 400. ACC Keys with Remote Not Updated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Figure 401. Determining the Network ID and Protocol Processor ID in iBuilder . . . . . . . . . 435
Figure 402. Identifying the Multicast Blade for a Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Figure 403. Sample GKD Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437

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 Figure 404. Verifying that the GKD Package is Installed on a Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Figure 405. Protocol Processor GKD Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Figure 406. GKD Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Figure 407. Protocol Processor Options File with GKD Node Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Figure 408. Checking the Status of the GKD Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
Figure 409. Admin Password of Protocol Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
Figure 410. Admin Password in Protocol Processor Options File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
Figure 411. kd status Command Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Figure 412. ks status Command Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Figure 413. kd clients Command Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Figure 414. kd params Command Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Figure 415. kd keyroll next_update Command Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Figure 416. Two Versions of map.conf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
Figure 417. OpenAMIP Reflector Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
Figure 418. Gain Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
Figure 419. Remote VSAT Tab Default Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
Figure 420. Selecting a Remote Reflector for ABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
Figure 421. Remote Antenna Settings with General ABS Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456
Figure 422. OpenAMIP, SeaTel and Orbit SBC Antenna Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
Figure 423. Changing a Remote’s net_state_timeout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Figure 424. latlong Command Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Figure 425. tlev Command Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464
Figure 426. antenna debug Command Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
Figure 427. beamselector list Command Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
Figure 428. beamselector switch Command Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
Figure 429. Determining a Remote’s Inroute ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
Figure 430. Determining FEC Blocks per Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
Figure 431. Evolution X1 Web Login Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
Figure 432. Displaying the Evolution X1 Console Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
Figure 433. Remote Lock Status of an Unlocked Evolution X1 Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
Figure 434. Remote Lock Status of a Locked Evolution X1 Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488

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List of Tables

Table 1. Toolbar Icons and Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Table 2. Configuration States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Table 3. Standby Line Card Model Type Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Table 4. Example: Calculating Operational SNR Thresholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Table 5. Availability of Remote QoS Parameters by Service Group Type and Mode . . . . . . . 171
Table 6. iDirect Overhead on TDMA Upstream Carriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Table 7. Multi-HUB RCM Status Indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Table 8. RCM Switch Settings for Daisy Chained Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Table 9. User Types and Access Privileges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Table 10. Custom Privileges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Table 11. Net State Timer Custom Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Table 12. Minimum Symbol Rates for Upstream Carriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
Table 13. Sample rx_acqrange Custom Key Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
Table 14. Guard Bands for SCPC Return Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477

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 About This Guide

Purpose
The iBuilder User Guide provides detailed instructions for configuring your iDirect networks
using the iBuilder client application of the iDirect Network Management System (NMS). For
details on monitoring your iDirect networks, see the iMonitor User Guide.

Intended Audience
The iBuilder User Guide is intended for network operators, network architects, and other
personnel who operate or monitor iDirect networks. It is not intended for end users or field
installers.
Basic knowledge of TCP/IP concepts, satellite communications, and the Windows operating
systems is expected. Prior experience operating an iDirect network, although desirable, is not
required.

Contents Of This Guide

This document contains the following major sections:
• The iVantage Network Management System
• iDirect System Overview
• Overview of the Network Management System for iBuilder
• Defining Hub RFT Components and the Satellite
• Defining Network Components
• Defining Networks, Line Cards, and Inroute Groups
• Configuring Remotes
• Configuring Quality of Service for iDirect Networks
• Configuring a Hub Chassis
• Controlling Remotes
• Retrieving and Applying Saved and Active Configurations
• Upgrading Software and Firmware
• Commissioning a Line Card, Private Hub or Mini Hub

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 • Managing User Accounts and User Groups
• Adding Mesh Capabilities to a Star Network
• Converting a Network to TRANSEC
• Converting Between iDirect iNFINITI and DVB-S2 Networks
• Configuring a Distributed NMS Server
• Using the iDirect CA Foundry
• Configuring Networks for Automatic Beam Selection
• Remote Locking

Document Conventions
This section illustrates and describes the conventions used throughout the manual. Take a
look now, before you begin using this manual, so that you’ll know how to interpret the
information presented.

Convention Description Example

Blue Used when the user is required to Enter the command:
Courier enter a command at a command cd /etc/snmp/
font line prompt or in a console.

Courier Used when showing resulting crc report all

font output from a command that was
3100.3235 : DATA CRC [ 1]
entered at a command line or on
3100.3502 : DATA CRC [5818]
a console.
3100.4382 : DATA CRC [ 20]
Bold Used when referring to text that 1. If you are adding a remote to an inroute group,
Trebuchet appears on the screen on a right-click the Inroute Group and select Add
font windows-type Graphical User Remote.
Interface (GUI).
Used when specifying names of The Remote dialog box has a number of user-
commands, menus, folders, tabs, selectable tabs across the top. The Information
dialogs, list boxes, and options. tab is visible when the dialog box opens.
Blue Used to show all hyperlinked text For instructions on adding a line card to the network
Trebuchet within a document. tree, see “Adding Line Card” on page 108.
font
Bold italic Used to emphasize information Note: Several line card model types can
Trebuchet for the user, such as in notes. be configured as receive-only line
font cards.
Red italic Used when the user needs to
Trebuchet strictly follow the instructions or WARNING! The following procedure may
font have additional knowledge about cause a network outage.
a procedure or action.

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Related Documents
The following iDirect documents are available at http://tac.idirect.net and may also contain
information relevant to this release. Please consult these documents for information about
installing and using iDirect’s satellite network software and equipment.
• iDX Release Notes
• iDX Software Installation Guide or Network Upgrade Procedure Guide
• iDX iMonitor User Guide
• iDX Technical Reference Guide
• iDX Installation and Commissioning Guide for Remote Satellite Routers
• iDX Features and Chassis Licensing Guide
• iDX Software Installation Checklist/Software Upgrade Survey
• iDX Link Budget Analysis Guide

Getting Help
The iDirect Technical Assistance Center (TAC) is available to help you 24 hours a day, 365 days
a year. Software user guides, installation procedures, a FAQ page, and other documentation
that supports our products are available on the TAC webpage. Please access our TAC webpage
at: http://tac.idirect.net.
If you are unable to find the answers or information that you need, you can contact the TAC at
(703) 648-8151.
If you are interested in purchasing iDirect products, please contact iDirect Corporate Sales by
telephone or email.
Telephone: (703) 648-8000
Email: SALES@iDirect.net
iDirect strives to produce documentation that is technically accurate, easy to use, and helpful
to our customers. Your feedback is welcomed! Send your comments to techpubs@idirect.net.

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xxxiv iBuilder User Guide
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 The iVantage Network
Management System

iBuilder is a component of the iDirect iVantage Network Management System (NMS). The
iVantage NMS is a complete suite of tools for configuring, monitoring, and controlling your
iDirect satellite network.
The iVantage NMS consists of the following components:
• iBuilder enables rapid, intuitive configuration of any iDirect network. It allows you to
easily add components to your network, change your current configuration, and download
configuration and software to network elements. The iBuilder Revision Server provides
automated management of software and firmware upgrades for your remote modems.
The iBuilder Group QoS (GQoS) user interface allows advanced network operators a high
degree of flexibility in creating subnetworks and groups of remotes with various levels of
service tailored to their network requirements. The iBuilder User Guide provides detailed
instructions for using iBuilder to configure and manage your network.
• iMonitor provides network operators with detailed information on real-time and
historical performance of the network. Among its many capabilities, iMonitor allows you
to analyze bandwidth usage; view remote status; view network statistics; monitor
performance of networks, sub-networks and individual network elements; and manage
alarms, warnings and network events. Alarms, warnings and statistics can be forwarded as
SNMP traps. All events and performance statistics are automatically archived. Data
displayed on the iMonitor GUI can be exported directly into Excel for further analysis. A
Network Probe allows detailed investigation of network issues. The iMonitor User Guide
provides instructions for using iMonitor.
• iSite allows you to monitor and configure iDirect devices in the field. It includes several
features that aid in the remote commissioning process, including assistance for antenna
pointing, antenna look angle calculation, and cross polarization. An iSite API is available
for custom development.
• SkyMonitor allows you to integrate one or more multi-port spectrum analyzers into your
hub installation and then use iMonitor to view your iDirect carriers or other areas of the
spectrum. SkyMonitor can be an invaluable tool for diagnosing performance issues from RF
interference or other carrier-related anomalies. Network Operators can view, analyze,
store and recall the spectral displays of any carrier from anywhere an iMonitor connection
is supported. Configuration of SkyMonitor is described in the iBuilder User Guide. The use
of SkyMonitor for spectrum analysis is described in the iMonitor User Guide.

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 • A Virtual Network Operator (VNO) license enables network operators to view and
manage only their own networks and remotes, independent of other operators delivering
services out of the same hub. The VNO package makes it possible to scale investments to
actual business growth, significantly reducing initial capital equipment expenses.
Configuring VNOs is described in the iBuilder User Guide.
• A Customer Network Observer (CNO) license grants filtered read-only iMonitor access,
allowing customers real-time and historical views into their own network performance
while maintaining overall network privacy. Configuring CNOs is described in the iBuilder
User Guide.

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1 iDirect System Overview

An iDirect network is a satellite based IP network with a star topology in which a Time Division
Multiplexed (TDM) broadcast downstream channel from a central hub location is shared by a
number of remote sites. The iDirect Hub equipment consists of one or more iDirect Hub
Chassis with Universal Line Cards, one or more Protocol Processors (PP), a Network
Management System (NMS) and the appropriate RF equipment. Each remote site consists of an
iDirect broadband router and the appropriate external VSAT equipment. The remote transmits
to the hub either on a shared Deterministic-TDMA (D-TDMA) channel with dynamic timeplan
slot assignments or on a dedicated SCPC return channel.
For iDS Releases beginning with iDS 7.0, a mesh overlay can be added to the basic star
network TDMA topology, allowing traffic to pass directly between remote sites without
traversing the hub. This allows real-time traffic to reach its destination in a single satellite
hop, significantly reducing delay. It also saves the bandwidth required to retransmit mesh
traffic from the hub to the destination remote.

Note: Mesh is not supported in iDX releases, including iDX Release 3.1.
TDMA upstream carriers are configured in groups called Inroute Groups. Multiple Inroute
Groups can be associated with one downstream carrier. Any remote configured to transmit to
the hub on a TDMA upstream carrier is part of an Inroute Group. The specific TDMA upstream
carrier assigned to the remote is determined either at network acquisition time or
dynamically at run-time, based on a network configuration setting. A remote that transmits
on a dedicated SCPC return channel is not associated with an inroute group. Instead, the
dedicated SCPC upstream carrier is directly assigned to the remote and to the hub line card
that receives the carrier.
Figure 1 on p. 2 shows an example an iDirect network. The network consists of one
downstream carrier; two Inroute Groups providing the TDMA return channels for a total of
1200 remotes; and three remotes transmitting dedicated SCPC return channels to the hub.

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 Satellite

Shared Downstream Inroute Group 1 Inroute Group 2 SCPC Return Channels

... ...
40 Mbps 12 x 512 kbps 10 x 256 kbps 512 kbps 1 Mbps 256 kbps

800 Remotes 400 Remotes

iDirect Hub Remote Remote Remote

Infrastructure Infrastructure Infrastructure Infrastructure

Figure 1. Example iDirect Network

iDirect software has features and controls that allow the system to be configured to provide
QoS and other traffic engineered solutions to remote users. Network configuration, control,
and monitoring functions are provided via the integrated NMS. Along with may other features,
the software provides packet-based and network-based QoS; TCP acceleration (or
“spoofing”); AES link encryption; TRANSEC; local DNS caching on the remote; end-to-end
VLAN tagging; dynamic routing protocol support via RIPv2 over the satellite link; multicast
support via IGMPv2 or IGMPv3; and VoIP support via voice-optimized features such as CRTP.
An iDirect network interfaces to the external world through IP over Ethernet ports on the
remote router and the Protocol Processor at the hub. The examples in Figure 2 on p. 3, Figure
3 on p. 4, and Figure 4 on p. 5 illustrate the IP level configurations available to a network
operator.

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 The iDirect system allows you to mix networks that use traditional IP routing with VLAN based
configurations. This provides support for customers that have conflicting IP address ranges. It
also supports multiple independent customers at a single remote site by configuring multiple
VLANs on the remote.

Figure 2. iDirect IP Architecture – Multiple VLANs per Remote

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 Figure 3. iDirect IP Architecture – VLAN Spanning Remotes

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 Figure 4. iDirect IP Architecture – Classic IP Configuration

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6 iBuilder User Guide
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2 Overview of the
Network Management
System for iBuilder
This chapter presents an overview of the iBuilder network management tool for configuring
your iDirect network. It contains the following sections:
• “Introduction” on page 7
• “Gathering the Information You Need” on page 8
• “Preparing Equipment in Advance” on page 8
• “Components of the Network Management System” on page 8
• “Installing iBuilder, iMonitor, and iSite” on page 11
• “Launching iBuilder” on page 12
• “Pre-defined Components and Components Folders in iBuilder” on page 15
• “Using iBuilder’s Interface” on page 21
• “Customizing and Creating New Detail Views” on page 37
• “Working with Multiple Elements Simultaneously” on page 43
• “Configuration Status of Elements” on page 45
• “Understanding the Database’s Numbering Convention” on page 48
• “Viewing the Activity Log” on page 49
• “Configuring Warning Properties” on page 52
• “Managing NMS Licenses” on page 57
• “In Color versus Shaded Icons” on page 64

2.1 Introduction
iDirect’s Network Management System (the iVantage NMS) is a powerful suite of applications
and servers that provide complete control and visibility to all components of your iDirect
networks. The NMS client/server system architecture consists of three series of components:
• Three NMS applications with Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) that allow you to configure
and monitor your network
• A database that stores the data entered by and displayed to users
• A middleware tier that manages access to the database on behalf of user operations
This chapter provides some of the most important information you will need to understand
how iBuilder works and how to use it as effectively as possible. This chapter discusses how to

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Gathering the Information You Need

prepare for installation, what you will see when you first launch iBuilder, how to use the many
powerful tools available in iBuilder, how to create, customize, and print reports, and how to
determine the configuration status of network elements. For a description of all iVantage NMS
components see “The iVantage Network Management System” on page xxxv.

2.2 Gathering the Information You Need

You must have the following information readily available when creating a new network.
• Spacecraft and carrier information, such as:
• Longitude (Geo location)
• Transponder translation frequency
• Hub Up/Down local oscillator
• LNB stability
• Carrier uplink and downlink frequencies
• FEC block sizes
• FEC blocks per outroute frame
• Data rates
• Overall IP architecture plan for hub components
• Geographic location of the hub
• Line Card serial numbers and slot numbers
• Number of inroutes
• Tx/Rx or Tx-only line cards, depending on downstream/upstream data rates (Refer to the
chapter titled “iDirect Modulation Modes and FEC Rates” in the iDirect Technical
Reference Guide.)
• Frequency hopping (requires that a Reference Clock Module be installed on your hub
chassis) or carrier grooming mode
• Remote serial numbers and geographic locations

2.3 Preparing Equipment in Advance

Before you begin configuring the network elements, you must have already commissioned
your hub equipment. This involves the following:
• The NMS Server must already be installed and its interface defined.
• The Protocol Processor blades must already be installed and configured.
• The Chassis must already be installed and configured.
• Line Cards must have already been installed in the Chassis with their IP addresses defined
using iSite.

2.4 Components of the Network Management System

The NMS consists of several client/server components that work together to provide the
functions and views necessary to control your network. These components are briefly
discussed in the following two sections.

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 Components of the Network Management System

2.4.1 NMS Applications

The iDirect NMS provides three GUI clients, each of which performs specific functions for
networks operators, field installers, and end users.

iBuilder
The iBuilder application provides all configuration and control functions to network
operators. Configuration options consist of creating network elements (e.g. networks, line
cards, remotes) and specifying their operational parameters, such as QoS profiles or IP
addresses. Control options consist of applying the specified configurations to the actual
network elements, retrieving active configurations, resetting elements, and upgrading
element software and firmware.

iMonitor
The iMonitor application provides complete visibility to the real-time status and operational
data of network elements. “Status” refers to the real-time state of network elements, such as
OK, warning, or alarm. Operational data are captured in a variety of network statistical data
tables and displays, revealing, for example, IP traffic statistics, satellite link quality, and
hardware component operating values.
In addition to real-time visibility, iMonitor allows you to access state and statistics from the
historical archive in order to analyze anomaly conditions and perform trend analyses. Refer to
the iMonitor User Guide for a complete list of real-time and historical data available through
iMonitor.

iSite
The iSite application is used primarily for commissioning new sites and monitoring TDMA
remotes from the local LAN side. It contains functions to help installers calculate antenna
azimuth/elevation, perform antenna pointing, and put up a continuous wave (CW) carrier for
antenna peaking, cross-polarization and 1dB compression tests. It also provides configuration
and real-time state/statistical information for one or more remote units. Instead of
interacting with the NMS middleware, it connects directly to each remote to perform all of its
operations. iSite does not provide access to historical information. See the Installation and
Commissioning Guide for iDirect Satellite Routers for more on commissioning remotes using
iSite.

Note: End-users do not need iSite in order to receive or transmit IP data over iDirect
networks.

2.4.2 Server Components

The NMS server processes run on your NMS Linux Server machines. There are a number of NMS
servers processes, each of which performs a specific set of back-end functions.

Configuration Server
The configuration server is the core component of the NMS server family. It manages access to
the configuration database, which contains all the element definitions for your networks and

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Components of the Network Management System

their operational parameters. Additionally, the configuration server provides most network
control functions (configuration apply, firmware download, resetting, etc.). The other servers
also use this server to determine what the network components are.

Real-time Data Server

The real-time data server collects most of the network statistics produced by your network
elements. These statistics include IP stats for each remote, remote status messages, timeplan
slot assignments, line card statistics, etc. Additionally, the real-time data server provides
these statistics to the GUI clients for real-time and historical display.

Event Server
The event server’s primary job is to generate warnings and alarms and send them to iMonitor
for display. Warnings and alarms are collectively known as “conditions”. The event server also
collects and archives all system events and provides them to iMonitor for display.

Latency Server
The latency server measures round-trip time, or latency, for every active remote in your
networks. These measurements are stored in the archive and provided to iMonitor for display.

NMS Controller Server

The control server manages the PP Controller Server processes running on the NMS server.

PP Controller Servers
The PP Controller processes control the samnc process on each PP blade.

Chassis Manager Server

The chassis manager server controls access to all hub chassis. The CM server only allows
access to chassis slots that have been licensed by iDirect.

NMS Monitor Script

This simple script monitors all other servers and restarts them automatically if they terminate
abnormally. It records a log file of its activities and can be configured to send e-mail to
designated recipients when it restarts any of the other servers.

Consolidation Script
The consolidation process periodically consolidates records in the statistics archive to
preserve disk space on the server machine. Default consolidation parameters are already
entered into your configuration database; they can be tuned to your particular storage
requirements if necessary.

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 Installing iBuilder, iMonitor, and iSite

Database Backup Script

This script runs nightly to back up the data in your NMS databases and copy them to your
backup NMS server. The database backup must be custom-configured for each customer site.
Beginning with iDX Release 3.1, you can also enable the NMS Database Replication feature to
back up your databases on a per-transaction basis. This provides near real-time backups of
your data. For details, see the Technical Reference Guide.

Database Restore Script

This script runs nightly on your backup NMS server. It restores your primary NMS database into
the backup database for NMS failover purposes.

2.5 Installing iBuilder, iMonitor, and iSite

This section provides the system requirements and procedures for installing your Network
Management System components.

2.5.1 System Requirements

The NMS GUI clients are Windows PC-based applications that run under the following versions
of Windows:
• Windows 2000 WorkStation, Service Pack 3 or later
• Windows XP WorkStation
• Windows 7
Vista, Windows NT, Windows 98 and Windows 95 are not supported. iDirect does not support
server-based versions of Windows.

2.5.2 Installation Procedure

A single client installer .exe file, nms_clients_setup.exe, installs all three GUI clients and
associated library files for you. To install the clients, copy the nms_clients_setup.exe file to
the target PC, double-click it, and follow the prompts.
By default, the clients are installed in the directory C:\Program Files\iDIRECT. The installer
automatically places a shortcut to each GUI application in a folder on your desktop and adds
the appropriate entries in the Windows Start menu. Click Start  All Programs  iDirect 
NMS Clients RelNo, where RelNo is your release number. The iBuilder, iMonitor, and iSite
clients are displayed, along with an Uninstall selection.
The iDirect clients may not operate correctly in the 32-bit version of Windows 7. If you
experience problems, configure ibuilder.exe and imonitor.exe to run in Windows XP Service
Pack 3 compatibility mode by following these steps:
1. Right click the .exe file and select Properties.
2. Click the Compatibility tab.
3. Select Run this program in compatibility mode for: Windows XP (Service Pack 3).
4. Click OK.

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Launching iBuilder

Figure 5 and Figure 6 show the icons and start menu selections for the iDirect clients.

Figure 5. Shortcuts for NMS GUI Clients

Figure 6. Windows Start Menu Entries for NMS GUI Clients

2.6 Launching iBuilder

iBuilder is initially installed with two default accounts: “admin” and “guest”. The admin user
has full access privileges to all iBuilder functionality, while the guest account has read-only
access. The passwords for these two accounts are identical to their associated user names.
For information on setting up user accounts, see “Managing User Accounts and User Groups”
on page 355.
iDirect strongly recommends that you modify the admin user password as soon as possible
after the installation. This is especially important if your NMS Server is accessible via the
public Internet.
1. To launch iBuilder, double-click the desktop shortcut or select it from the Windows Start
menu.
2. Enter your user name and password in the Login Information dialog box.

Figure 7. iBuilder Login Information Dialog Box

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 Launching iBuilder

3. Click Server and select the IP address or host name of your primary NMS Server machine.
The Server box holds up to three IP addresses. If yours does not exist, enter the IP Address
in the Server box.
4. Click OK to complete the login process.

Note: The iBuilder version must match the NMS server version in order for you to log
in. (For example, version 8.0.0 of iBuilder may connect only to version 8.0.0 of
the NMS servers.)
The iBuilder application automatically connects to the NMS server processes that are required
to perform the NMS’s functions. If this connection is lost for any reason, iBuilder
automatically reconnects to the servers when they become available.

2.6.1 Logging On To Additional Servers

In the event that there are multiple NMS servers in the same teleport or multiple teleports
under the network operator’s control, you may need to log out of one NMS server and log in to
another one. You can do this without exiting iBuilder. From the Main Menu, select File  Log
Off to log out of your current session and File  Log On to open the Login Information dialog
box again.

Figure 8. Using the File Menu to Log On To iBuilder

2.6.2 Multiple Users or PCs Accessing the NMS

Multiple users or multiple sessions may run simultaneously on the NMS. For example, the NMS
offers the following capabilities:
1. You may run multiple simultaneous sessions of iBuilder and/or iMonitor on a single PC.
These versions may be connected to different servers or the same server.
2. Multiple PCs may run the same session of iBuilder and/or iMonitor at any given time and
connect to the same server at the same time.
3. Multiple iBuilder users can modify the configuration data base at the same time.

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Launching iBuilder

2.6.3 Accepting Changes

Beginning in iDX Release 3.0, when two iBuilder users are connected to the same NMS server,
and one of them modifies the network configuration, by default the changes are
automatically accepted in the other user’s login session. This differs from earlier releases in
which a user was always forced to accept the changes made by other users.
Also beginning in iDX Release 3.0, the configuration database is no longer locked when a
second user opens an iBuilder configuration screen while another user has a screen opened. In
other words, multiple users can modify the configuration at the same time. If two users
modify the same element at the same time, and each user saves the configuration, then the
second user to save the configuration will overwrite the first user’s changes and the first
user’s changes will be lost. This loss of data will only occur if the same element is being
modified by the two users simultaneously.
If you want to ensure that an iBuilder user knows when another user has modified the
configuration, you can turn on the accept changes functionality per iBuilder user as follows:
1. Click the Edit menu and select Preferences.
2. Clear Automatically accept configuration changes (Figure 9).

Figure 9. Clearing Automatically Accept Configuration Changes

WARNING! If “Automatically accept configuration changes” is checked, you will not be

notified when another user changes the configuration.

When Automatically accept changes is disabled (i.e., when the check box in Figure 9 is
cleared), then the Accept Changes button works as it did in previous releases. When another
user changes the configuration, or when you make a change that affects other network
elements, the Accept Changes button on your toolbar changes color from gray to red. You

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 Pre-defined Components and Components Folders in iBuilder

cannot modify the configuration until you accept the changes, which will automatically
refresh your view to reflect the latest configuration.

Figure 10. Accept Changes Button Indicating Configuration Change

If you attempt to modify the network configuration without accepting changes, the following
warning message appears:

Figure 11. Configuration Changes Pending Dialog Box

Before you accept the changes, you may view the other user’s changes by selecting View 
Configuration Changes (see “Configuration Changes Pane” on page 34). To accept the
changes and update your view in iBuilder, click Accept Changes. Any modifications the other
user has made are now displayed in your copy of iBuilder.

2.7 Pre-defined Components and Components Folders

in iBuilder
iDirect has designed the Network Management System to be as easy to use as possible, and
therefore has added several components and components folder entries to iBuilder to get you
started. These pre-defined components and folders exist in iBuilder when you launch it for
the first time. The elements and folder entries can be re-used as you create new networks.
The NMS configuration database includes a number of pre-defined and re-usable components
and component folders that you can mange using iBuilder, including:
• Bench Test Components for I/F Networks
• Spacecraft
• Transponder
• Bandwidth
• Upstream/Downstream Carriers
• Components Folders Containing Critical Information
• Remote Antenna Components
• BUCs
• LNBs

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Pre-defined Components and Components Folders in iBuilder

• QoS
• Upstream/Downstream Filters
• Upstream/Downstream Application Profiles
• Upstream/Downstream Remote Profiles
• Upstream/Downstream Group Profiles
• Components Folders Containing Reference Information
• Manufacturers

2.7.1 Bench Test Components

The components that exist in the system when it is displayed for the very first time at your
site include Bench Test Components for I/F Networks, that were set up for testing purposes
prior to shipping.

WARNING! Do not modify or clone the Bench Test Spacecraft, Bench Test Inroute, or
Bench Test Outroute for your actual network configuration. These should
only be used for testing purposes. For your network configuration, please
create a new spacecraft and new downstream and upstream carriers.

Bench test components include:

• a spacecraft
• a transponder
• a BUC
• an LNB
• bandwidth
• an upstream and downstream carrier

Figure 12. Bench Test Components in Initial NMS Tree

2.7.2 Components Folders

Several folders are built into iBuilder for your convenience, some of which have pre-defined
entries, and others of which require you to add the entries yourself. Some of these folders
contain entries that are critical to the configurations of various elements within the system,
whereas other folders contain information that is used only for reference and network record-
keeping. You can add additional entries to either type of folder. For instructions on how to
add entries to folders, see “Adding Entries to Folders” on page 19.

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Folders Containing Critical Information

The folders described in this section contain entries that are critical when configuring a given
component. At initial deployment, these folders already contain entries that iDirect has
defined.

QoS
This folder contains a number of subfolders, such as the Upstream and Downstream Filter
Profiles, Upstream and Downstream Application Profiles, and Upstream and Downstream
Group Profiles folders shown in Figure 13. For more information, see “Configuring Quality of
Service for iDirect Networks” on page 195.

Figure 13. QoS Subfolders

Figure 14. Filter Profile Examples Figure 15. Upstream Profile Examples

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Components: Remote Antenna Components

This folder contains a number of subfolders, such as the BUC and LNB folders shown below.
The entries listed in the figures below are examples of BUCs and LNBs certified by iDirect for
use on iDirect products. These lists are only partial lists.

Figure 16. BUC Examples Figure 17. LNB Examples

Beginning in iDX Release 3.1, the following iDirect BUCs and LNBs are preconfigured in the
Remote Antenna Components folder in the iBuilder tree.
• iDirect 1.5W Ku-Band BUC
• iDirect 3W Ku-Band BUC
• iDirect 4W Ku-Band BUC
• iDirect Ku-Band PLL LNB

Note: When configuring an iDirect PLL LNB component, you can now select the high or
low Frequency Band on the GUI. Therefore, the remote custom key required to
select the high frequency band is no longer required in this release.

Components: Hub RFT Components

For detailed instructions on defining components within the Hub RFT Components folder, see
“Preparing the Hub RFT Components Folders” on page 65.

Folders Containing Reference Information

The information in these folders are for convenience purposes only and are not used to
operate the NMS or any of iDirect’s equipment. However, entries from these folders can be

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selected from drop-down lists on various configuration dialog boxes throughout the system so
that the information is at your fingertips if you need it.
These folders include Manufacturers, Distributors, Operators, Customers and User Groups, as
shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18. Folders Containing Reference Information

An example of entries in the Manufacturers folder is shown in Figure 19.

Figure 19. Example of Entries in Manufacturers Folder

Adding Entries to Folders

You can add entries to any folder, whether it has pre-defined entries in it or not. Selections in
these folders should be added prior to configuring other elements of the system, as the
information in the folders listed above will be requested in various configuration panes
throughout the system. Not having a selection defined in a given folder will result in your not
being able to select that entry when a configuration dialog box requests it. This could add
additional steps to the configuration process because an element may remain “Incomplete”
until a required component or subcomponent entry is created and selected on a given
element’s configuration dialog box.

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You can add additional entries to any folder by right-clicking on the folder and selecting the
Add function for the type of component you want. For example, you can right-click
Manufacturers and select Add Manufacturers.to open the Manufacturer dialog box.

Figure 20. Adding a New Manufacturer

Canceling an Entry
Clicking Cancel in any of the dialog boxes will cancel your current entries.

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2.8 Using iBuilder’s Interface

iBuilder’s main window is comprised of several toolbars and panes which are described in the
following sections.

Figure 21. iBuilder’s Main Screen

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2.8.1 Clicking on Elements and Folders: What Happens?

Right-Clicking
In general, you must right-click (or use the context-sensitive mouse button) on your mouse to
display any list of options that can be performed on the element you currently have selected.

Double-Clicking vs. Single-Clicking

You can double-click any network element/component in the Tree to automatically display its
properties in read-only mode.
You can single-click a plus (+) or minus (-) sign next to an element in the Tree to expand or
contract the branches to the next level down in the tree for that element or folder. Once an
element has no plus sign or minus sign next to it, you can double-click any element to view
the Properties for that element in read-only mode.
For example, if the Hub RFT Components folder has a plus sign (+) next to it, you can double-
click it to expand it to see the four folders at the next level: Antenna, Up Converter, Down
Converter, and HPA. You can double-click any folder with a plus sign next to it to expand it to
the next level. However, once the folder is fully expanded and the elements within it are
displayed, if you double-click the actual element, the Properties for that element are
displayed in read-only mode.

2.8.2 Globe Functions

Right-clicking the Globe in the Tree allows you to move dockable panes, sort columns, hide
elements, expand the Tree and Collapse the Tree.

Using the Docking Feature

Docking refers to the ability to move a window pane of the NMS interface to another location
on the screen or to detach it from the screen entirely and place it somewhere else on your
monitor. In iDirect’s NMS, the dockable panes have double-ridge lines at the top of the pane.

To dock a window pane somewhere else on the NMS interface or on your monitor, follow these
steps:
1. Point to and right-click the double-ridge lines of the pane you want to move and select
Allow Docking.

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2. Place the pointer (mouse arrow) on the double-ridge lines and drag the pane wherever
you want it. Depending on where you drag it, the pane may change shape (for example,
from a vertical display to a horizontal display).
3. If you want to move the pane back into its original place or to another location, start by
grabbing the double-ridge lines with your pointer. Then, you can click the Name toolbar
at the top of the pane to move it around, and you can place your pointer at the edges of
the pane to resize the pane.
4. To detach the pane completely, double-click the double-ridge lines. The pane becomes
separately parented and you may move it independently from the main iBuilder window.
This feature is useful if you have two displays on a single PC and want to move this pane
to the second display.

Expanding the Tree

To expand the Tree to view all of the children elements, select Expand Tree. The Tree will
expand to show all of the child elements.

Figure 22. Expand Tree Selection Figure 23. Expanded Tree with Child
Elements

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Collapsing the Tree

To collapse the Tree to view only the top level elements, select Collapse Tree. The Tree will
contract to show only the top level elements

Figure 24. Collapse Tree Selection Figure 25. Collapsed Tree

Sorting Columns
In any pane with columns, or list controls, you can sort the entries in the pane by the values in
any column by clicking on the column heading. In Figure 26, the Active Users Pane has been
sorted on Group by clicking the column heading.

Figure 26. Sorting Columns

Sorting the Tree

To sort the Tree, follow these steps:
1. Right-click the double-ridge lines above the Tree pane and select Sort Tree. You can also
select Edit  Sort Tree.

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2. The Sort Preferences dialog box is displayed.

Figure 27. Sort Preferences Dialog Box: Selecting Sort Order

3. Click the Sort items in drop-down list and select either Ascending or Descending.
4. Click the Sort items by drop-down list and select one of the options. Depending on what
you select in this field, your choices in the Apply sort to field will change.

Figure 28. Sort Preferences Dialog Box: Selecting Sort Field

5. If you selected Name, either select or clear the Names are case sensitive check box.

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6. In the Apply Sort to field, select the element to which you want to apply the Sort
feature.

Figure 29. Sort Preferences Dialog Box: Applying the Sort

You can apply the sort to any of the following elements:

• Remote
• Hub
• Inroute Group
• Spacecraft
• QoS Profile
• Component
• Manufacturer
• Operator
• Distributor
7. Click OK. The next time you log in, iBuilder will remember and display the last sort
preference you chose.

2.8.3 Network Tree

The Network Tree is the primary navigation tool in iBuilder. It contains all of the elements of
your network, structured hierarchically. Each element in the tree contains a context-sensitive
menu accessible from your mouse’s context menu button (typically the right mouse button).
By right-clicking a tree element, a submenu of options appears, which you may click to use to
configure or view various types of data and other information used to operate your network.
For example, Teleport or Transponder appear in the submenus of Tree elements. For specific
information on these selections, see the section on that particular option. Use the Contents or
Index of this book to locate this information.
Most elements and entries in the Tree are necessary to operate the network. However, some
folders are provided simply to enable you to add informational entries for reference and

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record-keeping. These reference folders include the Manufacturers folder, Operators folder,
Distributors folder, and Customers folder.
A plus sign (+) next to an element or folder in the Tree indicates that additional elements,
folders, or informational entries exist below that level, or branch, of the Tree. Click the plus
sign (+) to expand, or collapse, the element or folder to view the next level of the Tree.

A minus sign (-) next to an element or folder indicates that the element or folder has been
completely expanded and has no other child entries below this level, or branch, in the Tree,
other than the children that are currently visible.
In Figure 30, the NMS Network has been expanded as far as possible. The Network cannot
include children in another network; therefore, its only children are the line cards and the
Inroute Group. The Inroute Group is a parent element that can be expanded by clicking its
plus sign (+) to reveal its children elements (remotes) at the next level of the Tree.

Figure 30. Fully-Expanded Network in the iBuilder Network Tree

In Figure 31, the QoS folder has been expanded as far as possible. The QoS folder cannot
include children in another folder on the same branch of the tree; therefore, its only children
are the Filter, Application, Remote and Group Profiles folders. These folders are parents to
the Downstream and Upstream folders that can be expanded by clicking their plus signs (+) to
reveal their children folders or elements below them in the Tree.

Figure 31. Fully-Expanded Folder in the iBuilder Network Tree

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2.8.4 Using the Interface Toolbars and Menu Options

Title Bar
The Title bar identifies the name of the application (in this case, iBuilder) and the IP address
of the server to which you are connected.

Figure 32. iBuilder Title Bar

Menu Bar
The Menu bar at the top of the display provides access to log in, log out, quit, and other high-
level functions.

Figure 33. iBuilder Menu Bar

Toolbar
The Toolbar, shown in Figure 34, contains context-sensitive buttons, allowing you to perform
a variety of operations on a currently-selected element without using its context menu. Their
functions are described in Table 1.

Figure 34. iBuilder Toolbar

Table 1. Toolbar Icons and Functions

Toolbar Icon Function

Allows you to view elements in the Network Tree Menu hierarchy

Displays the Find dialog box

Opens the Modify Configuration dialog box of a highlighted parent element in the Tree,
allowing you to create a new child element for that parent. If the highlighted element
you select before clicking this button has no children elements, this icon will become
unselectable and is displayed in gray.
Allows you to add an element to the Tree. If the element in the Tree that is highlighted
before you click this icon does not have the capability to allow you to add anything, the
icon will become unselectable and be displayed in gray.

Allows you to view the properties of the highlighted element in the Tree in Read-Only
mode

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Table 1. Toolbar Icons and Functions (continued)

Toolbar Icon Function

Allows you to view and edit the highlighted element in the Tree.

Allows you to delete a highlighted element in the Tree. You cannot delete parent node
elements if they have children (sub) elements.

Allows you to compare two configurations

Allows you to apply multiple configurations

Allows you to apply a TCP configuration

Allows you to retrieve the Active Configuration

Allows you to retrieve the Saved Configuration

Allows you to apply a TCP network configuration

Allows you to retrieve the Active Network Configuration

Allows you to retrieve the Saved Network Configuration

Allows you to download firmware images to remote modems and line cards

Allows you to perform a multicast package download

Allows you to accept any changes made to the system by another user. This does not mean
that you approve of or agree with the changes; it simply means that you are accepting the
fact that changes have been made since the time of your last login. This feature is off by
default. For more information see “Accepting Changes” on page 14.

Allows you to view the version number of the NMS as well as system information

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Find Toolbar
The Find toolbar provides users the option to search the NMS for a given element and display
the results in either the Network Tree View or the Results Window. This becomes
increasingly important as the network grows larger. You can search by selecting a specific
element name in the first drop-down list (note that only elements you have created will be in
the list); by type of element in the second drop-down list; or by Name, IP address or ID
number in the third drop-down list. Figure 35 illustrates the various options within each
category.

Binoculars

Figure 35. Selecting Search Criteria on Find Toolbar

You can also click the Find button on the toolbar to open a dialog box that gives you the same
options.

Figure 36. Find Dialog Box

To perform a search, follow these steps:

1. Select View  Find Toolbar, or click the Find button on the toolbar. Either the Find
toolbar appears to the right of the main toolbar, or the Find dialog box appears in the
Results pane.
2. Click the arrow on each drop-down list and click the criteria you want to use in your
search.
3. To execute the search, you can do one of three things:
• Press Enter on the keyboard if you are searching from the Find toolbar.

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• Click the Binoculars icon to the left of the toolbar if you are searching from the Find
toolbar.
• Click Find Next if you are searching from the Find dialog box.
4. In the example below, the user chose to look for a Remote by the Name of X5 9944 and
display it in the Network Tree View.

That remote is highlighted in the Tree when the user clicks the binoculars icon on the
toolbar. (See Figure 35 on page 30.)

View Menu
The View menu on the main menu toolbar allows you to display or hide the following toolbars
and panes. You can also right-click in the main iBuilder window to see the same options as
those in the View menu. If you have clicked an element in the Tree, the Properties option is
available also.

Figure 37. iBuilder View Menu

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Status Bar
The Status bar is located at the bottom of the iBuilder window and displays the user name of
the person who is currently logged in and what their server connection status is. On the
toolbar shown in Figure 38, the connection status is Ready.

Figure 38. iBuilder Status Bar

Connection Details on Status Bar Icon

When your mouse hovers over the PC icon next to the user name on the Status bar, the IP
address of the NMS server that you are currently connected to is displayed.

Active Users Pane

The Active Users option and usage is discussed in more detail in “Managing Accounts from the
Active Users Pane” on page 385. However, if you select View  Active Users, the pane
displays a list of all defined users, along with their permissions, user groups, and current log
in status.

Figure 39. iBuilder Active Users Pane

Legend Pane
The Legend view displays the Configuration Status icons and their meanings. They are
organized by type of element as shown in Figure 40:

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Figure 40. iBuilder Legend Pane

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Configuration Changes Pane

If you have disabled the auto-accept changes feature in your preferences, then if another
user changes the database, or if you made a change that results in subsequent changes that
you should be aware of, the Accept Configuration Changes icon on your toolbar becomes
active.

Figure 41. Accept Configuration Changes Icon

Note: By default, the auto-accept changes feature is enabled in iBuilder and you will
not be notified if another user changes the configuration. See “Accepting
Changes” on page 14 for instructions on how to disable the auto-accept
changes feature.
If you want to view the changes in iBuilder before you click the icon to accept them, select
Configuration Changes from the View menu to display the Configuration Changes pane. You
can click the arrow to the left of each item to see more detail. Figure 42 shows the changes
that will appear if another user creates a new remote.

Figure 42. Configuration Changes Pane

Note that creating a single remote results in a number of separate objects being created:
antenna, remote, default VLAN, etc. When you click the Accept Configuration Changes Icon,
all entries will be cleared from the Configuration Changes Pane.

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Configuration States
Configuration States are identified by both icons and color-coded words on either side of their
corresponding element in the network as shown in Figure 43. (Configuration Status is not the
same as Configuration State. Configuration Status is discussed in detail in “Configuration
Status of Elements” on page 45.) The legend details the meanings of the various icons and
color-coded words. (See “Legend Pane” on page 32.)

Figure 43. Example of Configuration States

Properties View
The Properties view shows the properties of a highlighted element in the Tree, in Read-Only
mode. To view properties via the View menu, click an element in the Tree and select View 
Properties, or simply double-click the element.

Details
The NMS is shipped with predefined sets of details that may be viewed for any given element
in the Tree. Different elements have different predefined details. To view the details of a
given element’s children who reside at the next level down in the tree, select View 
Details.

Figure 44. Selecting Details from the View Menu

The Details view allows you to sort, view and print a number of details, including the real-
time states, of all or some of the elements under the parent node you have highlighted in the

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Tree. For example, if you click a Network in the Tree, as shown in Figure 45, you can view the
details about that network’s children (such as line cards and Inroute Groups) who reside on
the same level of the Tree, as shown in Figure 46. Notice that the remote in the Tree is not
displayed in the Details view. You do not see, however, the details of the Network, itself. If
you want to view the Network details, you must select its parent in the Tree.

Figure 45. Network Highlighted in Tree Figure 46. Result in Details View

To print a report of all the elements in the Details view, click anywhere in the Details view
and select File  Print. You can print a portion of the view by using the Windows Explorer
style functionality to select any elements in the Details view (using the CTRL key and clicking
on individual elements, or using the Shift key to select a group of consecutive elements).
Once the desired elements are highlighted in the Details view, you can print a report of those
elements’ details by selecting File  Print. (To customize the details you want in the report,
see “Customizing Detail Views for Configuration Reporting” on page 37.)

Collapse Details Hierarchy + Details

In the preceding “Details” section, we learned that the Details option, when used alone,
allows you to view details about the children at the next level down from the parent you
highlight in the Tree but does not allow you to view any sub-elements beneath the children.
For example, if you click a Network in the Tree, you can view the details about that network’s
children (such as line cards) who reside on the same level of the Tree, but you cannot view
details about the children’s sub-elements (such as remotes) which reside at the second level
down from the network you highlighted. Notice that the remote is displayed in the Details
view now.

Figure 47. Network Highlighted in Tree Figure 48. Result in Details View

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The Details + Collapse Details Hierarchy view collapses, or flattens, the hierarchy beneath a
highlighted element in the Tree so that you can view the details of all children elements at
every level of the Tree below the parent you selected. For example, if you click a Network in
the Tree, you can view the details about that network’s children (such as line cards) who
reside on the same level of the Tree, and you can view the details about the children’s sub-
elements (such as remotes) which reside at the second level down from the network you
highlighted.
To view the details of all children elements at every level of the Tree below the parent you
selected, select View  Details and View  Collapse Details Hierarchy.

Choose Details
This option in the View menu allows you to modify the system’s predetermined set of details
for any given element so that you can view only the details you need. For a detailed
description on using this feature, see “Customizing Detail Views for Configuration Reporting”
on page 37.

2.9 Customizing and Creating New Detail Views

The NMS allows you to use not only the Details and Collapse Tree buttons to display
predefined details about a given highlighted element and its sub-elements, but it gives you
the ability to customize a Details display with any set of details or to create permanent new
detail views that you can use with any element in the system.

2.9.1 Customizing Detail Views for Configuration Reporting

As mentioned in “Details” on page 35, the NMS is shipped with predefined sets of details that
may be viewed for any given element in the Tree. However, you can customize your Details
views for any element, using the advanced Choose Details feature.
To customize a Details view, follow these steps:
1. Click an element in the Tree for which you want to view details.

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2. Select View  Choose Details from the Main Menu. The Choose Details dialog box is
displayed.

Figure 49. Choose Details Dialog Box

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3. Click the Select filter for Details list drop-down list in the Choose Details dialog box.

Figure 50. Selecting a Details Filter

4. Select one of the filters. Each filter offers a different set of details. For example, the
Carrier filter offers a list of all the predefined details that are viewable when you
highlight a carrier in the Tree and select Details from the View menu.
When you select a filter, the detail choices appear in the Choose Details dialog box, as
shown in Figure 51. Figure 51 on page 40 shows the details for Carrier.

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Figure 51. Choose Details Dialog Box for Carrier

5. From the list of available choices, click the details you want to view for the element you
have highlighted in the Tree.
a. Use the Show All button on this dialog box to select all of the details with one click.
b. Use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to arrange the details in the sequence in
which you want them to appear from left to right on the Details pane.

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c. Use the Hide All button to clear checkmarks from detail options you have already
checked.
6. When you are finished customizing the view, click OK to save the list of details for this
filter. The next time you open iBuilder, the last saved list of details for any given filter are
retained.
7. Now that the details in the Carrier view have been altered to include only these five
details, you can select any element in the Tree (the element may be a carrier or any other
element), and select View  Details, and only the details you chose for the new Carrier
view will be displayed for that element.
8. In Figure 52, a carrier was selected in the tree. The user selected View  Choose Details
 Carrier  OK. The user also selected View  Details for this element. If these options
are selected, the following details on the selected carrier are displayed in the Details
view:

Figure 52. View Details for Carrier

9. If desired, you can now view Details or Details + Show All and print a report.

2.9.2 Creating Additional Filters for Customized Reporting

You can also create your own sets of details for generating and printing reports, using the
Choose Details feature. To create customized Detail or Details + Collapse Tree views, follow
these steps:
1. Select View  Choose Details from the Main Menu. The Choose Details dialog box is
displayed. (See Figure 51 on page 40)
2. Select a list of details that you want to display in your Details view by clicking the arrow
in the Select filter for details list drop-down box at the bottom of the dialog box and
choosing a set of details from which to start.
3. Click the Plus (+) button to assign this custom filter a name. The Custom Report dialog
box is displayed. (Figure 53)

Figure 53. Adding a Custom Report

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4. Type a name into the field and click OK. When you add a filter, the buttons at the bottom
of the Choose Details pane change from.

to:

5. To modify the field selection for the filter, make the desired changes to the detail
selections for the filter and click the Modify button shown in Figure 54.

Figure 54. Custom Report Modify Button

6. When the message appears asking if you want to save the filter, enter a name for the
filter and click OK. A new filter is created.

7. To delete a filter, click the X button at the bottom of the Choose Details dialog box. A
message appears to confirm that you want to delete the filter.

Figure 55. Custom Report Delete Button

8. Click OK to delete the filter.

9. If desired, you can now view Details or Details + Collapse Details Hierarchy and print a
report.

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2.10 Working with Multiple Elements Simultaneously

The sections below describe how to modify parameters on multiple elements at the same
time and direct you to sections that describe how to work with multiple configurations and
Image files.

2.10.1 Working with Multiple Configurations and Image Files

In chapter 10, “Retrieving and Applying Saved and Active Configurations‚” see the following
sections:
• “Retrieving Configurations” on page 311
• “Applying Configuration Changes” on page 316
In chapter 11, “Upgrading Software and Firmware‚” see the following sections:
• “Multicast via UDP” on page 326
• “Downloading an Image to Remotes and Line Cards Concurrently” on page 326
• “Downloading an Image to Out of Network Remotes” on page 329

2.10.2 Modifying Parameters on Multiple Elements

The Group Edit feature allows you to modify parameters on multiple elements simultaneously
as long as the elements are all the same type. For example, you can modify parameters on
any number of Networks, or any number of Remotes, or any number of Receive Line Cards.

Rules for Group Edit

There are some rules and restrictions regarding the use of group editing:
1. You may select multiple elements only from the Details view. You cannot select multiple
elements from the Tree. Select View  Details from the main menu to display the Details
pane.
2. All the elements you select must be of the same type. For example, elements to be
edited in a group must all be remotes or all be line cards, etc. You cannot edit a remote
and a line card in the same Group Edit.
3. You may only modify items in a group that have the same value, or have no value yet
assigned to them. For example, when editing a group of remotes, you may assign a new
Remote Service Group only if they currently have the same Remote Service Group
assigned. Similarly, you may assign a new Remote Profile only if they currently have the
same Remote Profile assigned. However, you will probably not be able to change the
geographic location, because this value is generally different on every remote in the
group.

Procedure for Group Editing

To perform a Group Edit, follow these steps:
1. Select ViewDetails from the iBuilder Main Menu. The Details pane appears to the right
of the Tree.

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2. Select the element in the Tree that is the parent to the elements you want to change.
(For example, Inroute Group is the parent element for TDMA remotes.) The elements you
want to change appear in the list of elements in the Details pane.

Figure 56. Selecting the Parent Element for Group Editing

In Figure 56, changes will be made to the remotes in an Inroute Group. Therefore, the
Inroute Group has been selected as the parent element. The child elements (all remotes
in the Inroute Group) are displayed in the Details pane.

Note: If you want to edit multiple elements that are not under the same parent, you
can select ViewCollapse Detail Hierarchy from the main menu and select your
Teleport in the iBuilder tree. All elements under the Teleport will appear in the
Details view. Click on the Type column in the Details pane to sort elements by
type. Then perform the remaining steps in this procedure.
3. Use Control (CTRL) + click or Shift + click on your keyboard to highlight the elements you
want to change. In the example in Figure 57, changes will be made to three remotes.

Figure 57. Selecting Multiple Elements for Group Editing

4. Right-click the Names of the highlighted elements in the Details pane and select Modify
to open the Configuration dialog box for those elements.
5. Make the changes you want to apply to all of the selected elements, and click OK. The
changes are saved in the database.

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2.11 Configuration Status of Elements

Central to the operation of iDirect’s NMS is the concept of “configuration state”.
Configuration states represent elements of the network in terms of their condition. This
section describes the concept of configuration state and what it means for both iBuilder and
iMonitor.

2.11.1 What is a Configuration State?

iBuilder divides the configuration process into three steps:
1. Make your changes to the database;
2. Review those changes by selecting Compare Configuration on the element you are
changing (this step is optional but recommended), and if necessary, make any necessary
modifications
3. Once you’re satisfied with the changes, make them active in the network by applying
them to the components that you changed via the Apply Configuration or a multicast
download feature
This three-step change process gives the network operator ultimate control over operational
network components, because no change takes place without the operator initiating it.
However, it creates a situation where the NMS database is temporarily out-of-sync with the
actual network. This occurs after the operator has made database modifications, but before
they have been applied to the network.
To help operators easily manage this situation and others like it, iDirect implements the
concept of configuration state. Configuration states show the current configuration status of
key components of the network: Hub Chassis, individual networks, line cards, and remote
modems.
Using a specific modification as an example, we can see how configuration state changes over
time:
1. Remote “r_123” is configured, commissioned, and all previous changes have been
applied. Its configuration state is “Nominal”.
2. User changes the upstream QOS settings for remote r_123.
3. The configuration state for r_123 becomes “Changes Pending”.
4. User reviews the changes, determines they are correct, and then applies them to the
remote.
5. The configuration state for r_123 returns to “Nominal”.

Note: Remote and line card configuration state returns to “Nominal” immediately
after a new configuration file is applied; iBuilder does not attempt to track
whether or not the modem was reset. Please ensure you reset remote modems
or line cards to activate your changes.

2.11.2 Possible Configuration States

The following table lists all of iBuilder’s configuration states and the network elements to
which they apply. See also:

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• “Legend Pane” on page 32

• “Configuration Changes Pane” on page 34
• “Configuration States” on page 35

Table 2. Configuration States

Configuration Network
Definition
State Element
Nominal Network The element is completely configured, is alive in the network,
Chassis and there are no unapplied changes.
Line Card
Remote
Inroute Group
Protocol
Processor
SkyMonitor
Changes Network The element is completely configured and is alive in the
Pending Chassis network. There are changes in the database that have not
been applied.
Line Card
Remote
Protocol
Processor
Incomplete Network The element is only partially configured; one or more key
Chassis components of the configuration are unspecified (e.g. carriers,
IP address, serial number)
Line Card
Remote
Inroute Group
Protocol
Processor
Never Applied Network The element is completely configured but the configuration
Chassis has never been applied to the element.
Line Card
Remote
Protocol
Processor
Deactivated Remote The element was at one time active in the network, but it has
Line Card been deactivated.
Network

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2.11.3 Configuration State Transition

The following diagram illustrates typical state transition for a remote modem in iBuilder from
creation to steady-state.

Figure 58. Configuration States of an iDirect Remote

An explanation of all configuration states for all elements, their meaning, and their
respective icons is available in iBuilder by selecting View  Legend from the main menu.

2.11.4 Viewing Configuration States

Configuration states are displayed in iBuilder’s network Tree. Each network element in the
tree shows its current configuration state with these icons. You can also view the
configuration state as color-coded words next to the corresponding element by selecting View
 Configuration Status from iBuilder’s main menu.
See also “Configuration Changes Pane” on page 34 and “Configuration States” on page 35.

2.11.5 Why Did My Configuration States Change?

Configuration states can change for a variety of reasons, including:
• You changed configuration. Whenever you change the configuration, the Changes
Pending icon appears beside all affected network elements.
• Someone else changed configuration. iBuilder supports multiple simultaneous logins. If
another user changes configuration, your network tree icons will change to reflect the
current configuration state.
• Someone changed a modem’s configuration directly. When a modem comes into the
network, the configuration server uploads the active configuration from the remote and
re-calculates configuration state. If this configuration is different from the latest iBuilder
configuration, you will see the Changes Pending icon for that modem. This can happen if
someone changes a modem’s configuration from the console or the iSite utility. This
potentially dangerous situation is flagged by the configuration state.

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• You installed a new version of the Configuration Server. When the configuration server
starts up, it re-generates the configuration files for all networks, hubs, and remotes. The
new server may generate additions, deletions, or changes to the configuration files. If so,
all affected elements will display the Changes Pending icon after the new server starts
up.

2.11.6 Configuration States and iMonitor

Configuration states are shown in iMonitor in the following circumstances:
• When a Chassis, Network, Hub, or Remote is “Incomplete”, iMonitor displays the
Incomplete icon.
• When a remote modem is “Deactivated” or “Never Applied”, iMonitor shows the
deactivated icon. In this case historical requests may still be made, since a deactivated
remote may have archived data.
• When a remote modem is either “Nominal” or “Changes Pending”, iMonitor’s real-time
state icons take over, so you will see either the OK, Warning, or Alarm icon depending on
the real-time status of the modem.
An explanation of the configuration states, their meaning, and their respective icons is
available in iMonitor by selecting View  Legend from the main menu.

2.12 Understanding the Database’s Numbering

Convention
When an element in the Tree is created, a sequence number is assigned to that element by
the database. The new component or element appears in the Tree at the bottom of the list of
similar elements on its level in the tree. For example, the first teleport created is assigned
the number 1. The second teleport is assigned the number 2, and so on. The same number
assignment takes place with every element created in the tree. This number is always
associated with its original element. This is how the database keeps track of the elements and
the configurations and management control associated with it as long as it exists in the Tree.
If an element is deleted, the internal numbers of the elements created after it do not change.
For example, if five teleports are configured and teleport number 3 is deleted, teleport
number 4 does not become teleport number 3. Teleport number 4 remains teleport 4 forever.
If a sixth teleport is created, it becomes teleport number 6.
On the left side of Figure 59, a user has right-clicked on the Globe to create a new Teleport.
The Modify Configuration dialog box is displayed with New Teleport #4 in the Name box, and
a Teleport is automatically displayed with the same name at the bottom of the teleport’s
level in the Tree. When the name in the Modify Configuration dialog box is changed and the
element is saved, the name in the Tree also changes.

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When the user exits iBuilder and logs on again, the teleport moves from the bottom of the
Tree to the bottom of the list of teleports. In Figure 59, the new teleport has been named
Dulles. Element names are not sorted alphabetically.

Figure 59. New Teleport with System-Generated Number

The NMS database sequence number does not change once an element has been created. For
example, the first teleport is assigned the number 1. The second teleport is assigned the
number 2, and so on. The same number assignment takes place with every element created in
the tree. Therefore, the first spacecraft is named New Spacecraft #1, and so on. This number
is always associated with its original element. It is used by the database to keep track of the
elements and their configurations as long as an element exists in the Tree. If an element is
deleted, the numbers of the elements created after it are not adjusted. For example, if there
are five teleports and teleport number 3 is deleted, teleport number 4 does not become
teleport number 3. Teleport number 4 remains teleport 4 forever. If a sixth teleport is
created, it becomes teleport number 6, not number 3.

2.13 Viewing the Activity Log

iBuilder Users with the Manage Users permission (see page 389) can view the NMS Activity Log
by selecting the View Activity Log option from the View menu. The Activity Log shows the
time and details of iBuilder and iMonitor user activities (such as database modifications, user
logins, etc.) as well as activities such as modem resets and configuration uploads. A partial
list of Activities that can be displayed are show in Figure 60.

Figure 60. Partial List of Activities Displayed in the Activity Log

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Follow these steps to view the Activity Log:

1. Select View Activity Log from the iBuilder View Menu to display the Activity Log dialog
box.

The Activity Log dialog box opens. (Figure 61)

Figure 61. Activity Log Dialog Box

2. In the Activity Log dialog box, enter a Start Time and an End Time. The Duration will be
calculated by iBuilder. (You can also use the slider to adjust Duration, which represents
the offset between the Start Time and the End Time. When you adjust the Duration with
the slider, the End Time is automatically updated.)

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Note: If f desired, you can set the times by clicking the ellipsis buttons to the right of
Start Time and End Time to launch the clock display. Click the hour or minute
hand to select it. Then click the clock numbers to move the hand you selected.

Figure 62. Ellipsis Button and Graphical Clock Display

3. In the Activity Name area of the dialog box, select all activities you want to view. (You
can use the Select All and Clear All buttons to select or clear all activities.)
4. Click the Show Log button to display the activities in the List of Activities pane. (You can
also click this button to refresh the display with recent activities if your End Time is set
to a future time.)
5. When viewing Activities, if the Activity Type is applied configuration, then the Details
column will contain a hyperlink to the options file that was applied. You can click the
hyperlink to view the options file in Notepad.

Figure 63. Opening an Options File from the Activity Log

6. As with other multicolumn lists in iMonitor and iBuilder, you can copy and paste multiple
rows from the Activity Log List of Activities into another Windows application such as
Excel for further analysis:
a. Select the data you want to copy. (Click to select a single row. Shift-click to select a
range of rows. Ctrl-click to select multiple, individual rows.)

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b. Right-click in the window and select Copy or Copy without headers from the menu to
copy the data.

Figure 64. Copying Multiple Rows from the Activity Log

c. Paste the data into the Windows application.

2.14 Configuring Warning Properties

Warnings that indicate anomalous conditions on your iDirect equipment are generated by the
iDirect network and displayed in iMonitor. You can configure the properties that determine
how individual warnings are generated for the following network elements:
• Line cards
• Remotes
• Protocol processors
There are two categories of warnings:
• Limit-based warnings are generated when either the high or low limit defined for the
warning is violated. A warning’s range can specify a low limit, a high limit or both.
• Boolean warnings have two states: the warning is either off or on. A boolean warning is
generated when the value being monitored by the warning changes from the nominal
state to the anomalous state. For example, if a line card loses the chassis backplane 10
MHz timing signal, then the BackplaneLost10MHz warning is generated for the line card.
You can perform the following operation when configuring warning properties:
• Enable or disable a warning.
• Set the upper and lower limits that determine when certain warnings are generated.
(Limit-based warnings only.)
• Configure a warning to be generated only when a limit is violated, or to be generated
each time a value changes when outside the normal operating range. (Limit-based
warnings only.)
All warning modifications are processed dynamically; you do not need to restart any NMS
processes for the warning changes to take effect. For example, if you disable a warning all
currently active warnings of this type will clear in iMonitor. Similarly if you modify a limit such
that some active warnings now fall in the normal range, those warnings are automatically
cleared.

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Note: When upgrading from a pre-7.0 release, the installation drops your current
warning definitions from the database and recreates them. If you have custom
limits defined in your network, you must redefine them after your upgrade.
You can use iBuilder to modify both global properties of warnings and warning properties for
individual network elements. When you customize a warning for an individual element, the
new setting overrides the global setting. Changes to global warning settings apply only to
those elements that do not have their settings customized on an individual basis.
The behavior of the system with regard to global properties and individual overrides is as
follows:
• A warning whose properties have not been modified for an individual element uses the
global properties for that warning. In the event that the global properties of the warning
are modified, the new global properties will be used by the element.
• A warning whose properties have been modified for an individual element uses the
customized properties for that warning for that element. Changes to the global properties
of the warning have no effect on the warning properties configured for that element; the
element will continue to use the modified properties.
• When a warning that has been modified for an individual element is reset for that
element, any properties that were previously modified for the warning take on the
current, global values.

2.14.1 Setting Global Warning Properties

Global warning properties are configured from iBuilder’s Edit menu.
To set global warning properties for your line cards, remotes or blades, follow these steps:
1. Click the Edit menu and select Global Warnings for the element type. In this example,
Global Warning for Linecards is selected from the menu.

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The Modify Global Warning dialog box appears with all warnings appropriate to the
selected network element type.

Figure 65. Modify Global Warning Dialog Box

2. Select the Warning Type for the warning you want to modify and click the Edit button.
3. Enter the new settings in the Modify Warning dialog box and click OK to save the
changes.

Figure 66. Modify Warning Dialog Box

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You can modify the following parameters:

• The Limit Value setting determines the high or low limit of the normal range of values for
the network parameter being monitored. When this limit is crossed, a warning is
generated. You can only set the Limit Type for limit-based warnings. This field does not
apply to boolean warnings.
• The Send Value Change setting determines whether or not the warning will be generated
each time a value changes while that value is outside normal operating limits. If the
check box is selected, a new warning will be generated each time the abnormal value
changes. If the check box is cleared, a warning will be generated the first time an
abnormal value is detected, but not if the abnormal value changes. You can only set the
Send Value Change property for limit-based warnings. This field does not apply to
boolean warnings.
• The Enabled setting enables or disables the warning. If you clear this check box, the
warning will not be generated.

Note: Changes to global warning settings do not affect warnings that have been
customized on the Warning Properties tab. You must reset the customized
warning to return to the global settings. (See “Clearing Customized Warning
Properties” on page 56.)

2.14.2 Customizing Warning Properties for Individual Network

Elements
To customize warning properties for individual network elements, follow these steps:
1. Right-click the network element in the network tree and select the appropriate Modify
option from the context menu.
2. When the dialog box for the network element appears, click the Warning Properties tab.

Figure 67. Warning Properties Tab

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3. Select the Warning Type for the warning you want to reconfigure and click the Edit
button.
4. Follow the procedure beginning with Step 2 in “Setting Global Warning Properties” on
page 53 to reconfigure the warning properties.
Warnings that have been customized are highlighted in bold text on the Warning Properties
tab. In the example, the BackplaneLost10MHz warning has been disabled for this specific line
card.

Note: Customized warning settings configured on the Warning Properties tab apply
only to the individual element being modified. These settings override the
global settings for the element being reconfigured. (For more details see
“Configuring Warning Properties” on page 52.)

2.14.3 Clearing Customized Warning Properties

When you set warning properties on an element’s Warning Properties tab, the customized
settings override the global settings for that element until you clear the customized settings.
To clear the customized settings for a warning and return the warning to the global settings,
follow these steps:
1. Right-click the network element in the network tree and select the appropriate Modify
option from the context menu.
2. When the dialog box for the element appears, click the Warning Properties tab.
3. Select the warning for which you want to clear the customized settings. (Warnings with
customized settings are highlighted in bold text.) Then click the Reset button at the
bottom of the screen. The following dialog box appears:

4. Click OK in the dialog box. Then click OK on the Warning Properties tab. The warning
that you reset will be reconfigured with the global settings.

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 Managing NMS Licenses

2.15 Managing NMS Licenses

Beginning with iDX Release 2.0, you must license your chassis slots and certain features to
enable their configuration in iBuilder. In addition to requiring chassis slots to be licensed,
iBuilder requires licenses for the following features:
• Evolution X3 Link Encryption
• Evolution X5 Link Encryption
• Evolution eP100 Link Encryption
• Evolution X5 Upstream Spread Spectrum
• Evolution eP100 Upstream Spread Spectrum
• Evolution e8350/e800/e850mp High-Speed COTM
• Evolution eP100 High-Speed COTM
• Evolution X3 SCPC Return
• Evolution X5 SCPC Return
• Evolution XLC-11 Upstream Spread Spectrum
• Evolution XLC-11 Downstream Spread Spectrum
• Evolution eM1D1 TRANSEC
• Evolution eM0DM/XLC-M TDMA multichannel support
• Evolution eM0DM/XLC-M SCPC return multichannel support
When you license your chassis slots or any of the features listed above, iDirect will send you a
license file. Using the iBuilder License Toolbar, you must then import the license file to enable
the configuration of the chassis or feature on the iBuilder GUI.
This section describes how to import licenses once you have received your license file from
iDirect. It also describes how to generate a file that you can use to request feature licenses
for your existing hardware. For more details on requesting and receiving licenses from iDirect,
see the iDirect Features and Chassis Licensing Guide.
You need to use the iBuilder License Toolbar to perform the procedures in this section. To
display the License Toolbar, select License Toolbar from the iBuilder View menu. The License
Toolbar consists of the two icons show in Figure 68: one for importing license files; the other
for exporting license data.

Figure 68. Viewing the iBuilder License Toolbar

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2.15.1 Importing Your License Files

This section describes how to import your feature licenses and chassis licenses.
By default, you cannot import a chassis license file without first connecting to the NMS
Chassis Manager server and enabling the download permission. (See Step 1 below.) However,
you can permanently enable download to the Chassis Manager by following the steps in
“Permanently Enabling Chassis License Download” on page 63. If you permanently enable
download to the Chassis Manager, you do not need to execute Step 1 and Step 7 of the below
procedure when importing a chassis license file.
Follow these steps to import a license file that you received from iDirect:
1. Only perform Step a through Step d if you are importing a chassis license file:
a. Open a terminal window on your PC.
b. Enter the command:
telnet <ip address> 15262
where <ip address> is the IP address of the server running the NMS chassis
manager process.
c. At the Username prompt, log on to the chassis manager admin account. (The default
password is iDirect. You should change this password.)
d. Enter the command:
download on
These steps are illustrated in Figure 69.

Figure 69. Enabling Chassis License Download to Chassis Manager

Note: To permanently enable license download to the Chassis Manager, follow the
procedure in “Permanently Enabling Chassis License Download” on page 63. If
you permanently enable license download, you do not need to execute Step 1
and Step 7 of this procedure when importing a chassis license file.

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2. Click the Import license files button on the iBuilder License Toolbar (Figure 68) to open
the Select License Type dialog box.

Figure 70. Select License Type Dialog Box

3. Select either Feature License or Chassis License and click OK.

4. In the Choose License Files dialog box, navigate to the folder containing the license file
you received from iDirect and select the license file.

Figure 71. Selecting a License File for Import

5. Click the Open button to import the license file.

6. Once the licenses are imported, you will see a message indicating that the licenses have
been successfully downloaded. Click OK.

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7. If you imported a chassis license file, you should disable download on the chassis manager
as follows:
a. From the terminal window that you opened in Step 1, enter the following commands:
download off
update
b. Exit the telnet session.
8. If auto-accept changes is off, click the Accept Changes icon on the iBuilder main toolbar.
(See “Accepting Changes” on page 14 for details on turning off and on the feature for
automatically accepting changes.)

Figure 72. Accepting Changes Importing a License File

2.15.2 License Properties Tabs

Hardware elements that have optional feature licenses have a License Properties tab on
their iBuilder configuration screens. For example, line card and remote configuration screens
have License Properties tab, since features can be licensed for these elements. Once you
have imported a feature license file, the licensed features appear on the License Properties
tab of the licensed hardware.

Note: Chassis configuration screens do not have a License Properties tab.

Figure 73 shows an example of a License Properties tab for an Evolution X5 remote.

Figure 73. License Properties Tab

Notice that the remote has been licensed for Inbound Spread Spectrum and Link Encryption.
(A Value of 1 indicates that the license has been enabled.) If you have not loaded any licenses
for an element, the License Properties tab is blank.

2.15.3 Exporting iBuilder Data for Licensing

When you request licenses from iDirect, you must include certain information in your request.
To license a feature on your individual hardware elements (such as remotes or line cards),
iDirect requires the following information for each unit:
• Hardware Model Type
• Serial Number
• Derived ID (DID)

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Note: For details on requesting licenses from iDirect, see the iDirect Features and
Chassis Licensing Guide.
If you are requesting licenses for a large number of existing hardware elements, it can be
tedious and error-prone to record the Serial Number and DID of all units. Therefore, iBuilder
provides an automated method to generate a Comma Separated Values (CSV) file of Serial
Numbers, DIDs and Model Types for the elements you want to license.
To export data for feature licenses from iBuilder:
1. Select a parent element in the iBuilder tree that contains all of the hardware units you
want to license.
2. Once you have selected the parent element, click the Export Data for Licensing button
on the iBuilder Licensing Toolbar.

Figure 74. Selecting Export Data for Licensing on License Toolbar

In Figure 74, Network 8 was selected in the iBuilder Tree before clicking the Export Data
for Licensing button. Once you click the Export Data for Licensing button, the Data for
Licensing dialog box appears.

Figure 75. Selecting Data for Licensing

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3. In the Data for Licensing, select all units for which you want to request a license. (See
page 57 for a list of features that you can license in this release.)
4. Click the Save to File button to display the Save As dialog box.

Figure 76. Saving Data for License Request

5. Navigate to the folder on your PC where you want to save the CSV file and click the Save
button.
Figure 77 shows an example of a license request CSV file opened in Microsoft Excel. You can
include this information in your license request to iDirect.

Figure 77. Sample License Request CSV file

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2.15.4 Permanently Enabling Chassis License Download

By default, you cannot import a chassis license file without first connecting to the NMS
Chassis Manager and enabling the download permission. (This procedure is described in Step 1
of “Importing Your License Files” on page 58.) This security feature guards against accidental
or malicious download of an incorrect chassis license file. However, if desired, you can
permanently enable license download to the Chassis Manager by following these steps:
1. Log on to the root account of your NMS server machine that is running the Chassis
Manager.

Note: Beginning with iDX Release 2.1, by default you cannot use SSH to log on directly
to the root account of your NMS server or Protocol Processor blade. You can use
SSH to log on to other accounts such as the idirect account. You can then enter
su - from the command line to log on as root.
2. Change to the Chassis Manager directory by entering the command:
cd /home/nms/cm
3. Edit the file para_cfg.opt.
4. Add the following line at the beginning of the file:
[DOWNLOAD]
enable = 1
This change to para_cfg.opt is illustrated in Figure 78.

Figure 78. para_cfg.opt with Chassis License Download Enabled

5. Save the file and exit the editor.

6. Enter the command:
telnet <ip address> 15262
where <ip address> is the IP address of the server running the NMS chassis manager
process.
7. At the Username prompt, log on to the chassis manager admin account. (The default
password is iDirect. You should change this password.)
8. Update the Chassis Manager with the new configuration by entering the command:
update

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9. Return to the NMS server machine by entering the command:

exit
10. Log off of the NMS server machine.
License download to the Chassis Manager is now permanently enabled, even if the Chassis
Manager server process restarts.

2.16 In Color versus Shaded Icons

If an icon next to a component (such as a user, QoS profile, BUC, LNB, Converters, etc.) in the
Tree is in color, it indicates that component is being used somewhere in the network.
Therefore, if you perform any configuration or control functions on that element, it will
affect other elements in the network. If you modify the element, a message is displayed
warning you that if you make changes to this element, any other element in the database that
is using it will be changed also. As long as the icon is in color, you cannot delete the element.
If the icon next to an element in the Tree is unavailable and displayed in gray, you can make
modifications without it affecting other elements in the network.

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3 Defining Hub RFT
Components and the
Satellite
A spacecraft must exist in the iBuilder Tree before the Hub RFT (Radio Frequency Terminal)
can be defined. However, before you define the spacecraft, you may define the other Hub
RFT sub-components. Steps for configuring the satellite and its Hub RFT sub-components are
contained in the following sections:
• “Preparing the Hub RFT Components Folders” on page 65
• “Adding a Spacecraft” on page 69
• “Adding a Transponder” on page 70
• “Adding Bandwidth” on page 72
• “Adding Carriers” on page 72

3.1 Preparing the Hub RFT Components Folders

In order to configure the HUB RFT, you must select certain pre-defined subcomponents for
each field in the HUB RFT configuration dialog box. When you expand the HUB RFT folder, you
will see the subcomponent folders listed below. These subcomponents have been previously
configured and contain critical settings used to establish the Hub RFT operational parameters.
• Antenna
• Up Converter
• Down Converter
• High Power Amplifier (HPA)
You should add entries to these folders in advance and define the parameters of the
components you add so that the appropriate information is in the drop-down lists on the Hub
RFT configuration dialog box. The procedures in this section explain how to configure these
sub-components.

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3.1.1 Adding an Antenna

Follow these steps to add an Antenna to the Hub RFT Components folder.
1. Under the Hub RFT Components folder, right-click the Antenna folder and select Add
Antenna.

The new antenna appears in the Tree with a system-generated generic name, and a dialog
box appears allowing you to define its parameters.

Figure 79. New Antenna Dialog Box

2. If desired, select a Manufacturer from the drop-down list. Items in this list were either
pre-defined or they were added when you populated the folder earlier. See “Adding
Entries to Folders” on page 19.
3. In Manufacturer Part Number, enter a part number or name for the antenna. This field is
used to select the antenna when you configure your HUB RFT
4. If desired, enter an iDirect Part Number for the antenna. You may enter any information
you like in this field, or leave it blank.
5. Click OK. The new antenna appears in the Tree under the antenna folder.
6. If you have more than one antenna, repeat this procedure and assign the new antenna a
different name.

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3.1.2 Adding an Up Converter or Down Converter

Follow the steps in this section to add an Up Converter or Down Converter to the Hub RFT
Components folder.

Note: Be sure to enter the correct frequency translation values for all of your Up
Converters and Down Converters. The NMS will use these values later to
generate network configurations.
1. Under the Hub RFT Components folder in the Tree, right-click the Up Converter or Down
Converter folder, and select Add Up Converter or Add Down Converter.

The new up converter or down converter appears in the Tree with a system-generated
generic name, and a dialog box appears allowing you to define its parameters. Figure 80
shows an Up Converter being added. The procedure is the same for adding a Down
Converter.

Figure 80. New Up Converter Dialog Box

2. In Manufacturer Part Number, enter a part number or name for the Up Converter. You
may enter any information you like in this field, or leave it blank.
3. You must enter a frequency in MHz in the Frequency Translation field. This information is
provided on the specifications sheet for the Up Converter.
4. You may select a Manufacturer for the Up Converter (optional).

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5. Enter an iDirect Part Number for the Up Converter (optional). You may enter any
information you like in this field.
6. You must select ODU Tx DC Power and ODU Tx 10 MHz if you require the iDirect modem
to supply DC power and the 10 MHz clock. These settings are applicable only if you are
operating a small teleport whose BUC and LNB are not built into the antenna.

Note: Older iDirect chassis and line cards do not provide these capabilities; private
hubs, mini hubs and remote modems have these capabilities built into them.
Four-slot chassis with newer line cards support these functions but require
additional configuration on the four-slot chassis screen. See “Configuring a
Four-Slot Chassis” on page 283 for details.
7. Leave Spectral Inversion at Normal unless you are using C-band. If the local oscillator is
higher in frequency than the one being transmitted or received, then the spectrum must
be inverted.
8. Click OK. The new Up Converter appears in the Tree under the Up Converter folder.
9. If you have more than one Up Converter, repeat this procedure and assign it a different
name.
10. Repeat these steps for all of the Down Converters at your teleport.

3.1.3 Adding a High Power Amplifier (HPA)

Follow the steps in this section to add a High Power Amplifier (HPA) to the Hub RFT
Components folder.
1. Under the Hub RFT Components folder in the Tree, right-click the HPA folder, and select
Add HPA.

The new HPA appears in the Tree with a system-generated generic name, and a dialog box
appears allowing you to define its parameters.

Figure 81. New HPA Dialog Box

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2. In Manufacturer Part Number, enter a part number or name for the HPA, or use the
system-generated generic name.
3. You may select a Manufacturer for the HPA (optional).
4. You may enter an iDirect Part Number for the HPA (optional). You may enter any
information you like in this field, or leave it blank.
5. Click OK. The new HPA appears in the Tree under the HPA folder.
6. If you have more than one HPA, complete this procedure again and assign it a different
name.

3.2 Adding a Spacecraft

1. To create a Spacecraft, right-click the Spacecraft folder and select Add Spacecraft.

A new spacecraft appears in the Tree with a system-generated generic name, and a dialog
box appears allowing you to define its parameters.

Figure 82. New Spacecraft Dialog Box

2. Select the name of the Operator (normally the service provider, assuming that your
company is not the provider). Optionally, you can click the Operator drop-down box to
view a list of operators you have entered into the NMS, and select one of them.

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3. In Spacecraft Name, enter a name for the spacecraft.

4. Enter an Operator Reference Name. (Optional)
5. Enter the exact Longitude (between 0 and 180 degrees) of the satellite. This information
can be obtained from your satellite service provider.
6. To the right of the Longitude box, select the Hemisphere: E (East) or W (West).
7. Enter the Orbital Inclination. This is necessary only if the satellite is experiencing
instability or is coming to the end of its life cycle, in which case the satellite provider will
provide you with the orbital inclination.
8. The Minimum Look Angle is applicable to mobile remote antennas. The Minimum Look
Angle configured here is used by all mobile remotes that do not have this setting
overridden on the Remote Geo Location tab. (See “Remote Geo Location Tab” on
page 175.)
9. Maximum Skew represents the maximum angle of skew that a mobile remote’s antenna
can tolerate before it stops transmitting. The Maximum Skew configured here is used by
all mobile remotes that do not have this setting overridden on the Remote Geo Location
tab. (See “Remote Geo Location Tab” on page 175.)
10. A satellite with horizontal or vertical polarization may be skewed with respect to its
orbit. In Skew Polarization, enter the amount of skew of the spacecraft in degrees. Valid
values range from -45.0o to +45.0o.
11. Click OK. The spacecraft appears in Tree under the Spacecraft folder.

3.3 Adding a Transponder

A satellite transponder receives the carriers on the uplink frequencies and re-transmits them
on the downlink frequencies. Once you have configured the transponder, you can add
bandwidth regions, which consists of one or more upstream and downstream carriers.
To define a transponder, you must first have a spacecraft defined in the Tree. Follow these
steps to add a transponder:
1. Right-click your Spacecraft and select Add Transponder.

The new transponder appears in the Tree with a system-generated generic name, and a
dialog box appears allowing you to define its basic parameters.

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Figure 83. Hub Transponder Dialog Box

2. In Operator Reference Name, enter a name for the transponder to identify it in the Tree.
3. You must enter the Translation Frequency. This information can be obtained from your
satellite provider. The frequency, in MHz, is transponder specific. It is that frequency used
to down convert the radio frequency (RF) uplink to the RF downlink for retransmission
from the satellite. This information must be correct for your networks to function
correctly.
4. Enter the information for the remaining fields, which can also be obtained from your
service provider. This information is for reference purposes only.
5. Click OK. A transponder appears in the Tree.

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3.4 Adding Bandwidth

A bandwidth region defines a specific portion of the satellite’s transponder within which you
can define transmit and receive carriers. You must define at least one bandwidth region for
each transponder in order to create carriers. To add and define a bandwidth region, follow
these steps:
1. Right-click the transponder and select Add Bandwidth.

The new bandwidth entry appears in the Tree with a system-generated generic name, and
a dialog box appears allowing you to define its basic parameters.

Figure 84. New Bandwidth Dialog Box

2. On the Information tab, in the Operator Reference Name box, enter a name to identify
the bandwidth in the Tree.
3. Enter the Center Frequency, Bandwidth, and Power values, which can be obtained from
your service provider. This information is for reference purposes only.
4. Click OK. A bandwidth entry appears in the Tree.

3.5 Adding Carriers

Each upstream carrier defined becomes available for assignment to a line card once
configured. Upstream carriers are made available for selection for the line card configuration
only after selecting the associated Hub RFT and its assigned spacecraft.

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3.5.1 Adding Downstream Carriers

Each Network may have only one active Downstream (Outbound) Carrier. (You can also
configure an Alternate Downstream Carrier to facilitate changing to a new carrier. See
page 110.) iDX Release 3.1 supports both iDirect iNFINITI and DVB-S2 downstream carriers. A
DVB-S2 capable line card is required to transmit a DVB-S2 downstream carrier. The
information for creating a carrier should be obtained from your satellite provider, as it is part
of the satellite link budget process.
To add a downstream carrier, follow these steps:
1. Right-click the bandwidth for your transponder and select Add Downstream Carrier.

The new carrier appears in the iBuilder tree with a system-generated generic name, and a
dialog box appears allowing you to define its basic parameters.

Figure 85. New Downstream Carrier Dialog Box

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Figure 85 shows the configuration of a DVB-S2 downstream carrier. The type of

downstream carrier is determined by the selection that you make for Modulation.
Selecting ACM indicates that this is a DVB-S2 carrier. Any other modulation indicates an
iDirect iNFINITI (SCPC) downstream carrier.

Note: iDX Release 3.1 does not support CCM. However, you can simulate CCM by
selecting the same Minimum MODCOD and Maximum MODCOD. You must also
adjust your DVB-S2 network parameters as described in “Adjusting DVB-S2
Parameters for CCM Networks” on page 141.
2. Enter a Name for the downstream carrier.
3. Enter the Uplink Center Frequency. This frequency assignment is provided as part of the
satellite link budget process and comes from the satellite provider.
4. The Downlink Center Frequency is automatically calculated when you click in the
Downlink Center Freq box, based on the transponder translation frequency.
5. In Power, enter a value for the transmit power. The default is -25 dBm.
6. Carrier Spacing is an optional field that you can use to document the total width of your
carriers. It represents the occupied bandwidth plus the guard band normalized by the
symbol rate. For more information, see the chapter titled “Carrier Bandwidth
Optimization” in the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.
7. Select the Modulation for your carrier. You can select ACM (Adaptive Coding and
Modulation) if you are configuring a DVB-S2 downstream carrier. You can select BPSK,
QPSK or 8PSK if you are configuring an iNFINITI downstream carrier.
8. If you are configuring a DVB-S2 carrier, the DVB-S2 Range parameters appear on the
screen. To configure these fields:
a. Select both a Minimum M ODCOD and a Maximum MODCOD. This defines the range of
MODCODs used on the downstream carrier.

Note: To simulate CCM select the same Minimum MODCOD and Maximum MODCOD.
You must also adjust your DVB-S2 network parameters as described in
“Adjusting DVB-S2 Parameters for CCM Networks” on page 141.
b. Click the MODCOD Distribution button to estimate the Information Rate for your DVB-
S2 carrier based on the MODCODs that the remotes in your network are able to
receive. See “Estimating the Information Rate for a DVB-S2 Carrier” on page 83 for
details.

Note: In earlier releases, you could configure a single Multicast MODCOD on this
screen. Beginning in iDX Release 2.0, you can configure a different Multicast
MODCOD for each Application. See “Adding Applications to Application Service
Groups” on page 230 for details.
9. Select the type of Error Correction to be used for this carrier. For DVB-S2 carriers, you
must select LDCP BCH. For information on the available FEC rates and modulation modes,
see the chapter titled “iDirect Modulation Modes and FEC Rates” in the iDirect Technical
Reference Guide.
10. In the Assigned to Line Card box, select the line card to which this carrier is to be
assigned. If no card is available for selection, you must configure a new card or re-
configure an existing card for use by this carrier.

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11. The Carrier Type must be set to Downstream. This will be selected by default.
12. For DVB-S2 downstream carriers, enter the Symbol Rate for your carrier. (You cannot
enter a Transmission Rate or Information Rate for DVB-S2 carriers.) The symbol rate for
DVB-S2 carriers must be between 1000 and 45000 ksym.
For iDirect iNFINITI downstream carriers, enter either a Transmission Rate, Information
Rate, or Symbol Rate. See also the chapter titled “iDirect Modulation Modes and FEC
Rates” in the iDirect Technical Reference Guide. Entering any of the rate values will
cause the remaining rates and the Occupied Bandwidth to be automatically calculated.
Typically, you will enter a desired transmission rate and the service provider will
determine if that can be accomplished.
Symbol Rate is related to Transmission Rate based on the selected Modulation as
follows:
• For BPSK, the Symbol Rate is equal to the Transmission Rate.
• For QPSK, the Symbol Rate is half the Transmission Rate.
• For 8PSK, the Symbol Rate is one third the Transmission Rate.
For example, if you enter 2800 kbps into the Transmission Rate box, the Symbol Rate
box is automatically calculated to be 2800 ksym for BPSK, 1400 for QPSK, or 933.33 ksym
for 8PSK.
The symbol rate for iNFINITI downstream carriers must be between 64 and 15000 ksym.
13. In Timeplan Parameters, enter the number of FEC Blocks in each frame. The frame
length is automatically calculated, based on FEC Blocks, FEC rates and transmission data
rate. iDirect recommends that the number of FEC blocks is set such that the frame length
is ~125 ms.
14. Frame Length is automatically calculated based on the data rates, modulation type and
FEC rate selected in previous steps.
15. If you are using the iDirect Spread Spectrum feature, select a Spreading Factor in the
Spreading Parameters area of the dialog box. The following downstream Spreading
Factors can be selected:
• No Spreading
• COTM SF=2: Spreading factor of 2
• COTM SF=4: Spreading factor of 4
• COTM SF=8: Spreading factor of 8

Note: The iDirect Spread Spectrum feature is only supported for BPSK modulation.
You will not be able to select a Spreading Factor unless you have selected BPSK
in the Modulation field. For a complete description of this feature, see the
chapter titled “Spread Spectrum” in the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.

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Note: A Downstream Spreading Factor of 8 is only available for Evolution hub line
cards transmitting to Evolution Remotes.
16. Click OK. The outbound carrier appears in the Tree.

3.5.2 Adding TDMA Upstream Carriers

The upstream carrier frequency is used to send data from remotes to the hub.
To add an Upstream carrier (Inbound Carrier), follow these steps:
1. Right-click Bandwidth, and select Add Upstream Carrier.

The new carrier appears in the Tree with a system-generated generic name, and a dialog
box appears allowing you to define its basic parameters.

Figure 86. New TDMA Upstream Carrier Dialog Box

2. Enter a Name for the TDMA upstream carrier.

3. Enter the Uplink Center Frequency. This frequency assignment is provided as part of the
satellite link budget process and comes from the satellite provider.

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4. The Downlink Center Frequency will automatically be calculated when you click the
Downlink Center Freq box, based on the transponder translation frequency.
5. Carrier Spacing is an optional field you can use to document the total width of your
carriers. It represents the occupied bandwidth plus the guard band normalized by the
symbol rate. On multichannel receive line cards, carrier spacing is enforced when you
select the TDMA upstream carriers for your line card to prevent overlap. For more
information on carrier spacing, please see the chapter titled “Carrier Bandwidth
Optimization” in the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.
6. Select the Modulation for your carrier: BPSK, QPSK or 8PSK.
7. In the Error Correction drop-down list, select the type of forward error correction (FEC).
See also the chapter titled “iDirect Modulation Modes and FEC Rates” in the iDirect
Technical Reference Guide.

Note: Beginning with iDX Release 3.0, TPC Error Correction is no longer supported on
upstream carriers in DVB-S2 networks. 2D 16-State Inbound Coding must be
selected for your carrier if you are using a DVB-S2 downstream.

Note: Only Evolution line cards can receive 8PSK Modulation with .793 Error
Correction. iNFINITI line cards cannot receive 8PSK / .793 FEC.
8. When building a new carrier, the Assigned to Line Card box is not available. The field is
populated automatically after the satellite is assigned to this Hub RFT and this carrier is
assigned under the hub line card configuration.
9. Star is automatically selected as your Carrier Type. Only Star TDMA upstream carriers are
supported in iDX Release 3.1.
10. Enter either a Transmission Rate, Information Rate, or Symbol Rate. See also the
chapter titled “iDirect Modulation Modes and FEC Rates” in the iDirect Technical
Reference Guide. Entering any of the rate values will cause the remaining two rates to be
automatically calculated.
Symbol Rate is related to Transmission Rate based on the selected Modulation as
follows:
• For BPSK, the Symbol Rate is equal to the Transmission Rate.
• For QPSK, the Symbol Rate is half the Transmission Rate.
• For 8PSK, the Symbol Rate is one third the Transmission Rate.
For example, if you enter 2800 kbps into the Transmission Rate box, the Symbol Rate
box is automatically calculated to be 2800 ksym for BPSK, 1400 for QPSK, or 933.33 ksym
for 8PSK.
The Symbol Rate for Star carriers must be between 64 and 7500 ksym.

Note: All star carriers in an Inroute Group must have the same symbol rate.

Note: Evolution X1 remotes cannot use TDMA upstream carriers larger than 2
Msym.
11. In the Timeplan Parameters section:
a. The Acquisition Aperture Length is the size of the acquisition window in the Time
Plan. It is automatically calculated as a percentage of bandwidth.

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b. Guard Band is the time between bursts on the TDMA upstream carrier. This parameter
is typically set to eight symbols.

Note: Whenever your TDMA upstream carrier is assigned to an Inroute Group or the
characteristics of the downstream carrier for your network are modified, the
Guard Band reverts to the default setting of 8 symbols. Therefore, if you
changed the Guard Band and want to maintain the new setting, you must
modify your carrier and reconfigure the Guard Band after either of those
operations.
c. Frame Length and Traffic Slots for an upstream carrier are determined when the
carrier is assigned to a line card in a network with a downstream carrier already
assigned. Frame Length is the size of the Time Plan frame in msec. Each frame is
composed of or divided into many time slots, based on data rate, FEC, etc. Each time
slot is a slice of time allotted to a remote to send its data traffic.
12. If you are using the iDirect Spread Spectrum feature, select a Spreading Factor in the
Spreading Parameters area of the dialog box. The following upstream Spreading Factors
can be selected:
• No Spreading
• COTM SF=1: This spreading factor is applicable to fast moving mobile applications
only. As with a spreading factor of 1, there is no spreading. However, the size of the
carrier unique word is increased, allowing mobile remotes to remain in the network
when they might otherwise drop out. This advantage comes at the cost of a slightly
lower information rate.
• COTM SF=2: Spreading factor of 2
• COTM SF=4: Spreading factor of 4
• COTM SF=8: Spreading factor of 8
• COTM SF=16: Spreading factor of 16

Note: The iDirect Spread Spectrum feature is only supported for BPSK modulation.
You will not be able to select a Spreading Factor unless you have selected BPSK
in the Modulation field. For a complete description of this feature, see the
chapter titled “Spread Spectrum” in the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.

Note: Upstream Spreading Factors of 8 and 16 are only available for Evolution
Remotes transmitting to Evolution hub line cards.

Note: Upstream Spread Spectrum is not supported for upstream carriers received by
XLC-M or eM0DM line cards.
13. Click OK to save your settings.

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3.5.3 Adding SCPC Upstream Carriers

An SCPC upstream carrier provides a dedicated, high-bandwidth, return channel from a
remote to the hub without the additional overhead of TDMA. Evolution e8350, X5 and X3
remotes can transmit an SCPC return channel. An Evolution eM0DM or XLC-M line card can
receive as many as eight SCPC return channels.

Note: SCPC return channels can only be configured in DVB-S2 networks.

To add an SCPC upstream carrier, follow these steps:
1. Right-click on the bandwidth for your transponder and select Add Upstream SCPC
Carrier.

The new carrier appears in the Tree with a system-generated generic name, and a dialog
box appears allowing you to define its basic parameters.

Note: As shown in Figure 87, you can distinguish an SCPC upstream carrier from a
TDMA upstream carrier by the “S” in the carrier icon in the iBuilder tree.

Figure 87. SCPC Upstream Carrier Icon in iBuilder Tree

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Figure 88. New SCPC Upstream Carrier Dialog Box

2. Enter a Name for the SCPC upstream carrier.

3. Enter the Uplink Center Frequency. This frequency assignment is provided as part of the
satellite link budget process and comes from the satellite provider.
4. The Downlink Center Frequency is automatically calculated when you click in the
Downlink Center Freq box, based on the transponder translation frequency.
5. Carrier Spacing is an optional field that you can use to document the total width of your
carriers. It represents the occupied bandwidth plus the guard band normalized by the
symbol rate. On multichannel receive line cards, carrier spacing is enforced when you
select the SCPC return carriers for your line card to prevent overlap. For more
information on carrier spacing, see the chapter titled “Carrier Bandwidth Optimization”
in the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.

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Note: Additional Guard Band is required for SCPC return channels being transmitted
by some mobile remotes. See “Guard Band for SCPC Return Channels” on
page 477.
6. Select the Modulation for your carrier. You can select BPSK, QPSK or 8PSK.
7. Select the type of Error Correction to be used for this carrier. Only 2D 16-State Coding is
supported for SCPC upstream carriers.

Note: For information on the available FEC rates and modulation modes, see the
chapter titled “iDirect Modulation Modes and FEC Rates” in the iDirect
Technical Reference Guide.
8. Enter either a Transmission Rate, Information Rate, or Symbol Rate. Entering any of the
rate values will cause the remaining rates and the Occupied Bandwidth to be
automatically calculated.

Note: Not all configurable Symbol Rates and Modulations are supported for some
mobile applications. See “Minimum Symbol Rates for Mobile Remotes” on
page 474.
9. In Frame Parameters, the Frame Length and the number of FEC Blocks per Frame are
automatically calculated based on the selected Error Correction.
10. If you are using the iDirect Spread Spectrum feature, select a Spreading Factor in the
Spreading Parameters area of the dialog box. The following SCPC upstream Spreading
Factors can be selected:
• No Spreading
• COTM SF=2: Spreading factor of 2
• COTM SF=4: Spreading factor of 4
• COTM SF=8: Spreading factor of 8
• COTM SF=16: Spreading factor of 16

Note: The iDirect Spread Spectrum feature is only supported for BPSK modulation.
You will not be able to select a Spreading Factor unless you have selected BPSK
in the Modulation field. For a complete description of this feature, see the
chapter titled “Spread Spectrum” in the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.

Note: Upstream Spread Spectrum is not supported for upstream carriers received by
XLC-M or eM0DM line cards.
11. In the Uplink Control Parameters area of the dialog box (Figure 88 on p. 80), you can
specify the Operating Margin and the three Power Adjust parameters. The Uplink
Control Parameters are defined as follows:

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• The C/N Threshold is a read-only field automatically determined by the Modulation

and Error Correction selected for the carrier. The values in this field are determined
during hardware qualification and are documented in the Link Budget Analysis Guide.
• To calculate the Operating Margin, subtract the C/N Threshold from the Clear Sky
C/N provided by the Link Budget Analysis (LBA) for your network. The system adds the
Operating Margin to the C/N Threshold to arrive at the Nominal C/N for the carrier.
The Nominal C/N is the target C/N value of the SCPC upstream carrier as measured by
the hub line card. (This target C/N is represented by the dashed vertical line in the
green area of the graphical display in Figure 88.)
• The value entered for Below Nominal determines how far below the Nominal C/N the
receive signal can drop before the system increases the remote’s transmit power in
order to bring the C/N back into the operational range. (This is represented by the
green area to the left of the target C/N in the graphical display in Figure 88.)
• The value entered for Above Nominal determines how far above the Nominal C/N the
receive signal can rise before the system decreases the remote’s transmit power in
order to bring the C/N back into the operational range. (This is represented by the
green area to the right of the target C/N in the graphical display in Figure 88.)
• The Max Power Adjustment is the maximum change that the system will make to the
remote’s transmit power in a single adjustment. (This is represented by the two red
areas at the left and right ends of the graphical display in Figure 88.) If the change
required to reach the target C/N is less than or equal to the Max Power Adjustment,
then the system will adjust by that amount in a single step. If a larger change is
required, the system will make multiple adjustments to arrive at the target C/N.

Note:You can click and drag the Power Adjust sliders to vary the C/N ranges and
automatically update the Power Adjust settings.
12. Click OK to save the SCPC Upstream carrier definition.

Note: If your SCPC return channel will being transmitted by a mobile remote, you may
need to adjust the upstream acquisition range by configuring a custom key on
the receive line card once you have assigned your carrier to the line card. See
“SCPC Upstream Acquisition Range” on page 475 for details.

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3.5.4 Estimating the Information Rate for a DVB-S2 Carrier

When you configure a DVB-S2 carrier with ACM, only the symbol rate and occupied bandwidth
are known. The Information Rate depends on the combination of MODCODs being received by
the remotes in the network at any time.
iBuilder includes a MODCOD Distribution Calculator that allows you to estimate the
Information Rate for your carrier. You can access this calculator by clicking the MODCOD
Distribution button on the DVB-S2 Downstream Carrier dialog box.
To use the MODCOD Distribution Calculator for your DVB-S2 carrier:
1. Click the MODCOD Distribution button on the DVB-S2 Downstream Carrier dialog box to
display the calculator. (See Figure 85 on p. 73.)

Figure 89. MODCOD Distribution Calculator for DVB-S2 Carriers

Figure 89 shows an instance of the MODCOD Distribution Calculator. The range of the
MODCOD column is limited to the DVB-S2 Range defined for the carrier assigned to this
network. The Total row shows the totals for the columns.
2. Double-click the cells to enter either the percentages of traffic or the Information Rates
that you estimate will be transmitted on the different MODCODs for remotes receiving
this carrier.
If you change the percentages in the Distribution column, the Information Rate for each
MODCOD is automatically recalculated and the total is displayed in the Total row. If you
change bit rates in the Information Rate column, percentages in the Distribution column
are automatically recalculated and the new total percentage is displayed in the Total
row.

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Figure 90 shows the results of changing the percentages in the Distribution column.

Figure 90. Calculating Estimated Information Rate for a DVB-S2 Network

In the example in Figure 90, the network operator estimates that 20% of the remotes
typically receive 16APSK-4/5, 20% receive 16APSK-5/6, and the remaining 60% receive
16APSK-8/9 (the best MODCOD defined for the carrier). Based on this input, the calculator
determines the estimated Information Rate for the carrier to be 6532 kbps.
3. Click OK to save your changes.
A variation of the MODCOD Distribution Calculator can be used to calculate the effective MIR
and CIR for Group QoS nodes. See “Estimating Effective MIR and CIR for DVB-S2 Networks” on
page 218 for details.

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Components

The Teleport is the highest component in the Tree hierarchy and represents the facility where
the antenna and, typically, the rest of the Hub equipment is housed. After adding a Teleport,
you can add a Protocol Processor (PP), Blades, Hub RFT, and Chassis to the Tree. This chapter
discusses how to configure all of these components, with the exception of the chassis.
Because the chassis requires a different type of configuration process, it is discussed in
another chapter. See “Configuring a Hub Chassis” on page 277.”
This chapter contains the following sections:
• “Adding a Teleport” on page 85
• “Adding a Backup Teleport” on page 87
• “Adding a Hub RFT” on page 90
• “Adding a Protocol Processor” on page 90
• “Adding a Protocol Processor Blade” on page 94
• “Setting Warning Properties for Protocol Processor Blades” on page 93
• “Adding a VLAN” on page 96
• “Adding a SkyMonitor Spectrum Analyzer” on page 98

4.1 Adding a Teleport

1. To add a Teleport, right-click the iDirect Globe at the top of the Tree and select Add
Teleport.

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The new teleport appears in the Tree with a system-generated generic name, and a dialog
box appears allowing you to define its basic parameters.

Figure 91. Teleport Information Tab

2. On the Information tab, enter a name and a phone number for your Teleport facility.
3. Click the Geo Location tab.

Figure 92. Teleport Geo Location Tab

The Geo Location identifies precisely where the Uplink facility (the Hub RFT) is
geographically located on the Earth. The teleport transmits the uplink signal to the
satellite and receives the downlink signal from the satellite.

Note: The Geo Location information must be accurately configured for your
remotes to function correctly in an iDirect network.
4. Enter the exact Latitude and Longitude of your teleport facility. This information can be
obtained from your service provider or can be determined with a GPS device. Be sure to
select the correct hemisphere for each. Latitude represents North and South; longitude
represents East and West.
5. Click OK to save your settings. The Teleport appears in the Tree.

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4.2 Adding a Backup Teleport

As part of the iDirect Geographic Redundancy feature, iBuilder allows you to create a fully-
redundant backup teleport which can assume the role of your primary teleport in the event
that the primary teleport becomes unavailable.

Note: To configure Geographic Redundancy you must have a Global NMS licence, and
you must configure your remotes as roaming remotes. See the iDirect Technical
Reference Guide for a description of this feature. See “Roaming Remotes” on
page 181 for details on configuring your remotes as roaming remotes.
Evolution X1 remotes do not support this functionality.
The procedure for configuring your backup teleport assumes that your primary teleport is
already operational and that your backup teleport has been installed. Generally, the iBuilder
configuration of the backup components should be identical to the configuration of the
primary teleport. During operation, any configuration changes that you make at the primary
teleport should also be made at the backup teleport. This can be accomplished using the NMS
database backup and restore utility described in the iDirect Technical Note NMS Redundancy
and Failover for your release.

Note: If you are using the same outbound carrier for your primary and backup
teleports, the teleport operator must disable the backup transmitter while the
primary teleport is operational. In the event of failure of the primary site, the
teleport operator must enable the backup transmitter for the backup teleport
to become operational.
Using iBuilder at the primary teleport, follow these steps to configure your backup teleport
hub equipment and to add your existing remotes to the backup teleport’s networks. The
procedure assumes that your primary teleport and the networks it controls are already
configured in iBuilder and operational.
1. Add the backup teleport to your network by following the steps in the section “Adding a
Teleport” on page 85. Then configure all the components of the backup teleport,
including:
• The Hub RFT (See “Adding a Hub RFT” on page 90.)
• The Protocol Processor (See “Adding a Protocol Processor” on page 90.)
• Protocol Processor Blades (See “Adding a Protocol Processor Blade” on page 94.)
• Networks (See “Adding a Network” on page 105.)
• Line Cards (See “Adding a Transmit or Transmit and Receive Line Card” on page 108.)
• Inroute Groups (See “Adding Inroute Groups” on page 132.)
2. Right-click the backup teleport in the network tree and select Modify  Item.

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3. In the Backup NMS area of the Teleport dialog box, select Enabled (Figure 93).

Figure 93. Configuring a Backup Teleport

4. Enter the IP address (or addresses) of the NMS server(s) at your backup teleport.
5. Click OK to save your changes.)

Note: A distributed NMS requires up to three IP addresses for the NMS servers. If you
do not have a distributed NMS at the backup site, all three IP addresses should
be identical.
6. Add each of your remotes to the backup teleport as follows:
a. Right-click the remote in the network tree and select Add to Networks from the
menu to display the Roaming dialog box.

Figure 94. Roaming Dialog Box

b. In the Roaming dialog box, select the remote’s Network under the backup teleport.
c. Click OK to save your changes.
7. At this point, all remotes will have changes pending. Apply the changes for each network
as follows:

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a. Right-click the network in the tree and select Apply Configuration Multiple.

b. In the Automated Configuration Downloader dialog box, select all remotes and line
cards.

Figure 95. Automated Configuration Downloader Dialog Box

c. Click the Start button.

8. Right-click the protocol processor and select Apply Configuration from the menu.
9. Click Yes in the confirmation dialog box to update the protocol processor and blades.

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4.3 Adding a Hub RFT

Before you define the Hub RFT, you should define the elements in the Hub RFT Components
folders. See “Defining Hub RFT Components and the Satellite” on page 65.
1. To create a Hub RFT, right-click your Teleport and select Add Hub RFT.

The new Hub RFT appears in the Tree with a system-generated generic name, and a dialog
box appears allowing you to define its basic parameters.

Figure 96. New Hub RFT Dialog Box

2. Enter a name for the Hub RFT, and then select the subcomponents for the Hub RFT from
each of the drop-down list boxes.
3. Select the Satellite to which this Hub RFT is assigned.
4. Click OK. The Hub RFT appears in the Tree with its new name.

4.4 Adding a Protocol Processor

After adding the Hub RFT, create the Protocol Processor. Networks can be expanded by adding
additional processing elements, referred to as Blades, to the Protocol Processor. The Protocol
Processor architecture provides both scalability and automatic failover. If a blade fails, its
load is automatically distributed across the remaining blades; the previous manual switchover
process is obsolete.

WARNING! iDirect strongly recommends changing the default password of your protocol
processor as soon as possible.

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4.4.1 TRANSEC Protocol Processors

Transmission Security (TRANSEC) prevents an adversary from exploiting information available
in a communications channel without necessarily having defeated the encryption inherent in
the channel. Even if a wireless transmissions’ encryption is not compromised, by using basic
signal processing techniques taken from wireless transmission acoustics, information such as
timing and traffic volumes can be determined. This information could provide someone
monitoring the network a variety of information on unit activity.
iDirect achieves full TRANSEC compliance by presenting to an adversary eavesdropping on the
RF link a constant “wall” of fixed-size, strongly-encrypted (AES, 256 bit Key) traffic segments,
the frequency of which does not vary in response to network utilization. For a detailed
technical description of iDirect’s TRANSEC feature, see the iDirect Technical Reference
Guide.

Note: A license is required for all Protocol Processor blades and line cards that use
the TRANSEC feature. If your blades are not licensed to use the TRANSEC
feature, you will not be able to add a TRANSEC protocol processor in iBuilder.
For complete details on requesting and installing iDirect licenses, see the
iDirect Features and Chassis Licensing Guide.
To configure a TRANSEC network in iBuilder, you must first create one or more TRANSEC
protocol processors. All network elements that you subsequently create under a TRANSEC
protocol processor will be part of your TRANSEC-compliant network.
TRANSEC networks require TRANSEC-capable remote and line card model types. For a list of
compatible model types, see “TRANSEC Hardware Requirements” on page 394.
All hosts in an iDirect TRANSEC network must have X.509 certificates issued by the iDirect
Certificate Authority (CA) Foundry. Hosts include NMS Servers, Protocol Processor blades,
TRANSEC line cards, TRANSEC remotes, and GKD Servers. You should issue your certificates
before creating your TRANSEC network. For details on the certification process, see “Using
the iDirect CA Foundry” on page 417.
Follow these steps to add a protocol processor:
1. To create a Protocol Processor (PP), right-click the Teleport, and select Add Protocol
Processor. (If you are adding a TRANSEC protocol processor, you can select either Add
Protocol Processor or Add TRANSEC Protocol Processor.)

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The new Protocol Processor appears in the Tree with a system-generated generic name,
and a dialog box appears allowing you to define its basic parameters.

Figure 97. New Protocol Processor Dialog Box

2. On the Information tab, enter a Name for your Protocol Processor (PP).
3. Enter your User Password and the Admin Password. The default passwords are shown in
Figure 97. Make sure you record any changed password in case you forget it. You will not
be able to log in with the default passwords once they are changed.
4. In Download Monitor Credentials, enter any value greater than one and less than four
billion. (This number is used for multicast firmware image download and can be
duplicated across multiple PPs It is critical for communications between the NMS and
network elements.)
5. In Upstream Gateway, enter the IP address of your upstream router. This should be the
address of the router interface connected to the upstream LAN segment.
6. Click Enabled RIPv2 if you want the Protocol Processor to advertise remote routes to your
upstream router using the protocol RIPv2. This setting affects your default VLAN only.

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7. Select the Upstream and Tunnel Interfaces. The tunnel is the LAN segment between the
Protocol Processor and the line cards.
8. Select TRANSEC Enabled if you are adding a protocol processor for a new TRANSEC
network. (If you selected Add TRANSEC Protocol Processor from the iBuilder tree,
TRANSEC Enabled will already be selected.)

Note: You can also select TRANSEC Enabled to convert a non-TRANSEC network to a
TRANSEC network. However, before you select this option for an existing
network, you must ensure that all preliminary steps have been taken. Follow
the procedure in “Converting a Network to TRANSEC” on page 393 to convert
an existing network to TRANSEC.

Note: TRANSEC Enabled will not appear in the dialog box if you are not licensed for
TRANSEC. If you plan to deploy this feature, please contact the iDirect
Technical Assistance Center (TAC).
9. A persistent multicast group is a multicast group that includes all remotes communicating
with this protocol processor. A remote will be a member of this group even if it has not
been acquired into the network.
To add a persistent multicast group, click Add in the Multicast Groups section of the
Information tab to open the Persistent Multicast Group dialog box.

Figure 98. Persistent Multicast Group Dialog Box

10. Enter the Vlan Id and the IP Address of the multicast group you want to add.

Note: For more information, see the Technical Note titled “IP Multicast in iDirect
Networks.”

4.5 Setting Warning Properties for Protocol Processor

Blades
You can use iBuilder to modify both global properties of protocol processor blade warnings
and warning properties for all blades of individual protocol processors. To change the global
warning properties, select Global Warnings for Blades from the Edit menu. To change
warning properties for individual protocol processors, click the Warning Properties tab for
the protocol processor you want to modify.

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Note: When you override global blade warnings on the Protocol Processor Warning
Properties tab, the new settings are applied to all blades of that protocol
processor. You cannot override the settings for the individual blades of a
protocol processor.
For details on configuring warning properties for line cards, remotes and protocol processors,
please see “Configuring Warning Properties” on page 52.

4.6 Adding a Protocol Processor Blade

The Protocol Processor level of the tree represents a set of one or more blades. If a blade
fails, its load is automatically distributed across the remaining blades; the previous manual
switchover process is obsolete.
To add a Blade to a Protocol Processor, follow these steps:
1. You can use either the Blades tab of the Protocol Processor or the Tree context menu to
add a Blade. Both methods are shown here.
a. Right-click the Protocol Processor in the Tree and select Modify  Item to open the
Protocol Processor dialog box.
b. Select the Blades tab.

Figure 99. Protocol Processor Blades Tab

c. Click the Add button to open the Protocol Processor Blade Dialog Box (Figure 100 on
page 95).
2. Alternatively, right-click the Protocol Processor in the Tree and select Add Blade.

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In either case, the Protocol Process Blade dialog box appears allowing you to define its
parameters.

Figure 100. Protocol Processor Blade Dialog Box

3. Enter a Name for the blade.

4. Enter the Upstream Interface information for the default VLAN. (iBuilder will
automatically assign the Upstream Interface information for other existing VLANs.)
5. Enter the Tunnel Interface information for the default VLAN.

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4.7 Adding a VLAN

Due to the distributed architecture of the Protocol Processor, all blades in a blade set
combine to form a single, logical, upstream interface. However, each blade must have a
distinct IP address for each VLAN. This is illustrated for a single VLAN in Figure 101.

End-to-End VLAN

Network
PP Blade 1

Upstream PP Blade 2
Remote
VLAN SAT
Remote VLAN
Link
Segment PP Blade 3
Segment
VLAN-Aware
Switch or
Router
PP Blade 4

Figure 101. Uplink VLAN Segment in a PP Blade Environment

For more information on VLANs, see “VLAN and LAN Information” on page 151.
To add a VLAN:
1. Right-click the Protocol Processor in the Tree and select Modify  Item.

2. Select the VLANs tab in the Protocol Processor dialog box.

Figure 102. Protocol Processor VLans Tab

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3. Click Add to display the VLAN dialog box.

Figure 103. Protocol Processor VLAN Dialog Box

4. Enter a VLAN ID. Valid VLAN IDs range from 2 to 4094.

5. Enter a VLAN Name.
6. Select Enable RIPv2 to advertise remote routes to your upstream router using the
protocol RIPv2.
7. In the Address Start field, specify the Upstream Interface IP Address to be used by the
first blade. iBuilder automatically enters the remaining IP addresses. (You can override
the automatic addressing by following the procedure in the next section.)
8. Click OK. A new Upstream VLAN Interface is now defined.

4.7.1 Overriding Automatically-Assigned VLAN Addressing

After you have created a VLAN, you can modify the automatically-assigned addresses as
follows:
1. On the VLANs tab (Figure 102 on page 96), select the row containing the ID and Name of
the interface you want to modify and click Edit to view the VLAN dialog box (Figure 103).
2. To change the automatically-assigned Upstream Interface addressing:
a. Select the Override Addresses check box.
b. Enter the IP addressing information as desired.

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This is illustrated in Figure 104.

Figure 104. Overriding Automatically-Assigned VLAN Addressing

If a new blade is subsequently added for scalability, all VLAN end addresses will be
automatically updated to give the new blade the appropriate upstream interfaces, and the
VLANs will be added to the new blade.

4.7.2 Special VLAN Configuration

VLAN support requires one special configuration task, which must be done at the Linux level
on the Protocol Processor. To support VLAN, the upstream Ethernet port (eth0) of the Protocol
Processor must be configured with an MTU of 1504. This is done by typing “MTU = 1504”
(without quotation marks) in the file /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-
eth0. Once this is done, save the file. After saving the file, the network services must be
restarted with the following command: service network restart.

Note: If a line like this is already present for eth0, but contains a different value (e.g.
1500), then edit the line to the above value. The MTU value can also be
checked by typing ifconfig at the prompt to display the MTU size.

WARNING! Do not change the default MTU (1500) on the tunnel interface (eth1).

4.8 Adding a SkyMonitor Spectrum Analyzer

SkyMonitor is an iDirect digital spectrum analyzer that is fully integrated with the NMS. You
can use a SkyMonitor unit to view your iDirect inbound and outbound carriers, or to view other
carriers present at your hub. Each SkyMonitor unit has eight RF ports, each of which can be

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configured in iBuilder to monitor one or more L-band carriers or a specific area of the
spectrum.
Using standard Ethernet connectors, you can connect one or more SkyMonitor spectrum
analyzers to any network reachable from your NMS. However, iDirect recommends a direct
connection on your upstream LAN. In addition, a single iDirect Global NMS can connect to
multiple SkyMonitor units at multiple hub locations. Each unit can operate using either an
internal reference clock or an external 10 MHz reference signal. For details on SkyMonitor
installation, see the iDirect SkyMonitor 1880 Spectrum Analyzer Installation and Safety
Manual.

Note: SkyMonitor is a licensed feature. If you plan to add SkyMonitor units to your
networks, please contact the iDirect Technical Assistance Center (TAC).
From iBuilder, you can associate a SkyMonitor port with the Tx or Rx carrier of a line card, or
you can manually configure the center frequency, span and resolution bandwidth (RBW) to be
displayed for that port. Once you have configured your SkyMonitor units, you can view your
carriers in iMonitor. See the iMonitor User Guide for details on viewing your carriers.
Once your SkyMonitor unit has been installed on the hub LAN, follow these steps to configure
it in iBuilder:
1. Right-click your teleport in the network tree and select Add Sky Monitor.

The New SkyMonitor dialog box appears.

Figure 105. New SkyMonitor Dialog Box

2. Enter a Name for the SkyMonitor unit.

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3. Enter an IP Address for the SkyMonitor unit.

4. Enter a Serial Number for the SkyMonitor unit.

Note: The serial number of each of your SkyMonitor units is included in your
SkyMonitor license. The NMS software verifies that the serial numbers in the
license match the serial numbers configured in iBuilder. Therefore you must
enter the correct value for the Serial Number for the SkyMonitor feature to
work.

Note: The serial number on the SkyMonitor chassis may not match the serial number
programmed into the SkyMonitor unit required to validate the configuration in
iBuilder. If you do not know the correct serial number, please contact the
iDirect TAC for assistance.
5. Select an RF Port and click the Modify button (Figure 105) to display the RF Port dialog
box.

Figure 106. RF Port Dialog Box

6. Enter a Name for the RF Port.

Note: In iMonitor, you can view your carriers by selecting either the assigned line
card carrier or the SkyMonitor unit in the network tree. When you view a
carrier by right-clicking its line card, the Center Frequency and Span are
automatically calculated based on the carrier configuration. When you view
bandwidth by right-clicking the SkyMonitor icon, the center frequency, span
and RBW from this configuration screen are used. Therefore, you can configure
both iDirect carriers and a Center Frequency, Span and RWB for the same RF
port.

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7. If desired, enter the Center Frequency, Span and RBW that you want to use when
monitoring this port.
These fields may be left at zero if you are assigning one or more iDirect carriers to this RF
Port. These fields are required if you are monitoring bandwidth that is not associated with
a line card.
8. You can use the Available Line Card drop-down menu to associate the port with one or
more iDirect carriers. Tx-only and Rx-only line cards have one entry in the list of available
line cards. Tx/Rx line cards have two entries in the list: one for the transmit carrier and
one for the receive carrier.
Select each line card / carrier that you want to monitor on this RF Port. Then click the
Add button to add that line card as an Assigned Line Card for this port.

Figure 107. Associating a SkyMonitor Port with an iDirect Carrier

9. If you want to remove a line card from this port, select the line card in the Assigned Line
Card area and click Remove.
10. Click OK to return to the main SkyMonitor dialog box.
11. Once you have configured your RF Ports, click OK in the main SkyMonitor dialog box to
save the SkyMonitor configuration.

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Figure 108 shows the SkyMonitor dialog box after configuring RF Port 4 to monitor two iDirect
carriers and also configuring a Center Frequency and Span for the port itself.

Figure 108. SkyMonitor Port Configured for Two Carriers and Center Frequency

Using Figure 108 as an example, when you launch SkyMonitor from the iMonitor tree it will
automatically tune RF port 4 as follows:
• If you launch SkyMonitor by right-clicking line card M1D1-41401, SkyMonitor will
automatically tune port 4 to Center Frequency 1520000 kHz. (This is the center
frequency configured for the carrier named Down 1520. iBuilder automatically appends
the carrier name to the line card name in the dialog box.)
• If you launch SkyMonitor by right-clicking line card M1D1-41402, SkyMonitor will
automatically tune port 4 to Center Frequency 1510000 kHz, which is the center
frequency of carrier Down 1510.
• If you launch SkyMonitor from the SkyMonitor unit in the iMonitor tree, SkyMonitor will
automatically tune port 4 to Center Frequency 1222000 kHz, which is the center
frequency configured for the SkyMonitor port.

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Cards, and Inroute
Groups

This chapter explains how to add an iDirect Network and its sub-elements to the iBuilder tree.
The network sub-elements include the line cards or 10000 series satellite hub, the inroute
groups, and the remotes. Before you add a Network, you must have already added a Protocol
Processor.
This chapter contains the following sections:
• “iDirect Line Card and Hub Models” on page 104
• “Adding a Network” on page 105
• “Line Card Types” on page 107
• “Adding a Transmit or Transmit and Receive Line Card” on page 108
• “Setting Warning Properties for Line Cards” on page 110
• “Adding Receive-Only (Rx-Only) Line Cards” on page 111
• “Deleting a Line Card” on page 116
• “Changing to an Alternate Downstream Carrier” on page 118
• “Defining a Standby Line Card” on page 120
• “Adding Inroute Groups” on page 132
• “DVB-S2 Network Parameters” on page 137

Note: Beginning with iDX Release 2.0, a line card must be assigned to a hub chassis
before it can become operational. Until a line card is assigned to a hub chassis,
the line card will be in the incomplete state in the iBuilder Tree and you will be
unable to apply changes to the line card. See “Configuring a Hub Chassis” on
page 277 for details on assigning a line card to a chassis.

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5.1 iDirect Line Card and Hub Models

iDX Release 3.1 supports both TDMA and SCPC inbound carriers. It supports both DVB-S2 and
iDirect iNFINITI outbound carriers. This section specifies the hub line cards available in this
release to transmit and receive those carriers.

Note: iNFINITI line cards can only be used to transmit iNFINITI outbound carriers.
They cannot be used to transmit DVB-S2 outbound carriers.

Note: iDX Release 3.1 only supports TRANSEC on eM1D1 line cards in DVB-S2
networks. TRANSEC is not supported on iNFINITI line cards or in iDirect iNFINITI
networks.
You can use any of the following line card Model Types in this release.
• Evolution eM1D1 line card (DVB-S2 and iNFINITI outbound carriers)
• Evolution XLC-11 line card (DVB-S2 and iNFINITI outbound carriers)
• Evolution XLC-10 line card (Tx-only)
• Evolution eM0DM line card (Rx-only, Multichannel.)
• Evolution XLC-M line card (Rx-only, Multichannel, Narrowband TDMA Multichannel.)
• iNFINITI M1D1 line card (Transmit/Receive)
• iNFINITI M0D1 line card (Receive-only)
• iNFINITI M0D1-NB line card (Narrowband, Receive-only)
• iNFINITI M1D1-T line card (TRANSEC is not supported on this line card in iDX Release 3.1.)
• iNFINITI M1D1-TSS line card (Spread Spectrum. TRANSEC is not supported on this line card
in iDX Release 3.1.)
• iNFINITI 10000 series Private Hub
• iNFINITI 10000 series Mini Hub

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5.2 Adding a Network

To create the network, follow these steps:
1. Right-click the Protocol Processor and select Add Network.

The new network appears in the Tree with a system-generated name, and a dialog box
appears allowing you to define its parameters.

Figure 109. Network Dialog Box

2. Enter a Name for the Network.

3. Select the IF Network check box only if you are creating an L-Band/Bench Test network.
This is critical for IF networks. It has the effect of setting all geographic locations to zero
for FSO calculations.
4. Inhibit Tx (When beam quality = 0) is only applicable if you are using the Automatic
Beam Selection feature for roaming remotes.
When this option is selected, remotes will not attempt to join this network when the
beam quality at the current location is zero. If a remote has already joined this network
and the beam quality becomes zero, the remote will stop transmitting and look for
another network to join. If another network with positive beam quality is available, then
the remote will join that network. (See “Configuring Networks for Automatic Beam
Selection” on page 449 for more information.)

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Note: If you enable Inhibit Tx (When beam quality = 0) and your beam maps have
been designed to avoid unnecessary beam switching, it is possible that a
remote may mute its transmitter when you do not desire it. If you have
questions, please contact the iDirect TAC before enabling this feature.
5. If you want to add a persistent Multicast Group to your network:
a. In the Multicast Groups section of the dialog box, click the Add button to display the
Persistent Multicast Group dialog box (Figure 110).

Figure 110. Persistent Multicast Group Dialog Box for a Network

b. In the Persistent Multicast Group dialog box, enter the VLAN Id and the multicast
Address for the persistent multicast group.
c. Click OK in the Persistent Multicast Group dialog box.

Note: For more information, see the Technical Note titled “IP Multicast in iDirect
Networks.”
6. Click OK in the Network box to save your network configuration.
7. Once you have added remotes to your network, in the Remotes section of the screen, you
can activate or deactivate any remote in your network by selecting or clearing the
appropriate check box.

Note: You must deactivate a network before you can delete it. When a network is
activated, a check mark is shown next to the Activate Network selection in the
iBuilder tree context menu. To deactivate a network, right-click the network in
the tree and select Activate Network to remove the check mark. After applying
all resulting changes, you will be able to Delete the network.

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5.3 Line Card Types

You must select a Line Card Type when you add a line card to your iDirect network in iBuilder.
The Line Card Type that you select in iBuilder affects your choice of Model Type. (For
example, if you select Transmit Line Card as the Line Card Type, you cannot select M0D1 as
the Model Type since an M0D1 is a receive-only line card. See “iDirect Line Card and Hub
Models” on page 104 for a description of the available line card Model Types.)
The Line Card Types that you can select in iBuilder are shown in Figure 111.

Figure 111. iBuilder Line Card Type Selections

The various Line Card Types as they appear in iBuilder are defined as follows:
• Transmit Line Card: Transmit-only line card. The line card can transmit an outbound
carrier, but cannot receive an inbound carrier.
• Receive Line Card: Receive-only line card. The line card can receive an inbound carrier,
but cannot transmit an outbound carrier.
• Transmit and Receive Line Card: The line card can transmit an outbound carrier and
receive an inbound carrier. (This selection also applies to Private Hubs and Mini Hubs.)
• Standby Line Card: The line card acts as a standby (spare) line card for one or more
active line cards in a chassis or chassis group.
• Solo Transmit and Receive Line Card: A Transmit and Receive Line Card that is the only
active hub line card in a network. You cannot add additional Receive Line Cards to the
network if you select this option. A Solo line card can co-exist with other Solo line cards
or with one other Tx or Tx/Rx line card in a single Chassis Timing Group.

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5.4 Adding a Transmit or Transmit and Receive Line

Card
Only one line card in each network may have transmit capabilities. You should have already
created a downstream carrier. If you have not, the line card will have an Incomplete status
until a carrier is created and assigned to it and it is assigned to a hub chassis.
To add a transmit line card or a transmit and receive line card, follow these steps:
1. Right-click Network and select Add Transmit Line Card.

The new line card appears in the Tree with a system-generated generic name, and a
dialog box appears allowing you to define its basic parameters.

Figure 112. New Transmit Line Card Dialog Box

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2. Enter a Name for the line card.

3. Select a Model Type. The model type you select must match the installed line card or
10000 series hub. (See “iDirect Line Card and Hub Models” on page 104 for a list of line
card model types available in this release.)
4. Enter a Serial Number. A system-generated DID is displayed in the Derived ID box.
Serial numbers are not sufficient to uniquely identify remotes and line cards. Serial
numbers are guaranteed to be unique within a particular model type, but could repeat
from one model type to another. Therefore a unique Derived ID (DID) is automatically
generated to avoid problems that would be caused by duplicate serial numbers. The DID is
a 32-bit integer formed by joining a model type code with a unit’s serial number. Each
remote and line card has a unique DID value.
In the NMS, the DID is typically formatted as <Model Type Name>.<Serial Number>, for
example, 5150.1492. Occasionally you may see the raw DID, however, especially when
viewing server log files or console output. You may select the raw DID as a column to view
in iBuilder’s Details View to determine the raw DID of a modem.

WARNING! You must correctly specify both the serial number and the model type for a
line card or hub to function properly. If you configure an M1D1 card as an
M0D1 card, for example, the line card will not operate in a network.

5. Select the Line Card Type from the drop-down box. See “Line Card Types” on page 107
for options.
6. Select the Hub RFT that is associated with this network. This allows you to select the
appropriate carriers in Step 11.
7. Under LAN / MGMT IP Address, enter the IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Gateway used by
the NMS to communicate with the line card.
8. Under GIG0 IP Address:
a. Enter the IP address for downstream data from the protocol processor to the network.
b. Use the drop-down menu to set the Speed of your GIG0 port to 100 Mbps or 1000
Mbps.

Note: Your switch and chassis must support the selected port speed. (Older iDirect
chassis do not support 1000 Mbps.) Also, you must specifically configure the
port speed on your switch to be the same as the port speed selected for the line
card. Do not set the switch to auto-negotiate.

Note: The GIG0 port is only used in DVB-S2 networks.

9. Mesh is not supported in iDX Release 3.1. Therefore, the Mesh Enabled section of the Line
Card Information tab is not applicable to this release.
10. By default, the User Password is set to iDirect and the Admin Password is set to
P@55w0rd!. You should specify alternate, secure passwords.
11. Select the Transmit Carrier associated with this line card. If this is a transmit/receive
line card, also select the Receive Carrier.

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Note: Beginning with iDX Release 3.0, you cannot modify a line card’s Model Type,
Receive Mode, Serial Number, or Line Card Type once a Receive Carrier is
assigned to the Line Card. You must unassign the carrier to change these fields.
To unassign a receive carrier from a line card, first remove the carrier from its
inroute group or line card (in SCPC return mode) and then select None in the
Carrier Name field.
12. If desired, you can select an Alternate Downstream Carrier in the Alternate Transmit
Properties area of the dialog box.
An alternate downstream carrier is configured in order to facilitate moving a network to a
new downstream carrier while minimizing the chance of stranding remotes in the process.
See “Changing to an Alternate Downstream Carrier” on page 118 for the procedure to
move your network from the current transmit carrier to the alternate downstream carrier.

Note: You cannot select an alternate downstream carrier for your transmit line card
if your NMS server is licensed for the Global NMS feature.
13. The line card appears in the Tree under the Network.

Note: For details on deleting a line card, see “Deleting a Line Card” on page 116.

5.5 Setting Warning Properties for Line Cards

You can use iBuilder to modify both global properties of line card warnings and warning
properties for individual line cards. To change global warning properties for line cards, select
Global Warnings for Linecards from the Edit menu. To change warning properties for
individual line cards, click the Warning Properties tab for the line card you want to modify.
For details on configuring warning properties for line cards, remotes and protocol processor
blades, please see “Configuring Warning Properties” on page 52.

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5.6 Adding Receive-Only (Rx-Only) Line Cards

There are two types of line cards that can be configured as receive-only line cards:
• A Single Channel Line Card can receive a single upstream carrier.
• An eM0DM Multiple Channel Line Card can receive as many as eight upstream carriers.
• An XLC-M Multiple Channel Line Card can receive as many as eight upstream carriers or as
many as 16 narrowband TDMA upstream carriers (up to 128 ksym/s).
In addition, there are two types of upstream carriers that can be received by a receive-only
line card:
• A TDMA upstream carrier
• An SCPC upstream carrier
The combination of the number and type of upstream carriers that a line card is capable of
receiving results in four possible receive modes for a receive-only line card:
• Single Channel TDMA
• Single Channel SCPC
• Multiple Channel TDMA
• Multiple Channel SCPC
The receive modes that you can select in iBuilder for a receive-only line card depend on the
line card model type; the type of downstream carrier configured for your network (DVB-S2 or
iNFINITI); and licensing. The following restrictions apply to the receive mode selection:
• Only Evolution XLC-M and eM0DM line cards can receive multiple upstream carriers.
• All upstream carriers received by an Evolution XLC-M or eM0DM line card must be the
same carrier type. You cannot configure a multichannel line card to receive both SCPC
and TDMA carriers at the same time.
• All TDMA upstream carriers received by a multiple channel line card must be in the same
inroute group.
• All TDMA upstream carriers received by a multiple channel line card must be on the same
transponder.
• Only Evolution XLC-M, eM0DM, and eM1D1 line cards can receive SCPC upstream carriers.
• An Evolution eM1D1 line card receiving an SCPC upstream carrier must be configured as a
receive-only line card. It cannot be used as a Tx/Rx line card.
• Multiple Channel TDMA, Multiple Channel SCPC, and Single Channel SCPC modes are only
supported in DVB-S2 networks.
• Licenses are required to use Evolution XLC-M and eM0DM line cards in TDMA and SCPC
Multiple Channel modes for more than one channel. (See the iDirect Features and Chassis
Licensing Guide for details.)
• If an XLC-M line card has a narrowband multichannel license, individual upstream TDMA
carriers assigned to the line card cannot exceed 128 ksym/s.

Note: Beginning with iDX Release 3.0, you cannot modify a line card’s Model Type,
Receive Mode, Serial Number, or Line Card Type if a Receive Carrier is assigned
to the Line Card.

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To add a receive line card, follow these steps:

1. Right-click your Network and select Add Receive Line Card.

The new line card appears in the Tree with a system-generated generic name, and a
dialog box appears allowing you to define its basic parameters.

Figure 113. New Receive Line Card Dialog Box

2. Enter a Name for the line card.

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3. Select the Model Type of the line card. (See “iDirect Line Card and Hub Models” on
page 104 for a list of available line card model types.)
4. Select the Receive Mode of your receive line card. (See page 111 for an explanation of
the available receive modes.)
5. Enter the line card’s Serial Number. A Derived ID (DID) is automatically generated.
6. Under LAN / MGMT IP Address, enter the IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Gateway used by
the NMS to communicate with the line card.
7. Enter the GIG0 IP Address if applicable to this Model Type.
8. By default, the User Password is set to iDirect and the admin password is set to
P@55w0rd!. You may specify alternate passwords.
9. In Receive Properties, if you selected Single Channel TDMA mode or Single Channel
SCPC mode, select the Carrier associated with this line card.

Note: To enable Single Channel SCPC mode for an XLC-M line card, you must choose
Multiple Channel SCPC mode for Receive Properties, and select the Carrier
associated with the line card.

Note: Beginning with iDX Release 3.0, you cannot modify a line card’s Model Type,
Receive Mode, Serial Number, or Line Card Type once a Receive Carrier is
assigned to the Line Card. You must unassign the carrier to change these fields.
To unassign a receive carrier from a line card, first remove the carrier from its
inroute group or SCPC line card and then select None in the Carrier Name field.
10. To add your carriers in Multiple Channel TDMA mode or Multiple Channel SCPC mode,
follow the procedure in the next section, “Adding Multiple Receive Carriers to a Line
Card.”
11. Once you have added your carrier or carriers, click OK to save the line card configuration.
The receive line card appears in the iBuilder Tree under the Network.

5.6.1 Adding Multiple Receive Carriers to a Line Card

Follow the procedure in this section to add multiple carriers to an Evolution eM0DM or XLC-M
line card configured in Multiple Channel TDMA mode or Multiple Channel SCPC mode. (See
page 111 for restrictions on adding multiple carriers to your line cards.)

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If you selected Multiple Channel TDMA Mode or Multiple Channel SCPC Mode, the Receive
Properties area of the line card dialog box changes to the tabular format shown in Figure 114

Figure 114. Line Card Receive Properties: Multiple Channel Modes

Follow these steps to add your carriers:

1. Click the Configure Carriers button under Receive Properties (Figure 114) to open the
Select Carrier dialog box (Figure 115).

Figure 115. Adding an Rx Line Card: Select Carrier Dialog Box

Figure 115 shows the Select Carrier dialog box for a multichannel line card in Multiple
Channel SCPC mode. Notice that the line card is licensed for eight carriers and seven have
been selected.

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2. Enter a Line Card Center Frequency. This is the uplink RF center frequency of a 36 MHz
operational band. (The operational band must fall between 950 MHz and 1700 MHz for an
XLC-M line card or between 950 MHz and 2000 MHz for an eM0DM line card.) All upstream
carriers received by this line card must be completely within the 36 MHz operational
band, which is graphically represented at the bottom of the dialog box. You will not be
able to select carriers outside the band.
3. From the list of carriers, select the check box of each carrier that you want to assign to
the line card. As you select your carriers, the Composite Information Rate, Occupied
Bandwidth and Carriers Selected fields all update automatically. (Grey font in the table
indicates an unselectable carriers. A carrier may not be selectable for a number of
reasons. For example, you cannot select a carrier that is outside the 36 MHz band or a
carrier that is already assigned.)

Note: Since all TDMA carriers assigned to a multichannel line card are in the same
inroute group, you can only select TDMA carriers with the same Symbol
Rate, Error Correction and Modulation. However, these properties do not
need to be the same for SCPC carriers assigned to a multichannel line card.
4. Each selected carrier is displayed on the graph as a vertical green or yellow bar. The
yellow bar represents the carrier currently selected (ID 11 in Figure 115.) If you attempt
to select a carrier that is outside the 36 MHz band, it will be displayed as a red bar.
5. Select Show carriers associated with other line cards to see TDMA and SCPC upstream
carriers in this line card’s frequency band that are assigned to other line cards. Carriers
assigned to other line cards appear as vertical orange bars in the graph (Figure 116).

Figure 116. Viewing Other Assigned Upstream Carriers

Note: You can hover your curser over any carrier in the graph to see details of that
carrier’s configuration.
6. If you want to modify a carrier, double-click the carrier in the table, or select the row for
the carrier and click the Edit Carrier button.
7. If your line card is in Multiple Channel SCPC Mode, the User Group column appears on the
right side of the Select Carrier dialog box (Figure 115). In the User Group column, you
can associate a selected SCPC carrier with a return channel owned by the System user
group or by a VNO user group. Follow these steps:
a. Double-click the User Group field of the carrier.

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b. Select the User Group from the drop-down menu (Figure 117).

Figure 117. Associating an SCPC Return Channel with a VNO User Group

The carrier is now assigned to one of the SCPC channels owned by the selected VNO
user group. The carrier automatically becomes visible to the VNO user group.

Note: Only VNO user groups that own channels on this SCPC line card appear in
the drop-down menu. For details on assigning SCPC return channels to VNO
user groups, see “Configuring VNO Access Rights for SCPC Return Channels”
on page 369.
8. Click OK to save the carrier selections.

5.7 Deleting a Line Card

Follow the procedure in this section to delete a line card from iBuilder. This procedure applies
to both active line cards and failed line cards.

Note: If you are deleting an Rx-only line card, skip directly to Step 5 on page 117.
1. Right-click the inroute group of the line card you want to delete and select ModifyItem
to display the Inroute Group dialog box.
2. If you are deleting a Tx or Tx/Rx Line Card, remove all Rx line cards from the inroute
group. If you are deleting an Rx-only line card, remove only this line card from the inroute
group.
To remove a line card from an inroute group:
a. Select the line card in the Line Cards area of the dialog box.
b. Click Remove. (Figure 118)

Figure 118. Removing a Line Card from an Inroute Group

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3. Click OK to save the changes to the inroute group.

4. If this is a Tx or Tx/Rx line card:
a. Right-click the line card and select ModifyConfiguration to display the Line Card
dialog box.
b. In the Hub RFT field of the dialog box, select None.

Figure 119. Removing a Line Card from the Hub RFT

c. Click OK to save the changes to the line card. The line card will automatically be
placed in the “deactivation pending” state.
5. If this is an Rx-only line card, right-click the line card and select Activate Line Card to
remove the check mark (Figure 120). This puts the Rx line card in the “deactivation
pending” state.

Figure 120. Deactivating a Line Card

6. Right-click the line card and select Apply ConfigurationReliable (TCP) to deactivate
the line card.

Note: You may not be able to apply the changes if your line card has failed. In that
case, you must ensure that the failed line card is powered off or disconnected.
If the line card is configured in a chassis, you can power off the slot from
iBuilder. (See “Configuring and Controlling the Hub Chassis” on page 280.) For
standalone line cards or private hubs, you should physically disconnect or
power off the line card.

WARNING! A failed transmit line card may continue to transmit if not deactivated or
powered off.

7. If you were not able to deactivate the line card, you will not be able to delete it from
iBuilder unless you first set it to standby. To set the line card to standby:
a. Right-click the line card and select ModifyConfiguration to display the Line Card
dialog box.
b. In the Line Card Type field of the dialog box, select Standby.

Figure 121. Setting a Line Card to Standby

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Note: Some Model Types (e.g. Private Hub) cannot be changed to Standby. If
Standby is not available for your Model Type, select a Model Type that
supports the Standby role and then change the Line Card Type to Standby.
c. Click OK to save the line card changes.
8. Right-click the line card in the iBuilder tree and select Delete.

9. Click OK in the confirmation dialog box to delete the line card.

5.8 Changing to an Alternate Downstream Carrier

Follow the steps in this section to change your primary downstream carrier to the alternate
downstream carrier configured for your transmit line card. This procedure assumes that:
• You have already configured your alternate downstream carrier on the Tx Line Card dialog
box. (See step Step 12 of “Adding a Transmit or Transmit and Receive Line Card” on
page 108.)
• You have ensured that all remotes in your network have received their options files
containing the alternate downstream carrier definition.
• You are ready to move your network to the new downstream carrier.
See the chapter titled “Alternate Downstream Carrier” in the iDirect Technical Reference
Guide for a description of this feature.

WARNING! Remotes that have not been downloaded with the alternate downstream
carrier definition will be stranded. Site visits may be required to recover
those remotes.

When a remote rejoins a network configured with an alternate downstream carrier, it first
tries to acquire the last carrier it was receiving. When you follow the procedure in this
section, the old primary carrier is brought down and the new primary carrier begins
transmitting, forcing all remotes to lose lock and then try to rejoin the network. The remotes
first try to acquire the old active carrier before timing out and acquiring the new active
carrier. By default this timeout is set to five minutes (300 seconds). If you want to shorten this
timeout, define the following remote-side custom key on the Remote Custom tab for each
remote before executing the procedure.
[BEAMS_LOCAL]
net_state_timeout = <timeout>
where <timeout> is the number of seconds that the remote tries to acquire the primary
carrier before switching to the alternate carrier.
The example in this section shows how to swap the current active carrier (DVB-S2 Down
1250) with the alternate carrier (DVB-S2 Down 1230). This initial configuration is shown in

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Figure 122. (If you want to move to the alternate carrier, but do not want to select a new
alternate carrier, select None in Step 2 of the procedure.)

Figure 122. Swapping the Downstream Carriers: Initial Configuration

Follow these steps to move your network to the alternate downstream carrier:
1. Right-click your transmit line card in the iBuilder Tree and select ModifyConfiguration.
2. In the Carrier Name field of the Alternate Transmit Properties section of the Line Card
dialog box, select the carrier that is currently defined as the active downstream carrier.

Figure 123. Selecting the New Alternate Downstream Carrier

3. In Carrier Name field of the Transmit Properties section of the Line Card dialog box,
select the carrier that was configured as the alternate downstream carrier as the new
primary downstream carrier.

Figure 124. Selecting the New Primary Downstream Carrier

4. Click OK to save your changes. The iBuilder Tree will show changes pending on your
transmit line card, receive line cards, and remotes (hub-side and remote-side).

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5. Apply the changes to your transmit and receive line cards. Also apply the hub-side
changes to your remotes.

Note: To avoid applying the remote-side changes twice, wait until the remotes have
re-acquired the network on the new carrier before applying the remote-side
changes.
At this point, the remotes will lose the original primary carrier. Since they were last
locked to that carrier, they will attempt to re-acquire on the same carrier. After the
remotes timeout, they will search for their alternate carrier which is the new active
carrier. At that point, the remotes will rejoin the network.
6. Once the remotes have rejoined the network on the new active carrier, apply the remote-
side changes.

Note: Any remotes that were not in the network at the time of the carrier change will
acquire the new carrier when they re-acquire the network since that carrier is
still defined as their alternate carrier.

5.9 Defining a Standby Line Card

When standby line cards are configured in your network, the NMS can automatically detect
the failure of an operational line card and swap that card for a standby line card if one is
available. You are not required to configure any standby line cards. If a line card fails and
there is no standby backing it up, the NMS server will not attempt to initiate a failover.

5.9.1 Overview of Line Card Redundancy

Line card redundancy is defined by the relationship between a standby and an active line
card. An active line card is any line card configured to be active in your network under normal
operating conditions when no line card failures have occurred. An active line card can be any
of the following:
• A Tx (or Tx/Rx) line card configured to transmit the iNFINITI or DVB-S2 outbound carrier in
an iDirect network to the remote modems. (A Tx/Rx line card also receives a TDMA
inroute transmitted by the remotes in the network. Both Tx and Tx/Rx line cards are
referred to as Tx line cards in this section.)
• An Rx-only line card configured to receive one or more inbound TDMA carrier or one or
more inbound SCPC carriers transmitted by the remote modems in a network. (An Rx-only
line card does not transmit an outbound carrier. Rx-only line cards are referred to as Rx
line cards in this section.)
A standby line card is a line card that does not become operational until it is enabled by the
NMS to take over for an active line card. Line card switching can be automatic or manual,
depending on the configuration of the standby line card.
In the iDirect system, there are two types of relationships between standby and active line
cards:
• A warm standby is a line card that has been pre-configured with the same software and
configuration as an active line card. Because the configuration is pre-loaded, a line card
acting as a warm standby for an active line card provides the fastest recovery time
available. However, a line card can serve as a warm standby for only one active line card.

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• A cold standby is not pre-loaded with the same configuration as the active line card. Since
the configuration must be downloaded from the NMS server to the line card before the
standby can become operational, a line card acting as a cold standby for an active line
card takes significantly longer to take over for a failed active line card. However, a line
card can serve as a cold standby for multiple active line cards.
Automatic failover occurs when the NMS fails to receive the expected heartbeat message
from the active line card. The following prerequisite conditions must be met in order for the
failover operation to proceed:
1. A standby line card must be configured in iBuilder for the network to back up the failed
line card.
2. The standby line card must be in the OK state (and accessible from the NMS) as
determined by the NMS event server.
3. A standby line card backing up a Tx or Tx/Rx line card must be in the same chassis as the
failed line card.
4. A standby line card backing up an Rx-only line card must be in the same chassis or chassis
group as the failed line card.
5. The chassis must be accessible to the NMS through the TCP interface.
6. A standby line card must be a warm standby for at least one active line card. (There is no
requirement to establish any cold relationships.)

Note: When configuring a line card to backup a transmit line card, connect the Tx IFL
cable only after the standby line card configuration has been downloaded.
Once you have configured the line card, ensure that the cable is connected.
Default redundancy relationships are not established automatically when you configure
standby line cards for your networks. Therefore, once you have configured a standby line
card, you must explicitly configure the warm and cold redundancy relationships for that line
card on the chassis. (See “Managing Line Card Redundancy Relationships” on page 124 for
details.)
When you configure a standby line card in a network, you can limit the types of redundancy
relationships that an operator can configure for the line card using the Allow Failover For
field of the Standby Line Card dialog box. The following selections are available:
• None: The standby line card does not back up any active line cards. The line card cannot
be swapped (automatically or manually) for a failed line card until another selection is
made. The line card’s configuration will be labeled “incomplete” in the iBuilder tree.
• All: The standby line card can be configured to act as a warm standby for one line card
and as a cold standby for any remaining line cards. (Typically the standby line card is
configured as a warm standby for the Tx line card and as a cold standby for Rx line cards.
This favors the most critical line card. In a multi-inroute, frequency-hopping network, the
failure of a receive-only line card results in diminished upstream bandwidth only; remotes
will automatically load-balance across the remaining receive line card(s) without
dropping out of the network. However, if the transmit line card fails, the entire network
will be out of service.)
• Tx Only: The standby line card can be configured to act only as a standby for the Tx (or
Tx/Rx) line card.

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• Rx Only: The standby line card can be configured to act as a warm standby for one Rx (or
Tx/Rx) line card and as a cold standby for all remaining Rx line cards.
In general, a standby line card can only back up line cards of the same model type. Table 3
shows the line card model types that can act as standby for each active line card model type.

Table 3. Standby Line Card Model Type Compatibility

Active Line Card Required Standby Line Card

Model Type Model Type
M1D1 M1D1
M1D1-T M1D1-T
M1D1-TSS M1D1-TSS
eM1D1 eM1D1
eM0DM eM0DM
XLC-11 XLC-11
XLC-10 XLC-10
XLC-M XLC-M
M0D1 M0D1, M1D1
M0D1-NB M0D1-NB, M1D1

Note: For a multichannel receive line card to back up another multichannel receive
line card, the backup line card must be licensed for at least as many upstream
channels as the active line card.

5.9.2 Adding a Standby Line Card to a Network

Follow the procedure in this section to add a standby line card to a TDMA network:
1. Right-click your Network and select Add Standby Line Card to display the Line Card
dialog box.

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Figure 125. New Standby Line Card Dialog Box

2. Enter a Name, Model Type, Serial Number, and LAN IP Address for the new line card.
3. Configure the GIG0 IP Address as required.
4. Make sure that Standby is selected for Line Card Type.
5. Select the desired option in the Allow Failover For drop-down list. Four selections are
available in the menu:

• Select None to disable failover. You cannot configure redundancy relationships for
this standby line card if None is selected. Changing a standby line card’s selection to
None deletes any existing redundancy relationships.
• Select All to allow the standby line card to be configured to backup all transmit and
receive line cards.
• Select Tx Only to allow the standby line card to be configured to backup only your
transmit (or Tx/Rx) line card.
• Select Rx Only to allow the standby line card to be configured to backup only your
receive line cards. (This includes Tx/Rx line cards.)
6. Click OK to save the standby line card configuration.

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7. Once you have defined your standby line card, follow the procedures in the next section
“Managing Line Card Redundancy Relationships” to set up the line card’s redundancy
relationships.

5.9.3 Managing Line Card Redundancy Relationships

Before you can configure or modify the redundancy relationships among your active and
standby line cards, all line cards must be assigned to a chassis. A chassis with line cards
assigned is shown in Figure 126. For details on configuring a chassis, see “Configuring a Hub
Chassis” on page 277.

Figure 126. Sample Chassis Configuration

Viewing Line Card Redundancy Relationships

Once the line cards have been added to the chassis, follow these steps to view the
redundancy relationships:
1. Right-click your chassis and select ModifyManage Line Card Redundancy to display the
Manage line card redundancy dialog box.

The default view (By Standby) of the Manage line card redundancy dialog box is shown in
Figure 127.

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Figure 127. Manage Line Card Redundancy Dialog Box: By Standby View

This dialog box has two views. The default view (By Standby, shown in Figure 127) lists each
standby line card on the left. On the right of each standby, the dialog box lists each active
line card backed up by the standby line card, and the standby line card’s relationship (warm
or cold) to the active line card.
The second view (By Active, shown in Figure 128) lists the active line cards on the left and
each of their standby line cards on the right.

Figure 128. Manage Line Card Redundancy Dialog Box: By Active View

To switch between views, right-click anywhere in the dialog box and select the View you want
from the menu.

The dialog box is divided into virtual backplanes, organized by the assignments of the line
cards to the chassis. The dialog box also shows the physical slot numbers and the redundancy
relationships of all line cards in the chassis.

Configuring Line Card Redundancy Relationships

You can perform the following operations to configure the redundancy relationships among
your active and standby line cards:
• Assign a standby line card as a warm standby
• Assign a standby line card as a cold standby
• Dissociate a standby line card from all redundancy relationships
• Dissociate an active line card from a single cold standby relationship
You can reconfigure your line card redundancy relationships from either View in the Manage
Line Card Redundancy dialog box by right-clicking on an active or standby line card and
selecting the desired option from the context menu. The following sections explain how to
configure these relationships.

Note: A standby line card must be assigned as a warm standby for an active line card
before it can become a cold standby for any additional line cards.

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Assigning a Warm Standby to an Active Line Card

Follow these steps to establish a warm redundancy relationship between an active line card
and a standby line card:
1. In the Manage Line Card Redundancy dialog box, right-click a standby line card and
select Assign as warm, or right-click an active line card and select Assign a warm
standby.

2. If there are any valid line cards available, a dialog box appears with a list of all valid
selections. (If you right-clicked a standby line card, available active line cards are listed.)
If you right-clicked an active line card, available standby line cards are listed. Both views
are shown in Figure 129.)

Figure 129. Assigning a Warm Standby Line Card

3. Select a line card from the list and click OK. iBuilder saves the configuration immediately.

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4. Apply the changes to the standby line card by right-clicking the line card in the iBuilder
tree menu and select Apply Configuration.

Assigning a Cold Standby to an Active Line Card

Follow these steps to establish a cold redundancy relationship between an active line and a
standby line card:
1. In the Manage Line Card Redundancy dialog box, right-click a standby line card and
select Assign as cold, or right-click an active line card and select Assign a cold standby.

2. If there are any valid line cards available, a dialog box appears with a a list of all valid
selections. (If you right-clicked a standby line card, available active line cards are listed.
If you right-clicked an active line card, available standby line cards are listed. Both views
are shown in Figure 130.)

Figure 130. Assigning a Cold Standby Line Card

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3. Select a line card from the list and click OK. iBuilder saves the configuration immediately.

Note: You do not need to apply the changes to the cold standby line card. A cold
standby is automatically downloaded when a failover occurs.

Removing a Warm Redundancy Relationship

Follow these steps to remove a warm redundancy relationship between an active line card
and a standby line card:
1. In the Manage Line Card Redundancy dialog box, right-click a standby line card.
2. Select Dissociate all from the menu. This will clear all of the standby line card’s
redundancy relationships.

Note: The only way to remove a warm relationship is to dissociate all relationships
from a standby line card. Therefore, once you remove a warm relationship, you
must recreate any cold relationships associated with that standby line card
after assigning a new warm relationship.

Removing a Cold Redundancy Relationship

Follow these steps to remove a cold redundancy relationship between an active line card and
a standby line card:
1. In the Manage Line Card Redundancy dialog box, right-click an active line card and
select Dissociate from standby from the menu.

2. In the Dissociate cold standby dialog box, select all standby line cards that you no longer
want to serve as cold standbys for the active line card. Then click OK. The standby line

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card will not be selected to take over for the active line card in the event that the active
line card fails.

Figure 131. Removing a Cold Redundancy Relationship

5.9.4 Swapping an Active and Standby Line Card

Follow these steps to manually swap an active line card with a standby line card. Use the
same command to perform a manual failover to replace a failed active line card with a
standby line card. When you swap an operational line card with a standby line card, the line
cards swap roles and both slots remain powered on. However, if the original line card has
failed or if a problem occurs during the swap, the NMS will power off the slot of the failed line
card.

Note: In order to perform a manual swap, the standby line card must have a
redundancy relationship with the active line card.
1. Right-click the active line card and select Swap Line Card from the menu.

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2. In the dialog box, select the standby line card that you want to be the new active line
card.

Figure 132. Choosing a New Active Line Card During Line Card Swap

3. Click OK to swap the line cards.

Figure Figure 133 shows the events you will see in iMonitor if the line cards are successfully
swapped.

Figure 133. Line Card Swap Event Sequence

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5.9.5 Line Card Failover

Automatic failover occurs when the NMS fails to receive the expected heartbeat message
from the active line card. If this happens, the NMS changes the state of the active card to
failed and then attempts to perform a series of actions to switch the active and standby line
cards. Note that this series of actions will only succeed if the active line card has experienced
a temporary loss of communication with the NMS long enough to trigger the failover, but short
enough to allow the NMS to re-establish communication with the failed line card during the
course of these actions. Otherwise, the standby line card will take over for the failed active
line card, and the failed line card will be disabled.

Note: For line cards with an active GIG0 port, the NMS expects a heartbeat message
from both line card LAN ports.
The NMS performs the following actions to attempt to switch a failed active line card and a
standby line card:
1. The NMS monitors the standby line card to ensure that the standby remains operational.
2. The NMS establishes a TCP connection to the failed line card and reconfigures it to be a
standby line card.
3. The NMS establishes a TCP connection to the original standby line card and reconfigures it
to be the new active line card.
4. The NMS re-establishes all redundancy relationships for the new standby line card,
mirroring the redundancy configuration of the old standby as it existed before the
failover.
If all of the steps above are successful, you will see the same sequence of events in iMonitor
that you see when you manually swap line cards. See Figure 133 on page 130.
In many cases, the NMS will be unable to configure the failed line card to be the new standby
line card. If the NMS cannot connect to the failed line card, it will power off the chassis slot
of that line card. It will then re-configure the original standby to be the new active line card
to recover the network. At that point, the system will be operational, but the failed line card
will be in an interim state requiring recovery. You should call the iDirect TAC to assist you in
diagnosing the reason for the failure and to guide you through the recovery process.
If the line card experienced a hard failure or internal component failure, you will be
instructed to remove the failed card from the chassis and return it to iDirect for repair. Some
failures, such as those listed below, may be repaired on-site.
• Switch port failure
• LAN cable failure
• FPGA image load failure or runtime flash corruption

WARNING! Do not power on the chassis slot of a failed line card unless the I/F Tx and Rx
cables are disconnected and you have recovered from the line card failure
condition.

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5.10 Adding Inroute Groups

Inroute Groups are groups of TDMA upstream carriers (inroutes) assigned to receive line cards.
In iBuilder, you add inroutes to inroute groups by assigning the line cards configured to receive
the TDMA upstream carriers to the inroute group. You may add a receive-only line card or a
transmit and receive line card to an Inroute Group. However, transmit-only line cards may not
be included since they do not receive inbound carriers. Bundling several receive line cards
together in a single Inroute Group allows for load balancing among the individual line cards.
You must create Inroute Groups before you can add TDMA remotes to the network.

Note: A dedicated SCPC upstream carrier is assigned directly to the remote that
transmits that carrier. Therefore, an SCPC remote is not part of an inroute
group. (See “Adding Remotes” on page 144 for details on assigning an SCPC
upstream carrier to a remote.)
The relationship between carriers, line cards, and inroute groups in a TDMA-only network is
shown in Figure 134. There are specific rules regarding the assignment of line cards to inroute
groups.
1. You cannot assign a line card to an inroute group unless its assigned carrier is identical in
data rate and FEC block size to the other line card(s) in that inroute group.
2. You cannot assign a line card to an inroute group if it is already assigned to another
inroute group. In this case, if rule 1 is true, you can un-assign the line card from its
current inroute group and re-assign it to the desired inroute group.
3. You may not change a line card’s carrier assignment if the line card is assigned to an
inroute group. However, you may modify the characteristics of the current carrier (see
rule 4).
4. If you modify either the FEC block size or data rate of a carrier that belongs to a line card
in an inroute group, iBuilder will automatically change all other carriers that belong to
the other line cards in that inroute group. It will prompt you first and allow you to cancel
the modify operation.
To assign a line card to an inroute group, modify the Inroute Group and click Add. iBuilder will
only show you line cards that are valid to be assigned to that inroute group. If you don’t see
line cards you expect to see, review the rules above.

Network

Inroute Group 1 Inroute Group n

Inroute Group n

Tx/Rx -- or -- Rx Remotes
Remotes
Hub Line Card Remotes
Remotes

Inroute Carrier
(in Spacecraft folder in tree)

Figure 134. Inroute Group Relationships in TDMA Network

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5.10.1 Carrier Grooming

When Carrier Grooming is enabled for an inroute group with multiple inroutes, TDMA remotes
in the inroute group dynamically acquire the inroute with the fewest number of remotes.
Once acquired, the remote will transmit on that inroute until it re-acquires. iMonitor’s
Inroute Distribution screen provides an “ACQ Bounce” function that forces a remote to re-
acquire without resetting. An RCM is required for Carrier Grooming.

5.10.2 Frequency Hopping

When Frequency Hopping is enabled for an inroute group, remotes dynamically load-balance
across all inroutes in the group based on inroute demand. The Protocol Processor analyzes
upstream demand from all remotes and automatically allocates timeplan slot assignments to
achieve an equal balance of remote demand across all the inroutes. Remotes “hop” from one
inroute to another either on a frame boundary or within the same frame depending on the
nature of the demand. Frequency Hopping requires a Hub Chassis with redundant Reference
Clock Modules (RCMs).
Both Carrier Grooming and Frequency Hopping provide an added level of inroute redundancy
as well as improved performance. When line cards are added to or removed from a network,
TDMA remotes respond dynamically, either by reacquiring another inroute when a line card is
removed or fails, or by moving to a newly added inroute.

5.10.3 Adding an Inroute Group

1. Right-click your Network in the iBuilder tree and select Add Inroute Group.

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The new inroute group appears in the Tree with a system-generated generic name, and a
dialog box appears allowing you to define the basic parameters.

Figure 135. Inroute Group Dialog Box

2. Enter a Name for the Inroute Group.

3. Select Carrier Grooming or Frequency Hopping. See “Carrier Grooming” on page 133 and
“Frequency Hopping” on page 133 for more information.

Note: Beginning with iDS Release 8.0, Free Slot Allocation is always on and is no
longer configurable on the Inroute Group Information tab. For information
about Free Slot Allocation, see the chapter titled “QoS Implementation
Principles” in the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.
4. Mesh is not supported in iDX Release 3.1. Therefore, the Mesh section of the Inroute
Group Information tab is not applicable to this release.

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5. Click Add to add Rx-only or Tx/Rx line cards to this Inroute Group. Upstream carriers
assigned to the selected line cards must have the same Information Rate, FEC Rate, and
Modulation. The Assign Hub To Inroute Group Dialog Box opens.

Figure 136. Assign Hub to Inroute Group Dialog Box

6. In the Assign Hub To Inroute Group dialog box, select the line cards that you wish to add.
Click OK. You are returned to the Inroute Group dialog box.
7. The Inroutes area of the Information tab displays information about the carrier of the line
card selected in the Line Cards list. Many of these parameters are shared by all carriers in
the Inroute Group. These settings are configured on the Uplink and Downlink Carrier
dialog boxes, described in “Adding TDMA Upstream Carriers” on page 76.

Figure 137. Inroute Group Dialog Box: Inroutes Section

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8. Click the Acquisition/Uplink Control tab.

Figure 138. Inroute Group Acquisition/Uplink Control Tab

9. Specify the Uplink Control Parameters.

• Frequency Range is a read-only field showing the total range of the frequency band
“swept” during acquisition, one half on either side of the target frequency. This value
reflects the stability entered in the hub down converter (LNB) configuration.
• Frequency Interval is the read-only step size for the sweep across the Frequency
Range.
• The Fine Adjust and Coarse Adjust parameters define the ranges and increments
used when applying uplink power control adjustments to the upstream carriers for
this inroute group.

Note: You can click and drag the Power Adjust sliders to vary the C/N ranges and
automatically update the Fine Adjust and Course Adjust settings.
• TDMA Nominal C/N is the target C/N value of the TDMA upstream carrier as measured
by the Line Card modem. TDMA Nominal C/N should be set during hub
commissioning.
Typically, TDMA Nominal C/N is the C/N threshold for your inroutes from the Link
Budget Analysis Guide plus the additional operating margin determined by the Link
Budget Analysis for your network.

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TDMA Nominal C/N is determined based on the link budget analysis for your network,
which takes into consideration the modulation and FEC rate. The fine adjustment is
typically set to +/-1 dB.
For networks that migrate from iDS Release 6.0, this value will be set to:
(Fine Adjust Upper C/N – Fine Adjust Lower C/N) / 2
• TDMA Clear Sky C/N applies to mesh inroutes only. Mesh is not supported in iDX
Release 3.1.
10. Click OK and the Inroute Group appears in the Tree under the Network.

Note: You can click and drag the Power Adjust sliders to vary the C/N ranges and
automatically update the Fine Adjust and Course Adjust settings.

Note: The Group QoS tab is discussed in Chapter 7, “Configuring Quality of Service
for iDirect Networks”.

5.11 DVB-S2 Network Parameters

iBuilder allows you to configure the network-level parameters that control how a DVB-S2
network behaves when ACM is enabled for your downstream carrier.
These parameters affect the following two areas of ACM operation:
• The thresholds which determine a remote’s current MODCOD based on its reported Signal-
to-Noise Ratio (SNR)
• The behavior of the system during remote fade conditions
You can modify the following DVB-S2 parameters:
• Steady State Margin (Default: 0.5 dB): The margin added to the SNR thresholds measured
at hardware qualification to arrive at the operational SNR threshold during steady state
operation.
• Fast Fade Margin (Default: 1 dB): The additional margin added to the SNR thresholds
measured at hardware qualification to arrive at the operational threshold during a “fast
fade” condition. During a fade, this margin is added to the Steady State Margin.
• Fast Fade Threshold (Default: 0.5 dB): The drop in receive signal strength between two
consecutive SNR measurements by a remote that causes the remote to enter a “fast fade”
state. If, during steady state operation, a remote reports an SNR drop that is greater than
or equal to the Fast Fade Threshold, then the hub considers the remote to be in the fast
fade state.
• Fade Slope Threshold (Default: 0.3 dB per second): The rate of drop in receive signal
strength by a remote that causes the remote to enter a “fast fade” state. If, during
steady state operation, a remote’s SNR drops at a rate that is greater than or equal to the
Fade Slope Threshold, then the hub considers the remote to be in a fast fade state.

Note: These parameters apply to all remotes in an ACM network. You cannot modify
these settings for individual remotes.

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5.11.1 System Operation

During steady state conditions, DVB-S2 remotes report their current SNR measurements to the
hub every five seconds. The hub monitors the SNR measurements of each remote. Using the
network settings for the Fast Fade Threshold and the Fade Slope Threshold, the hub
determines whether or not a remote has entered the fast fade state. If either the Fast Fade
Threshold or the Fade Slope Threshold is exceeded, the remote is placed in the fast fade
state. When in the fast fade state, the remote reports its current SNR to the hub every
second. Once the remote has stabilized and is no longer exceeding either of the above
thresholds, the hub returns the remote to the steady state condition. This typically takes a
few seconds due to processing time and transmission delay.
During hardware qualification of a DVB-S2 remote model type, SNR thresholds are determined
for each MODCOD that the remote can receive. Each threshold represents the minimum SNR
at which the remote can reliably receive the MODCOD. These thresholds are published in the
Technical Reference Guide and in the Link Budget Analysis Guide.
In an operational network, the system adds margin to these SNR thresholds to ensure that the
remote can receive the outbound carrier with Quasi Error Free (QEF) performance. During
steady state operation, the Steady State Margin is added to the threshold. Additional margin,
Fast Fade Margin, is added during fast fade conditions at the remote.
In addition to the margin added to the SNR threshold during operation, the system must also
take into account the variance, or margin of error, associated with the remote’s SNR
measurement. To account for this margin of error, an additional 0.2 dB is added to the SNR
threshold.

Note: By default, the additional error margin may be incorrectly set to 0.5 dB rather
than 0.2 dB. To check this setting and to modify it if required, follow the
procedure in “Checking the DVB-S2 Error Margin” on page 140.
As an example, consider an Evolution e8350 Satellite Router receiving a DVB-S2 outbound
carrier with a current MODCOD of 16PSK 3/4. This MODCOD has an SNR threshold of 10.8 dB,
determined at hardware qualification. Table 4 shows the operational SNR threshold below
which the hub changes the outbound frames transmitted to the remote to a lower MODCOD.
The table assumes the default settings for the Steady State Margin and Fast Fade Margin are
in effect.

Table 4. Example: Calculating Operational SNR Thresholds

Steady State Fast Fade

Conditions Conditions
SNR Threshold (From LBA) 10.8 dB 10.8 dB
Steady State Margin 0.5 dB 0.5 dB
Fast Fade Margin N/A 1.0 dB
Margin of Error 0.2 dB 0.2 dB
Operational SNR Threshold 11.5 dB 12.5 dB

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Adding margin to increase the SNR threshold causes the system to behave more conservatively
by dropping to a lower MODCOD at a higher SNR threshold. For more information, see the LInk
Budget Analysis Guide and the Technical Reference Guide for this release.

5.11.2 Configuring DVB-S2 Network Parameters

You can configure the DVB-S2 parameters at the network level of the iBuilder Tree.

WARNING! Adjusting these parameters can adversely affect the performance of your
ACM network. You should consult with iDirect before changing these settings
in an operational network.

To modify the DVB-S2 parameters for a network:

1. Right-click your Network in the iBuilder tree and select ModifyDVB-S2 from the menu.

2. In the DVB-S2 Configuration dialog box, edit any settings you want to change.

Figure 139. DVB-S2 Configuration Dialog Box

The Steady State Margin and Fast Fade Margin must be greater than or equal to zero.
The Fast Fade Threshold and Fade Slope Threshold must be greater than zero.

Note: Click Set to Default to return the network to the default settings.
3. Click OK to save the new settings

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4. Right-click your DVB-S2 network in the iBuilder Tree and select Apply Configuration
Network to send the changes to the protocol processor.

Checking the DVB-S2 Error Margin

The additional error margin in DVB-S2 ACM networks used to account for variance in SNR
measurements when switching between receive MODCODs for remotes should be set to 0.2 dB
by default. (See Table 4.) However, in some releases, this parameter is incorrectly set to 0.5
dB.
To determine the value configured for the error margin for a DVB-S2 network:
1. Right-click the DVB-S2 network in the iBuilder Tree and select RetrieveActive Network
Configuration.
2. In the Save As dialog box, click Save to save the network options file. The options file will
automatically open in Notepad.
3. In the [DVBS2] section of the options file, check the value of the threshold parameter.
This parameter is configured in units of 0.01 dB.
Figure 140 shows the [DVBS2] section of a network options file with threshold set to 0.5
dB.

Figure 140. DVB-S2 Error Margin Threshold Set to 0.5 dB

To change the additional error margin to 0.2 dB:

1. Right-click the DVB-S2 network in the iBuilder Tree and select ModifyItem.
2. Click the Custom tab.
3. Enter the following custom key:
[DVBS2]
threshold = 20
4. Click OK to save the changes.
5. Right-click the DVB-S2 network in the iBuilder Tree and select Apply Configuration
Network to send the changes to the protocol processor.

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5.11.3 Adjusting DVB-S2 Parameters for CCM Networks

The iDirect system simulates CCM on the DVB-S2 outbound carrier by setting the Minimum
MODCOD and Maximum MODCOD to the same value. (For details on configuring your DVB-S2
carrier, see “Adding Downstream Carriers” on page 73.) If your DVB-S2 carrier is configured
for CCM, adjust the DVB-S2 network parameters as follows:
• Set the Steady State Margin to 0.
• Set the Fast Fade Margin to 0.
• Set the Fast Fade Threshold to a large number (for example, 3 dB).
• Set the Fade Slope Threshold to a large number (for example, 3 dB).
These parameters are defined in “DVB-S2 Network Parameters” on page 137. The procedure
for configuring these parameters is documented in “Configuring DVB-S2 Network Parameters”
on page 139.
In addition to adjusting the DVB-S2 network parameters, add the following custom keys:
On the Custom Tab of each remote in the CCM network, enter the following Remote-Side
custom key:
[DVBS2]
override_acm_mon = 1
On the Custom Tab of the Tx Line Card transmitting the CCM carrier, enter the following
custom keys:
[DVBS2]
fill_frame_enable = 1
fill_frame_modcod = n
where n is the MODCOD index of the MODCOD selected for your DVB-S2 CCM carrier.

Note: MODCOD indexes are documented in the Link Budget Analysis Guide for your
release.

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Your remote satellite routers provide IP connectivity between each remote LAN and the hub.
This chapter provides detailed procedures for configuring remotes to operate in your iDirect
networks. The chapter contains the following sections:
• “iDirect Remote Satellite Router Models” on page 143
• “Before You Start” on page 144
• “Adding Remotes” on page 144
• “Setting Warning Properties for Remotes” on page 180
• “Adding a Remote by Cloning an Existing Remote” on page 180
• “Roaming Remotes” on page 181
• “Enabling IP Packet Compression Types” on page 190

6.1 iDirect Remote Satellite Router Models

iDX Release 3.1 supports the following remote satellite router model types:
• Evolution e8350 (DVB-S2 and iNFINITI modes)
• iConnex e800, iConnex e850mp (DVB-S2 and iNFINITI modes)
• Evolution eP100
• Evolution X5 (DVB-S2 and iNFINITI modes)
• Evolution X3
• Evolution X1, X1 Outdoor
• iNFINITI 8350
• iNFINITI 7300, 7350
• iNFINITI 5300, 5350
• iNFINITI 5100, 5150
• iNFINITI 3100, 3125, 3100-NB (Narrowband)
• iConnex 700, iConnex 300, iConnex 100

Note: The Evolution eP100 is a custom form-factor remote satellite router that is not
generally available for purchase.

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6.2 Before You Start

Configuring remotes is a complex procedure. Before you start, you must know the IP
addressing scheme of your network, the specifications of all outdoor components, and the
geographic location and hemisphere of your satellite. You must also have performed the
following functions before configuring a remote:
• Configured the network in which the remote will reside
• Configured all of that network’s parent elements
• Configured one or more Inroute Groups within the network where the remotes will
reside

Note: An inroute group is not required for a remote that transmits an SCPC upstream
carrier to the hub. In the iBuilder tree, an SCPC remote is added directly to the
line card that receives the remote’s upstream carrier.

6.3 Adding Remotes

Any iDirect remote that transmit to the hub on a TDMA upstream carrier must be associated
with an Inroute Group. This allows the remotes in the inroute group to share the TDMA
carriers (line cards) assigned to the inroute group. You will probably have a large number
remotes associated with a each Inroute Group.
An SCPC remote transmits a dedicated SCPC return channel to a receive line card at the hub.
An SCPC remote is not a member of an inroute group. Instead, an SCPC remote is associated
with its receive line card. For a line card to receive an SCPC upstream carrier, the line must
be configured in single channel or multiple channel SCPC mode. See “Adding Receive-Only
(Rx-Only) Line Cards” on page 111 for details.

Note: Only an Evolution e8350, Evolution X5 or Evolution X3 remote in a DVB-S2

network can transmit an SCPC upstream carrier.
To add and configure remotes, follow these steps:
1. If you are adding a remote to an inroute group, right-click the Inroute Group and select
Add Remote.

Note: You cannot add an Evolution X1 remote to an Inroute Group if the TDMA
upstream carriers in the Inroute Group are larger 2 Msps.
If you are adding an SCPC remote, right-click the receive line card and select Add SCPC
Remote from the menu.

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6.4 Remote Information Tab

The new remote appears in the Tree with a system-generated generic name, and a dialog box
appears allowing you to define this remote’s configuration parameters. The Remote dialog
box has a number of user-selectable tabs across the top. The Information tab (Figure 141) is
visible when the dialog box opens.

Figure 141. Remote Information Tab

Note: The Switch tab only appears if you are configuring a remote with an eight-port
switch. See “Remote Switch Tab” on page 161 for details.
2. On the Remote Information tab, enter a Name for this remote.
3. Select the Model Type of the remote from the drop-down list. The model type you select
must match the actual hardware model.

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4. Enter the Serial Number of the remote.

5. A system-generated Derived ID (DID) automatically appears.
Serial numbers are not sufficient to uniquely identify remotes and line cards. Serial
numbers are guaranteed to be unique within a particular model type, but could be
duplicated from one model type to another. To avoid potential duplicates and the
problems they would cause, iDirect uses the concept of a Derived ID, or DID. The DID is a
32-bit integer formed by joining a model type code with a unit’s serial number. Each
remote and line card will have a unique DID value.
In the NMS, the DID is typically formatted as <Model Type Name>.<Serial Number>, for
example 5150.1492. Occasionally you may see the raw DID, however, especially when
viewing server log files or console output. You may also select the raw DID as a column to
view in iBuilder’s Details View.
6. For TDMA remotes, the name of the remote’s Inroute Group automatically appears in the
Inroute Group field. The Inroute Group field is not applicable to SCPC remotes.
7. By default, the User Password is set to iDirect and the Admin Password is set to
P@55w0rd!. You may specify alternate passwords. The User Password provides users with
access to basic commands and the Admin password provides administrator-level access to
all commands. For security reasons, network operators should change the User and Admin
passwords from the defaults.
8. Select Active to make the Protocol Processor aware of the remote site in the network
once you apply changes at the network level. If the remote is Active, the remote is
available for access to the network.
Network operators can define the remote parameters before actually activating the
remote when it is commissioned. This option also allows you to deactivate remotes, which
removes them from the Protocol Processor’s current network configuration, but leaves the
configured parameters intact.
9. Select MUSiC Box, Disable Tx PWM, Disable Authentication, and/or Link Encryption.
a. Select MUSiC Box if this site uses a Multi User Summing Chassis at the remote site.
The iDirect MUSiC Box allows a common antenna/electronics platform to be shared
across multiple remotes that are at the same physical location. Selecting MUSiC Box
overwrites VSAT ODU settings that turn on the DC/10 MHz timing; instead, the MUSiC
Box provides the DC/10 MHz timing.
b. Select Disable Tx PWM to disable the Transmit Pulse Width Modulation on the remote
and enable console pointing mode. (With this box selected, installers don’t have to
remove the transmit cable during pointing.)
c. Select Disable Authentication if you are certifying a previously-uncertified remote in
a TRANSEC network. For details, see “Bringing an Unauthorized Remote into a
TRANSEC Network” on page 421.
d. Select Link Encryption to encrypt the connection between the remote and the
protocol processor blade. You can only select Link Encryption if it is supported on
your remote model type.

Note: Beginning with iDX Release 2.1, Link Encryption is a licensed feature. A license
file must be loaded on each protocol processor blade that supports Link
Encryption. For information on obtaining these licenses, please contact the
iDirect Technical Assistance Center (TAC).

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10. Select Sleep in and enter a value for seconds if you want to enable Sleep Mode on the
remote. If Sleep Mode is enabled, the remote will conserve power by disabling the 10 MHz
reference for the BUC after the specified number of seconds have elapsed with no
remote upstream data transmissions. A remote will automatically wake from Sleep Mode
when packets arrive for transmission on the upstream carrier, provided that Trigger
Wakeup is selected for the service level associated with the packets. (See “Adding an
Application Profile” on page 268 for details.)

Note: For Sleep Mode to work, the 10 MHz reference must be enabled for the BUC
assigned to the remote on the Remote VSAT Tab. The 10 MHz reference can be
enabled by selecting ODU Tx 10 MHz on the BUC configuration dialog box.

Note: If you enable Sleep Mode, edit the QoS Service Levels that apply to the remote
to ensure that “Trigger Wakeup” is only enabled for those Service Levels that
match customer traffic. If “Trigger Wakeup” is enabled for management
traffic, the constant flow of management traffic will prevent the remote from
entering Sleep Mode.
11. In the Compression area of the dialog box, select any IP compression types you want to
enable for this remote. For details on the different types of compression available, see
“Enabling IP Packet Compression Types” on page 190.
12. Mesh is not supported in iDX Release 3.1. Therefore, the Mesh section of the Remote
Information tab is not applicable to this release.

6.4.1 Transmit and Receive Properties

This section discusses the transmit and receive parameters on the Information tab.

Figure 142. Remote Information Tab: Transmit and Receive Parameters

1. Under Transmit Properties:

a. For a remote configured in an inroute group, select a TDMA upstream carrier under
Carrier Name if you are also selecting Lock to inroute. Otherwise, the inroute
selected for your remote is automatically determined by the protocol processor.
For an SCPC remote, select the remote’s dedicated SCPC upstream carrier.
b. Enter the TDMA Initial Power level in dBm, based on the commissioning results. The
default is -25 dBm. This field is not applicable if the remote is transmitting an SCPC
upstream carrier.

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c. In TDMA Max Power, enter the maximum TDMA Tx power level in dBm as determined
during remote commissioning. The default is 0 dBm. This field is not applicable if the
remote is transmitting an SCPC upstream carrier.
d. If desired, record the 1dB Compression Point determined at remote commissioning.
This field is informational only.
e. If you select Lock to Inroute for a TDMA remote, the remote will only transmit on the
TDMA upstream carrier that you select in the Carrier Name field. This will prevent
the remote from acquiring or switching to any other inbound carriers in the inroute
group.
2. For an SCPC remote, you must configure the initial power and maximum power for the
selected SCPC upstream carrier before the remote can become operational. Configure the
initial power and maximum power as follows:
a. Click the Edit SCPC Initial Power button to open the SCPC Initial Power dialog box
(Figure 143).

Figure 143. SCPC Initial Power Dialog Box

b. Enter the Initial Power and Max Power for the SCPC upstream carrier that you
selected on the Remote Information tab by double-clicking the cells and entering the
values in dBm.
c. If you plan to switch this remote to other SCPC upstream carriers in the future, you
can also configure the initial power and maximum power for those carriers at this
time.
d. Click OK to save your changes.
3. Under Receive Properties:
a. You cannot select the Carrier Name, although you can view its configuration by
clicking the Details button. This is the downstream carrier for the network.
b. The L-Band Frequency is calculated for you once the LNB is assigned on the VSAT tab.
See “Remote VSAT Tab” on page 177.
c. If you are configuring a receive-only remote, select Enabled under Rx Only. If Rx
Only is enabled, no return channel will be established by the remote and the remote
will not transmit under any circumstances.

Note: If you select Rx Only, Rx Only Multicast is enabled automatically.

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d. You can enable Rx Only Multicast even if you have not enabled Rx Only. If Rx Only
Multicast is Enabled, then the remote will receive multicast traffic even when no
upstream return channel is available. This allows remotes that are temporarily unable
to transmit to continue to receive multicast traffic.
e. If Rx Only Multicast is enabled, enter a Timeout in seconds or accept the default.
The timeout determines how often the multicast configuration data is sent to the
remote on the outbound carrier.

6.4.2 Customers and Distributors

This section discusses the Customer and Distributor parameters on the Remote Information
tab (Figure 144).

Figure 144. Remote Information Tab: Customer and Distributor Parameters

Configuring customers or distributors is completely optional. The following procedure adds a

customer. However, the procedure for adding customers and distributors is the same.
1. To add a Customer or a Distributor associated with the remote, click the button to the
right of the Name box. The Add Customers or Add Distributors dialog box appears.

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Figure 145. Add Customers Dialog Box

If any customers or distributors have already been added to the NMS database, the names
appear in the list.
2. To the right of the dialog box, you can click Add to add another customer or distributor.
3. The Customers (or Distributors) dialog box appears.

Figure 146. Customers Dialog Box

4. Enter the Customer’s or Distributor’s Name and Phone Number.

5. Click OK. You are returned to the Customers (or Distributors) dialog box.
6. If desired, add additional Customers (or Distributors).
7. Click OK to return to the Remote Information tab.
8. The new customer or distributor appears in the boxes, as shown in Figure 147.

Figure 147. Entering Customer Parameters

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9. For customers, you can enter a Commission Date, Contract Number, and additional
information in the Site Notes box.
10. If you click OK, the dialog box will close, but your changes will be saved. Instead, click
the IP tab to continue configuring the remote.

6.5 Remote IP Config Tab

The IP Config tab consists of several individual panes and sub-tabs, each of which is displayed
and discussed in the following sections. iBuilder provides a wide range of IP configurations for
remotes accessible from the IP Config tab. All configurable IP parameters and all VLANs are
collected onto a single major tab for quick reference.

6.5.1 VLAN and LAN Information

iDirect Software supports end-to-end VLAN tagging. To implement this feature, the router or
switch that is upstream from the Protocol Processor must support IEEE 802.1Q (VLAN) tagging.
When multiple VLANs are present on the remote, a similar switch that is downstream from the
remote is also required.
A detailed, two-VLAN, multiple-remote example is shown in Figure 148. Management traffic
between the NMS and remote must be untagged and each remote must have a unique
Management IP address. Networks may contain a mixture of remote VLAN and traditional IP-
based remotes. Each remote must be configured to work in either traditional IP or VLAN
mode.

Figure 148. Sample VLAN Network Layout

The iDirect VLAN capability allows customers to use their existing IP addressing schemes.
Since all routing options (RIPv2 and static routing) are configurable per VLAN interface, the
end-to-end VLAN feature allows each end customer to have their own routing architecture
independent of other customers sharing the same physical network components.

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There are two check boxes for configuration of the Routing Information Protocol (RIPv2) on
the remote: one for the LAN interface (eth0) and one for the for satellite interface (sat0).
(The sat0 interface is called the management interface when referring to the default VLAN.)
You can enable or disable RIPv2 independently on the two interfaces. Depending on the RIPv2
options selected, the remote behaves as follows:
• When RIPv2 is not enabled on either interface, RIP is completely disabled on the remote.
It does not send or receive any RIP updates.
• When RIPv2 is enabled on the LAN interface, the remote sends and receives RIP updates
over the LAN, updating its own IP routing table when new routing information is received.
• When RIPv2 is enabled on the satellite (or management) interface, the remote sends and
receives RIP updates over the satellite, updating its IP own routing table when new
routing information is received.
The remote does not relay RIP messages to other routers. Instead, it generates RIP messages
based on its own IP routing table.

Note: An Evolution X1 remote must use static routing to a single gateway. RIPv2 is not
supported on the X1 model type.

Configuring LAN and Management Interfaces

This section discusses only the portion of the IP tab shown in Figure 149. You must select the
Interface sub-tab to configure the LAN and Management Interfaces for your VLANs.

Figure 149. Remote IP Config Tab: Interface Configuration

The IP information for a remote is configurable per VLAN. Once you have selected a VLAN on
the left side of the dialog box, you can configure its IP addressing information on the
Interface sub-tab.
1. The LAN Interface IP address represents the remote’s IP address on the selected VLAN.
a. Enter the IP Address and Subnet Mask.
b. Select Tag Packets if you want to tag packets with the VLAN ID according to the IEEE
802.1Q VLAN Tagging specification.

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Note: Unless VLAN tagging is enabled, you will not be able to connect to the Ethernet
side of the default LAN from a hub PC. Ensure that Tag Packets is selected if
you require this capability.
c. If you are configuring an iConnex 100, 700 or e800, you can select Port A or Port B as
your LAN port.

Note: If you change the LAN port selection for an iConnex e800 from Port B to Port A,
you must reset the remote before the change will take effect. Right-click the
remote in the iBuilder tree and select Reset Remote to perform this operation.
2. The remote’s Management Interface (Sat) IP address represents the remote’s virtual
interface on the default VLAN. The NMS always communicates with the remotes using this
address. This address should not conflict with the LAN Interface addresses.
a. Selecting Same as LAN sets the Management Interface IP address to the LAN Interface
IP address. (The Gateway is always set to 0 and cannot be changed.) This option is not
available on the iNFINITI Series 3000, 5000, or 7000 remotes.

Note: When you select a VLAN other than the default VLAN, the interface names
change. LAN Interface changes to ETH0 Interface. Management Interface
changes to SAT0 Interface

Adding VLANs to a Remote

This section only discusses adding the VLAN configuration to Remotes. You must first define
the VLAN Upstream Interface on the VLANs tab of the Protocol Processor. See “Adding a
VLAN” on page 96 for details.
Additional VLANs can be added and removed from a remote using the appropriate buttons
located in the VLAN area of the IP Config tab. The default VLAN is VLAN 1 (native VLAN) and
is based on the LAN Interface address.

Note: Evolution X1 remotes are limited to four VLANs, including the default VLAN.
To add a VLAN to a remote:
1. Click the Add button at the bottom of the VLAN area of the IP Config tab.

Figure 150. Remote IP Config Tab: Adding a VLAN

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The Add New VLAN dialog box appears.

Figure 151. Add New VLAN Dialog Box

2. In the Add New VLAN dialog box:

a. Select a VLAN Id
b. Enter a VLAN Name
c. Click OK.
Once a VLAN is added to the remote, it appears in the VLAN list, and the LAN and
Management Interfaces change to ETH0 and SAT0 Interface for the VLAN.
3. If you click the Remove button (see Figure 150), a warning message is displayed, asking
you to confirm the deletion. VLAN 1 is the default VLAN; you cannot remove it.
The VLAN ID is also considered in QoS Profiles. See chapter 7, “Configuring Quality of Service
for iDirect Networks‚” section “Adding an Application Profile” on page 268.

6.5.2 Domain Name System (DNS)

This section discusses only the DNS portion of the remote IP Config tab.

Figure 152. Remote IP Config Tab: DNS Configuration

1. You must select Enable Cache to configure the DNS settings.

2. If you want to configure DNS, you must specify both primary and secondary IP addresses.
Assigning DNS names is optional.
3. The Cache Size, Forward Queue Size and Forward Timeout shown are default values.
Modifications may be made to these settings if desired.

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6.5.3 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)

This section discusses only the portion of the remote IP Config tab shown in Figure 153.

Figure 153. Remote IP Config Tab: DHCP Configuration

DHCP, including DHCP relay, is configurable on a per VLAN basis. In iBuilder, DHCP is disabled
by default.
To use an existing or separate DHCP server at your hub location:
1. Select Relay.
2. Enter the IP Address of your DHCP Server.
To enable the remote to act as the DHCP server:
1. Select Server to enable DHCP configuration entries.
2. Enter the Lease Duration or the amount of time before the address must be renewed.
3. Enter the Primary and Secondary DNS server addresses, and the Default Gateway.
4. Click the Add button to enter Client Address Ranges, which are the ranges of assignable
addresses. Multiple unique ranges may be assigned as desired.
5. To edit a Client Address Range:
a. Click the range in the table to highlight the range you want to change.
b. Select Edit.
c. Modify the range and click OK to save your changes.
6. To delete a Client Address Range:
a. Select a range in the table and click the Remove button, a warning message is
displayed, asking you to confirm the deletion.
b. Click OK to delete the range.

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6.5.4 RIPv2, Static Routes, Multicast Groups, Port Forwarding

and NAT
This section discusses the following sub-tabs of the IP Config Tab:
• Routes, for configuring RIPv2 on the ETH0 and SAT0 interfaces
• Static Routes, for configuring IP addressing for your static routes
• Port Forwarding, for configuring port forwarding and NAT
• GRE Tunnels, for setting up GRE tunnels within the iDirect system
• Multicast Groups, for configuring a remote as a member of a persistent Multicast Group

Figure 154. Remote IP Config Sub-Tabs

RIPv2 (Routes Sub-Tab)

Click the Routes sub-tab to configure RIPv2 per VLAN for the LAN and/or Management
interface.

Figure 155. Remote IP Config Tab: Routes Sub-Tab

To configure RIPv2:
1. Select a VLAN in the left pane of the dialog box.
2. Select Enable RIPv2 for the ETH0 (LAN) interface and/or SAT0 (Management) interface
to enable RIPv2 over the satellite link for the selected VLAN.

Note: RIPv2 cannot be enabled on Evolution X1 remotes.

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Static Routes
Click the Static Routes sub-tab to add, edit, or remove static routes. The default route across
the sat 0 interface is added automatically when you create a new remote. Do not delete this
route unless your remote routing scheme requires it.
To add a Static Route:
1. click the Add button.

Figure 156. Remote IP Config Tab: Static Routes Sub-Tab

The Add Static Route dialog box appears.

Figure 157. Add Static Route dialog Box

2. Enter an IP Address and Subnet Mask.

3. Enter the IP address of the Gateway.
4. Select the Interface.
5. Click OK to add the Static Route.

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Using Static Routes with Multiple Protocol Processor Blades

You may use static routes between an upstream router and a multiple-blade Protocol
Processor; this removes the need for RIPv2 on the upstream LAN. In order to ensure correct
routes, you must “clamp” remotes to one specific blade using a custom key. You must also add
all static routes to your upstream router.

WARNING! When you clamp a remote to a specific blade, it will not re-acquire if that
blade fails. The remote will remain out-of-network until the blade is back up,
or the specific blade assignment is changed or removed using iBuilder.

Use the following procedure to clamp a remote to a specific blade:

1. Bring up the remote’s Modify Dialog in iBuilder
2. Click on the “Custom Key” tab
3. Add the following entry to the “Hub-Side” section:
[BLADE]
id = <blade ID>
4. Click OK to close the dialog.
5. Apply the modified hub-side configuration.
6. Right-click the remote and deactivate it by clearing the Activate Remote check mark.

Figure 158. Deactivating a Remote

7. Apply the hub-side changes to the remote.

8. Right-click the remote again and select Activate Remote to return it to the network. The
check mark should re-appear.
9. Re-apply the hub-side changes to the remote.
To determine a blade’s ID, select ViewDetails from iBuilder’s main menu bar, and click on
the PP record in the network tree view.
Use the following procedure to turn RIPv2 off for a Protocol Processor:
1. Bring up the Protocol Processor’s Modify Dialog in iBuilder.
2. Clear the box labeled “RIP Enabled”
3. Click OK to close the dialog and apply the modified configuration.

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NAT and Port Forwarding

Click the Port Forwarding sub-tab to configure NAT and Port Forwarding on a per-VLAN basis.
NAT enables you to make the Management Interface public and the LAN interface private on
the remote, providing a way to have multiple private addresses represented by one public
address.

Figure 159. Remote IP Config Tab: Port Forwarding Sub-Tab

Port forwarding allows you to specify that IP packets with certain port numbers are forwarded
to private IP addresses behind the remote. For example, to run a web server on a PC with a
private IP address, you could specify http as the port start and port end, with TCP as the
protocol, and then add the PC’s IP address in the IP address field.
1. Select a VLAN in the left pane of the dialog box.
2. Select the Enable NAT (Network Address Translation) check box. Then click Add to open
the Add Port Forwarding dialog box.

Note: NAT cannot be enabled on Evolution X1 remotes.

Figure 160. Add Port Forwarding Dialog Box

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3. Select a Port Range Start and Port Range End for port forwarding.
4. Select a Protocol and specify an IP address.
5. Click OK to save your changes.

Accelerated GRE Tunnels

Click the GRE Tunnels sub-tab to configure your system to send GRE-tunneled data with TCP
acceleration across an iDirect network.

Figure 161. Remote IP Config Tab: GRE Tunnels Sub-Tab

Note: GRE tunnels cannot be configured on Evolution X1 remotes.

Follow these steps to define a GRE Tunnel:
1. Click Add to open the GRE Tunnel dialog box.

Figure 162. GRE Tunnel Dialog Box

2. Specify the Hub Gateway and Remote Gateway endpoints for the tunnel.
3. Click OK to save your changes.

Note: This procedure only sets up the GRE tunnel within the iDirect system. You must
still establish the actual GRE endpoints on both sides of the link for a GRE
tunnel to work. GRE endpoints must be configured upstream from the Protocol
Processor and downstream from the remote.

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Multicast Groups
Click the Multicast Group sub-tab to add, edit, or remove a persistent Multicast Group. To
configure the remote to be a member of a persistent Multicast Group, follow these steps:
1. Click the Add button.

Figure 163. Remote IP Config Tab: Multicast Group Sub-Tab

The Persistent Multicast Group dialog box appears.

Figure 164. Persistent Multicast Group Dialog Box

2. Select the Interface: eth0 or sat0.

3. Enter an IP Address of the multicast group.
4. Click OK.

Note: For more information, see the Technical Note titled “IP Multicast in iDirect
Networks.”

6.6 Remote Switch Tab

Using the Switch tab, you can associate each of the eight RJ45 Lan B Ethernet ports located
on the back panel of some iDirect remote modems with a specific VLAN. For a VLAN to appear
on the Switch tab, it must first be added to the remote on the Remote Information tab. (See
“Adding VLANs to a Remote” on page 153). Note that the Switch tab is only displayed for
remote Model Types with an eight port switch.

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By default, all VLAN ports are defined as trunks. When a port is defined as a trunk, all traffic
on any VLAN (including both user-defined VLANs and the default VLAN) can pass through the
port. All user-defined VLAN frames on trunk ports are tagged to explicitly identify the VLAN.
Default VLAN traffic passing through a trunk port is not tagged.
As an alternative to allowing a port to act as a trunk, you can define a port to be dedicated to
a single, specific VLAN. You can dedicate a port to any user-defined VLAN or to the default
VLAN. When a port is dedicated to a VLAN, only traffic for that VLAN passes through the port.
There is no VLAN tagging on a port dedicated to a single VLAN, regardless of whether the port
is dedicated to the default VLAN or to a user-defined VLAN.
The Switch tab allows you to perform the following operations:
• Dedicate a port to a specific VLAN
• Configure a port as a trunk (allow traffic on all VLANs to pass through the trunk)
• Specify the port speed and mode (full duplex or half duplex)
• Copy the table of switch settings to an external application such as a spreadsheet
To configure the eight port switch follow these steps:
1. Click the Switch tab to view the current assignment of VLANs to ports.

Figure 165. Remote Switch Tab

The Switch tab contains two panes: the Port View (on the left), and the VLAN View (on
the right). Only VLANs that have already been added to this remote appear in the display.
By default, all ports are defined as trunks. Trunk ports display the word Yes in the All
VLANs row of the VLAN View. Trunk ports also display All VLANs to the right of the port in
the Port View. This default configuration is illustrated in Figure 165.
2. You can use either the Port View or the VLAN View to dedicate a port to a single VLAN.
Both methods are described here:
To use the Port View to dedicate a port to a single VLAN:
a. In the Port View, right-click the port that you want to configure and select Assign
VLAN from the menu to display the dialog box.

Note: You can also select the port and click the Assign VLAN button at the bottom
of the screen.
b. In the dialog box, select the VLAN ID of the VLAN you want to assign to the port. (The
VLAN Name will be displayed automatically when you select the VLAN ID.

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c. Click OK.
To use VLAN View to dedicate a port to a single VLAN:
a. In the VLAN View, right-click in the table cell representing the port of the VLAN you
want to configure.
b. Choose Select from the menu.
Both methods of dedicating a port to a VLAN are illustrated in Figure 166.

Figure 166. Dedicating a Port to a VLAN

In the VLAN View, the word Yes will be displayed for the VLAN in the column for the
selected port, and the Port View will display the new selection.

Figure 167. Switch Tab with Dedicated VLAN

Note: You can double-click in any empty cell in the VLAN view to select that cell.
Double-clicking in an empty cell will select that cell, causing the word Yes to be
displayed. The cell that was previously selected will be cleared.
3. To reconfigure a dedicated port to be a trunk, do one of the following
• In the Port View, right-click the port and select All VLANs from the menu.
• Or, in the VLAN View, right-click in the column of the port in the All VLANs row and
select All VLANs from the menu.
Both methods are illustrated in Figure 168.

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Figure 168. Reconfiguring a Dedicated Port as a Trunk

4. To select the same setting for all ports:

a. Right-click your choice in the VLAN column of the VLAN View
b. Select All from the menu.
The word Yes appears in all columns of the selected row. In Figure 169, Select All was
used to dedicate all ports to the default VLAN.

Figure 169. Selecting the Same Switch Setting for All Ports

5. By default, the port speed and port mode are automatically negotiated. Follow these
steps if you want to disable auto-negotiation and select a port speed and port mode:
a. In the Port View, right-click the port you want to configure and select Properties
from the menu to display the Properties dialog box.

Figure 170. Port Properties Dialog Box

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b. In the Properties dialog box, select Off for Auto Negotiation.

c. Select a Speed for the port: 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps.
d. Select a Mode for the port: Full Duplex or Half Duplex.

WARNING! The port settings must match the attached equipment. Mismatches in either
port speed or port mode will result in packet loss.

6. To copy a row (or all rows) from the VLAN View so that you can paste the information into
a separate application such as a spreadsheet, follow these steps:
a. In the VLAN column, click the VLAN name (or click All VLANs) in the first column of
the row you want to select. This will highlight the name in the VLAN column. (Or press
Ctrl + A to select all rows in the table.)
b. Right-click on any of the selected entries in the first column; then select Copy or
Copy without headers from the menu.

c. You can now paste the row or rows you copied into your target application.

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6.7 Remote QoS Tab

The following sections describe how to configure Quality of Service (QoS) for remotes on the
Remote QoS tab. An example of the Remote QoS tab is shown in Figure 171.

Figure 171. Remote QoS Tab

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6.7.1 QoS Profiles

Figure 172 shows the section of the Remote QoS tab used to assign upstream and downstream
Filter Profiles, Service Profiles and Remote Profiles to your Remotes.

Figure 172. Remote QoS Tab: QoS Profiles

Assigning a Filter Profile to a Remote

To assign a Filter Profile, select the desired profile from the Upstream QoS or Downstream
QoS drop-down Filter Profile list, as shown in Figure 173.

Figure 173. Remote QoS Tab: Selecting a Filter Profile

Filter Profiles are described in “Application Profiles and Filter Profiles” on page 265.

Note: You can click the Details button next to the Filter Profile drop-down box to
view the configuration of the selected Filter Profile.

Assigning a Remote Profile or a Service Profile to a Remote

There are three additional types of Profiles that you can assign to a remote on the Remote
QoS tab: Remote Profiles, Service Profiles and Multicast Service Profiles. Each remote must
have either a single Remote Profile or one or more Service Profiles assigned for both
Downstream and Upstream traffic. Multicast Service Profiles are optional downstream profiles
that enable your remotes to use Multicast Fast Path Applications. (See “Configuring Remotes
for Multicast Fast Path” on page 242 for details.)
Remote Profiles are assigned to remotes that use Remote Service Groups. Service Profiles are
assigned to remotes that use Application Service Groups. See “Configuring Quality of Service
for iDirect Networks” on page 195 for detailed descriptions of Service Groups, Service
Profiles, and Remote Profiles.

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Note: A remote that transmits a dedicated SCPC upstream carrier is not associated
with upstream Service Group. Instead, you must assign an upstream Remote
Profile directly to the SCPC remote. See “Assigning an Upstream Remote Profile
to an SCPC Remote” on page 169.

Note: A Remote Profile or Service Profile assigned to an Evolution X1 remote can

have a maximum of 10 (total) Service Levels. Each Virtual Remote in the
assigned Profile can have a maximum of 5 Service Levels. Assigning a Profile to
an X1 that exceeds either of these limits will cause the remote state to change
to Incomplete in the iBuilder tree.
Follow these steps to select a Service Group and Service Profile or Remote Profile, or a
downstream Multicast Service Profile, to a remote:
1. Click the Edit button next to the current Upstream or Downstream Service Group
assignment (Figure 172) to display the QoS Profile Select dialog box (Figure 174).

Figure 174. Remote QoS Tab: QoS Profile Select Dialog Box

2. If you are assigning a Remote Profile:

a. In the QoS Group pane, select a Remote Service Group in the Service Group column.
b. In the Remote Profile pane, select a Remote Profile.
3. If you are assigning an Application Service Profile, select a non-multicast Service Profile
in the QoS Group pane.
4. If you are assigning a downstream Multicast Service Profile, select a Service Profile under
the Multicast Service Group. See “Configuring Remotes for Multicast Fast Path” on
page 242 for more information.
5. Click OK. The new assignments are displayed on the Remote QoS tab.

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In rare cases, when using Application Service Groups, you may want to assign multiple
Downstream or Upstream Service Profiles to a single remote. If you select more than one
Service Profile, the last Service Profile that you select in the QoS Profile Select Dialog Box is
designated as the Primary Service Profile. The NMS and Default Applications from the Primary
Service Profile are used by the system. The NMS and Default Applications from other selected
Service Profiles are not used. For more information see “Assigning Service Profiles to
Remotes” on page 237.

Note: Unlike Service Profiles, only one Downstream and one Upstream Remote Profile
can be assigned to a Remote.
Figure 175 shows two Service Profiles assigned to a single remote in an Application Service
Group. Service Profile 1 is the Primary Service Profile. The Primary Service Profile is always
displayed in bold typeface on the GUI.

Figure 175. Remote QoS Tab: Multiple Service Profiles Assigned

Assigning an Upstream Remote Profile to an SCPC Remote

Follow these steps to assign an upstream Remote Profile to a remote configured to transmit a
dedicated SCPC upstream carrier to the hub:
1. Click the Edit button in the Upstream QoS area of the Remote QoS tab to open the QoS
Profile Select dialog box. (This is illustrated in Figure 176.)

Figure 176. Selecting an Upstream Remote Profile for an SCPC Remote

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2. In the QoS Profile Select dialog box, select an upstream Remote Profile.
3. Click OK.

6.7.2 Rate Shaping Configuration

This section discusses only the parameters of the QoS tab shown in Figure 177.

Figure 177. Remote QoS Tab: Upstream and Downstream Rate Shaping

Your ability to configure the Downstream and Upstream Rate Shaping parameters, as well as
Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR, depends on the type of Service Group selected in the
Service Group field (Figure 172) and the QoS Mode selected on the QoS tab of your Network
and Inroute Group. Since QoS Mode only applies to Application Service Groups, the selection
among the following three options determines which parameters you can configure here:
• Remote Service Groups
• Application Service Groups in Remote Based QoS Mode
• Application Service Groups in Application Based (or Application Scaled) QoS Mode.
For a detailed explanation of Service Group types and QoS Modes, see “Configuring Quality of
Service for iDirect Networks” on page 195.
Table 5 on page 171 shows which QoS parameters you can select on the Remote QoS tab
depending on which of the three options listed above is configured for the remote’s Network
(Downstream) or Inroute Group (Upstream). As noted in the table, you cannot configure EIR
on the Remote QoS tab unless it has been enabled for remotes in this remote’s Service Group
on the QoS tab of your DVB-S2 network.

Note: Upstream Rate Shaping parameters such as CIR and MIR are not applicable to
SCPC remotes at the remote level of the QoS tree, since all of the upstream
bandwidth is dedicated to the physical remote. However, you can select or
clear Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR to influence how bandwidth is
distributed among the Applications running on the remote.

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Table 5. Availability of Remote QoS Parameters by Service Group Type and Mode

QoS Service Group Type Applicable Parameters: Applicable Parameters:

and Mode Downstream
Remote Service Groups Maximum Information Rate
Committed Information Rate
Priority
Cost
EIR / EIR Minimum MODCOD*
Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR
Application Service Groups: Maximum Information Rate
Remote Based Mode Committed Information Rate
EIR / EIR Minimum MODCOD*
Application Service Groups: Maximum Information Rate
Application Based Mode or
Application Scaled Mode
Upstream
Maximum Information Rate
Committed Information Rate
Priority
Cost
Minimum Information Rate
Idle and Dormant States
Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR
Maximum Information Rate
Committed Information Rate
Minimum Information Rate
Idle and Dormant States
Maximum Information Rate
Minimum Information Rate
Idle and Dormant States

* DVB-S2 Networks only. EIR must be enabled for the Service Group on the Network QoS tab
to select this option.

Note: For definitions of Priority, Cost, MIR, CIR, MIN, EIR, and Allocation Fairness
Relative to CIR, see “QoS Properties” on page 196.

Configuring MIR and CIR

Follow these steps to configure Downstream or Upstream Maximum Information Rate (MIR)
and/or Committed Information Rate (CIR):
1. For each setting (MIR and/or CIR) that you want to configure:
a. Select Enable.
b. Enter a value for the rate in kbps.
2. If you are using Remote Service Groups, you can change Downstream and Upstream
Priority, Cost and/or Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR for this remote if desired:
a. To change the remote’s Priority, select a new setting from the drop-down menu.
b. To change the remote’s Cost, enter a new value between 0 and 1.
c. To enable or disable Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR for Applications running on
this remote, select or clear the check box. (See Figure 171 on p. 166.)

Note: If this remote is in a DVB-S2 ACM network, you can enable EIR on the
Downstream and select a Minimum MODCOD. See the “EIR and MODCOD
Configuration” on page 173 for details.

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Configuring Minimum Information Rate and Idle and Dormant States

The Minimum Information Rate determines the minimum number of upstream TDMA slots
that will be allocated to a remote even if the remote is inactive. Beginning with iDX Release
3.1, you can also select Enable Idle and Dormant States on the Remote QoS tab to
dynamically reduce the remote’s Minimum Information Rate based on the length of time that
the remote has no user traffic to transmit on the upstream carrier.

Note: This feature is applicable only to remotes that transmit TDMA upstream
carriers. Enabling Idle and Dormant States has no effect on SCPC remotes.
If the Idle and Dormant States feature is enabled, the remote can be in one of three states:
Active, Idle or Dormant. Figure 178 shows the fields on the Remote QoS tab used to configure
this feature. The configuration of the remote’s Minimum Information Rate fields determine
the system behavior in the Active State. The configuration of the Idle and Dormant States
fields determine the system behavior in the other two states.

Figure 178. Configuring Active, Idle and Dormant States

For a detailed description of this feature, see the chapter titled “Remote Idle and Dormant
States” in the Technical Reference Guide.

Note: Minimum Information Rate must be greater than or equal to the Idle Minimum
Information Rate. Similarly, the Idle Minimum Information Rate must be greater
than or equal to the Dormant Minimum Information Rate.

Note: For remotes to remain in the network, Evolution remotes should transmit at
least 1 burst every 4 seconds and iNFINITI remotes should transmit at least one
burst every 2 seconds. With a typical frame length of 125 ms, this translates
into a minimum of 1 slot every 32 frames for Evolution remotes and 1 slot
every 16 frames for iNFINITI remotes. Unless explicitly permitted by your
network design, you should not go below these limits for any state.

Note: A low Minimum Information Rate in any state may trigger Latency Warnings for
the remote in iMonitor. If so, you can increase the Latency timeout for the
remote on the Remote Warning Properties tab. See “Setting Warning Properties
for Remotes” on page 180 for details.
Follow these steps to enable Minimum Information Rate and/or Idle and Dormant States for
a remote:
1. If desired, under Minimum Information Rate:
a. Select Enable.

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b. Enter a Minimum Information Rate in kbps. As shown in Figure 178, the equivalent
slots/frame is automatically displayed when you click in another field on the screen.

Note: You are not required to configure a Minimum Information Rate to enable
Idle and Dormant States. If not configured, the Minimum Information Rate
defaults to one slot per frame, or 8 bursts per second for a 125 ms frame
length, in the Active State.
2. If desired, select Enable Idle and Dormant States.
3. For both the Idle State and the Dormant State:
a. Enter the minimum frequency at which slots are allocated to the remote in that state
(in units of 1 slot per n frames). As shown in Figure 178, the equivalent Minimum
Information Rate is automatically displayed in kbps.
b. In Timeout, enter the number of seconds that the remote should remain in the
previous state with no upstream user traffic before entering this state.

Note: By default, only upstream user traffic triggers a state change from Idle
State or Dormant State to Active State. Upstream NMS traffic does not
trigger a state change by default. However, you can change these settings
by selecting or clearing the Trigger State Change field in your upstream
Service Levels. See “Adding an Application Profile” on page 268 for details.

6.7.3 EIR and MODCOD Configuration

This section discusses the parameters of the QoS tab shown in Figure 179.

Figure 179. Remote QoS Tab: EIR and MODCOD Parameters

The EIR and MODCOD sections of the dialog box apply only to remotes receiving a DVB-S2
outbound carrier with ACM enabled. Note the following:
• EIR is enabled for CIR allocations within the range defined by the Nominal MODCOD and
the EIR Minimum MODCOD defined for the remote.
• Allocation of physical bandwidth is held constant at the remote’s Nominal MODCOD when
the current MODCOD of the remote is below the EIR Minimum MODCOD.
• CIR and MIR allocations to the remote are capped at the remote’s Nominal MODCOD. A
remote may operate above its Nominal MODCOD, but CIR and MIR allocations are not
increased.

Note: You can only configure upstream and downstream Committed Information Rate
(CIR) and downstream EIR on the Remote QoS tab if you are using Remote
Service Groups or if the QoS mode for your Network is set to Remote Based. See
“QoS Modes” on page 206 for more information about QoS Modes.

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Note: You cannot configure EIR on the Remote QoS tab unless EIR has been enabled
for remotes in this Service Group. This applies to both Remote Service Groups
and Application Service Groups in Remote Based Mode. The minimum possible
EIR MODCOD for the remote is also determined by the Service Group
configuration. See “Adding a Service Group” on page 227 for more information.
For remote’s in DVB-S2 ACM networks only:
1. Select a Nominal MODCOD for this remote. The Nominal MODCOD is the Reference
Operating Point for this remote. A remote may operate above its Nominal MODCOD, but it
will not be granted additional CIR or MIR.
2. Select a Maximum MODCOD for this remote. A remote never operates above its Maximum
MODCOD. By default, the Maximum MODCOD of a remote is the Maximum MODCOD of
the DVB-S2 carrier of the network. The Maximum MODCOD cannot be less than the
Nominal MODCOD.

Note: You should not select 16APSK as the Maximum MODCOD unless your remote is
using an internal PLL LNB.
3. If you want to configure EIR on the DVB-S2 outbound carrier for your remote:
a. Select Enable in the EIR section of the dialog box.
b. Select a Minimum MODCOD. EIR will not be enforced when the remote receives a
MODCOD below the Minimum MODCOD.

6.7.4 Downstream and Upstream Distributor

This section discusses only the parameters of the QoS tab shown in Figure 180.
The Downstream Distributor is responsible for segmenting outbound packets for
transmission. The Upstream Distributor can only be configured for a remote that transmits an
SCPC return channel. The Upstream Distributor is responsible for segmenting inbound
packets for transmission on the SCPC upstream carrier.

Figure 180. Remote QoS Tab: Downstream Distributor

Note: Beginning with iDS Release 8.2, the TDMA upstream segment size is
automatically calculated by the system. You can no longer configure the TDMA
upstream segment size in iBuilder.

Note: The Downstream Distributor cannot be enabled on Evolution X1 remotes.

To change the Segment Size for the Downstream Distributor or Upstream Distributor:
1. Select Enable.
2. Enter a Segment Size.
See the chapter titled “QoS Implementation Principles” in the iDirect Technical Reference
Guide for more information about packet segmentation.

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6.8 Remote Geo Location Tab

If you are commissioning a stationary remote, use the Geo Location tab to specify the
geographic location of the installation site. Geo location can be determined by using a GPS.

Figure 181. Remote Geo Location Tab: Settings for Stationary Remotes

If you are commissioning a mobile remote, use the Geo Location tab to specify the remote’s
mobile settings.

Figure 182. Remote Geo Location Tab: Settings for Mobile Remotes

Note: Evolution X1 remotes cannot be used as mobile remotes.

Follow these steps if you are commissioning a mobile remote:
1. Select Mobile.
2. Select the correct type of GPS Input for your mobile remote.
The GPS Input selected determines the baud rate of the serial console interface to the
remote. If required, you can change the Baud Rate and other serial interface parameters
if you select Serial or NMEA. See the following section on “Mobile State” for a discussion
of the various GPS input selections and their associated serial port baud rates.
3. Selecting Handshake Signaling provides an input and output signal to the stabilizing
antenna through the serial console port. (See the following section on “Mobile State.”)

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4. Selecting Mobile Security prevents the remote’s latitude and longitude location from
being sent over the air to the NMS. If this is selected, it is not possible to determine the
remote’s location from the hub. (See the following section on “Mobile State.”)
5. You can change the Minimum Look Angle configured for this remote’s antenna by
selecting Override and entering a new angle. If you select Inherit from Satellite, the
value configured for the satellite is used for this remote. (See “Adding a Spacecraft” on
page 69.)
6. You can change the Maximum Skew configured for this remote’s antenna by selecting
Override and entering a new angle. This value represents the maximum angle of skew
that the antenna can tolerate before it stops transmitting. If you select Inherit from
Satellite, the value configured for the satellite is used for this remote. (See “Adding a
Spacecraft” on page 69.)

Mobile State
When the remote is configured as Mobile, it looks for GPS string on the serial console port to
provide its latitude and longitude information in the form of an NMEA string. It uses this
information to compute the FSD and acquire into the network.
Once a remote has been acquired into the network, the remote automatically sends its
latitude and longitude to the hub every 30 seconds. However, when Mobile Security is
selected, the remote will not send its current geographic location to the hub. Since the
remote requires this information to communicate with the hub, mobile remote users must
determine it and communicate it to the remote, enabling the remote to compute the FSD.
In the absence of a GPS receiver interface to the modem, you can supply the latitude and
longitude information manually through the serial console interface. You can also provide the
geographic location information for the hub through the iSite GUI. (The hub geographic
location is always sent as a broadcast message from the hub.)
The baud rate of a serial connection to a mobile remote depends on the GPS Input selected in
the Mobile area of the Geo Location tab. The baud rates and typical usage of these selections
are discussed here:
• Manual (9600 baud): Select Manual when the port is not connected to a GPS receiver and
you want to manually set the latitude and longitude from the remote console. Selecting
Manual will cause the modem to save the latitude and longitude to flash memory. If you
select either of the other options, this information will not be saved to flash and will be
lost in the event that the remote resets.
• Serial or NMEA (4800 baud): Select Serial or NMEA when the port is connected to a GPS
receiver. The 4800 baud rate is a requirement of the NMEA protocol used by GPS to
communicate with the remote.
• Antenna (9600 baud): Select Antenna when using the iDirect Automatic Beam Selection
feature. If you select this option, the port must be connected to one of the mobile
antennas supported by iDirect. For more on this feature, see “Configuring Networks for
Automatic Beam Selection” on page 449.

Note: The serial console interface is set to 9600 baud for non-mobile remotes.
Handshake signaling requires a stabilizing antenna and requires customers to build their own
electrical interface (converter) to communicate with the antenna. When Handshake
Signalling is enabled at the NMS, the mobile remote provides an input and output signal to the

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stabilizing antenna through the serial console port. The output signal, or lock signal, indicates
the frame lock status of the receiver on the remote. The input signal TxMute is used to mute
the transmitter until the antenna pointing is completed.
The remote sends an RS-232 active signal on the console port DTR output (pin 2) while the
modem is trying to acquire the downstream carrier. Once the remote achieves TDM frame
lock, the DTR signal becomes inactive. This signal is intended to indicate to the auto-point
antenna equipment when to switch from coarse-tune to fine-tune mode.
The DSR input on the console port (pin 7) can be used as a “mute” function and will allow the
auto-point antenna equipment to delay acquisition transmit until the antenna has finished
pointing. Without this function, the modem may transmit as soon as it detects TDM frame
lock, before the antenna is properly pointed and polarized. Sending an RS-232 active level to
the DSR input enables the mute function.

6.9 Remote VSAT Tab

The remote VSAT tab (Figure 183) contains two sets of inter-related VSAT tabs. The top
contains tabs and drop-down list boxes for selecting the previously defined IFL, BUC,
Reflector Mount, Reflector, and LNB. The tabs on the bottom display configuration details for
the currently selected subcomponent. Switching between tabs enables users to review the

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configuration of selected subcomponents on one screen. To add these subcomponents entries

to the NMS database, see “Adding Entries to Folders” on page 19.

Figure 183. Remote VSAT Tab

Note: Beginning in iDX Release 3.1, iDirect brand BUCs and LNBs are preconfigured in
the Components folder of the iBuilder Tree.

Note: Beginning with iDX Release 1.0, iDirect supports the XR3, XR3E, DR5 and DR7
Transceivers from ASCSignal. Each Transceiver is represented in the iBuilder
tree as both a BUC and an LNB. To select a Transceiver for your remote, you
must select the same Transceiver from both the BUC and LNB drop-down lists on
the VSAT tab. For information on changing the LNB settings for a Transceiver,
see “Configuring a Remote Transceiver” on page 179.
Enter the following information on the VSAT tab:
1. In the Remote Antenna area, select a BUC from the BUC drop-down box. (If you are using
a Transceiver, select the Transceiver for both the BUC and LNB.)
2. Select the LNB you are using for this remote from the LNB drop-down box.

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Note: If your remote is equipped with an iDirect DiSEqC PLL LNB, the remote-side
custom key to select the high frequency band is no longer required. If you are
selecting an iDirect PLL LNB, ensure that the LNB has the correct Frequency
Band selected in the component definition.
3. Selecting an IFL, Reflector Mount, and/or Reflector is optional.
4. The Approximate Cable Length should be set during the commissioning process. You can
record it here for reference.
5. The tabs on the lower half of the dialog box display the details of the components that
you have selected. Click OK to save your settings. The new remote appears in the Tree
under the Inroute Group or line card to which you assigned it.

Note: If you are using the iDirect Automatic Beam Selection feature, you must select a
Reflector that is configured with a controllable antenna. When you do this, a
number of additional fields will appear on the right-hand side of the Remote
Antenna area of the VSAT tab. (See Figure 184 for one example.) For details on
configuring these fields, see “Configuring Networks for Automatic Beam
Selection” on page 449.

Figure 184. Remote VSAT Tab with SeaTel ABS Fields

Configuring a Remote Transceiver

The XR3, XR3E, DR5 and DR7 Transceivers from ASCSignal appear in the iBuilder tree under
the Remote Antenna Components folders for both the BUC and LNB as shown below.

You can configure the LNB frequency band and cross pol selection for Transceivers from the
LNB folder of the iBuilder tree:

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1. Right-click the Transceiver in the LNB folder and select ModifyItem to open the LNB
dialog box.

The Frequency Band and Cross Pol Selection fields at the bottom of the dialog box apply
to Transceivers only.

Figure 185. LNB Dialog Box: Frequency Band and Cross Pol Selection

2. Frequency Band is the LNB band selection. Select Low Band for 10.70 to 11.70 GHz with
Rx 22 KHz tone off. Select High Band for 11.70 to 12.20 GHz with Rx 22 KHz tone on.
3. Cross Pol Selection is only valid for the DRU15F16X and DRU17F16X. Select X-Pol Mode
(19V) for cross-polarization with LNB voltage of 19VDC. Select Co-Pol Mode (14V) for co-
polarization with LNB voltage of 14VDC.

6.10 Setting Warning Properties for Remotes

You can use iBuilder to modify both global properties of remote warnings and warning
properties for individual remotes. To change global warning properties for remotes, select
Global Warnings for Remotes from the Edit menu. To change warning properties for
individual remotes, click the Warning Properties tab for the remote you want to modify.
For details on configuring warning properties for line cards, remotes and protocol processor
blades, please see “Configuring Warning Properties” on page 52.

6.11 Adding a Remote by Cloning an Existing Remote

You can either add a new remote by using the procedures in “Adding Remotes” on page 144 or
you can clone an existing remote to create another remote with a new name but the same
definition. The cloning feature is a quick and easy way to create several remotes with minor
differences, without having to configure each one from a blank configuration screen.
To clone an existing remote, follow the procedure below:
1. Right-click a Remote and select Clone. In the example below, the remote named Darwin
01 Rev C is being cloned. A new remote named Copy of Darwin 01 Rev C appears in the
Tree and the remote configuration dialog box is displayed.

2. Enter a new Name for the remote.

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3. Modify any fields you want to change for the new remote.
4. Click OK to save your changes.

6.12 Roaming Remotes

Beginning with iDS Release 7.0, you can define mobile remotes that “roam” from network to
network around the globe. Roaming remotes are not constrained to a single location or
limited to any geographic region. Instead, by using the capabilities provided by the iDirect
“Global NMS” feature, you can configure your remote terminals to have true global IP access

Note: Global NMS is a licensed feature. If you plan to define and track roaming
remotes in your network, please contact the iDirect Technical Assistance
Center (TAC).
The Global NMS feature allows remotes to move among networks on various transponders and
satellites, controlled from various hubs. To accomplish this, you must define the remote in all
of the networks in which it will be visible. For more information of the Global NMS feature,
see the chapter titled “Global NMS Architecture” in the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.
The set of parameters that defines a roaming remote falls into three categories:
• Parameters that must be the same in all networks: DID, passwords, and remote name.
iBuilder will not allow you to define these parameters inconsistently across networks for
the same remote.
• Parameters that must be different in each network. These consist mostly of internal
database IDs and references that are automatically established by iBuilder when the
remote is defined in multiple networks.
• Parameters that may be the same or different from network to network. These “don’t
care” parameters include everything not in the lists above. Examples are IP configuration,
QoS settings, initial transmit power values.
Once you define a roaming remote and add it to multiple networks, the “don’t care”
parameters will be identical in all networks. At that time, you can modify these parameters in
the different networks as desired. (See “Managing “Don’t Care” Parameters” on page 184).

Note: Evolution e8350, iConnex e800/e800mp and Evolution X5 remotes can roam
between DVB-S2 networks and iNFINITI networks.

Note: Roaming is not supported for Evolution X1 remotes.

6.12.1 Adding a Roaming Remote

To define a roaming remote, first create the remote in one of the target networks using the
procedure in “Adding Remotes” on page 144. Define this remote in the normal way for that
network, including setting IP parameters and features, VSAT components, rate limits, and
other settings.

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Once you have added the remote to one network, follow these steps to add it to the
remaining networks:
1. Right-click the Remote in the Tree and select Add to Networks in the Roaming section of
the remote menu.

The Roaming dialog box opens.

Figure 186. Roaming Dialog Box

2. Select the appropriate check boxes to add the remote to one or more additional
networks.

Note: For purposes of redundancy, the Roaming Remote dialog box also allows you to
configure an SCPC remote in multiple networks by selecting line cards in SCPC
return mode.
3. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box. iBuilder automatically adds the
remote to the selected networks, copying the “don’t care” configuration items to the
new networks. You are free to modify the remote’s configuration in the other networks as
desired.

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Note: When adding roaming remotes to networks, only networks in which the remote
is not currently configured are displayed in the dialog box.

6.12.2 Managing Roaming Remote Configuration

There are two primary ways to manage a roaming remote’s configuration across all of its
network instances. Each is described in the sections that follow.
The Revision Server is completely compatible with roaming remotes. You may upgrade a
network even if a roaming remote is in another network. As long as IP connectivity is available
from the NMS to the remote, the remote will receive the download package (image and
options file), write it to flash memory, and reset. For details, see “Downloading Remotes
Using Revision Server” on page 331.

Managing “Must be the Same” Parameters

You can modify the parameters that must be the same across all network instances of a
roaming remote by selecting Update Properties in the Tree for that remote. When you
change a parameter in one network using the remote’s Update Properties dialog box, iBuilder
makes the same change to that remote in all of its networks.
Use the following procedure to change roaming remote parameters that must be the same in
all networks:
1. Right-click the Remote in the Tree and select Update Properties in the Roaming section
of the remote menu.

2. Update the values in the Roaming Properties Update dialog box as desired.

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Figure 187. Roaming Properties Update Dialog Box

3. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box. iBuilder updates the remote in all
of its networks.

Managing “Don’t Care” Parameters

You can change the value for a “don’t care” parameter on a roaming remote in a single
network by following the usual procedure: right-click the remote in the Tree for the desired
network and selecting Modify. This allows you to modify the remote’s parameters in one
network while leaving them unchanged in the others.
However, it is likely that many of a roaming remote’s “don’t care” parameters will be the
same from network to network. In those instances, iDirect recommends that you use iBuilder’s
Group Edit feature to modify the remote. Since this method allows you to modify shared
parameters on all instances of the remote at the same time, it is both easier and less error-
prone than making the changes one by one. For a general discussion of this feature, see
“Working with Multiple Elements Simultaneously” on page 43.
The procedure beginning on page 185 explains how to modify multiple instances of the same
remote using the iBuilder Details pane. Although you can use this method to modify any or all
instances of a remote, beginning with iDX Release 2.1, a more convenient method exists if you
want to modify all instances of the remote.
To modify all instances of the same remote:
1. Right-click the Remote in the iBuilder Tree and select Modify All Instances in the
Roaming section of the menu.

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2. In the Modify Configuration Object dialog box (Figure 188), change the remote
parameters that you want to modify.

Figure 188. Modifying Shared Parameters of All Roaming Remote Instances

Note: iBuilder will only allow you to modify “don’t care” parameters when modifying
multiple instances of the same remote.
3. Click OK to save the changes to all instances of the remote.
The above procedure works only for all instances of a remote. You may want to modify
multiple, but not all, instances of a remote. Follow these steps to modify multiple instances
of the same remote:
1. Select View  Details from the iBuilder main menu to display the Details pane. The
Details pane is displayed to the right of the Tree.
2. Select the top-level node in the iBuilder Tree.
3. Select View  Collapse Details Hierarchy from the iBuilder main menu.

Figure 189. iBuilder View Menu: Collapse Details Hierarchy

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This option removes the hierarchical structure of the network elements and components
so they can all be shown in a single window.

Figure 190. iBuilder Details View with Collapsed Hierarchy

4. In the Details View, select the Type column header to sort by element type. This will
group together all remotes, regardless of their networks.
5. If desired, select the Name column header to further sort by element name. This will
group together all instances of a roaming remote, since the remote has the same name in
all networks.

6. Select all desired instances of the Roaming Remote in the Details pane.

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7. Right-click the over the remote names in the selected group and choose Modify from the
menu. You may now modify any of the remote’s parameters that are shared across all
network instances.

Figure 191. Modifying Shared Parameters of Multiple Roaming Remotes Instances

Adding Multiple Roaming Remotes to a Network

You can add multiple roaming remotes to a network in one operation by following these steps:
1. Right-click the network in the iBuilder tree and select Add Multiple Roaming Remotes
from the menu.

2. The Add Multiple Roaming Remotes dialog box appears with a list of available remotes.

Figure 192. Add Multiple Roaming Remotes Dialog Box

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Remotes that already exist in more than one other network may be listed multiple times.
Select the remotes you want to add to the network. When you select a remote instance
from the list, other instances may be invalidated. Invalid selections appear in red and an
explanation is displayed in the Comment column.
3. Click OK to add the selected remotes to the network.

Adding a Roaming Remote to Multiple Networks

You can add an existing roaming remote to multiple networks in one operation by following
these steps:
1. Right-click the remote in the iBuilder tree and select Add to Networks from the menu.

The Add Roaming Remotes to Networks dialog box appears with a list of available
network / inroute group combinations.

Figure 193. Add Roaming Remotes to Networks Dialog Box

2. Select the network / inroute groups to which you want to add the remote.

Note: You can only select one inroute group in any network for the remote. Invalid
selections appear in red and an explanation is displayed in the Comment
column.
3. Click OK to add the remote to the selected network.

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6.12.3 Beam Switching for Roaming Remotes

The decision of which network a particular roaming remote joins is made by the remote.
There are currently three beam selection methods supported by iDirect.

Automatic Beam Selection

Automatic beam selection is the most powerful and flexible way for remotes to roam from
network to network. It requires an auto-pointing antenna at the remote site, and a map
server process on the NMS.
The map server contains footprint information for all beams on all satellites in the global
network. It parcels out pieces of the map to remotes based on their current geographic
location. Depending on signal quality and location, the remote will either remain in the
current network or automatically switch to a higher-quality network.
For a technical description of the Automatic Beam Selection feature, see the iDirect
Technical Reference Guide. For details on configuring your network for Automatic Beam
Selection, see “Configuring Networks for Automatic Beam Selection” on page 449.

Manual Beam Selection

Users at a remote terminal can command the remote to join a particular network using the
beamselector command, available from the remote’s console. The following figure shows the
command format and the output of the “list” option.
[RMT:2036] admin@telnet:10.0.150.7;1084
> beamselector
control Beam selector control command
list list known beams
mapsize print or change the map size request params
params stats | params | debug
switch switch to new beam

[RMT:2036] admin@telnet:10.0.150.7;1084
> beamselector list
3 is currently selected
3 = Beam_603_340000_GA
2 = Beam_906_64000_GB
1 = Beam_605_174000_GA

Figure 194. Using the Console's beamselector Command

“Round Robin” Beam Selection

In the absence of both a map server and a beamselector command from the console, remotes
default to a round-robin selection algorithm. Using this method, a remote attempts to join
each network in turn until the remote has acquired a beam. Beams that cannot be acquired
are marked as unusable. The remote will not re-try an unusable beam until all other beams
have been tried. The order in which the remote tries each network is based on the perceived
quality of the network’s downstream carrier, as determined by the remote’s geographic
location relative to the satellite longitude.

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6.13 Enabling IP Packet Compression Types

Four types of IP packet compression are supported in iDirect:
• TCP payload compression
• UDP header compression
• UDP payload compression
• CRTP (RTP header compression)
In addition, iDirect supports Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) payload compression using
custom keys. For details, see “L2TP Payload Compression” on page 193.
The following sections discuss these compression type.
You can enable the first four compression types per remote on the remote’s Information tab
by following these steps:
1. Right-click the Remote and select Modify  Item.

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2. In the Compression area of the Information Tab, select each compression type that you
want to enable for the remote.

Figure 195. Selecting Compression Types on the Remote Information Tab

3. Click OK to save your changes.

6.13.1 TCP Payload Compression

You can enable TCP payload compression on your iNFINITI 5000 and 7000 series remotes to
increase the available bandwidth for TCP streams during periods of channel congestion. When
enabled, the TCP streams are compressed on both the downstream and upstream channels
simultaneously. By default, TCP payload compression is turned off.
TCP payload compression is activated only during times of congestion. If no congestion is
present, data passes through the compression layer unchanged. The compression ratio varies
depending on the amount of congestion and the nature of the TCP payload data.
Even during channel congestion, compression is not enabled under all circumstances. If a
remote’s CPU utilization is above 50 percent, TCP payload compression is automatically
disabled for all sessions. If CPU utilization is below 50 percent, a maximum of five TCP
sessions are compressed. If the number of sessions exceeds five, the additional sessions are
not compressed.

Note: TCP payload compression is available on the following remote model types:
iNFINITI 5000/7000 series; iNFINITI 8300; Evolution e8350; Evolution X5; and
iConnex 700/e800/e850mp remotes.

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6.13.2 UDP Header Compression

UDP header compression is performed on per-packet basis using zlib. Unlike TCP Payload
compression, it is not stream-based. UDP header compression is available for all iDirect
remote model types.
iDirect UDP header compression follows the specification in RFC 2508, Compressing
IP/UDP/RTP Headers for Low-Speed Serial Links. This RFC defines both CRTP (header
compression for RTP packets) and UDP header compression (for other UDP packets). When you
enable UDP header compression in iBuilder, only non-RTP headers are compressed for UDP
packets. If you want header compression to be applied to RTP packets, you must enable CRTP.
(See “CRTP” on page 192.)
The iDirect UDP header compression implementation is a simplex-based compression scheme
with the periodic retransmission of full headers to restore the compression state in the event
of error.

UDP Header Compression Performance Characteristics

You can expect the following performance characteristics for UDP header compression in
iDirect networks:
• The 28-byte header is typically reduced 8 bytes.
• The average compressed header size is 9.25 bytes.
• The reduction in header size is approximately 67 percent.

6.13.3 CRTP
Compression of RTP packet headers (CRTP) is performed on per-packet basis using zlib. Unlike
TCP Payload compression, it is not stream-based. CRTP is available for all iDirect remote
model types.
iDirect’s implementation of the CRTP algorithm follows the specification in RFC 2508,
Compressing IP/UDP/RTP Headers for Low-Speed Serial Links. This RFC defines both CRTP
(header compression for RTP packets) and UDP header compression (for other UDP packets).
When you enable CRTP in iBuilder, only RTP packet headers are compressed. If you want
header compression to be applied to other UDP packets, you must enable UDP header
compression. (See “UDP Header Compression” on page 192.)
The iDirect CRTP implementation is a simplex-based compression scheme with the periodic
retransmission of full headers to restore the compression state in the event of error. Correct
functionality of the CRTP implementation has been field-proven in multiple releases.

RTP Header Compression Performance Characteristics

You can expect the following performance characteristics for RTP header compression in
iDirect networks:
• The 40-byte header is typically reduced to 10 bytes.
• The average header size is 11.875 bytes.
The reduction in header size is approximately 70 percent.

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6.13.4 UDP Payload Compression

iDirect’s UDP payload compression algorithm is similar to the algorithm used by iDirect for
TCP payload compression. (See Section 6.13.1 “TCP Payload Compression” for details.)
However, the implementation differs in the following significant areas:
• UDP payload compression is packet-based rather than session-based.
• The UDP payload compression algorithm always attempts to compress UDP packets prior
to transmission. Unlike TCP payload compression, it does not make dynamic decisions
based on congestion, system load, etc.
UDP payload compression is designed specifically for the GSM backhaul market. It is unlikely
that enabling UDP payload compression will have any noticeable benefit for standard voice
traffic, since this type of traffic normally cannot be compressed. iDirect does not recommend
enabling this compression feature for typical VoIP traffic; it will not increase channel capacity
and it will put unnecessary strain on the remote’s processor.

6.13.5 L2TP Payload Compression

Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) is a tunneling protocol used to support applications such as
“Abis over IP” and Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). By default, L2TP payload compression is
disabled. You can enable L2TP payload compression for your remote as follows:
1. Right-click the remote in the iBuilder Tree and select ModifyItem.
2. Click the Custom tab.
3. Configure the following custom key in both the Hub-side Configuration area and the
Remote-side Configuration area of the Custom tab:
[L2TP]
passthru = 0
This is illustrated in Figure 196.

Figure 196. Enabling L2TP Payload Compression

4. Click OK to save your changes.

5. Right-click the Remote and select Apply ConfigurationReliable Both (TCP) to apply the
changes.

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You can disable L2TP payload compression by returning the passthru settings to the default
state:
[L2TP]
passthru = 1

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Service for iDirect
Networks
Quality of Service (QoS) refers to the classification and prioritization of IP traffic in order to
optimize the delivery of packets as they flow through your iDirect network. Attributes of a
connection that affect QoS include throughput, latency, jitter and packet loss, among others.
When available bandwidth is greater than demanded bandwidth, all bandwidth needs are met
and there is no requirement for a QoS algorithm designed to optimize network performance.
When demand exceeds bandwidth, however, the algorithm that divides the available
bandwidth to best accommodate the current demand becomes very important. Whether the
bandwidth is distributed equally or unequally, the distribution of available bandwidth in the
face of contention is subject to some sort of business model.
Group QoS (GQoS), introduced in iDS Release 8.0, enhances the power and flexibility of
iDirect’s QoS feature for TDMA networks. It allows advanced network operators a high degree
of flexibility in creating subnetworks and groups of remotes with various levels of service
tailored to the characteristics of the user applications being supported.
Because QoS and Group QoS are complex in nature, iDirect has designed a scheme that allows
the average operator to maintain the QoS configurations, while offering the flexibility for
advanced users to customize the Group QoS configuration to meet the requirements of more
complex QoS models. By creating NMS users with the “GQoS Planning” permission, you can
restrict Group QoS configuration changes to designated operators. Users without this
permission can view Group QoS settings, but they cannot change them. (See chapter 13,
“Managing User Accounts and User Groups‚” for details on defining users.)
This chapter contains the following major sections:
• “Group QoS Description” on page 196
• “Configuring Group QoS” on page 210
• “Working with Group Profiles” on page 258
• “Application Profiles and Filter Profiles” on page 265

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7.1 Group QoS Description

Group QoS is built on the Group QoS tree: a hierarchical construct within which containership
and inheritance rules allow the iterative application of basic allocation methods across groups
and subgroups. QoS properties configured at each level of the Group QoS tree determine how
bandwidth is distributed when demand exceeds availability.
Group QoS enables the construction of very sophisticated and complex allocation models. It
allows network operators to create network subgroups with various levels of service on the
same outbound carrier or inroute group. It allows bandwidth to be subdivided among
customers or service providers, while also allowing oversubscription of one group’s configured
capacity when bandwidth belonging to another group is available.
QoS properties and the Group QoS tree are described in detail in the next sections.

7.1.1 QoS Properties

Each node in the Group QoS tree has properties related to bandwidth allocation and
bandwidth requests. These properties are separately configured for each node in the tree.
How these properties are configured determines how available bandwidth is distributed
among groups of competing nodes in the tree. (Details of the tree structure are contained in
“Group QoS Hierarchy” on page 200.)
The Group QoS configuration properties that can be defined using iBuilder are described here.
• Priority: Priority defines the order in which bandwidth is exclusively allocated among
competing nodes. You can select five priorities: Multicast (the highest priority, reserved
for outbound multicast traffic), followed by P1 through P4. All higher-priority bandwidth
is allocated before any lower-priority bandwidth is allocated. Note that cost-based traffic
and best-effort traffic have lower priorities than traffic with priorities Multicast through
P4.
• Cost: Cost is a QoS attribute used to apportion bandwidth among competing nodes at the
same priority when demand exceeds availability. When bandwidth is limited, the relative
costs of all competing nodes with the same priority are used to distribute the remaining
bandwidth. For example (ignoring CIR discussed below), a node configured with a cost of
.5 will receive twice as much bandwidth as a node configured with a cost of 1.
• Cost-Based: Cost-based traffic receives bandwidth allocation only after all priority
(Multicast through P4) traffic allocations have been made among competing nodes. As
with other priorities, if demand exceeds availability for cost-based traffic, the relative
costs of all competing nodes are used to apportion the remaining bandwidth.
• Best Effort: Best-effort traffic is allocated bandwidth only after all priority and cost-
based traffic allocations have been made among competing nodes. In other words, no
bandwidth is granted for best-effort traffic until all other demand has been met.
• Maximum Information Rate (MIR): MIR specifies the maximum amount of bandwidth that
will be allocated to a node, regardless of demand generated by the node. A node with MIR
set will never be granted more bandwidth than the configured MIR bit rate.

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Note: The QoS bandwidth allocation algorithm does not strictly enforce MIR for
inroute traffic. Therefore, it is possible that a node may receive more
bandwidth than the configured maximum if free bandwidth is available.
However, this does not affect bandwidth allocations for competing nodes. Note
that MIR is strictly enforced for outbound traffic.
• Committed Information Rate (CIR): CIR specifies an amount of bandwidth that is allocated
to a node before additional (non-CIR) bandwidth is allocated to that node for traffic with
the same priority. At any priority level, all competing nodes are first granted their CIR
bandwidth to the extent possible. If CIR demand is met, additional demand exists, and
additional bandwidth is available, then the remaining (non-CIR) demand is met to the
extent possible.
• Sticky CIR: In general, CIR is redistributed each time bandwidth is requested in
accordance with the CIR levels configured for all competing nodes. Thus the amount of
CIR granted to a node may vary from one frame to the next during congestion, depending
on competing demand.
Rather than allocating new CIR based solely on current requests, Sticky CIR favors nodes
with previous CIR allocations as long as those nodes continue to request bandwidth. This
can reduce the allocation of CIR bandwidth to competing nodes. Sticky CIR is useful for
VoIP applications.
• Full-Trigger CIR: If you configure Full-Trigger CIR for a remote application, the remote
will be granted all of its configured CIR bandwidth whenever any CIR bandwidth is
requested. For example, if the remote is configured with 500 kbps of CIR but current
traffic requires only 10 kbps of bandwidth, the remote will be granted the full 500 kbps of
bandwidth even though it only requested 10 kbps.

Note: Unlike the other QoS properties described here, Full-Trigger CIR can only be
configured with a remote custom key. See “Configuring Full-Trigger CIR for a
Remote” on page 256 for details.
• Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR: If you select this option then, during contention for
bandwidth, bandwidth allocation is proportional to the configured CIR. This favors QoS
nodes with higher CIR settings, since those nodes are granted a larger portion of the
available bandwidth. If this option is not selected, bandwidth is allocated equally to
competing nodes until available bandwidth is exhausted. If selected, this option applies
to both CIR and best-effort bandwidth allocation. (See “Effective Cost with Allocation
Fairness Relative to CIR” on page 223 for more details.)

Note: The above definition assumes that equal cost has been configured for
bandwidth on all competing nodes. Unequal cost will affect the proportions of
bandwidth allocated to each node regardless of whether or not Allocation
Fairness is selected.
• Enhanced Information Rate (EIR): EIR only applies to networks that use DVB-S2 with
Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM). ACM adjusts the modulation and coding (MODCOD)
of the outbound channel on a frame-by-frame basis depending on the current receive
capabilities of the individual remotes in the network.
EIR is enabled only within the range of MODCODs from the Nominal MODCOD configured
for a remote down to the EIR Minimum MODCOD configured for a remote application. (See
page 241.) Within this range, the system attempts to sustain the bandwidth allocations
required for the remote to meet its configured QoS information rates (CIR and MIR) even

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as the encoding of the remote’s downstream data drops to lower MODCODs. This is
accomplished by increasing the bandwidth allocated to the remote application in order to
compensate for the additional bits required for error correction at the lower MODCODs.
When the remote’s current MODCOD is below the EIR minimum MODCOD, the system
ignores the current MODCOD status of the remote when allocating bandwidth. Instead,
physical bandwidth is allocated to the remote application as if it were receiving the
outbound carrier at the Remote’s Nominal MODCOD. Therefore, below the minimum
MODCOD, the system does not attempt to meet the CIR or MIR settings and the remote’s
information rate will decrease based on the satellite bandwidth required at the remote’s
nominal MODCOD. For more information on EIR, see the DVB-S2 chapter of the iDirect
Technical Reference Guide.
• Allocation Fairness Relative to MODCOD: This property only applies to networks that use
DVB-S2 with Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM). If you select this option, bandwidth
allocation is based on information rate rather than raw satellite bandwidth. This favors
remotes at lower MODCODs, since their satellite bandwidth allocations must increase to
achieve the same information rate as remotes at higher MODCODs. If this option is not
selected, satellite bandwidth is allocated without regard to MODCOD. This favors remotes
at higher MODCODs, since the higher the MODCOD, the greater the information rate for
the same amount of bandwidth.

Change to MIR and CIR Bandwidth Calculation

Prior to iDX Release 2.0, upstream MIR and CIR settings for Group QoS nodes were based on
Information Rate, while upstream MIR and CIR settings for physical remotes (as specified on
the Remote QoS tab) were based on IP Data Rate. Information Rate includes iDirect overhead,
which can be significant on a TDMA upstream, depending on the FEC rate of the carrier. On
the other hand, IP Data Rate does not include iDirect overhead. Therefore, TDMA upstream
MIR and CIR values configured for Group QoS were not equivalent to upstream MIR and CIR
values configured for physical remotes.
Beginning with iDX Release 2.0, all upstream CIR and MIR throughout the system are based on
IP Data Rate. Therefore, if you upgraded from a pre-2.0 release, the upstream Group QoS CIR
and MIR values configured for your inroute groups may represent more satellite bandwidth
than they did in your earlier release.
Table 6 shows the relationship between the pre-2.0 and 2.0 (or later) TDMA upstream MIR or
CIR configurations. For example, for FEC Rate .793, a configured CIR of 1000 kbps in a pre-2.0
release is equal to a configured CIR configuration of 902.455 kbps in iDX Release 2.0 or later.
Table 6. iDirect Overhead on TDMA Upstream Carriers

Pre- 2.0 Equivalent 2.0 iDirect

FEC Rate
MIR or CIR MIR or CIR Overhead
TPC-441/1024 (.431) 1000 kbps 676.457 kbps 32.35%
TPC-546/1024 (.533) 1000 kbps 718.280 kbps 28.17%
TPC-676/1024 (.66) 1000 kbps 752.046 kbps 24.80%
TPC-3249/4096 (.793) 1000 kbps 902.455 kbps 09.75%

Note: Unlike TDMA upstream MIR and CIR, downstream MIR and CIR are not based on
IP Data Rate. Downstream MIR and CIR are based on Information Rate.

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Bandwidth Allocation Algorithm

The basic algorithm for allocating bandwidth among competing nodes is:
While bandwidth is available:
For each priority level competing for bandwidth:
If CIR demand exists:
Allocate bandwidth for CIR demand.
If non-CIR demand exists:
Allocate bandwidth for non-CIR demand.
Thus, any higher-priority traffic has the potential to starve lower-priority traffic, and CIR
configurations only affect how bandwidth is allocated among requests at the same priority.
Due to the risk of starvation of lower-priority traffic, iDirect recommends that you configure
MIR for higher-priority Applications when unequal priorities are competing for bandwidth.
Priorities are considered in the following order by the algorithm as long as bandwidth is
available:
• Multicast (Available only to Group QoS nodes in the Network Multicast Bandwidth Group)
• P1 through P4
• Cost-based
• Best-effort
For more details on iDirect’s QoS implementation, see the chapter titled “QoS
Implementation Principles” in the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.

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7.1.2 Group QoS Hierarchy

The Group QoS tree is an organization of nodes into groups and subgroups for the purpose of
allocating bandwidth to each node based on the properties and rules that you configure for
your network’s bandwidth.
Figure 197 shows an example of a Group QoS tree. The elements shown in the diagram are
defined later in this section.

Bandwidth
Pool

Bandwidth Bandwidth
Group 1 Group 2

Application Application Application Remote Remote

Service Service Service Service Service
Group 1 Group 2 Group n Group 1 Group n

Application 1
Application 2
Application 3
Remote A Remote B

Application 4 Application 10
Remote 1 Remote 2 Remote 3 Application 6 Application 11
Application 7 Application 14

Figure 197. Group QoS Hierarchy

A node is a basic element in the Group QoS tree and can either be a terminating element or a
container for other nodes. Beginning at the highest (root) node in the Group QoS tree,
available bandwidth is allocated by that node to all subnodes based on operator-defined QoS
properties and the current demand as indicated by the subnodes.
Only terminating (leaf) nodes generate demand. As demand moves up the tree in the form of
bandwidth requests, each higher-level (parent) node aggregates demand from its subnodes
before passing it up in the form of its own request. All demand reaches the root in a single
request representing the total demand of all leaf nodes.
Bandwidth allocation begins at the root node and flows down the tree. Each node subdivides
its own allocation among its subnodes based only on the Group QoS properties of the
subnodes. Therefore each node competes for bandwidth only within its own node group (i.e.
the set of subnodes that share a parent node). Each Remote prioritizes the use of its allocated
bandwidth according to QoS properties configured for the different types of applications that
generated the demand in the first place. (See “QoS Properties” on page 196.)

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The properties configured for a parent node supersede those of its subnodes when those
properties conflict. For example, the total maximum bandwidth granted to all nodes in a node
group will never exceed the maximum bandwidth configured for the parent node, regardless
of the configuration of its subnodes.

Note: For flexibility, the NMS does not attempt to enforce limits on subnodes based
on the properties of the parent node. For example, the total CIR configured for
a node group may exceed the CIR configured for the parent node. If CIR is
oversubscribed in this way, it is possible that all nodes will not receive their
full CIR allocations during times of heavy traffic.

Bandwidth Pool
A Bandwidth Pool represents the root of a Group QoS tree. Therefore, all other groups in the
tree are contained in the Bandwidth Pool. In iDirect, a Bandwidth Pool can be either an
Outroute or an Inroute Group.

Bandwidth Group
A Bandwidth Pool can be divided into multiple Bandwidth Groups. By defining Bandwidth
Groups, a network operator can subdivide an Outroute or Inroute Group into multiple QoS
groups, each with its own QoS properties.
A Network Operator might use multiple Bandwidth Groups to divide a Bandwidth Pool among
different Service Providers or Virtual Network Operators (VNOs). Bandwidth Groups can be
configured with CIR and MIR to enforce the desired division of the total bandwidth among the
Bandwidth Groups.

Note: The bandwidth allocation algorithm cannot guarantee that MIR configured at
the Bandwidth Group and Service Group levels will be met.

Service Group
Just as a Bandwidth Pool can be divided into multiple Bandwidth Groups, a Bandwidth Group
can be subdivided into multiple Service Groups, each with its own QoS properties.
Beginning with iDX Release 2.1, there are two types of Service Groups, Application Service
Groups and Remote Service Groups. There are no restrictions on the types of Service Groups
contained in a Bandwidth Group. A Bandwidth Group may contain only Application Service
Groups, only Remote Service Groups, or both types of Service Groups.
Application Service Groups are identical to the Service Groups that existed in pre-iDX 2.1
iDirect releases that support Group QoS. An Application Service Group contains multiple
Applications. Remotes assigned to an Application Service Group share the bandwidth assigned
to the various Applications in the group.
Remote Service Groups are supported beginning with iDX Release 2.1. When using Remote
Service Groups, a remote becomes a container node for its Applications. Each remote is
configured with its own QoS properties such as MIR and CIR and independently allocates that
bandwidth to its Applications. Remote Service Groups allow you to configure bandwidth for
individual remotes and then assign multiple Applications to the remotes. The bandwidth
allocated to the Applications under a remote is taken from bandwidth granted to the
individual remote; it is not shared with other remotes as it is with Application Service Groups.

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Note that this structure allows remotes to retain their QoS configuration when moving
between networks. See “Moving Remotes Between Networks, Inroute Groups, and Line Cards”
on page 305 for more information.
Figure 198 illustrates the difference between Application Service Groups and Remote Service
Groups.

Application Remote
Service Service
Group Group

Application 1
Application 2
Application 3
Remote 1 Remote 2 Remote 3

Application 4 Application 10 Application 14

Remote 1 Remote 2 Remote 3 Application 6 Application 11 Application 15
Application 7 Application 14 Application 16

Application Service Group: Bandwidth allocated to an Application Remote Service Group: Bandwidth allocated to a remote is
is shared by all remotes requesting bandwidth for that Application. shared by all Applications on that remote requesting bandwidth.

Figure 198. Application Service Group vs. Remote Service Group

Application Service Groups, along with the Applications they contain, are used to define
Service Profiles that are then assigned to remotes. This differs from Remote Service Groups,
in which Remotes are assigned to Service Groups and Applications are assigned directly to
remotes using Remote Profiles.
A Service Group might be used solely to partition the bandwidth of a Bandwidth Group among
sub-groups; or it might be used to differentiate groups by class of service. For example, an
operator or a VNO might further divide a Bandwidth Group into Service Groups and assign
each Service Group to a different customer, using CIR and MIR to enforce the desired division
of the total bandwidth among the Service Groups. Or a Service Provider might create Service
Groups to offer multiple levels of service, using a combination of Priority, Cost and CIR/MIR to
create tiered service.

Note: When you upgrade from an iDirect release that did not support Group QoS (pre-
iDS 8.0) you can choose to upgrade to Application Service Groups or Remote
Service Groups. Select Remote Service Groups to best preserve your pre-8.0
QoS functionality.

Application
Applications consist of the Service Levels and Rules defined to handle the various types of
traffic in your networks. Applications are defined by Application Profiles and are either
assigned to Application Service Groups or to Remotes in Remote Service Groups.
Like Bandwidth Groups and Service Groups, each Application is configured with QoS
properties. In addition, an Application is associated with one or more Upstream or

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Downstream Application Profiles, containing Service Levels and Rules for that Application.
Upstream Application Profiles are associated with Inroute Groups to manage Inroute traffic.
Downstream Application Profiles are associated with Outroutes to manage Outroute traffic.
An Application Service Group contains two or more Applications. (An NMS Application and a
Default Application are required for every Application Service Group.) A Remote Service
Group does not contain Applications. Instead, a Remote Service Group contains remotes and
the remotes are assigned Applications.

Service Profile
Service Profiles are only used to define Applications for Application Service Groups. They are
not used to define Applications used directly by remotes in Remote Service Groups.
Like an Application Service Group, a Service Profile contains two or more Applications, each
of which consists of the Service Levels and Rules specified by their respective Application
Profiles. You can view a Service Profile as the implementation of an Application Service
Group. In other words, an Application Service Group provides a template from which you can
create your Service Profiles.
Service Profiles are assigned directly to Remotes that use Application Service Groups. When
you assign a Service Profile to a remote, the Applications contained in the Service Profile are
applied to the remote as Virtual Remotes.
When you create a new Application Service Group, you automatically create a default Service
Profile for the new group containing the NMS and Default Applications. (These two
Applications are part of every Application Service Group and Service Profile.) When you add
Applications to Application Service Groups, those Applications are added to the list of
Applications that you can select for the Service Profiles based on that Service Group. (See
“Creating Service Profiles” on page 233 for further details.)

Remote Profile
Remote Profiles are used to define Applications for remotes in Remote Service Groups or
remotes that transmit a dedicated SCPC upstream carrier. Remote Profiles are not used to
define Applications used by Application Service Groups.
A Remote Profile contains one or more Applications. Each Application in a Remote Profile is
built from one or more Application Profiles. Application Profiles contain the Service Levels
and Rules defined to handle the various types of traffic in your networks.
A Remote Profile is either an Upstream Remote Profile (built from Upstream Application
Profiles) or a Downstream Remote Profile (built from Downstream Application Profiles). When
you assign a Remote to a Remote Service Group for your Network or Inroute Group, you can
select the Remote Profile to be used by the remote.
An SCPC upstream carrier is dedicated to a single remote. Therefore, a remote that transmits
an SCPC upstream carrier is not part of any upstream Service Group. You assign the Upstream
Remote Profile directly to the remote on the Remote QoS tab. (See “Group QoS and SCPC
Remotes” on page 205 for further details.)

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Application Profile
Application Profiles are fundamental building blocks of Group QoS. They define the
Applications that are used by Service Profiles and Remote Profiles. In addition to being
configured with QoS properties that determine packet scheduling, Application Profiles contain
one or more rules that determine which packets match the type of traffic defined by the
Application Profile. Rules specify boolean operations that are performed on individual fields
in IP packet headers to determine whether or not packets match Applications using the
Application Profile.
An Application Profile is typically used to categorize packets for a specific traffic type, such
as NMS traffic, Voice over IP (VoIP) traffic, etc. The Default Application Profile is used to
handle any traffic not explicitly defined by the other Application Profiles in a Service Profile.

Virtual Remote
When you assign a Service Profile or a Remote Profile to a remote, you are configuring the
remote with the complete set of the Applications specified in the profile. Each individual
Application running on a remote is called a “Virtual Remote.” The physical remote makes
independent requests for bandwidth for each of its Virtual Remotes in accordance with the
properties assigned to that Application.

Note: The concept of Virtual Remote does not apply to Multicast Applications.

Application Service Groups vs. Remote Service Groups

The figures in this section present a more detailed comparison of the Group QoS subtrees for
Application Service Groups and Remote Service Groups. See “Configuring Group QoS” on
page 210 for information regarding the Group QoS Views and Folders referenced in the
figures.

Application
Service Configured in the
Group GQoS Group View

Application 1
Added in the GQoS Application 2 Application Configured in the
Group View from Profiles Application Profiles Folder
Application Profiles
Application n

Configured in the GQoS

Service Profile
Service Profile View
Assigned in the GQoS
Service Profile Remote View
or Remote QoS Tab

Remote 1 Remote 2 Remote 3

Figure 199. Application Service Group Subtree

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Figure 199 shows the Application Service Group subtree of the Group QoS hierarchy.
Applications are configured from Application Profiles and then added to the Group QoS
Application Service Group. These Applications are then used to create a Service Profile which
is assigned to remotes. The Applications in the Service Profile are implemented on the
remotes as Virtual Remotes.

Remote
Configured in the
Service
GQoS Group View
Group

Assigned in the GQoS

Remote Profile View or
Remote QoS Tab

Remote 1 Remote 2

Assigned in the GQoS Configured in the Remote

Remote Profile View or Remote Remote Profiles Folder from
Remote QoS Tab Profile 1 Profile 2 Application Profiles

Application 1 Application a
Application 2 Application b

Application n Application m

Figure 200. Remote Service Group Subtree

Figure 200 shows the Remote Service Group subtree of the Group QoS hierarchy. Remotes are
added directly to Remote Service Groups and configured with their own set of QoS properties
such as CIR, MIR, Priority, etc. Applications are configured from Application Profiles which are
used to build Remote Profiles. Remote Profiles are assigned to individual remotes. The
Applications in the Remote Profile are implemented on the remote as Virtual Remotes.

Group QoS and SCPC Remotes

Beginning with iDX Release 3.0, iDirect supports two types of upstream carriers:
• A TDMA upstream carrier is shared by multiple remotes in an inroute group.
• An SCPC upstream carrier is dedicated to a single remote.
Like remotes that transmit TDMA upstream carriers, remotes that transmit SCPC upstream
carriers (called SCPC remotes) are part of an iDirect network and receive the shared outroute
associated with that network. Therefore, SCPC remotes are part of the network’s outroute
Bandwidth Pool just like any other remote in the network. There is no difference in how
downstream Group QoS is configured and applied to a TDMA remote or an SCPC remote.
However, because each SCPC remote transmits its own dedicated upstream carrier, SCPC
remotes are not part any inroute group and therefore are not associated with an inroute
group’s Bandwidth Pool. Since the upstream bandwidth is not shared with other remotes, an

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SCPC remote is not part of a Service Group. Instead the entire upstream QoS tree for an SCPC
remote consists of the Remote, its Remote Profile, and the Applications associated with the
remote profile. This is illustrated in Figure 201.

SCPC
Remote
(Upstream)

Configured in the Remote

Remote Profiles Folder from
Profile Application Profiles

Application a
Application b

Application n

Figure 201. SCPC Remote Upstream QoS Tree

Bandwidth is allocated to the remote’s upstream Applications based on the properties and
rules defined for the selected Remote Profile. (See “Remote Profiles” on page 247 for
information on configuring remote profiles). Remote Profiles are assigned directly to SCPC
remotes on the Remote QoS tab. See “Remote QoS Tab” on page 166 for the steps to assign an
upstream Remote Profile to an SCPC remote.

7.1.3 QoS Modes

When configuring QoS for your outbound channels and inroute groups using Application
Service Groups, you can select one of three QoS modes:
• Remote Based
• Application Based
• Application Scaled
By selecting a QoS mode for your Networks and Inroute Groups in iBuilder, you can affect
upstream and downstream GQoS behavior, respectively. The behavior of each mode is
described here.

Note: QoS Modes only apply to Application Service Groups. Selecting a QoS mode has
no effect on Remote Service Groups. If you are using only Remote Service
Groups, you do not need to select a QoS mode for your Inroute Group or
Network.

Remote Based Mode

Selecting Remote Based as the QoS mode provides pre-GQoS compatibility. It allows you to
configure all upstream and/or downstream rate shaping parameters on the QoS tab for each
remote. These parameters include Maximum Information Rate (MIR), Committed Information
Rate (CIR), Minimum Information Rate (MIN), and Enhanced Information Rate (EIR).

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Note: As an alternative to remote based mode, consider using Remote Service Groups.
Remote Based mode has been retained to provide backward compatibility with
previous Group QoS releases and to address scalability issues in very large
networks. However, Remote Service Groups also allow you to configure QoS
properties for your individual remotes while providing additional flexibility as
well as portability of QoS profiles when remotes move between networks.
If you are operating in Remote Based QoS mode, you will define your QoS settings much like
you did in pre-8.0 releases. In other QoS modes, or when using Remote Service Groups, you
define multiple Applications per remote. These Applications run on the physical remote as
“Virtual Remotes.” Each Virtual Remote is responsible for bandwidth allocation for its own
application.
However, in Remote Based mode, remotes do not run multiple QoS Applications. Since the
concept of multiple Virtual Remotes is not applicable in this mode, you cannot define
individual request and allocation properties for Applications. Although Group QoS can be
configured for inroute groups and networks in Remote Based mode, all Group QoS Applications
are merged into a single Application in the remote-side and hub-side remote options files.
Therefore, Application properties such as MIR, CIR and Priority defined for new QoS
Applications are not used in Remote Based mode.
This is illustrated by Figure 202.

Figure 202. Remote Based Mode vs. Application Based Mode

When Remote Based QoS Mode is selected (top image), no properties (such as Priority and
Cost) are shown for the two Applications (NMS and Default). When Application Based is
selected, the GQoS Application Properties appear and can be configured by the operator. This
is true because Remote Based Mode collapses all Applications into a single Application that is
executed on the physical remote. If you want to change properties such as Priority or Cost for
Remote Based traffic, you can configure these parameters per Service Level.

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As in pre-8.0 releases, you define the QoS behavior of a remote in Remote Based mode by
creating Service Levels in QoS profiles. Service Levels contain Rules and matching criteria that
are compared in order to IP packets until a match is found. Once a packet matches a Rule, no
further comparisons are made.
Remote Based QoS differs from pre-8.0 QoS in that, rather than each remote being assigned a
single Traffic Profile, each remote is assigned a Service Profile derived from multiple
Application Profiles, each with its own list of Service Levels. (Application Profiles are similar
to pre-8.0 Traffic Profiles.) This means that the order in which Service Levels are applied to IP
traffic is determined by the order of the Applications in the Service Profile. If the packet does
not match any Service Levels in the first Application, it is compared to those in the second
Application, and so on, until a match is found. Therefore, it is very important that you add
new Applications to your Service Profiles so that the correct overall order of the Service
Levels is maintained across all Applications.
When you upgrade from a pre-8.0 release, Traffic Profiles currently assigned to remotes are
converted to Application Profiles. If you choose to upgrade to Application Service Groups,
those new Application Profiles are automatically included in new Service Profiles, and the
Service Profiles are assigned to those remotes that were using the equivalent Traffic Profiles.
(Traffic profiles not assigned to remotes are removed from the QoS folders.) After the
upgrade, you can assign these Service Profiles to remotes on the Remote QoS tab, the same
way you assigned Traffic Profiles to remotes prior to GQoS.
However, if you require a new Application Profile to be used by some of the remotes in your
network, you will need to create a new Service Profile that uses the new Application Profile,
and then assign the Service Profile to the Remotes. You must use the Group QoS feature to
create Service Profiles from Application Profiles. See the “Creating Service Profiles” on
page 233 for details.

Application Based Mode

Selecting Application Based as the QoS mode for a network or inroute group fully enables the
GQoS feature for your Application Service Groups. Although MIR and MIN configured on the
Remote QoS tab will be maintained, CIR will not. You can configure CIR at a number of levels
in the GQoS hierarchy. If you require different CIR settings for individual remotes, you must
override the general GQoS CIR configuration on your Virtual Remotes or switch to Remote
Service Groups. Configuring your Group QoS settings is discussed in detail in the remainder of
this chapter.

Application Scaled Mode

Application Scaled mode is intended for complex GQoS configurations that result in a large
number of Virtual Remotes executing on a single physical remote. For example, in networks in
which remotes provide service to multiple customers with different QoS requirements, the
large number of Virtual Remotes executing on each physical remote may degrade network
performance. In such cases, Application Scaled mode may be preferable to Application Based
mode.
Application Scaled mode is identical to Application Based mode with one exception.
Application Based mode results in a minimum of two Virtual Remotes for every physical
remote: NMS and Default. Each additional Virtual Remote increases the processing load on the
protocol processor and the remote during bandwidth allocation.

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Application Scaled mode merges the NMS and Default Virtual Remotes into a single Virtual
Remote to improve performance. This merging is performed in the hub-side and remote-side
options files; not on the GUI. Therefore, even though these two Virtual Remotes are combined
on the protocol processor and on the remote, this is not visible on the iBuilder GUI. Both the
NMS and Default Applications (and Virtual Remotes) still appear on the GQoS screens.

Note: Although iBuilder still allows you to configure the NMS and Default Applications
in Application Scaled mode, the Default Application properties override the
NMS Application properties for any conflicting settings. Therefore, changing
the properties of the NMS Application to be different from those in the Default
Application has no effect in this mode, and can be misleading.

Setting the QoS Mode

In iBuilder, you can select the QoS mode for an Inroute Group or Outroute as follows:
1. Right-click the Inroute Group or Network in the iBuilder tree and select ModifyItem.
2. Click the Group QoS tab.
3. Select the desired QoS Mode.

Figure 203. Selecting the QoS Mode

4. Click OK to save your changes.

Selecting the QoS Mode for an Inroute Group is illustrated in Figure 203. The Network Group
QoS tab has an identical QoS Mode setting that applies to the Network’s Outroute. The default
QoS Mode is Remote Based.

Note: The QoS Mode selection only applies to Application Service Groups; it does not
apply to Remote Service Groups.

7.1.4 Multicast Bandwidth Group

Beginning with iDX Release 2.0, a new default Bandwidth Group named Multicast is
automatically created for every network. This Bandwidth Group can be used to manage both
the NMS and user multicast traffic on the outbound carrier. The Multicast Bandwidth Group
has the following characteristics:
• There is only one Multicast Bandwidth Group per Network. Therefore you cannot clone
the Multicast Bandwidth Group, insert additional multicast Bandwidth Groups, or delete
the Multicast Bandwidth Group.

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• The Multicast Bandwidth Group must contain one and only one Application Service Group.
It cannot contain any Remote Service Groups. You cannot clone or delete the default
Application Service Group in the Multicast Bandwidth Group. You cannot insert additional
Service Groups under the Multicast Bandwidth Group.
• Like other Application Service Groups, the Application Service Group in the Multicast
Bandwidth Group contains two Applications by default: NMS and Default. The NMS
application is used for outbound multicast NMS traffic.
• By default, the Multicast Bandwidth Group, its Application Service Group, and the NMS
Application are assigned Multicast priority, the highest priority setting. This setting is only
available for the Multicast Bandwidth Group, its Service Group, and multicast
Applications.
• You cannot disable MIR for the Multicast Bandwidth Group. The minimum value that you
can set for Multicast MIR is 128 kbps.
• If you are configuring a DVB-S2 ACM network, you can select a different Multicast
MODCOD for each Application. By default, NMS multicast traffic is sent on the Minimum
MODCOD of the DVB-S2 carrier. To prevent user multicast traffic from accidentally
consuming too much downstream bandwidth, the Multicast MODCOD of the Default
Application is set to the Maximum MODCOD of the DVB-S2 carrier. See “Adding
Applications to Application Service Groups” on page 230 for details.
You can create new multicast Application Profiles and add new Applications for user multicast
traffic the same way that you add applications to other Bandwidth Groups. See “Configuring
Group QoS” on page 210 for details.

Note: Beginning with iDX Release 3.0, you can enable Multicast Fast Path when
configuring your user multicast Applications. When Multicast Fast Path is
enabled, downstream multicast packets received by a remote are forwarded
directly to the Ethernet by the remote firmware. This bypasses software
processing on the remote resulting in improved throughput. For details on
configuring Multicast Fast Path Applications and assigning them to your
remotes see “Configuring Remotes for Multicast Fast Path” on page 242.

7.2 Configuring Group QoS

This section explains how to use iBuilder to configure Group QoS settings for your Networks
and Inroute Groups. You can define Group QoS parameters in four places in iBuilder:
• On the Network Group QoS tab, you can define Group QoS settings for an Outroute and
assign Group QoS Service Profiles and Remote Profiles to the remotes using that Outroute.
• On the Inroute Group QoS tab, you can define Group QoS settings for an Inroute Group and
assign Group QoS Service Profiles and Remote Profiles to the remotes using that Inroute
Group.
• In the Group Profile Upstream and Downstream folders of the iBuilder tree, you can
create Group QoS profiles that you can later assign to your Networks and Inroute Groups
from the Group QoS tab.
• On the Remote QoS tab, you can define QoS properties for remotes using Remote Service
Groups or Application Service Groups in Remote Based QoS mode.

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When you create a new Network or Inroute Group in the iBuilder tree, the default
downstream or upstream group profile is used to automatically configure the default QoS
settings for the new bandwidth pool.
The default Group QoS configuration for a Network contains:
• Two default Bandwidth Groups, one named Multicast and one named Bandwidth
The default Group QoS configuration for an Inroute Group contains:
• A single Bandwidth Group named Bandwidth
The default Multicast Bandwidth Group contains a single default Application Service Group
named Application Service Group.
All non-Multicast default Bandwidth Groups contain two default Service Groups:
• An Application Service Group named Application Service Group
• A Remote Service Group named Remote Service Group

Note: If you are only using a single type of Service Group, you can delete the other
default Service Group. However, each Bandwidth Group is required to have at
least one Service Group of either type. Therefore, you cannot delete the last
Service Group in a Bandwidth Group.
Each default Application Service Group contains two default Applications:
• An Application named NMS to manage bandwidth for NMS traffic
• An Application named Default to manage all other bandwidth
The procedures in this section assume that you have already opened the Group QoS tab for
your Network or Inroute Group. Many of the same operations are also available when
configuring upstream or downstream Group Profiles. (See “Working with Group Profiles” on
page 258 for details on Group QoS profiles.)
To open the Group QoS tab:
1. Depending on the Bandwidth Pool you want to configure, right-click your Network or
Inroute Group in the iBuilder Tree and select ModifyItem.

2. When the dialog box appears, click the Group QoS tab.

7.2.1 The Group QoS User Interface

The Group QoS user interface allows you to configure and view all Group QoS settings for
Bandwidth Groups, Service Groups and Applications. It allows you to configure Service Profiles
and assign them to remotes that use Application Service Groups. It also allows you to assign
Remote Profiles to remotes that use Remote Service Groups.

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The Group QoS User Interface has five views, described in the following sections:
• Group View
• Service Profile View
• Service Profile-Remote View
• Remote Profile View
• Remote View
To select any of the Group QoS views, right-click anywhere in the main area of the Group QoS
tab and select the view you want to display.

Figure 204. Selecting the Group QoS View

Note: Double-clicking a folder in the Application/Remote column provides a

convenient way to switch from the Group QoS Group View to the Service Profile
View or Remote Profile View for a specific Service Group. This is equivalent to
using the right-click menu to switch to the Service Profile View or Remote
Profile View and then selecting the Service Group in the Select Group drop-
down menu. (The Select Group drop-down menu is explained on page 214.)

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Group View
The Group View shows the Group QoS Hierarchy (Bandwidth Groups, Service Groups,
Applications and Remotes) and the properties associated with each group in the tree. The
Group View illustrated in Figure 205 shows an Inroute Group with a single Bandwidth Group
divided into one Application Service Group (Appl SG 1) and one Remote Service Group (Rmt
SG 1).

Figure 205. Group QoS: Group View

Some characteristics of the illustrated Bandwidth Group are:

• A Maximum Information Rate (MIR) of 5 Mbps, with 3 Mbps configured for Appl SG 1 and 2
Mbps configured for Rmt SG 1.
• Since Appl SG 1 has an MIR that is higher than its Committed Information Rate (CIR), Appl
SG 1 can be granted bandwidth over its CIR limit if all of Rmt SG 1’s CIR demand is met
and additional bandwidth is available.
• Since Rmt SG 1 has an MIR equal to its CIR, Rmt SG 1 will never be granted more than its
configured CIR, even if additional bandwidth is available. (This may not always be the
case for upstream traffic. See the definition of CIR in “QoS Properties” on page 196.)
• For Appl SG 1, bandwidth is allocated in the following priority order:
• Bandwidth requested by the NMS Application is given the highest priority (P1).
Bandwidth will be allocated for all NMS traffic before bandwidth is given to any other
Application.
• Bandwidth requested by the VoIP Application is given the next priority (P2). Only after
all NMS traffic demand is met will VoIP bandwidth be allocated.
• Bandwidth requested by the TCP Application is given the next priority (Cost Based).
No TCP bandwidth will be allocated until all NMS and VoIP traffic demand is met.
• All remaining traffic is specified by the Default Application which is given a priority of
Best Effort. If bandwidth is available for the Service Group after all other traffic
demand has been satisfied, then Default demand will be met to the extent possible.
• For Rmt SG 1, all remote priorities and cost are equal. Therefore, bandwidth will be
distributed evenly to these remotes. Each remote has a CIR of 32 kbps and will never
receive more than its MIR of 128 kbps.

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Note: In Figure 205, only three of five remotes in Rmt SG 1 are displayed in this view
because Maximum Remotes Displayed is set to 3. You can adjust the maximum
number of remotes displayed for each Remote Service Group by changing the
setting for Maximum Remotes Displayed and clicking the Set button.
For detailed information on all QoS properties see “QoS Properties” on page 196. For
information on how QoS properties are applied in the Group QoS hierarchy see “Group QoS
Hierarchy” on page 200.

Service Profile View

Only Application Service Groups use Service Profiles. Therefore, the Service Profile View
applies to Application Service Groups but not to Remote Service Groups. The Service Profile
View (Figure 206) shows all Service Profiles defined for each Bandwidth Group, and all
Applications defined for each Service Profile. It also shows the properties of each Application
and how those properties are currently assigned to remotes.

Figure 206. Group QoS: Service Profile View

Note: The Select Group drop down menu at the top of the Service Profile View, the
Remote Profile View, and the Service Profile - Remote View, allows you to filter
on the entire Bandwidth Pool, a specific Bandwidth Group, or a specific Service
Group for display in the main window.

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Service Profile-Remote View

Only Application Service Groups use Service Profiles. Therefore, the Service Profile-Remote
View applies to remotes in Application Service Groups but not to remotes in Remote Service
Groups. The Service Profile-Remote View (Figure 207) shows all Service Profiles defined for
each Bandwidth Group, all remotes that use each Service Profile, and all Applications
assigned to each remote. It also displays all Service Levels configured for each Application.

Figure 207. Group QoS: Service Profile-Remote View

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Remote Profile View

Only remotes in Remote Service Groups use Remote Profiles. Therefore, the Remote Profile
View applies to remotes in Remote Service Groups but not to remotes in Application Service
Groups. The Remote Profile View (Figure 208) shows all Remote Service Groups in each
Bandwidth Group and all remotes assigned to those Remote Service Groups. It also shows the
QoS properties configured for the remotes and the Remote Profile assigned to each remote.

Note: In addition to remotes in Remote Service Groups, Remotes that transmit

dedicated SCPC upstream carriers also use Remote Profiles to define their
upstream Applications. Upstream Remote Profiles are assigned to SCPC
Remotes on the Remote QoS tab. See “Remote QoS Tab” on page 166 for
details.
You can assign remotes to a Remote Profile by selecting one or more the remotes and clicking
the check box of the profile in the Remote Profile-Upstream (or Downstream) pane at the
right of the screen. Clicking the Remote Profile column in the main area of the screen sorts
remotes by Remote Profile name within each Remote Service Group.

Figure 208. Remote Profile View

Note: A Remote Profile assigned to an Evolution X1 remote can have a maximum of 10

(total) Service Levels. Each Virtual Remote in the assigned Profile can have a
maximum of 5 Service Levels. Assigning a Profile to an X1 that exceeds either
of these limits will cause the remote state to change to Incomplete in the
iBuilder tree.

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Remote View
The Remote View (Figure 209) shows all remotes in a Bandwidth Pool, and all Applications and
Service Levels assigned to each remote. The Remote View includes remotes in Application
Service Groups and remotes in Remote Service Groups. The Remote View groups the QoS
configuration by remote, allowing you to better understand how QoS processing will be
applied on any remote.

Figure 209. Group QoS: Remote View

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7.2.2 Estimating Effective MIR and CIR for DVB-S2 Networks

When you configure a DVB-S2 carrier with ACM, only the symbol rate and occupied bandwidth
are known. The information rate depends on the combination of MODCODs being received by
the remotes in the network at any time. Therefore, when you configure CIR or MIR for a Group
QoS node, you are configuring the MIR or CIR based on the best MODCOD configured for the
DVB-S2 carrier. The true MIR or CIR limits for the GQoS node do not equal the configured CIR
or MIR unless all remotes or Virtual Remotes under the node are receiving the best MODCOD of
the carrier. Since even under ideal conditions, remote information rates are limited to their
Nominal (or Clear Sky) MODCOD, it is unlikely that the configured MIR or CIR is ever achieved
in an operational ACM network.
iBuilder includes a MODCOD Distribution Calculator that allows you to estimate the effective
Information Rate for your carrier or the effective MIR and CIR for individual Group QoS nodes.
You can access this calculator by clicking the MODCOD Distribution button on the
configuration dialog box for Bandwidth Groups, Service Groups or Applications. (The
calculator can also be accessed from the downstream carrier dialog box, allowing you to
estimate the effective Information Rate for the entire carrier.)
A variation of the MODCOD Distribution Calculator can be used to estimate the Information
Rate for a DVB-S2 carrier with ACM. See “Estimating the Information Rate for a DVB-S2
Carrier” on page 83 for details.
The following example illustrates how to estimate the effective MIR and CIR for a Group QoS
node. Figure 210 shows the portion of a Group QoS node dialog box that displays the
Configured and Effective MIR and CIR for that node.

Figure 210. Configured vs. Effective MIR and CIR before Estimation

Notice in Figure 210 that initially the Configured MIR and CIR are equal to the Effective CIR
and MIR. By default, the calculator for the node assumes that all remotes receive the best
MODCOD of the assigned carrier.

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1. Click the MODCOD Distribution button (Figure 210) to display the calculator (Figure 211).

Figure 211. MODCOD Distribution Calculator

Figure 211 shows an instance of the MODCOD Distribution Calculator. The range of the
MODCOD column is limited to the DVB-S2 Range defined for the carrier assigned to this
network. The Total row shows the totals for the columns. The Network Best row shows
the configured MIR and CIR for the node.
2. Double-click the cells to enter either the percentages of traffic or the data rates that you
estimate will be transmitted on the different MODCODs for remotes under this node.
If you change the percentages in the MIR Distribution and CIR Distribution columns, the
Estimated MIR and Estimated CIR are automatically recalculated and the totals are
displayed in the Total row. If you change information rates in the Estimated MIR and
Estimated CIR columns, percentages in the MIR Distribution and CIR Distribution
columns are automatically recalculated and the new configuration totals are displayed in
the Network Best row.

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Figure 212 shows the results of changing the percentages in the MIR Distribution and CIR
Distribution columns.

Figure 212. Calculating Estimated Information Rate

In the example in Figure 212, the satellite operator estimates that 20% of the remotes
typically receive 8PSK3/4, 20% receive 8PSK-5/6, and the remaining 60% receive 8PSK-8/9
(the best MODCOD defined for the carrier). The calculator maintains the configured
information rates at 512 kbps and 128 kbps while adjusting the effective information
rates to account for the traffic on the lower MODCODs.

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Figure 213 shows the results of entering the Estimated MIR and Estimated CIR in kbps,
splitting the information rates evenly between the two best MODCODs.

Figure 213. Calculating Information Rate Distribution

Notice in Figure 213 that the distribution percentages and the Network Best information
rates have been automatically adjusted to account for the variation in bandwidth
required by the different MODCODs to transmit the same information rate.
3. Click OK to save your changes.

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Figure 214 shows the results of the following the steps in the example.

Figure 214. Configured vs. Effective MIR and CIR after Estimation

In the top image in Figure 214, the totals for the Effective MIR and Effective CIR that were
recalculated by changing the percentages in the MIR Distribution and CIR Distribution
columns (Figure 212) have been updated in the dialog box. In the bottom image in Figure 214,
the totals for the Configured MIR and Configured CIR that were recalculated by changing the
Estimated MIR and Estimated CIR columns (Figure 213) have been updated in the dialog box.
The estimated MIR and CIR, not configured MIR and CIR, are displayed in the Group QoS Group
View. This is illustrated in the MIR and CIR columns for Bandwidth Group 2 in Figure 215. This
is the result of saving the configuration in the top image of Figure 214.

Figure 215. Effective MIR and CIR in the Group View

Although effective MIR and CIR are only estimations based on the inputs to the MODCOD
Distribution Calculator, you can use iMonitor to monitor your DVB-S2 performance and refine
these estimations over time to more accurately reflect your actual network performance. See
the iMonitor User Guide for details on monitoring your DVB-S2 networks.

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7.2.3 Effective Cost with Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR

As described on page 197, selecting Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR causes CIR bandwidth
allocations to subnodes to be proportional to the configured CIR. This lowers the effective
Cost of bandwidth allocation to competing subnodes with higher CIR. Therefore, if this
property is selected on a parent Group QoS node, peer subnodes at the same priority level
with different CIR configurations display different Effective Costs.
Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR can be enabled at the Bandwidth Pool, Bandwidth Group,
Application Service Group and Remote Service Group levels of the Group QoS tree. When using
Application Service Groups in Application Based QoS Mode, it can also be enabled at the
Application level of the Group QoS tree. When using Remote Service Groups, it can also be
enabled for individual remotes on the Remote QoS tab.
If selected, Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR applies to both CIR allocation and to best-
effort bandwidth allocation. If additional bandwidth is available after all CIR requests have
been satisfied for competing nodes, the additional (best-effort) bandwidth distribution is also
proportional to the configured CIR. If a node has no CIR configured, the cost of its best-effort
bandwidth is identical to the cost calculated for the peer node with the lowest configured
CIR.
Figure 216 shows the Group View with two competing cost-based Application Service Groups
in BWG 1: Service Group 1 and Service Group 2.

Figure 216. Competing Service Groups without Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR

Note: The Allocation Fairness Relative to Bandwidth CIR check box in the Group View
(Figure 216) applies to competing Bandwidth Groups in this Bandwidth Pool.
Notice in Figure 216 that Service Group 1 has been granted 256 kbps of CIR while Service
Group 2 has been granted 128 kbps of CIR. Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR has not yet
been enabled for BWG 1. Therefore bandwidth allocation is not affected by the proportion of
CIR configured for each node and the Bandwidth % column and the Cost column are identical
for the two Service Groups.

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Figure 217 shows the effect of selecting Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR for BWG 1.

Figure 217. Results of Selecting Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR on Parent

Since bandwidth allocation is now proportional to the configured CIRs for the two nodes, the
Bandwidth % for Service Group 1 (256 kbps of CIR) is now twice that of Service Group 2 (128
kbps of CIR). Also notice that the Cost column shows that the Service Group 1 bandwidth
allocation cost is half the cost of Service Group 2.
The difference between the Configured Cost and Effective Cost is displayed on the dialog
box of the competing subnodes. Figure 218 shows the Configured and Effective Costs for
Service Group 1 used in this example.

Figure 218. Configured vs. Effective Cost

For definitions of Cost and Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR, see “QoS Properties” on
page 196.

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7.2.4 Allocation Fairness Relative to MODCOD

As described on page 198, Allocation Fairness Relative to MODCOD only applies to networks
that use DVB-S2 with Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM). If you select this option,
bandwidth allocation is based on information rate rather than on raw satellite bandwidth.
Therefore, remotes with lower nominal MODCODs receive more satellite bandwidth than
remotes with higher nominal MODCODs to achieve the same information rate. If the option is
not selected, satellite bandwidth is divided among competing remotes without regard to the
nominal MODCODs of the remotes. (See page 174 for instructions on setting a remote’s
nominal MODCOD.)
In Remote Based QoS Mode, Allocation Fairness Relative to MODCOD can only be defined at
the Application Service Group level of the Group QoS tree. In Application Based QoS Mode,
Allocation Fairness Relative to MODCOD can only be defined at the Application level of the
Group QoS tree. When using Remote Service Groups, Allocation Fairness Relative to MODCOD
can only be defined at the Remote Service Group level of the Group QoS tree.

Note: Allocation Fairness Relative to MODCOD may be a useful option to maintain CIR
allocations for VoIP applications at the expense of other Applications in a
Service Group.
Figure 218 shows Allocation Fairness Relative to MODCOD selected for an Application.

Figure 219. Selecting Allocation Fairness Relative to MODCOD

Unlike Allocation Fairness Relative to CIR, selecting Allocation Fairness Relative to

MODCOD does not change the effective cost on the Group QoS GUI. However, the system
calculates a hidden cost and uses that hidden cost during bandwidth allocation to apportion
the bandwidth. Allocation fairness relative to MODCOD applies both to CIR bandwidth
allocation and to best-effort bandwidth allocation.
For a definition of Allocation Fairness Relative to MODCOD, see “QoS Properties” on page 196.
For details on configuring Group QoS Service Groups, see “Adding a Service Group” on
page 227. For details on configuring Group QoS Applications, see “Adding Applications to
Application Service Groups” on page 230.

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7.2.5 Adding a Bandwidth Group

Each Bandwidth Pool (Network or Inroute Group) can contain multiple Bandwidth Groups. This
section explains how to configure Bandwidth Groups for your individual Bandwidth Pools.
To add a new Bandwidth Group:
1. In the Group View of the Group QoS tab, right-click an existing Bandwidth Group and
select Insert. (You can also select Modify to modify the Bandwidth Group or Clone to
insert a copy of the Bandwidth Group.)

2. In the Bandwidth Group dialog box, enter a Name for the new Bandwidth Group.

Figure 220. Bandwidth Group Dialog Box

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Note: Group QoS nodes are divided into Allocation Properties and Request Properties.
(For example, see Figure 220.) Allocation Properties of Group QoS nodes
influence the behavior of the node on which they are configured when that node
is allocating bandwidth to its subnodes. Request Properties of Group QoS nodes
determine how the configured node requests its bandwidth.
3. Enter the properties you want to configure for the Bandwidth Group and click OK. (For
details on all Group QoS properties, see “QoS Properties” on page 196.)
4. If you are configuring Group QoS for a DVB-S2 network and you have defined CIR or MIR,
you can click the MODCOD Distribution button to estimate the effective rates for your
network. See “Estimating Effective MIR and CIR for DVB-S2 Networks” on page 218 for
details. Configured and effective cost are discussed in “Effective Cost with Allocation
Fairness Relative to CIR” on page 223.
Figure 221 shows a new Bandwidth Group inserted into the Group QoS tree for a Bandwidth
Pool.

Figure 221. New Bandwidth Group in Group QoS Tree

A new Bandwidth Group automatically includes one Remote Service Group and one
Application Service Group containing two Applications. Properties are assigned to these
subgroups based on the configuration of the default upstream or downstream Group Profile.
(See “Working with Group Profiles” on page 258 for a discussion of Group Profiles.)

7.2.6 Adding a Service Group

This section explains how to configure Service Groups under your Bandwidth Groups. A
Bandwidth Group may contain multiple Application Service Groups, multiple Remote Service
Groups, or both types of Service Group. To insert a new Service Group:
1. In the Group View of the Group QoS tab, right-click an existing Service Group and select
Insert Application Service Group or Insert Remote Service Group. (You can also select
Modify to modify the Service Group or Clone to insert a copy of a Service Group.)

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2. In the Service Group dialog box, enter a Name for the new Service Group.

Figure 222. Service Group Dialog Box

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3. Enter the properties you want to configure for the Service Group and click OK. (For
details on all Group QoS properties, see “QoS Properties” on page 196.)
4. If you are configuring Group QoS for a DVB-S2 network and you have defined CIR or MIR,
you can click the MODCOD Distribution button to estimate the Effective rates for your
network. See “Estimating Effective MIR and CIR for DVB-S2 Networks” on page 218 for
details. Configured and Effective cost are discussed in “Effective Cost with Allocation
Fairness Relative to CIR” on page 223. Allocation Fairness Relative to MODCOD is
discussed on page 225.
5. For Service Groups, Enable EIR for Remotes in Group applies only to DVB-S2 networks.
For Application Service Groups, it only applies to Remote Based QoS mode. It can also be
selected for Remote Service Groups in a DVB-S2 network. Select this option to allow EIR to
be configured for physical remotes on the Remote QoS tab. (See “Remote QoS Tab” on
page 166.)

Note: Selecting Enable EIR for Remotes in Group allows a network administrator with
Group QoS permissions to allow or disallow the configuration of EIR for
physical remotes per Service Group in a DVB-S2 network. It also allows the
administrator to limit the value that can be set for the EIR Minimum MODCOD
on the physical remotes.
6. If you selected Enable EIR for Remotes in Group, you should also select a Minimum
MODCOD Allowed for the remotes in this Service Group. The selected MODCOD is the
minimum MODCOD that can be configured for the physical remote on the Remote QoS tab.
Figure 223 shows a new Application Service Group inserted into a Bandwidth Group in the
Group QoS tree.

Figure 223. New Application Service Group Inserted Into a Bandwidth Group

A new Application Service Group automatically contains two Applications, NMS and Default.
The properties of these Applications are assigned based on the configuration of the default
upstream or downstream Group Profile. (See “Working with Group Profiles” on page 258 for a
discussion of Group Profiles.)

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7.2.7 Working with Application Service Groups

As described in the section “Group QoS Hierarchy” on page 200, there are two types of
Service Groups: Application Service Groups and Remote Service Groups. This section of this
chapter applies to Application Service Groups only. The procedures in this section explain how
to add Applications and Service Profiles to Application Service Groups; how to assign Service
Profiles to Remotes; and how to override Application properties on Virtual Remotes. If you are
working with Remote Service Groups, see “Working with Remote Service Groups” on page 247.

Adding Applications to Application Service Groups

Each Application Service Group can contain multiple Applications. This procedure shows how
to add Applications to your Application Service Groups.
1. In the Group View of the Group QoS tab, right-click an existing Application and select
Insert. (You can also select Modify to modify the Application or Clone to insert a copy of
the Application.)

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2. In the QoS Application dialog box, enter a Name for the new Application.

Figure 224. QoS Application Dialog Box

3. You can only select Multicast Fast Path if you are configuring a downstream Multicast
Application.

Note: Selecting Multicast Fast Path improves performance by forwarding multicast

packets received by a remote directly from firmware to the ethernet,
bypassing remote software processing. See “Configuring Remotes for Multicast
Fast Path” on page 242 for details.
4. Enter the properties you want to configure for the Application in the Request Properties
and Allocation Properties areas of the dialog box. These properties determine how
bandwidth is allocated for all remotes you configure to use this Application. (For details
on all Group QoS properties, see “QoS Properties” on page 196.)
5. If you are configuring Group QoS for a DVB-S2 network and you have defined CIR or MIR,
you can click the MODCOD Distribution button to estimate the Effective rates for your
network. See “Estimating Effective MIR and CIR for DVB-S2 Networks” on page 218 for
details. Configured and Effective cost are discussed in “Effective Cost with Allocation
Fairness Relative to CIR” on page 223. Allocation Fairness Relative to MODCOD is
discussed on page 225.

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6. Enable EIR for Remotes in Application applies only to DVB-S2 networks in Application
Based (or Application Scaled) QoS mode. Select this option to configure EIR for Virtual
Remotes using this Application.
7. If you selected Enable EIR for Remotes in Application, you should also select a Minimum
MODCOD Allowed. The selected MODCOD is the minimum MODCOD that can be configured
for remotes using this Application.
8. If you are configuring a Multicast Application for a DVB-S2 network, the Allocation
Properties display the Multicast MODCOD (Figure 225) rather than an EIR Minimum
MODCOD. Select a Multicast MODCOD for your Multicast Application.

Figure 225. Selecting a User Multicast MODCOD

9. In the Application Profiles area of the dialog box, select each Application Profile you
want to include in this Application. Each Application is specified by one or more
Application Profiles configured in the Application Profiles folder. (See section “Adding an
Application Profile” on page 268 for details.)

Note: You can use the arrow buttons to change the order of the
Application Profiles within an Application. First, select an Application
Profile; then click the buttons to move the Application up or down in the
list.

Note: The order of Application Profiles within your Applications is important for
two reasons. First, once a rule in an Application Profile matches a packet,
no further classification of the packet is performed. Second, placing high-
volume Application Profiles higher in the list will reduce the amount of
processing time used to check seldom-matched rules.
10. Click OK when you have finished defining the Application.
Figure 226 shows a new Application for TCP inserted into an Application Service Group in the
Group QoS tree.

Figure 226. New Application Inserted Into an Application Service Group

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Creating Service Profiles

Like an Application Service Group, a Service Profile contains one or more Applications. Each
Application consists of Service Levels and Rules specified by one or more Application Profiles.
(See “Adding an Application Profile” on page 268 for details on creating and editing
Application Profiles.)
When you create a new Application Service Group, you automatically create a default Service
Profile for the new group containing the NMS and Default Applications. These two Applications
are based on the Upstream or Downstream NMS and the Default Application Profiles. You can
modify the NMS and Default Application Profiles, but you cannot delete them.
The only Applications available to a Service Profile are those assigned to the corresponding
Service Group in the Group View, as described in “Adding Applications to Application Service
Groups” on page 230. However, adding an Application to a Service Group does not
automatically select that Application as part of any Service Profiles configured from that
Service Group. You must select the Applications manually. The following procedure shows how
to configure your Service Profiles.
1. Right-click anywhere on the Group QoS tab and select Service Profile View from the
menu.

Note: There is no default Multicast Service Profile. However, Multicast Service

Profiles are required to configure your remotes to use the Multicast Fast Path
feature. For information on creating and assigning Multicast Fast Path Service
Profiles, see “Configuring Remotes for Multicast Fast Path” on page 242.

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2. Right-click the Service Profile and select Modify to display the QoS Service Profile dialog
box. You can also Clone or Modify existing Service Profiles, or Insert new Service Profiles
into the Group QoS tree.

3. In the QoS Service Profile dialog box, select each Application you want to add to the
Service Profile. If the Application contains more than one Application Profile, you can
individually select which Application Profiles you want to include.

Figure 227. QoS Service Profile Dialog Box

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4. Click OK to save the Service Profile and return to the Group QoS tab.

Note: You can use the Add and Delete buttons (shown in Figure 227) to insert
Applications into the Service Group or remove Applications from the Service
Group without returning to the Group View.

Configuring Application Properties for Remotes

Once you have added an Application to your Service Profile, you can configure how the
Application is applied on the individual remotes that use that Service Profile. When you added
the Application in the Group View (see “Adding Applications to Application Service Groups” on
page 230), you were configuring how bandwidth is allocated for all remotes using that
Application. However, when you configure the properties of an Application in a Service
Profile, you are configuring the individual properties of each Virtual Remote configured to use
the Service Profile.
For example, you might define an MIR of 1000 kbps for an Application in the Group View to
limit the amount of bandwidth distributed for that Application to all remotes in a Service
Group. You might then define an MIR of 100 kbps for the Application in a Service Profile to
limit each remote using that Service Profile to 100 kbps for that Application.
Follow these steps to configure the QoS properties assigned to Virtual Remotes:
1. Right-click anywhere on the Group QoS tab and select Service Profile View from the
menu.

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2. Under the Service Profile you want to change, right-click an Application and select
Modify from the menu.

3. In the Request Properties area of the dialog box, modify the properties you want to
change.

Figure 228. Application Properties Dialog Box

4. In the Allocation Properties, the EIR section of the dialog box applies only to DVB-S2
outbound carriers with ACM enabled. EIR is only enabled within the range defined by the
carrier’s Maximum MODCOD and the Minimum MODCOD entered here. (See page 197 for
the definition of EIR. See page 74 for details on configuring the MODCOD range of your
DVB-S2 carriers.)
5. Select Apply to All if you want to apply these settings to all Virtual Remotes using this
Application. This will remove any overrides that were previously configured for individual

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Virtual Remotes. If you do not select Apply to All, previously-defined overrides will be
retained. (See “Overriding Application Properties on Individual Remotes” on page 240.)
6. Click OK to save your changes.

Assigning Service Profiles to Remotes

Once you have created a Service Profile for a Network or an Inroute Group, you can then
assign the Service Profile to selected remotes in that Bandwidth Pool. By assigning different
Service Profiles to separate groups of remotes in a single Bandwidth Pool, you can control how
bandwidth is requested by and allocated for the remote groups.
Typically, you will only assign one Service Profile per remote. However, under rare
circumstances, you may want to assign more than one Service Profile to a single remote. You
can only assign multiple Service Profiles to a single remote if those Service Profiles are in
different Service Groups within the same Bandwidth Group or in different Bandwidth Groups.
You cannot configure a remote with more than one NMS or Default Application. If you choose
to assign multiple Service Profiles to a single remote, the NMS and Default Applications of the
new Service Profile will be applied to the remote in place of the NMS and Default Applications
that were previously applied. When you remove a Service Profile from a remote which had
multiple profiles assigned, then if the NMS and Default Applications were applied from that
profile, the remote will be re-assigned the NMS and Default Applications of the first Service
Profile in the Group QoS Profile View that is still assigned to the remote. Applications other
than NMS and Default should be unique across all Service Profiles assigned to a remote. If not,
only one of the identical Applications will be selected, overriding the duplicate Application.
Normally, an operator assigns Service Profiles to individual remotes on the Remote QoS tab.
(See “Remote QoS Tab” on page 166 for details.) Service Profiles assigned to a Remote are
displayed in the Upstream QoS and Downstream QoS sections of that tab. Figure 229 shows
two Service Profiles (SP 1 and SP 2) assigned to a single remote for an Inroute Group. (The
Service Profile shown in bold—called the Primary Service Profile—contains the NMS and
Default Applications applied to this remote.)

Figure 229. Multiple Service Profiles Assigned to a Single Remote

The remainder of this section describes how to assign Service Profiles to remotes from the
Group QoS Service Profile-Remote View. This method can be used by a Group QoS
administrator as an alternative to assigning Service Profiles to individual remotes on the
Remote QoS tab.

Note: A Service Profile assigned to an Evolution X1 remote can have a maximum of 10

(total) Service Levels. Each Virtual Remote in the assigned Profile can have a
maximum of 5 Service Levels. Assigning a Profile to an X1 that exceeds either
of these limits will cause the remote state to change to Incomplete in the
iBuilder tree.

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To assign a Service Profile to a Remote:

1. Right-click anywhere in the Group QoS tab of a Network or Inroute Group and select
Service Profile-Remote View from the menu.

2. Right-click anywhere in the Service Profile-Remote View and select Expand Tree to view
the current Service Profile assignments.

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3. Right-click the Service Profile you want to assign and select Assign/Unassign Remote.

4. In the Remote Select dialog box (Figure 230), select the remote or remotes you want to
assign. Use Ctrl-click or Shift-click to select multiple remotes.)

Figure 230. Moving Remotes Between QoS Service Profiles

5. Click the arrow keys to move remotes between the Available

Remotes pane and the Assigned Remotes pane. (The single-headed arrows move all
selected remotes between panes. The double-headed arrows move all remotes between
panes.)
6. Click OK to save the Service Profile assignments.

Note: If you re-assign a remote to a new Service Profile in a different Service Group,
its previous Service Profile is still assigned as well. You can follow steps similar
to those above to unassign the remote’s previously-assigned profile. If you are
not sure if you have assigned a remote to multiple Service Groups, expand the
tree in the Service Profile-Remote View and check the Remote column for
multiple assignments.

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Note: You can also change the Service Profile assignments of remotes by selecting
remotes in the Service Profile-Remote View and dragging the remotes between
Service Profiles. Figure 231 shows remote e8350 32132 being dragged from
Appl Service Group 1/SP 1 to Appl Service Group 2/SP 2.

Figure 231. Dragging a Remote Between QoS Service Profiles

Overriding Application Properties on Individual Remotes

Normally, when you assign a Service Profile to a remote, the remote Applications (Virtual
Remotes) are assigned the properties of the Applications that you configured for the
Applications in the Service Profile. (See “Configuring Application Properties for Remotes” on
page 235.) However, you can override these Application properties for individual Virtual
Remotes in the Group QoS Service Profile View.
Follow these steps to override the QoS properties assigned to Virtual Remotes:
1. Right-click anywhere on the Group QoS tab and select Service Profile View from the
menu.

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2. Under the Service Profile you want to change, right-click a Virtual Remote and select
Modify from the menu.

3. In the Request Properties area of the Properties dialog box, modify the properties you
want to change.

Figure 232. Overriding Application Properties on Individual Remotes

4. In the Allocation Properties area of the dialog box, you can override the EIR Minimum
MODCOD setting on the outbound for a remote receiving a DVB-S2 outbound. See
“Configuring Application Properties for Remotes” on page 235 for details.
5. Click OK to save your changes to the Virtual Remote.

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Configuring Remotes for Multicast Fast Path

When you configure a remote to use a Multicast Fast Path Application, downstream multicast
packets that match the rules configured for the Fast Path Application are forwarded to the
Ethernet directly by the firmware running on the remote modem. This bypasses remote
software processing and improves throughput on the remote.
You can configure a maximum of 16 Multicast Fast Path Applications per network. Follow
these steps to configure a Multicast Fast Path Application and assign it to your remotes.
1. Follow the steps in “Adding an Application Profile” on page 268 to add a Downstream
Application Profile for your Multicast Fast Path Application. Edit the Service Level and
Rule(s) to ensure that the Priority, Destination IP Address, Subnet Mask, Port Range, and
VLAN Range are correctly configured for the Multicast Address(es) that you want the
remotes to receive.

Figure 233. Example Downstream Multicast Application Profile and Rule

2. In the Group View of the Group QoS tab for your network, right-click an existing
Application in the Application Service Group of your Multicast Bandwidth Group and
select Insert.

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The QoS Application dialog box opens.

Figure 234. QoS Application Dialog Box: Selecting Multicast Fast Path

3. Enter a Name for your Multicast Fast Path Application.

4. Select the Multicast Fast Path check box as shown in Figure 234.
5. Configure the remaining QoS properties for your Application as described in “Adding
Applications to Application Service Groups” on page 230.
6. In the Application Profiles area of the QoS Application dialog box (Figure 235), select the
downstream multicast Application Profile that you configured in Step 1.

Figure 235. Selecting a Fast Path Application Profile for a Multicast Application

7. Click OK to add the Multicast Fast Path Application to the Multicast Bandwidth Group and
return to the Group View.

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8. In the Group View, double-click the Profiles folder for the Multicast Service Group to open
the Service Profile View for the Multicast Application Service Group.

Figure 236. Opening the Multicast Service Profile View

Note: If this is the first Multicast Service Profile configured for your network, the
Service Profile View for the Multicast Service Group will be empty.
9. If the Service Profile View is empty (Figure 237, left image), right-click anywhere in the
main window and select Insert from the menu. If there are existing Multicast Service
Profiles (Figure 237, right image), right-click an existing Service Profile and click Insert.

Figure 237. Inserting a Multicast Service Profile into the Multicast Service Group

10. In the QoS Service Profile dialog box:

a. Enter a Name for the Service Profile.
b. Select the Multicast Fast Path Application that you configured in the previous steps.

Figure 238. Selecting a Fast Path Application for a Multicast Service Profile

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11. Click OK to return to the Service Profile View.

12. Right click anywhere in the Service Profile View and select Service Profile Remote View
from the menu.
13. In the Service Profile Remote View, right-click your Multicast Service Profile and select
Assign/Unassign Remote.

14. The Remote Select Dialog Box opens (Figure 239).

Figure 239. Assigning a Multicast Fast Path Service Profile to Remotes

15. In the Remote Select dialog box, select the Available Remotes (on the left) to which you
want to assign the Multicast Fast Path Service Profile.
16. Click the single arrow in the center of dialog box to move those remotes into the Assigned
Remotes area (on the right) of the dialog box.
17. Click OK to save the remote assignments and return to the Service Profile Remote View.
18. Click OK to save the Group QoS changes for your network. You should see changes pending
on your network and hub-side changes pending on your remotes.
19. Apply the changes to your network and remotes.

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Note: Operators can also assign remotes to Multicast Service Groups on the
Remote QoS Tab. See “Remote QoS Tab” on page 166 for details.
20. Add a persistent multicast groups to your network for each VLAN (including the default
VLAN) configured by the Multicast Fast Path Application to carry the Multicast Fast Path
packets. “Adding a Network” on page 105 contains the steps for adding persistent
multicast groups to a network. For a complete description of multicast support in iDirect,
see the Technical Note titled IP Multicast in iDirect Networks.

Note: A remote will always forward Multicast Fast Path packets to the local LAN,
even if a persistent multicast group is not configured for the eth0 interface of
the remote. However, you should configure a persistent multicast group for
your Network to ensure that the protocol processor forwards the multicast
packets to the transmit line card for transmission on the downstream carrier.

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7.2.8 Working with Remote Service Groups

As described in the section “Group QoS Hierarchy” on page 200, there are two types of
Service Groups: Application Service Groups and Remote Service Groups. This section of this
chapter applies to Remote Service Groups only. The procedures in this section explain how to
configure Remote Profiles; how to add remotes to Remote Service Groups; and how to assign
Remote Profiles to remotes. If you are working with Application Service Groups, see “Working
with Application Service Groups” on page 230.

Remote Profiles
A Remote Profile contains one or more Applications. Each Application in a Remote Profile is
built from one or more Application Profiles. Application Profiles contain the Service Levels
and Rules defined to handle the various types of traffic in your networks. (See “Adding an
Application Profile” on page 268 for details on creating and editing Application Profiles.)
Remote Profiles are created in the QoS folder of the iBuilder Tree under the Remote Profiles
folder. Two subfolders named Downstream and Upstream contain the Remote Profiles that
you can assign for your Networks and Inroute Groups, respectively. Figure 240 shows an
example of the Remote Profiles folder in the iBuilder Tree.

Figure 240. Remote Profiles Folder in iBuilder Tree

By default, there are two preconfigured Remote Profiles: Default Downstream Profile and
Default Upstream Profile. These default profiles are built from the NMS and Default
Application Profiles described on page 266. You can assign default Remote Profiles to your
remotes, but you cannot change them or delete them.
You can add, clone, modify and delete Remote Profiles in the same way that you perform
these operations for other profiles in the QoS folder. For instructions on how to perform these
operations, see page 267.

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Remote Profiles are configured in the Upstream and Downstream Remote Profile dialog boxes.
An example of the Upstream Remote Profile dialog box is shown in Figure 241.

Figure 241. Remote Profile Dialog Box

As shown in Figure 241, the Remote Profile dialog box is divided into three sections.
In the top section of the dialog box, you can add new Applications and Application Profiles to
the Remote Profile. You also can drag the Applications or Application Profiles to change their
order. The order of the Applications and Application Profiles determines the order in which
the Service Levels are applied on Remotes assigned to this Remote Profile. Figure 241 shows a
Remote Service Group with two Applications, each containing two Application Profiles. The
QoS properties configured for the Applications are shown in the columns on the right.
The Service Levels pane of the dialog box shows the Service Levels configured for the
selected Application Profile. In Figure 241, the NMS Application Profile is selected in the top
section of the dialog box. Therefore, the Service Levels configured for the NMS are displayed
in the Service Levels section.

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The Used By pane of the dialog box shows all remotes assigned to this Remote Profile. For
upstream profiles such as the one in figure Figure 241, the Inroute Group for each remote is
displayed in the second column. For downstream profiles, the Network containing each
remote is displayed in the second column.
You can perform the following operations on your Remote Profile:
• Add, Delete and Modify Applications
• Insert Application Profiles into Applications
• Delete Application Profiles from Applications
• Rearrange the order of Applications and of Application Profiles within Applications
• Move Application Profiles between Applications
The following rules apply when creating Remote Profiles
• Each Application in the Remote Profile must contain at least one Application Profile.
• The NMS Application Profile must be included in one Application within the Remote
Profile.
• The same Application Profile cannot be included more than once in a Remote Profile.
• The last Application Profile in the last Application of a Remote Profile must be the Default
Application Profile.

Adding a Remote Profile

Follow these steps to add a new Remote Profile to the tree:
1. Right-click the Upstream or Downstream folder under Remote Profiles and select Add
Downstream Remote Profile or Add Upstream Remote Profile from the menu.

The Remote Profile dialog box (Figure 242) opens.

Figure 242. Adding a Remote Profile

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A new Remote Profile automatically contains a single Application built from the NMS and
Default Application Profiles.
2. Enter a Profile Name for your Remote Profile.
3. To add a new Application or Modify an existing Application:
a. Right-click an Application and select Add Application or Modify from the menu.

The Application dialog box opens (Figure 243).

Figure 243. Application Dialog Box

b. If this is a new Application, enter a Name for the Application.

c. In the Request Properties area of the Application dialog box, modify any QoS
properties you want to change for this Application. (For details on all Group QoS
properties, see “QoS Properties” on page 196.)

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d. EIR applies only to Downstream Applications in DVB-S2 networks. Select Enable EIR to
configure EIR for this Application.
e. If you selected Enable EIR, you should also select a Minimum MODCOD Allowed. The
selected MODCOD is the minimum EIR MODCOD for this Application.
f. Click OK to save the changes.

Note: You can drag Applications to rearrange their order within a Remote
Profile.

Figure 244. Rearranging Applications

4. To insert a new Application Profile into an existing Application:

a. Right-click the Application and select Insert Profile.

b. In the Choose Application Profile dialog box, select the Application Profile you want
to add to the Application.

Figure 245. Inserting an Application Profile into an Application

c. Click OK to insert the Application Profile.

Note: You can drag Application Profiles to rearrange their order within an
Application.

Figure 246. Rearranging Application Profiles

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Assigning Remotes to Remote Service Groups

This section explains how to assign remotes to Remote Service Groups. When you assign a
remote to a Remote Service Group, you can also select the Remote Profile to be used by the
remote.
There are two ways to assign a remote to a Remote Service Group and select its Remote
Profile. Normally, an operator performs this function on the Remote QoS tab by clicking the
Edit button for the Upstream or Downstream Service Group and selecting the Remote Service
Group and Remote Profile (Figure 247). This method is discussed in more detail in the section
“Remote QoS Tab” on page 166.

Figure 247. Assigning a Remote Service Group on the Remote QoS Tab

This remainder of this section describes how to assign Remotes to Remote Service Groups
from the Group QoS Remote Profile View. This method can be used by a Group QoS
administrator as an alternative to assigning Service Profiles to individual remotes on the
Remote QoS tab.

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To assign Remotes to a Remote Service Group:

1. Right-click anywhere in the Group QoS tab of a Network or Inroute Group and select
Remote Profile View from the menu.

2. Right-click anywhere in the Remote Profile View and select Expand Tree to view the
current Remote Service Group assignments.

3. Right-click the Service Profile you want to assign and select Assign/Unassign Remote.

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4. In the Remote Select dialog box (Figure 248), select the remote or remotes you want to
assign. Use Ctrl-click or Shift-click to select multiple remotes.

Figure 248. Moving Remotes Between Remote Service Groups

5. Click the arrow keys to move remotes between the Available

Remotes pane and the Assigned Remotes pane. (The single-headed arrows move all
selected remotes between panes. The double-headed arrows move all remotes between
panes.)
6. Click OK to save the Remote Service Group assignments and return to the Remote Profile
View.
7. In the Remote Profile View, assign Remote Profiles to your remotes by selecting one or
more remotes in the pane on the left and then selecting a Remote Profile in the Remote
Profile pane on the right.

Figure 249. Assigning Remote Profiles in the Remote Profile View

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Note: The Remote Profile column shows the Remote Profile assignments for all
remotes in the Remote Profile view. You can click the column header to sort by
Remote Profile within each Remote Service Group. In Figure 249, the last
remote displayed has not yet been assigned a Remote Profile.

Note: You can also change the Remote Service Group assignments of remotes by
selecting remotes in the Remote Profile View and dragging the remotes
between Remote Service Groups. Figure 250 shows remote e8350 42132 being
dragged from Remote Service Group 1 to Remote Service Group 2.

Figure 250. Dragging a Remote Between Remote Profiles

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7.2.9 Configuring Full-Trigger CIR for a Remote

You can enable Full-Trigger CIR for any upstream application running on a remote (i.e., for
any Virtual Remote configured on the Group QoS tab of your Inroute Group). You cannot
enable Full-Trigger CIR for downstream applications. If Full-Trigger CIR is enabled for a Virtual
Remote, the Virtual Remote will be granted all of its configured CIR bandwidth whenever any
CIR bandwidth is granted to the Virtual Remote, regardless of the amount requested.
Full-Trigger CIR can only be enabled by configuring a hub-side custom key on the remote
Custom tab. Follow these steps to enable Full-Trigger CIR for a Virtual Remote:
1. Determine the Virtual Remote number by right-clicking anywhere on the Group QoS tab of
your Inroute Group and selecting Remote View from the menu.
2. Right-click anywhere in the Remote View and select Expand Tree to view all remotes
and their Applications.
3. Scroll down to the remote that you want to configure, and examine the Application
column in the Remote View. Each Application listed for a remote represents a Virtual
Remote. Virtual Remote numbers are assigned according to the order of the Applications.
In Figure 251, for Remote 3, NMS is Virtual Remote 1, VoIP is Virtual Remote 2, and
Default is Virtual Remote 3. Note the Virtual Remote number for the Application that you
want to configure for Full-Trigger CIR.

Figure 251. Determining Virtual Remote Numbers for Remote Applications

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4. Right-click the remote in the iBuilder tree and select ModifyItem.

5. In the Modify Configuration Object dialog box, click the Custom Tab. Then add a custom
key to the Hub-Side Configuration pane in the following format:
[UPSTREAM_VR_#]
full_cir_trigger = 1
where # is the Virtual Remote number determined in Step 3. Figure 252 shows the custom
key required to enable Full-Trigger CIR for Virtual Remote 2 on the remote being
configured.

Figure 252. Defining the Full Trigger CIR Custom Key

6. Click OK to save your changes.

7. Right-click the remote in the iBuilder Tree and select Apply ConfigurationReliable
Hub-Side (TCP) to send the new configuration to the protocol processor.

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7.3 Working with Group Profiles

Group Profiles allow you to apply the identical Group QoS configuration to multiple Networks
or Inroute Groups. They also enable you to work offline to develop Group QoS configurations
before assigning them to your Bandwidth Pools. A Group Profile contains the entire Group QoS
tree associated with a Bandwidth Pool.
Using Group Profiles, you can:
• Save the Group QoS configuration of an existing Bandwidth Pool to an Upstream or
Downstream Group Profile.
• Create copies of Group Profiles to use as templates for similar profiles
• Modify Group Profiles
• Replace the Group QoS configuration of any Bandwidth Pool with a Group Profile
The following sections explain how to create, modify, copy, and apply your Group Profiles.
There are two default Group Profiles: the Default Downstream Profile and the Default
Upstream Profile. When you add a Network to the iBuilder tree, iBuilder automatically assigns
the Default Downstream Profile to the new Network. When you add an Inroute Group to the
iBuilder tree, iBuilder automatically assigns the Default Upstream Profile to the new Inroute
Group. The contents of the default Group Profiles are described in “Configuring Group QoS”
on page 210. You can modify the default Group Profiles, but you cannot delete them.

7.3.1 Saving Group Profiles

Follow these steps to save the Group QoS configuration of an Inroute Group or Network to an
Upstream or Downstream Group Profile. The entire Group QoS tree associated with the
selected Bandwidth Pool will be saved to a Group Profile.
1. Right-click anywhere on the Group QoS tab and select Group View from the menu.

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2. Right-click anywhere in the Group View and select Save to Profile to display the QoS
Group Profile dialog box.

3. In the QoS Group Profile dialog box, enter a name for your new Group Profile.

Figure 253. Creating a QoS Group Profile

4. You can view the properties of the various group members before saving the Group
Profile. To see the properties of a Bandwidth Group, Service Group or Application, select

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its icon in the Group Hierarchy pane. The properties of that group member appear in the
Group Members pane.

Figure 254. Viewing Properties of QoS Group Members

5. To save the Group Profile, click OK in the QoS Group Profile dialog box. Then click OK in
main screen of the Group QoS tab.
Inroute Group QoS profiles are saved in the QoSGroup ProfilesUpstream folder of the
iBuilder tree. Network Group QoS profiles are saved in the QoSGroup
ProfilesDownstream folder of the iBuilder tree.

Figure 255. iBuilder Tree: QoS Group Profile Folders

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7.3.2 Copying Group Profiles

You can use the “Clone” operation to create a copy of an Upstream or Downstream Group
Profile. You cannot copy Group Profiles between the Upstream and Downstream folders. You
can only create copies of Group Profiles within the original folder.
To create a copy of a Group Profile:
1. Right-click the Group Profile in the iBuilder tree and select Clone from the menu. The
new profile is automatically created in the current folder (Upstream or Downstream) and
the Modify Configuration dialog box appears.

2. In the Modify Configuration Object dialog box, enter a Profile Name for the new Group
Profile.

Figure 256. Copying a QoS Group Profile

3. If desired, you can make changes to the Group Profile before you save it. See “Configuring
Group QoS” on page 210 for details on modifying the Group QoS configuration.

Note: Only the Group View and Service Profile View are available when working with
Group Profiles. The Service Profile-Remote View, Remote Profile View, and
Remote View, which appear on the Group QoS tab, are not applicable to Group
Profiles.

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7.3.3 Modifying Group Profiles

To modify a Group Profile:
1. Right-click the Group Profile in the iBuilder tree and select ModifyItem to display the
Modify Configuration Object dialog box.

2. In the Modify Configuration Object dialog box, make the desired changes to the Group
QoS configuration. See “Configuring Group QoS” on page 210 for details on modifying the
Group QoS configuration.

Figure 257. Modifying a QoS Group Profile

3. When finished, click OK to save the changes to your Group Profile.

Note: Only the Group View and Service Profile View are available when working with
Group Profiles. The Service Profile-Remote View, Remote Profile View, and
Remote View, which appear on the Group QoS tab, are not applicable to Group
Profiles.

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7.3.4 Applying Group Profiles to Networks and Inroute Groups

You can replace the Group QoS configuration for a Bandwidth Pool by re-creating the Group
QoS tree for that Bandwidth Pool from a Group Profile. When you replace the Group QoS tree,
remotes that are part of the Bandwidth Pool are automatically reconfigured as follows:
• If the new Group QoS tree created from the Group Profile contains at least one
Application Service Group, then:
• All remotes in the Network or Inroute Group are assigned to the first Bandwidth Group
in the new Group QoS tree.
• All Remotes in the Network or Inroute are reconfigured to use the new Default Service
Profile of the first Service Group of the first Bandwidth Group. This includes remotes
that were previously assigned to Remote Service Groups.
• If the new Group QoS tree created from the Group Profile contains only Remote Service
Groups, then all remotes will be unassigned in the new Group QoS tree.
Once you have replaced the Group QoS configuration, if you are using Application Service
Groups, you can assign different Service Profiles to your remotes by following the steps in
“Assigning Service Profiles to Remotes” on page 237.
If you are using Remote Service Groups, you must assign the remotes to Remote Service
Groups in the new tree and re-select their Remote Profiles. See “Assigning Remotes to Remote
Service Groups” on page 252.
To replace the Group QoS configuration for a Network or Inroute Group with the configuration
specified in a Group Profile, follow these steps:
1. Right-click the Network or Inroute Group in the iBuilder tree and select ModifyItem.
2. Click the Group QoS tab.
3. Right-click anywhere on the Group QoS tab and select Group View from the menu.

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4. Right-click anywhere in the Group View and select Create From Profile to display the
QoS Group Profile dialog box.

5. In the QoS Group Profile dialog box, select the Group Profile you want to use for this
Bandwidth Pool. (Only Upstream Group Profiles can be selected for Inroute Groups. Only
Downstream Group Profiles can be selected for Networks.)

Figure 258. Selecting a QoS Group Profile to Apply

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6. You can view the properties of the various group members before applying the Group
Profile to the Bandwidth Pool. To see the properties of a Bandwidth Group, Service Group
or Application, select its icon in the Group Hierarchy pane. The properties of that group
member will appear in the Group Members pane.

Figure 259. Viewing Properties of QoS Group Members

7. When finished, click OK in the dialog box. Then click Yes in the confirmation dialog box to
replace the Group QoS configuration.
8. If you are using Application Service Groups, follow the steps in “Assigning Service Profiles
to Remotes” on page 237 to assign your remotes to Service Profiles based on the
Application Service Groups of the new configuration.
9. If you are using Remote Service Groups, follow the steps in “Assigning Remotes to Remote
Service Groups” on page 252 to assign your remotes to Remote Service Groups.
10. When finished, click OK at the bottom of the Group QoS tab to save your changes.

7.4 Application Profiles and Filter Profiles

Application Profiles consist of groups of Service Levels, collected together and given the name
of your choice. Each Service Level can be configured with QoS properties and a set of rules.
They determine how packets are filtered and prioritized.

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Note: Remote Profiles are built from Application Profiles. Remote Profiles are
discussed in detail in “Remote Profiles” on page 247.
Application Profiles define the Group QoS Applications that you add to your Service Profiles or
Remote Profiles. You then assign the Service Profile or Remote Profile to your remotes using
the Group QoS tab for your Bandwidth Pools or the QoS tab for your remotes. (See
“Configuring Group QoS” on page 210 for details.)
Filter Profiles encapsulate a single filter definition. A Filter Profile contains a group of rules,
but no Service Levels. Filter Profiles are assigned on the Remote QoS tab.
Application Profiles, Remote Profiles and Filter Profiles are stored in separate folders in
iBuilder’s Network Tree. They are not associated with a teleport; instead they are
independent of any network hierarchy, similar to spacecraft and antenna components. Figure
260 shows the folders that store these profiles.

Figure 260. QoS Folders in iBuilder Tree

iBuilder contains a number of pre-configured Profiles to help you define various categories of
IP traffic. You can modify these pre-configured profiles to meet your needs; copy them to use
as templates for new profiles; or create your own profiles. A typical list of Downstream Filter
Profiles in the iBuilder tree is shown in Figure 261.

Figure 261. Preconfigured Downstream Filter Folders

Preconfigured Application Profiles (Default Downstream, Default Upstream and NMS) are
automatically added to your Networks or Inroute Groups when created.

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Adding a Profile
To add a new profile, right-click the Upstream or Downstream folder for the type of profile
you want to add and select the Add option. The title of the Add option will differ depending
on what type of profile you are adding: Upstream or Downstream.

A Modify Configuration dialog box opens to allow you to configure the profile you are adding.
Details are discussed in “Adding an Application Profile” on page 268 and “Adding a Filter
Profile” on page 271. Adding Remote Profiles is discussed in “Adding a Remote Profile” on
page 249.
Once a Profile is configured and saved, it appears in the iBuilder Tree within its respective
folder. Figure 262 shows Group QoS Downstream Application Profiles in the iBuilder tree.

Figure 262. New Profile in iBuilder Tree

Note: When a profile is being used, the icon in the iBuilder Tree is colored red and the
name appears in bold typeface.

Copying a Profile
You can copy a profile by right-clicking it and selecting Clone or Clone As from the menu. If
you select Clone, a copy of the selected profile is created in the same folder. You can then
edit the new profile to make changes.

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If you select Clone As, the Clone As dialog box appears. The Clone As dialog box allows you
select a Direction for the copy of your profile. By selecting a Direction, you can copy a
Downstream profile to the Upstream folder, or an Upstream Profile to the Downstream folder.

Figure 263. Clone As Dialog Box

Note: Clone As is not available for Group QoS Profiles or Remote Profiles. You cannot
copy Group Profiles or Remote Profiles between the Upstream and Downstream
folders.

7.4.1 Adding an Application Profile

Application Profiles define the individual Applications that you include in your Service Groups,
Service Profiles, and Remote Profiles. Upstream Application Profiles are used on Inroute
Groups and on SCPC upstream carriers. Downstream Application Profiles are used on
downstream carriers.
To add an Application Profile, follow these steps:
1. In the iBuilder Tree, right-click the Downstream or Upstream folder under
QoSApplication Profiles and select Add Downstream Profile or Add Upstream Profile
from the menu.

You can also modify or copy an existing profile by right-clicking the profile and selecting
ModifyItem, Clone or Clone As from the menu. Clone creates a copy in the current
folder. Clone As allows you to copy profiles between the Downstream and Upstream
folders.

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2. After you have selected the operation you want from the menu, a dialog box opens.
(Figure 264 shows an Upstream Application Profile with multiple Service Levels. New
Application Profiles will be empty.)

Figure 264. Application Profile Dialog Box

Each Application Profile contains one or more Service Levels. Each Service Level can have
multiple Rules. When you select a Service Level in the Service Levels pane of the dialog
box, all Rules associated with that Service Level are displayed in the Rules pane.
The Used By pane shows which network elements and QoS groups are using this
Application Profile. For upstream Application profiles, remotes, Inroute Groups, Remote
Profiles and Service Profiles are displayed. For downstream profiles, remotes, Networks,
Remote Profiles and Service Profiles are displayed.
3. You can Add, Edit or Delete Service Levels by selecting the Service Level and clicking the
appropriate button. Figure 265 shows the Add Service Level dialog box. The Edit Service
Level dialog box is identical.

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Figure 265. Add Service Level Dialog Box

4. Enter a Level Name for the Service Level.

5. Choose Reliable or Unreliable. If the Service Level is intended to match TCP traffic, you
should choose Reliable. For all other traffic, you should choose Unreliable.
6. Select Spoofing to enable TCP Acceleration. Spoofing applies to star TCP (Reliable)
traffic only. It does not apply to Unreliable traffic. Select Spoofing to enable it for TCP
traffic between the hub and remotes.
7. By default, TDMA slots used by an application are grouped together in the frame for
transmission. If you select Reduce Jitter, the system will attempt to distribute the slots
as evenly as possible across the frame. Reduce Jitter should be selected for VoIP
applications. However, since it can decrease throughput, it should not be selected for
applications that are not jitter-sensitive.
8. Select or clear Drop Oldest First.
9. Select Trigger Wakeup to cause remotes to automatically exit Sleep Mode to transmit
incoming LAN packets on the upstream carrier if the packets match the Service Level
definition. Trigger Wakeup applies only to upstream profiles, and affects only remotes
that have Sleep Mode enabled. (See “Adding Remotes” on page 144.)

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Note: If a remote in Sleep Mode receives traffic for transmission on the upstream,
and Trigger Wakeup is not selected for the traffic’s Service Level, then the
packets will be dropped and the remote will remain in Sleep Mode. A remote
will only wake from Sleep Mode if Trigger Wakeup is enabled for the traffic, or
if Sleep Mode is manually disabled for the remote on the remote Information
tab.
10. SelectTrigger State Change to cause remotes to automatically change from the Idle State
or Dormant State to the Active State when incoming packets for transmission on the
upstream carrier match the Service Level definition. (See “Configuring Minimum
Information Rate and Idle and Dormant States” on page 172.)
11. Select the method of Optimization for traffic matching this Service Level. Selecting
Maximum Efficiency instructs the software to allocate bandwidth as efficiently as
possible. Selecting Minimum Latency instructs the software not to hold onto partially
filled TDMA bursts but to release them immediately. For more details, see the chapter
titled “QoS Implementation Principles” in the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.

WARNING! Selecting Minimum Latency can result in an increased number of unused bytes
per burst, significantly decreasing the upstream throughput for remotes with
this setting. Do not select Minimum Latency unless you are certain that your
application requires it.

12. Select the method of Scheduling to be used for this Service Level: Priority Queue, Cost-
Based, or Best Effort. If you select Priority Queue, then select the priority level from the
menu. If you select Cost-Based, then enter a cost value. For details on each scheduling
method, see the discussion of packet scheduling in the chapter titled “QoS
Implementation Principles” in the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.
13. Enter the Queue Depth.
14. Choose the Type of Service Marking you want.
15. Click OK to save this Service Level.
16. Use the Add, Edit and Delete Buttons in the Rules Pane to configure Rules for your
Service Profile. The steps for configuring Rules are covered in “Adding a Rule to an
Application Profile or Filter Profile” on page 274.

Figure 266. Service Profile Rules Pane

7.4.2 Adding a Filter Profile

You can define both Upstream and Downstream Filter Profiles. Like Application Profiles, Filter
Profiles can contain one or more rules that are used to classify transmit traffic. Unlike
Application Profiles, there are no Service Levels associated with Filter Profiles.

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You can configure any remote with an Upstream Filter Profile, a Downstream Filter Profile, or
both. The rules configured for the assigned profile(s) are applied to any packets offered for
transmission on the upstream or received on the downstream before any other QoS processing
is performed.
Each filter profile can be configured with one or more rules. For a packet to be further
classified, it must match at least one of that filter profile’s rules. A rule is made up of one or
more comparisons between IP header fields and a known constant value specified by the user.
The system compares each rule in the order specified, and classifies the packet according to
the first rule that matches.
Follow these steps to add a Filter Profile:
1. Right-click the Filter Profiles folder under QoSUpstream or QoSDownstream in the
iBuilder tree. Then select the Add Filter option from the menu to display the Filter
Profile dialog box (Figure 267).

Figure 267. Filter Profile Dialog Box

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2. In the Filter Profile dialog box, click the Add button in the Rules pane to display the Add
Filter dialog box.

Figure 268. Add Filter Dialog Box

3. Follow the steps in “Adding a Rule to an Application Profile or Filter Profile” on page 274
to configure a rule for this Filter Profile.
4. When you have finished adding Rules, click OK in the Filter Profile dialog box to save the
Filter Profile.

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7.4.3 Adding a Rule to an Application Profile or Filter Profile

Each Application Profile or Filter Profile has one or more rules. A rule consists of one or more
clauses defining comparisons between IP header fields and the values specified by the user.
The system compares each rule in the order specified, and classifies the packet according to
the first rule that matches.
You add a rule by clicking the Add button in the Rules pane of the Application or Filter profile
dialog box. The Rules pane from an Application Profile dialog box is shown in Figure 269.

Figure 269. Application Profile Rules Pane

In the profile dialog box, the Rules pane displays all Rules configured for the Service Level
selected in the Service Level pane, along with the name of the selected Service Level. In the
Filter Profile dialog box, the Rules pane displays all Rules configured for the Filter Profile.
(See “Adding an Application Profile” on page 268 and “Adding a Filter Profile” on page 271 for
more details.)
When you select or clear the Show Protocol Names check box at the bottom of the dialog
box, the Rules pane toggles the displayed Rules between IP protocol names and numbers.
Figure 270 shows the result of selecting the check box (top) and of clearing the check box
(bottom) in the profile dialog box. Application and Filter Profile dialog boxes both provide the
same capability.

Figure 270. Selecting and Clearing the Show Protocols Name Check Box

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Follow these steps to add a new rule for your Application or Filter Profile:
1. Click the Add button in the Rules pane to display the Add Rule dialog box.

Figure 271. Adding a Rule to a Profile

Note: When specifying rules, all comparisons specified (as indicated by the check
boxes on the left-hand side of the dialog box) must match for the rule to match
a packet.
2. Select the check boxes at the left to enable IP header fields for comparison by the filter.
Then define the values and operators for each comparison to be made as follows:
• Source IP and Destination IP address and Subnet Masks: You can configure a Source
and/or Destination IP address, each with a Subnet Mask. The IP header field may be
equal to (=) or not equal to (<>) the value entered. The subnet mask is first applied
to the IP address in the packet, and then compared to the address specified in the
filter. This way, Source and Destination Ranges of subnet masks may be made to
match the rule.

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• Source and Destination Port Ranges: You can configure Source and Destination Port
Ranges and select the desired protocols in the From and To drop down lists. Each
protocol may be equal to (=) or not equal to (<>) the value entered. Select Same as
Source to configure the Destination Port Range to be identical to the Source Port
Range.
• VLAN Ranges: You can configure VLAN Ranges to be equal to (=) or not equal to (<>)
the value entered.
• Protocol: You can select a Protocol which may be equal to (=) or not equal to (<>)
the value entered.
• DSCP, TOS, Precedence: If you select DiffServ DSCP you cannot select TOS or
Precedence. If you select TOS or Precedence you cannot select DSCP.
3. Click OK to save the filter.

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Chassis

This chapter includes the following sections:

• “Configuring the Chassis IP Address” on page 277
• “Chassis Licenses” on page 279
• “Configuring and Controlling the Hub Chassis” on page 280
• “Configuring a Four-Slot Chassis” on page 283
• “Sharing a 20 Slot Chassis in a Multi-NMS System” on page 287
• “Changing a Chassis IP Address” on page 292
• “Daisy Chaining Hub Chassis” on page 294

8.1 Configuring the Chassis IP Address

The interface between the Hub Chassis and the NMS is encapsulated in an IP-addressable
controller board. By communicating with the chassis controller board, the NMS server can
monitor the status of the chassis power supplies and fans, power on and off the chassis slots,
and change chassis SOF jumper settings.
There are two types of controller boards:
• The EDAS board, designed and manufactured by Intelligent Instruments, Inc.
• The newer iDirect MIDAS board
The steps for configuring the IP address of the chassis differ depending on the type of
controller board installed on your chassis. To set the IP address for your chassis, follow the
procedure in this section that applies to your type of chassis controller board.

Note: If you do not know if your chassis has an EDAS or MIDAS controller board,
attempt to follow Step 1 through Step 6 in “Setting the IP Address for a Chassis
with a MIDAS Controller Board” on page 278. If you have an EDAS controller
board, you will not be able to log on to the board using the MIDAS procedure.

Note: If you are changing the IP address of a chassis and you have already configured
the chassis in iBuilder, you must update the Chassis Manager Server with the
new IP address. See “Changing a Chassis IP Address” on page 292 for details.

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8.1.1 Setting the IP Address for a Chassis with an EDAS

Controller Board
To configure the IP address of a chassis with an EDAS board, you must have the EDAS
SYSCHECK utility installed on your PC. The EDAS SYSCHECK utility is available on the iDirect
TAC website.
Follow these steps to configure the IP address of a hub chassis with an EDAS board:
1. Ensure that the EDAS SYSCHECK program is installed on your PC.
2. Ensure that the hub chassis is powered on.
3. Ensure that you have a standard null modem serial cable.
4. Connect the serial cable from the serial port of your PC to the M&C Config Port on the
four slot chassis control module or the 20 slot chassis rear panel.
5. From the Start menu on your PC, run EDAS SYSCHECK.
6. In the EDAS SYSCHECK window, select the Program tab.
7. Select the correct COM port.
8. Click the Attach to EDAS button. This connects your PC to the EDAS board and displays
the current IP settings of the EDAS board.
9. Select the Configuration tab.
10. Set the appropriate IP address, subnet mask and default gateway values. The default
gateway should be your upstream router.
11. Re-select the Program tab.
12. Write each IP address value to the board by clicking the appropriate buttons.

WARNING! Do not click the “Write Ethernet Address” Button. The Ethernet Address field
should never be modified.

13. Reset the EDAS board either by powering the hub chassis off and on, or by resetting only
the EDAS board.

Note: To reset the EDAS board without powering down a 20 slot chassis, remove the
EDAS board cover and disconnect and reconnect the power connector to the
board itself. To reset the EDAS board without powering down a four slot
chassis, press the “EDAS Reset” button on the chassis control module.

8.1.2 Setting the IP Address for a Chassis with a MIDAS

Controller Board
Follow these steps to configure the IP address of a hub chassis with a MIDAS board:
1. Ensure that the hub chassis is powered on.
2. Ensure that you have a standard null modem serial cable.
3. Connect the serial cable from the serial port of your PC to the M&C Config Port on the
four slot chassis control module or the 20 slot chassis rear panel.

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4. Configure a serial terminal program (such as Tera Term under Windows or Minicom under
Linux) to match the serial settings on the MIDAS control module. The default settings are:
• Baud rate: 57600
• Data bits: 8
• Parity: None
• Stop bits: 1
• Flow Control: None
5. Press Enter in the terminal program to display the MIDAS login: prompt.
6. At the MIDAS login: prompt, type the MIDAS administrative login name and press Enter.
(The default administrative login name is admin.)
7. At the Password > prompt, type the administrative password and press Enter. (The
default administrative password is admin.)
8. If you want to display the current IP settings, enter the command:
show ip config
9. At the admin > command line prompt, enter the command:
set ip <n.n.n.n>
where <n.n.n.n> is the desired IP address. For example, to set the IP address to
172.17.2.50, you would enter the command set ip 172.17.2.50.
10. Enter the command:
set mask <n.n.n.n>
where <n.n.n.n> is the desired subnet mask. For example, to set the subnet mask to
255.255.255.0, you would enter the command set mask 255.255.255.0.
11. Enter the command:
set gateway <n.n.n.n>
where <n.n.n.n> is the desired gateway IP address. The default gateway should be your
upstream router. For example, to set the gateway IP address to 172.17.2.1, you would
enter the command set gateway 172.17.2.1.
12. Enter the command:
reboot
Your new IP settings will take effect on completion of the reboot.
13. To verify your IP settings, you can log on again and enter the following command:
show ip config

8.2 Chassis Licenses

Beginning with iDX Release 2.0, your chassis slots must be licensed before you can configure
your chassis in iBuilder. If you have received your license file from iDirect but you have not
yet imported the licenses, follow the procedure in “Importing Your License Files” on page 58
before configuring your chassis.

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Note: Beginning with iDX Release 2.0, a hub line card must be assigned to a licensed
chassis slot before it can be activated. Until a line card is assigned to slot, the
line card will be in the “incomplete” state in the iBuilder tree.
For information on licensing your chassis, see the iDirect Features and Chassis Licensing
Guide available on the TAC web page.

8.3 Configuring and Controlling the Hub Chassis

The Hub Chassis includes the line cards, power supplies, and fans. There are two types of
chassis: 20-slot chassis and four-slot chassis. Follow these steps to create a 20-slot Chassis or
chassis in iBuilder. Four-slot chassis configuration is discussed in “Configuring a Four-Slot
Chassis” on page 283.
1. Right-click the Teleport in the iBuilder Tree and select Add 20-Slot Chassis from the
menu.

The Chassis dialog box appears, containing one row for each slot and jumper. Rows are
arranged from top to bottom to mirror the chassis slots from left to right

Figure 272. Chassis Dialog Box: New 20-Slot Chassis

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2. If you have not yet loaded the license file containing your chassis licenses, follow the
procedure in “Importing Your License Files” on page 58.
3. Enter a Name for the new chassis.
4. Enter the six-digit Serial Number of your chassis and click the Validate SN button. The
Serial Number that you enter must match a chassis serial number in your chassis license
file.
Once iBuilder has validated the chassis serial number, the read-only IP Address of the
chassis is displayed and all licensed slots and jumpers change from Off - Not Licensed to
Off - Licensed.

Figure 273. Chassis Dialog Box: 20-Slot Chassis with Licensed Slots

Note: The IP Address displayed in the Chassis Dialog Box must match the IP Address
that you configured for your chassis. See “Configuring the Chassis IP Address”
on page 277.
5. If the chassis contains an RCM, select RCM Installed.
6. To turn power on for specific slots, or to set jumpers, click the check boxes in the State
column. You should power on all slots in which you have installed line cards. After each
group of four slot rows, you will see a jumper row. Do not select the jumper boxes unless
your network spans virtual backplanes.

Note: If you are creating a Chassis Group of daisy-chained chassis, all jumpers will be
automatically selected and cannot be disabled. All line cards in a Chassis Group
are in a single network with one virtual backplane. See “Daisy Chaining Hub
Chassis” on page 294.
7. To associate a configured line card with a specific slot, right-click the slot and select
Assign Hub from the menu.

Figure 274. Chassis Dialog Box: Selecting Assign Hub

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Note: You can also select Free to indicate that no modems are installed in that
slot. The associations you make must reflect the actual physical layout of
your chassis; iBuilder cannot map logical associations to physical line card
locations.
8. When you select Assign Hub, a drop-down list appears in the row, listing all of the line
cards that can be assigned to that slot. Select the line card installed in that slot.

Figure 275. Assigning a Line Card to a Chassis Slot

9. Click OK. When you save your changes, iBuilder displays “Changes Pending” for the
Chassis in the network Tree.
10. To make your changes active, right-click the Chassis and select Apply Configuration.
iBuilder uses the following rules when making line card assignments:
• If no line cards have been associated with slots, the drop-down choice list will contain all
the line cards you currently have defined.
• After you make the first association, the following rules apply:
• That line card no longer appears in any drop-down list.
• Only line cards from the same network appear in drop-down lists for other slots in the
same virtual backplane. If you have unassigned Solo line cards, they also appear.
• Drop down lists for other virtual backplanes will not contain any line cards from the
network already assigned.
• If you have two networks in adjacent virtual backplanes, iBuilder will not let you set the
jumper between those two backplanes.
• To assign line cards from a single network across a jumper, you must first set that jumper.
• If you have a large network that spans a jumper, iBuilder will not let you clear the jumper.
All chassis slots are powered on by default when the chassis is powered on. For this reason,
the configuration database is the sole keeper of slot power and jumper settings. When the
configuration server starts up, or after a reconnection to the chassis, it automatically applies
the chassis settings stored in the database, thus restoring the desired chassis state.

Note: If you are using Spread Spectrum, you must install your M1D1-TSS line cards
with one empty slot to the right. For example, if you want to install the line
card in slot 4, slot 5 must be empty. You cannot install a M1D1-TSS line card in
slot 20.

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8.4 Configuring a Four-Slot Chassis

An iDirect four-slot chassis can be used as an alternative to a 20-slot chassis when fewer line
cards are required. As discussed in the previous section, a 20-slot chassis contains from one to
five independent groups of four slots per group. By enabling or disabling software jumpers
between groups, you can configure virtual backplanes to allow single networks to span
multiple groups of line cards.
The same concept applies to four-slot chassis. However, a four-slot chassis has a jumper
between each pair of slots, effectively allowing up to four “groups” with one slot per group.
Therefore you can allocate the four slots to virtual backplanes in any combination you choose.
A four-slot chassis actually has five slots. However, slot 5 cannot contain an active line card in
your network. In the current release, slot 5 is available only for testing. You can configure,
download and activate transmit and receive line cards in slot 5, but because the output is
attenuated, you can only use the slot for configuration and testing.

Note: Although there is a jumper between slots 4 and 5, you cannot enable or disable
that jumper. In a stand-alone four-slot chassis, that jumper is always disabled,
isolating slot 5, which is available only for configuration and testing.

For Daisy Chained chassis, all jumpers are always enabled. In that case, slot 5
is not available for any purpose and is disabled by the NMS software.
Follow these steps to create a four-slot chassis in iBuilder:
1. Right-click your Teleport in the iBuilder Tree and select Add 4 Slot Chassis from the
menu.

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The Chassis dialog box appears, containing one row for each slot and jumper. Rows are
arranged from top to bottom to mirror the chassis slots.

Figure 276. Chassis Dialog Box: Four-Slot Chassis

2. Enter a Name for the new chassis.

3. Enter the six-digit Serial Number of your chassis and click the Validate SN button. The
Serial Number that you enter must match a chassis serial number in your chassis license
file.
Once iBuilder has validated the chassis serial number, the read-only IP Address of the
chassis is displayed and all licensed slots and jumpers change from Off - Not Licensed to
Off - Licensed.

Figure 277. Chassis Dialog Box: Four-Slot Chassis with Licensed Slots

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Note: The IP Address displayed in the Chassis Dialog Box must match the IP Address
that you configured for your chassis. See “Configuring the Chassis IP Address”
on page 277.
4. If the chassis contains an RCM, select RCM Installed.
5. The Chassis Information area of the dialog box (see Figure 276) displays status
information about the IF Module (IFM) and Outdoor Power Modules (OPM) received from
the chassis.
6. You can configure the following options for your OPMs:
a. Select BUC Voltage On to enable BUC voltage. These settings should be the same for
OPM A and OPM B.
b. Select LNB Voltage On to enable LNB voltage. These settings should be the same for
OPM A and OPM B.

Note:A four-slot chassis with four RF ports can only supply DC voltage to a BUC
or LNB on RF port 1. It cannot supply voltage on RF port 2, 3 or 4.
c. Select 22 KHz Tone On to enable the 22 KHz tone option. The 22 KHz tone capability
is for use with DiSEqC-compatible Universal LNBs. Note that if you select this option
for one OPM, it will not be selectable for the other.
d. If you have selected LNB Voltage ON, select one of the OPM-AB LNB Voltage options:
• Select Low to enable low LNB voltage (+14VDC at 500 mA)
• Select High to enable high LNB voltage (+19VDC at 500 mA). Typically, High is
selected. This is the default, standard setting.
7. The procedure to power on the slots, assign the line cards and set jumpers 1 through 3 is
identical to the procedure for a 20-slot chassis. Jumper 4 is controlled by the software.
See “Configuring and Controlling the Hub Chassis” on page 280 for details on assigning
line cards to slots and setting the jumpers.

Note: If you are using Spread Spectrum, a four-slot chassis must have an empty slot
above each M1D1-TSS line card. For example, if you want to install an M1D1-
TSS line card in slot 2, slot 1 must be empty. You cannot install an M1D1-TSS
line card in slot 1.
8. You can configure Line cards in a four slot chassis to supply the 10 MHz clock to the Up
Converter, the Down Converter, or both. Note the following:
• You must select ODU Tx 10 MHz on the Up Converter screen or ODU Rx 10 MHz on the
Down Converter screen for these selections to appear in the menu. See “Adding an Up
Converter or Down Converter” on page 67 for details.
• Only one line card per Up Converter or Down Converter can be selected for this
function. The Up Converter and Down Converter associated with each line card in
this chassis are shown in the Hub Assignment column.
• This feature is available on the following line card model types: M1D1 (Tx and Rx);
eM1D1 (Tx and Rx); XLC-11 (Tx and Rx); XLC-10 (Tx only); and XLC-M (Rx only).
• Only newer M1D1 line cards have this capability. If you configure an M1D1 line card to
supply the 10 MHz reference and the line card cannot perform that function, an alarm
will be raised in iMonitor when the changes are applied to the line card.

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To turn on or off the 10 MHz reference from a line card, right-click in the Tx-10 MHz
column (for the Up Converter) or Rx-10 MHz column (for the Down Converter) in the slot
containing the line card. Then select 10 MHz On/Off from the menu. The 10 MHz setting
will toggle between off and on.

Figure 278. Turning On/Off the 10 MHz Reference on a Four-Slot Chassis

WARNING! If you have multiple iDirect networks sharing the same Up Converter or Down
Converter and you have configured one of the Tx (or Tx/Rx) line cards to
supply the 10 MHz clock, then failure of that line card will cause all networks
sharing the Up/Down Converter to fail. Under these circumstances, iDirect
strongly recommends that you install a Standby Line Card to back up the line
card supplying the 10 MHz clock. See “Defining a Standby Line Card” on
page 120 for details.

9. Click OK to save your changes. Then apply the changes to your chassis and line cards.
Elements requiring update will show changes pending in the iBuilder tree.

Note: If you are changing the 10 MHz clock source from one line card to another,
apply the line card changes to the original clock source to turn off the 10 MHz
before applying the line card changes to the new clock source.

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8.5 Sharing a 20 Slot Chassis in a Multi-NMS System

In some system configurations, you may need to share a chassis with multiple Network
Management Systems. For example, a hub operator may want to allow a customer with his
own NMS to configure or control specific slots in a hub chassis. This section explains how to
configure multiple Network Management Systems to share a hub chassis.

Note: You can only share a 20 slot chassis among multiple Network Management
Systems. You cannot share a four slot chassis.
When multiple Network Management Systems share one or more chassis, a single NMS Chassis
Manager Server (CM Server) controls all access to the chassis. All NMS configuration servers
that share the chassis share the single CM Server.
The CM server only allows access to chassis slots that have been licensed by iDirect. An HNO
can share licensed slots with additional NMS configuration servers by including the MAC
addresses of the configuration server machines in a CM server configuration file named
para_cfg.opt.
Figure 279 on p. 287 shows an example of an HNO NMS sharing a 20 slot chassis with VNO1 NMS
and VNO2 NMS.

Figure 279. Sharing a Hub Chassis Among Multiple Network Management Systems

To share the chassis, the HNO first determines where to run the common Chassis Manager
Server and configures the HNO NMS accordingly. (For details on how to distribute the NMS

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server processes across multiple server machines, see “Configuring a Distributed NMS Server”
on page 405.) The HNO must also obtain a chassis license from iDirect and use iBuilder to
import the license file. (See “Importing Your License Files” on page 58.)
Once the chassis is licensed, the HNO modifies the configuration file para_cfg.opt on the
Chassis Manager Server to allow the VNO NMS configuration servers to access specific chassis
slots. This is accomplished by adding the MAC address of the VNO’s NMS configuration server
machine for each slot that the VNO is allowed to access.
An excerpt from para_cfg.opt is shown in the upper left of Figure 279. In the figure, VNO 1
can access slots 1 through 4 of the chassis with IP address 172.20.136.6, while VNO 2 can
access slot 5 through 8 of the chassis with IP address 172.20.136.6.

Note: All Network Management Systems sharing a chassis must have IP connectivity to
the machine on which the Chassis Manager Server is running.
The following three subsections show how to:
1. Configure a VNO NMS (NMS 2) to point to an HNO NMS (NMS 1)
2. Configure NMS 1 to share chassis slots with NMS 2
3. Duplicate NMS 1’s chassis configuration on NMS 2 to allow the VNO to manage its slots
The example assumes that the HNO NMS (NMS 1) has already been installed (including the
Chassis Manager) and that you now want to configure the VNO NMS (NMS 2) to share the
existing Chassis Manager Server. Although the example only shares the chassis with one
additional NMS, you can follow the same steps to configure additional NMSs to use slots in the
same chassis.

8.5.1 Sharing the Chassis Manager Server

To share the Chassis Manager Server of NMS 1 with NMS 2:
1. Log on to the root account of the NMS 2 server machine.

Note: Beginning with iDX Release 2.1, by default you cannot use SSH to log on directly
to the root account of your NMS server or Protocol Processor blade. You can use
SSH to log on to other accounts such as the idirect account. You can then enter
su - from the command line to log on as root.
2. Stop the NMS services on the server by entering the following command:
service idirect_nms stop
3. Run the script attach_extern_cm2nms.pl by entering the following command:
/home/nms/utils/db_maint/attach_extern_cm2nms.pl -db=nms
-xip=<ip address>
where <ip address> is the IP address of the external CM server machine.
4. Answer yes at the prompt:
Do you want to change Chassis Manager location?(yes/no)
5. Answer no at the prompt:
Do you want make system distributed?(yes/no)

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6. If you use the Revision Server, answer yes at the following prompt. If not, answer no:
Do you run ‘revsvr’ on this computer?(yes/no)
7. If you are using SkyMonitor, answer yes at the following prompt. If not, answer no:
Do you run ‘skysvr’ on this computer?(yes/no)
8. Answer no at the prompt:
Do you run ‘osssvr’ on this computer?(yes/no)
9. Enter the following command to restart the NMS services:
service idirect_nms start
10. Enter the following command to verify that all server processes are running:
service idirect_nms status
11. The MAC address of this NMS’s configuration server machine is required to configure the
HNO’s Chassis Manager to share the chassis. To determine the MAC address, log on to the
NMS 2 configuration server machine and enter the following command:
ifconfig
In the example in Figure 280, the MAC address is the Hwadd on the first line of the
ifconfig command output.

Figure 280. Determining a Server MAC Address

8.5.2 Configuring Chassis Slots for Access by Another NMS

Now that you have configured your Chassis Manager Server for sharing, follow these steps to
allow a second NMS to access specific slots in a chassis. This example configures and licenses
the chassis in the database of NMS 1 and then assigns two slots for use by NMS 2.
1. If you have not already done so, using iBuilder on NMS 1, configure your chassis and
validate the chassis Serial Number. (See “Configuring a Hub Chassis” on page 277.)
2. Log on to the root account of the NMS server machine that is running the shared Chassis
Manager Server.

Note: Beginning with iDX Release 2.1, by default you cannot use SSH to log on directly
to the root account of your NMS server or Protocol Processor blade. You can use
SSH to log on to other accounts such as the idirect account. You can then enter
su - from the command line to log on as root.
3. Change to the Chassis Manager directory by entering the command:
cd /home/nms/cm

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4. Edit the file para_cfg.opt.

Each licensed chassis that is managed by this Chassis Manager Server is configured in
para_cfg.opt. Figure 281 shows an example of a 20 slot chassis as configured in
para_cfg.opt.

Figure 281. para_cfg.opt with Licensed Chassis

The 20 slot chassis in Figure 281 has Serial Number 700100 and IP address 192.168.76.16.
The rows for each slot contain the MAC addresses of the NMS configuration server
machines that can access the chassis. Zeros in a slot MAC address mean that the slot can
only be accessed by the licensed NMS.
5. For each slot you want to share with NMS 2, replace the zero MAC address with the MAC
address of the machine running NMS 2’s configuration server.

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In Figure 282, slots 1 and 2 of the chassis with serial number 700100 have been
reconfigured for sharing with a configuration server machine whose MAC address is
00:14:5E:17:A8:AC.

Figure 282. para_cfg.opt Reconfigured to Share Slots 1 and 2

Note: You can enter more than one MAC address per slot. Separate each address with
a semicolon. For example: slot_1 = 00:11:25:A9:38:1E;00:21:52:C3:22:22
means that two additional configuration servers can access slot 1 of this
chassis.
6. Once you have added the MAC address for each slot you want to share, save the file and
exit the editor.
7. Enter the command:
telnet <ip address> 15262
where <ip address> is the IP address of the server running the NMS chassis manager
process.
8. At the Username prompt, log on to the chassis manager admin account. (The default
password is iDirect. You should change this password.)
9. Update the Chassis Manager with the new configuration by entering the command:
update
10. Return to the NMS server machine by entering the command:
exit
11. Log off of the NMS server machine.

8.5.3 Duplicating the Chassis Configuration on the Second NMS

Now that you have configured the Chassis Manager Server to share your chassis, you must
duplicate the chassis in the database of the NMS that is sharing the chassis. In this example,
NMS 2 is sharing a chassis that was originally licensed and configured on NMS 1. Therefore, you
would follow these steps on NMS 2:
1. Log on to iBuilder on NMS 2.
2. Add the chassis in iBuilder and validate the Serial Number. (See “Configuring a Hub
Chassis” on page 277 for details.)
Make sure the Serial Number and any other common chassis parameters (such as RCM
Installed) are identical to the configuration on NMS 1.
3. Save the chassis in iBuilder.

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4. Right-click the chassis in the iBuilder Tree and apply the chassis configuration.
You can now configure line cards on NMS 2 and assign those line cards to the slots you
configured for access from NMS 2’s configuration server MAC address.

Note: You can control which operations a VNO user on NMS 2 can perform on the
chassis by setting VNO access rights on the chassis and slots in NMS 2’s
database. For more information see “Sharing a Chassis Among Multiple VNO
User Groups” on page 364.

8.5.4 Repointing an NMS to the Local Chassis Manager

If an NMS is sharing an external Chassis Manager (i.e., a Chassis Manager Server running on
another NMS) and you want to reconfigure the NMS to use its local Chassis Manager (i.e., the
Chassis Manger Server running on this NMS), follow these steps on the local NMS server:
1. Log on to the root account of the NMS server machine.
2. Enter the following command to stop the NMS processes:
service idirect_nms stop
3. Delete the file /home/nms/utils/para_list.opt as follows:
rm /home/nms/utils/para_list
4. Restart the NMS processes:
service idirect_nms start
Once you have reconfigured your NMS to use the local Chassis Manager, ensure that your
chassis licenses have been imported into iBuilder and that you have properly configured your
Chassis and validated the Chassis Serial Numbers. See “Importing Your License Files” on
page 58 and “Configuring and Controlling the Hub Chassis” on page 280 for details.

8.6 Changing a Chassis IP Address

When you request a chassis license from iDirect, you must include the IP address of your
chassis in the request. The IP address that you included in the license request is loaded into
the para_cfg.opt file of the NMS Chassis Manager Server when you import your chassis license
file. If you change the chassis IP address after you have loaded your chassis license, you must
update the Chassis Manager Server with the new IP address.
Follow this procedure to change the IP address of a chassis:
1. Perform the steps in “Configuring the Chassis IP Address” on page 277 to connect to the
chassis controller board and change the IP address of the chassis.
2. Log on to the root account of the NMS server machine that is running the Chassis Manager
Server.

Note: Beginning with iDX Release 2.1, by default you cannot use SSH to log on directly
to the root account of your NMS server or Protocol Processor blade. You can use
SSH to log on to other accounts such as the idirect account. You can then enter
su - from the command line to log on as root.

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3. Change to the Chassis Manager directory by entering the command:

cd /home/nms/cm
4. Edit the file para_cfg.opt.
5. In para_cfg.opt, scroll down until you find the Serial Number and IP address of the chassis
that you want to change. Search for the section beginning [CHASSIS_IP_<nnnnnn>],
where <nnnnnn> is the chassis Serial Number. The IP address is located on the next line.

Figure 283. Locating the Chassis IP Address in para_cfg.opt

Figure 283 contains an excerpt from para_cfg.opt. In the figure, the chassis with Serial
Number 700100 has an IP address of 192.168.76.16.
6. Change the IP address of the chassis to the new IP address.
7. Save the file and exit the editor.
8. Enter the command:
telnet <ip address> 15262
where <ip address> is the IP address of the server running the NMS chassis manager
process.
9. At the Username prompt, log on to the chassis manager admin account. (The default
password is iDirect. You should change this password.)
10. Update the Chassis Manager Server with the new IP address by entering the command:
update
11. Return to the NMS server machine by entering the command:
exit
12. Log off of the NMS server machine.

Note: The chassis IP address configured in para_cfg.opt takes precedence over the IP
address in the chassis license file. Therefore, if you reload the original chassis
license file, you do not need to re-edit para_cfg.opt.

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8.7 Daisy Chaining Hub Chassis

In some cases, more line cards may be required in a single Network than are available in one
chassis. In order to create Networks containing additional line cards, iDirect allows you to
physically link your chassis in a “Daisy Chain” and then use iBuilder to configure a single
network spanning multiple chassis. A Daisy Chain can include 20-slot chassis, four-slot chassis,
or both.
To use the Daisy Chain feature, you must install two multi-hub Reference Clock Modules
(RCMs) on each chassis. These RCMs are then connected in a ring and the RCM switches set to
provide inter-communication among the chassis.
Once the physical setup is complete, you create a Chassis Group under your Teleport in the
iBuilder tree. You then add the chained chassis to the group and configure the line cards
within each chassis. All line cards in the chained chassis can then be used in the same iDirect
network. Chassis and line card configuration has not changed from previous iDirect releases.
Note the following restrictions when connecting your chassis and configuring a Chassis Group:
• All daisy-chained chassis must have two multi-hub RCMs installed.
• Your transmit line card must be in the first (Master) chassis of the Chassis Group.
• A standby line card in a slave chassis can only back up Rx-only line cards. It cannot back
up the Tx line card. A standby line card in the master chassis can back up any active line
card.
• In iBuilder, you cannot add an existing chassis to a Chassis Group. You must first create
the group; then add each chassis to the group.
• All daisy-chained chassis must be within 10 dB of each other. (The power range for an
iDirect chassis is from -5 dB to -65 dB.)

Note: Although iBuilder does not limit the number of chassis that you can add to a
Chassis Group, iDirect has only certified, and therefore only supports, two
chassis per group.
The following sections explain how to physically connect a daisy chain of chassis and how to
configure them as a Chassis Group in iBuilder.

8.7.1 Connecting Your Chassis in a Multi-Hub Chain

This section explains how to connect your daisy-chained hub chassis and how to set the RCM
switches to allow the individual chassis to operate in the same network. It assumes that all
chassis in the group are configured with two multi-hub RCMs.
A Chassis Group (or multiple hub network) has two or more chassis connected in two rings by
connecting the RCM input and output connectors as shown in Figure 284.

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Figure 284. Chassis Group Interconnection

The interface to the multi-hub RCM is shown in Figure 285. The INPUT and OUTPUT
connectors are used to form the rings shown in Figure 284.

Figure 285. Multi-Hub RCM Interface

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The components of the multi-hub RCM interface are defined in the following sections.

Multi-Hub RCM Interface Connectors

The INPUT and OUTPUT connectors shown in Figure 285 are nine-pin Micro-D connectors that
mate with a MOLEX 83421 or equivalent.
As depicted in Figure 284, the INPUT connector receives input signals from the RCM output of
the previous hub chassis in the chain; while the OUPUT connector transmits output signals to
the RCM input of the next hub chassis in the chain. These signals are used to coordinate
operation of the linked chassis.

Multi-Hub RCM Interface Switches

The multi-hub RCM interface shown in Figure 285 has the following switches:
• INT/EXT: Determines whether or not an external 10 MHz reference clock is expected
• MULTI/SINGLE: Set in a accordance with the type of network (single-hub or multi-hub)
• SLAVE/MASTER: Determines the operational role of the chassis in the Chassis Group

Multi-Hub RCM Interface LEDs

The multi-hub RCM interface in Figure 285 has the following LEDs:
• REF CLK: Status of the external reference clock, if present
• FLL: Condition of the FLL when used
• ON/STDBY: Indicates if the RCM is Master or Slave
• FAIL: Indicates a failure condition other than the failure of the reference clock
The status indicated by the color of each LED is specified in Table 7.

Table 7. Multi-HUB RCM Status Indicators

LED OFF GREEN YELLOW RED

REF CLK 10 MHz not used 10 MHz signal N/A 10 MHz signal missing
present
FLL FLL not running FLL locked FLL tracking N/A

ON/STBY N/A RCM is Master RCM is Slave N/A

FAIL No failures detected N/A N/A Failure condition present

To set up your chassis to work in a multi-hub configuration, follow these steps:

1. Connect the chassis as shown in Figure 284.

Note: At this time, iDirect only supports two chassis in a multi-hub configuration.
2. The first chassis in the Chassis Group is the Master chassis. Other chassis are Slave chassis.
The Master chassis must hold your Tx line card and any standby line cards that back up

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the Tx line card. On each chassis in the multi-hub configuration, set the RCM switches for
both RCMS as shown in Table 8.

Table 8. RCM Switch Settings for Daisy Chained Chassis

INT/EXT MUTLI/SINGLE SLAVE/MASTER

Master Chassis EXT if external clock; INT otherwise MULTI MASTER

Slave Chassis EXT if external clock; INT otherwise MULTI SLAVE

8.7.2 Adding a Chassis Group in iBuilder

A Chassis Group consists of an ordered list of “daisy chained” chassis. When you add a chassis
to the group, it is automatically configured as the last chassis in the group. If desired, you can
then use iBuilder to modify the order of the chassis in the Chassis Group.
The Chassis Group adds a new level to the iBuilder tree for networks using the Daisy Chain
feature, as illustrated in Figure 286.

Figure 286. Chassis Group in iBuilder Network Tree

As in previous releases, when you configure an individual chassis in iBuilder, you enable or
disable the software jumpers that connect or segregate the chassis partitions. However, when
you add a chassis to a Chassis Group, all jumpers in the chassis are automatically enabled and
cannot be disabled. Therefore, all slots in all chassis in a Chassis Group are, by design,
dedicated to a single virtual backplane. (See “Configuring and Controlling the Hub Chassis” on
page 280.)

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To add a Chassis Group to the iBuilder tree:

1. Right-click your Teleport in the iBuilder tree and select Add Chassis Group from the
menu.

2. In the Chassis Group dialog box, enter a Name for the new group.

Figure 287. Chassis Group Dialog Box

3. Click OK to save the Chassis Group in the iBuilder tree.

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8.7.3 Adding a Chassis to a Chassis Group

To add a chassis to a Chassis Group:
1. Do either of the following:
• From the Chassis Group dialog box of the group to which you want to add the chassis,
click Add 20 Slot Chassis or Add 4 Slot Chassis, or
• Right-click the Chassis Group in the iBuilder tree and select Add 20 Slot Chassis or
Add 4 Slot Chassis from the menu.
Both methods are illustrated in Figure 288.

Figure 288. Adding a Chassis to a Chassis Group

2. In the Chassis dialog box, add your line cards to the chassis Slots to reflect your network
configuration.

Figure 289. Chassis With All Jumpers Enabled

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Note: When you add a chassis to a Chassis Group, all jumpers in the chassis are
automatically enabled and cannot be disabled. Therefore, all slots in all
chassis in a Chassis Group are dedicated to a single virtual backplane.
3. Click OK in the Chassis dialog box when you are finished configuring the chassis. If you
added the chassis from the Chassis Group dialog box, you will be returned to that dialog
box. Click OK in the Chassis Group dialog box to save the modified configuration.

Figure 290. Editing or Removing Chassis in a Chassis Group

Note: You can use the Edit and Remove buttons in the Chassis Group dialog box to
modify the configuration of a chassis, or to delete a chassis from the group.
First select the chassis in the Daisy Chained Chassis area of the dialog box;
then click the button for the function you want.

8.7.4 Changing the Order of the Chassis in a Chassis Group

By default, Chassis are ordered in a Chassis Group according to the order in which they are
added to the group. However, you can use iBuilder to change the order of the chassis within a
group.

Note: Your transmit line card and any standby line cards that back up the transmit
line card must be in the first chassis. Subsequent chassis can only contain
receive-only line cards and standby line cards for receive-only line cards.
To change the order of the Chassis within a Chassis Group:
1. Right-click the Chassis Group in the iBuilder tree and select ModifyItem from the menu.

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2. Select a chassis in the Daisy Chained Chassis area of the Chassis Group dialog box.

Figure 291. Changing the Order of Chassis in a Chassis Group

3. Use the arrow buttons at the top of the dialog box to move the chassis up or down in the
list.

4. Click OK to save your changes.

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9 Controlling Remotes

This chapter discusses the following topics:

• “Activating and Deactivating Remotes” on page 303
• “Moving Remotes Between Networks, Inroute Groups, and Line Cards” on page 305

9.1 Activating and Deactivating Remotes

Remotes may be activated and deactivated by selecting the remote you want to activate,
right-clicking on it, and selecting Activate Remote.
1. Select a deactivated remote, right-click, and then select Activate Remote.

Figure 292. Activating a Remote

The term Activation Pending appears in red text to the right of the remote you are
activating. The term Changes Pending appears in red text to the right of its
corresponding network. For other states, see Step 4 on page 304.

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2. Select the network in which the remote resides, right-click the network, and then select
Apply Configuration.

3. Click Yes to confirm the action.

4. Click OK to acknowledge that the configuration has been downloaded successfully.

If the remote has been acquired into the network, the term Nominal appears in blue text
to the right of both the remote and the network. If it has not been commissioned and
acquired into the network for the first time, the term Never Applied appears to the right
of the remote.
5. To deactivate an active remote, select an activated remote, right-click it, and select
Activate Remote. The check mark will be removed and the remote will become inactive.

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9.2 Moving Remotes Between Networks, Inroute

Groups, and Line Cards
In iBuilder you can easily move remotes from one Inroute Group or Network to another. You
can also move remotes between Inroute Groups and Line Cards in SCPC Receive Mode, or
between two Line Cards in SCPC Receive Mode.
The first example explains how to move a TDMA remote between Networks or Inroute Groups.
The second example (starting on page 306) shows how to move a remote from an Inroute
Group to a line card in SCPC Receive Mode. For details on the different Receive Modes, see
“Adding Receive-Only (Rx-Only) Line Cards” on page 111.)
Follow these steps to move TDMA remotes between Networks or Inroute Groups:
1. Right-click the remote to be moved, and select Move from the menu.

The Move Remote dialog box opens.

Figure 293. Moving a Remote Between Networks or Inroute Groups

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2. On the left side of the Move Remote dialog box, select the new Inroute Group for this
remote. The new Inroute Group can be in the same Network or in a different Network.
3. If you are moving the remote to a new network, in the Network QoS Tree section of the
dialog box, select either a Remote Service Group in the Service Group column or a
Service Profile from an Application Service Group in the Service Profile column.
4. In the Inroute Group QoS Tree section of the dialog box, select either a Remote Service
Group in the Service Group column or a Service Profile from an Application Service Group
in the Service Profile column.
5. If you selected a Remote Service Group for the new Network and/or Inroute Group, you
can also select new Remote Profiles in the Downstream and Upstream Remote Profile
sections of the dialog box.

Note: If you are moving a remote from one Remote Service Group to another, the
Remote Profile that was assigned to the remote in the original Service Group
will still be assigned in the new Service Group unless you select a new Remote
Profile.

Note: An NMS Operator must have Group QoS permissions to select a new Remote
Profile while moving a remote. If you do not have Group QoS permissions, you
will not see the Remote Profile sections of the dialog box.
6. Click OK to move the remote. The remote now appears under the new Inroute Group in
the iBuilder Tree.

Note: Since iNFINITI remotes cannot receive DVB-S2 outbound carriers, you cannot
move an iNFINITI remote into a DVB-S2 network. Similarly, since Evolution X3
and X1 remotes can only receive DVB-S2 outbound carriers, you cannot move an
Evolution X3 or X1 remote into an iNFINITI network.
You can also move remotes between Inroute Groups and Line Cards in SCPC Receive Mode, or
between two Line Cards in SCPC Receive Mode. This example shows how to move a remote
from an Inroute Group to a receive-only line card in SCPC Receive Mode.
1. Right-click the remote to be moved, and select Move from the menu.

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The Move Remote dialog box opens.

Figure 294. Moving a Remote from an Inroute Group to an SCPC Line Card

2. On the left side of the Move Remote dialog box, select the Line Card that will receive the
remote’s SCPC upstream carrier.
3. If you are moving the remote to a new network, in the Network QoS Tree section of the
dialog box, select either a Remote Service Group in the Service Group column or a
Service Profile from an Application Service Group in the Service Profile column.
4. The SCPC Channel List section of the dialog box displays all available SCPC upstream
carriers assigned to the selected line card. Select the Channel ID of the SCPC upstream
carrier that you want to assign to this remote.

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5. In the Upstream Remote Profiles section of the dialog box, select a Remote Profile.

Note: An NMS Operator must have Group QoS permissions to select a new Remote
Profile while moving a remote. If you do not have Group QoS permissions, you
will not see the Remote Profile sections of the dialog box.
6. You can change the remote’s Initial Power and Max Power by entering values in the fields
at the bottom of the dialog box. If these values have been pre-configured for the remote,
then the pre-configured values are displayed on the screen.

Note: The remote cannot become operational until the Initial Power and Max Power
are configured for the upstream carrier.
7. Click OK to move the remote. The remote now appears under the receive Line Card in the
iBuilder Tree.

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10 Retrieving and Applying
Saved and Active
Configurations
Once you have configured your network elements, you may add more elements which will
need to be configured, or you may simply modify the configuration of one or more elements in
your network. This chapter explains how to manage updates to your iBuilder configuration. It
includes the following sections:
• “Configuration Options Files” on page 309
• “Hub-side and Remote-side Options Files” on page 310
• “Modifying, Deleting, and Viewing Configurations” on page 311
• “Retrieving Configurations” on page 311
• “Comparing Configuration Changes” on page 314
• “Applying Configuration Changes” on page 316
• “Configuration Changes on Roaming Remotes” on page 322

10.1 Configuration Options Files

You can retrieve current configurations and save them on your PC as “Options” files. You can
also download (or apply) the Options files to other elements of the same type or to elements
that will be affected by a modified element’s new configuration. In addition, you can
compare an element’s “Saved” configuration its “Active” configuration.
Network elements such as remotes and Protocol Processors have both Active and Saved
configurations. The Saved configuration is the configuration that is stored in the NMS
database. The Active configuration is resident on the network element itself. When you
modify the configuration of an element, the Saved configuration is updated. When you Apply
the changes, the Saved configuration is sent to the element and loaded as the Active
configuration.
The iDirect NMS system knows which elements are dependent upon one another, so that if you
download an Options file to one element that affects the configuration of other elements in
the network, the system will automatically update those elements as well.

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You can retrieve the configurations of the following elements:

• Protocol Processors (Active and Saved configurations)
• Networks (Active and Saved configurations)
• Chassis (Saved configuration only)
• Line Cards (Saved configuration only)
• Remotes (Active and Saved configurations)

Note: If a VNO user retrieves an options file, only elements owned by or visible to
that VNO are included.

10.2 Hub-side and Remote-side Options Files

Each remote has two separate Options files, each with Saved and Active versions. One remote
Options file, called the “remote-side” Options file, is sent to the remote. The other remote
Options file, called the “hub-side” Options file, is sent to the Protocol Processor to configure
the remote on the PP. When you modify a remote using iBuilder, the changes may affect the
remote-side Options file, the hub-side Options file, or both.
You can perform the following control operations on both types of remote Options files from
the remote level of the Network Tree:
• Apply configuration changes
• Retrieve the active and saved configurations
• Compare the active configuration to the saved configuration
Separate versions of the “Changes Pending” icon indicate which of the remote Options files
has been affected by a change. There are three icon variations: remote-side only, hub-side
only, and both. The hub-side icon is referred to as “PP-Side” in Figure 295.

Figure 295. Changes Pending Icons

The following sections describe how to modify, retrieve, compare, and apply configurations
on remotes as well as on other network elements.

Note: Beginning in iDX Release 2.0, the Dynamic Function Options Exchange (DFOE)
protocol allows some remote-side configuration changes to be dynamically
applied. All remote hub-side options groups beginning with 'RMT_' are sent
from the Protocol Processor to the remote using the DFOE protocol. For these
options, you are no longer required to apply remote-side changes to the remote
and you will no longer see remote-side changes pending in iBuilder.

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10.3 Modifying, Deleting, and Viewing Configurations

You can modify your network configuration by right-clicking on the element in the Tree that
you want to modify and selecting Modify from the menu. In cases where you can also modify
the VNO properties for an element, select Modify  Item to modify the element’s
configuration; select Modify  VNO to modify the VNO properties. Similarly, you can delete
or view the configuration of an element by selecting either Delete, View Properties, View
Properties  Item, or View Properties  VNO.

Note: You must deactivate a remote before you can delete it. When a remote is
activated, a check mark is shown next to the Activate Remote selection in the
network tree for the remote. To deactivate a remote, right click the remote in
the Network Tree and select Activate Remote to remove the check mark.
The Network Tree menu selections for viewing and deleting a remote are shown in Figure 296.
Notice that you cannot select Delete until a remote is deactivated.

Figure 296. Viewing and Deleting Remotes

10.4 Retrieving Configurations

When you make modifications to any element, iBuilder saves the modified configuration at
the NMS in the Saved Options file. To retrieve this latest version of the Options file and apply
it to one or more elements, you must use the “Retrieve Saved Configuration” function.
An Active Configuration is the configuration that is currently running on the element. By
retrieving it, you are creating an Options file with that current configuration and saving it on
your PC as an “.opt” file. You can then downloaded, or apply, this Options file to one or more
elements of the same type. For example, if you retrieve and save the current configuration of
a particular remote, you can then apply that configuration to one or more other remotes.

10.4.1 Retrieving a Single Saved or Active Configuration

To retrieve a saved or active configuration, follow these steps:
1. Right-click the element whose configuration you want to retrieve, select Retrieve, and
then select Active Configuration or Saved Configuration.

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Note: In the case of remotes, the menu allows you to select either the hub-side or the
remote-side configuration for retrieval. The example shows Saved
Configurations being selected. However, the procedure for both are the same.
2. Navigate to the folder on your PC in which you want to save the options file and click
Save.
3. The options file opens in Notepad allowing you to review the configuration parameters.

Figure 297. Options File Viewed in Notepad

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10.4.2 Retrieving Multiple Saved or Active Configurations

You can simultaneously retrieve multiple saved or active configurations for remotes or hubs as
follows:
1. Right-click the Network element and select Retrieve Multiple. Then select either Active
Configurations or Saved Configurations.

This example shows Saved Configurations being selected. The procedure for retrieving
multiple Active Configurations is identical.
2. In the Multiple Configurations Retrieve dialog box, select the remotes and/or the hubs
for which you want to retrieve the configurations.

Figure 298. Multiple Configurations Retrieve Dialog Box

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3. Click OK to open the Save As dialog box.

Figure 299. Save As Dialog Box

4. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to the location on your PC where you want to save the
configuration files.
5. Click Save.
iBuilder retrieves the selected configurations and copies them to the designated location.
Both the remote-side and hub-side options files will be retrieved and saved for all selected
remotes.

10.5 Comparing Configuration Changes

When you perform a Retrieve command, iBuilder automatically opens the Options file so you
can view the configuration. In addition, if you have made changes to an element, you can
compare the “Latest” configuration in iBuilder with the “Active” configuration currently
applied to that element. Once you are satisfied with the results, apply the configuration using
one of the methods in “Applying Configuration Changes” on page 316.
You can compare configurations for Protocol Processors, Chassis, Networks, Line Cards, and
Remotes using the following method. This example compares the active configuration that
was last applied to a remote with the remote’s latest configuration as stored in the NMS
database. Notice that the operator has configured a MUSiC Box for this remote, but has not
yet applied the changes.

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To compare the active configuration of an element with its latest configuration, follow this
procedure:
1. Right-click the element in the Tree and select Compare Configurations. In the case of a
remote, select Remote-Side or Hub-Side.

2. To view all configuration parameters in the dialog box, clear the Show differences only
check box. Note that differences are shown in red.

Figure 300. Comparing the Active and Latest Configurations

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3. To view only the parameters that are different, select the Show differences only check
box.

Figure 301. Comparing Configurations: Differences Only

10.6 Applying Configuration Changes

You can apply the latest configuration changes to multiple elements at the same time, which
greatly improves the management of your networks, especially as they grow. Whether you
want to download configurations to one or multiple Networks, Line Cards, or Remotes, you
can do so via the Automated Configuration Downloader dialog box, accessed from the
Network element in the Tree. You can also use the TCP Download feature to download
Options files to multiple remotes and line cards. The TCP Download feature allows you to
download Image files also. For information about this feature, see chapter 11, “Upgrading
Software and Firmware.”

Maintenance Window Consideration

Be aware, however, that downloading configurations or images to multiple elements can take
a long time to complete and uses a lot of bandwidth. Therefore, you probably should establish
a maintenance window in which to make a large number of multiple changes.

Sequence of Download
When applying configurations to multiple elements, iBuilder treats each group of elements as
a batch, processing the batches in upstream order. Therefore, remotes are downloaded first,
followed by hub lines cards, and finally the network itself.
All elements of a batch must complete its download successfully before iBuilder will proceed
to the next batch. For example, if any remote in a given batch fails during the download
process, iBuilder will stop at the end of the remote batch and wait for your next command. It
will not download to any line cards or to the network. However, all elements within a single
batch are processed simultaneously, so a single remote failure will not stop the other remotes
from being downloaded. Also, if the reset button is selected on the dialog box, iBuilder
immediately sends a reset command to any remote that downloads successfully. If this
behavior is not desired, make sure you check the Don’t reset button (you can always select
“Reset only” at a later time).

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10.6.1 Applying Multiple Configurations to Network Elements

To download configurations to one or several of these elements, follow these steps:
1. Right-click your Network and select Apply Configuration  Multiple. This launches the
Automated Configuration Downloader.

Figure 302. Automated Configuration Downloader

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2. Select the options particular to your download. (These options are explained in the next
section.)
3. Click Start. The Status column shows that the configuration is downloading.

Figure 303. Viewing the Download Status

Automated Configuration Downloader Options

The Automated Configuration Downloader is divided into three main sections:
• Remotes
• Line Cards
• Network
Beside each entry is a check box that you can select to include that item in the download.
When you first launch the Automated Configuration Downloader, all Remotes that currently
have changes pending are automatically preselected. If a box is not checked, the
configuration will not be downloaded to the corresponding element.
In the Remotes pane are three additional options.
1. The Target options let you choose to download the remote-side options file, the hub-side
options file, or both.
2. The Protocol options let you choose between reliable (TCP) and push (UDP) delivery
methods. If all the modems in your list are currently acquired into the network, iDirect
recommends using the reliable delivery method.
3. The Reset options allow you to choose a reset action after the download completes. The
three choices are: Reset on success, Reset only, or Don’t reset.
• Reset on success automatically resets the modems after a successful download.
• Reset only resets the modems without a download being performed. This option is
useful if you previously selected Don’t reset, but now you want to reset the
downloaded modems.
• Don’t Reset does not reset the modem.

Stopping the Download

The stop command attempts to halt processing at the next appropriate step after its current
operation. iBuilder will not stop download operations that are currently in progress, but when
the current operation is finished, iBuilder will not continue to the next chosen step.
For example, assume you have selected a given remote and clicked the Reset on Success
button. If you click Stop in the middle of the download, the reset command will not be sent.
However, the current download will finish; iBuilder makes no attempt to halt a download in
the middle or to back out a downloaded configuration.

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10.6.2 Applying a Configuration to a Protocol Processor or

Chassis
To apply configuration changes to a Protocol Processor or a Chassis, follow these steps. The
example shows the configuration being applied to the protocol processor, but the procedure is
the same for both.
1. Right-click the Protocol Processor or Chassis and select Apply Configuration.

2. When the message appears asking you to confirm the download, click Yes.

3. When the message appears indicating that the configuration has been downloaded
successfully, click OK.

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10.6.3 Applying a Configuration to the Network

To apply the configuration at the Network level, follow these steps:
1. Right-click the Network and select Apply Configuration.
2. When the message appears asking you to confirm the download, click Yes.

3. Wait while the configuration is applied.

After the configuration is applied to the Network, the status of the network changes from
Changes Pending to Nominal.

10.6.4 Applying a Configuration to the Line Card

1. Right-click the Line Card and select Apply Configuration.
2. When the message appears prompting you to confirm the download, click Yes.

When the download is complete and successful, a message appears, allowing you the
option of resetting the unit now or waiting and resetting it later.

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3. Click Reset Now or Reset Later, depending upon your needs.

If you reset the remote now, a message appears, confirming that the unit was reset
successfully.

4. Click OK.

10.6.5 Applying a TCP or UDP Configuration to a Remote

When applying remote configurations, you may choose remote-side, hub-side, or both sides.
When you select both sides, iBuilder enforces the correct apply order: remote, then hub.
1. Right-click the remote whose configuration you want to be changed.
2. Select Apply Configuration, and then select Reliable Hub-Side (TCP), Reliable Remote-
Side (TCP), Reliable (Both), or Push Remote-Side with Reset (UDP). It is recommended
that you use TCP if possible.

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3. When the message appears asking you to confirm the download, click Yes.

When the download is complete and successful, a dialog box appears, giving you the
option of resetting the remote now or waiting and resetting it later.

4. Click Reset Now or Reset Later, depending upon your needs.

If you reset the remote now, a message appears, confirming that the remote was reset
successfully.

5. Click OK. The remote’s status will return to nominal.

10.7 Configuration Changes on Roaming Remotes

The NMS maintains two options files for each non-roaming remote. One file resides on the
Protocol Processor and the other resides on the remote itself. Together, these two files
represent the configuration for a remote terminal in a single network. Roaming remotes
require a different set of options files. This section describes the options files associated with
roaming remotes and the implications of applying configuration changes to remotes that are
configured in multiple networks.

10.7.1 Roaming Options File Generation

Figure 304 illustrates the options files generated by the NMS for both non-roaming and
roaming remotes. Roaming remote options files are built as an extension to the normal two
file structure.

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One Remote, One Network One Remote (global instance ), Multiple Networks

Remote Remote Remote Remote

Definition in Definition in Definition in Definition in
a Network Network 1 Network 2 Network 3

PP Options Remote PP Options

File Options File File Network 1

Remote
Options File
PP Options Network 1
File Network 2 Network 2
Network 3

PP Options
File Network 3

Figure 304. Global NMS Options Files

As with non-roaming remotes, the NMS sends a single options file to each roaming remote.
However, the NMS puts all the necessary parameters for each of the member networks into a
single remote options file.
The structure of the options file sent to the protocol processor has not changed. However, the
NMS generates a separate PP options file for each network a roaming remote belongs to.

10.7.2 Pending Changes across Networks

With a single remote options file now containing elements from multiple networks, a roaming
remote’s configuration can now change for one, many, or all networks the remote is a
member of. This leads to some differences when the NMS compares its own configuration files
to those resident on the Protocol Processor or the remote.
For changes to a single network affecting only the Protocol Processor options files for a
roaming remote:
• Only that specific network instance will show the Changes Pending icon
• Only comparisons performed on that network instance will show the differences
For changes that affect multiple networks, or changes to any remote consolidated options
file:
• Each network instance will show the Changes Pending icon
• Comparison operations from any of these networks will show the differences.

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10.7.3 Applying Changes to Roaming Remotes

When you modify a roaming remote in one network, you can apply the changes to the remote
regardless of which network it is in. You do not need to wait until the remote is acquired into
the network with the pending changes.
As long as the NMS can route packets to the remote terminal, it will update the remote when
you apply the changes. However, the remote must be acquired into some network.
For example, if a remote is a member of Networks 1, 2 and 3, and is currently in Network 1,
you can make changes that affect Network 2 and apply them immediately.

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11 Upgrading Software and
Firmware

An image package is a file that contains firmware images for a particular release and
hardware platform. The packages contain FPGA (Field Programmable Gated Array) Images.
You can download images to remotes or line cards via the Multicast Download feature,
Download Image feature, or TCP Multicast feature. The TCP Multicast feature allows you to
download both Option and Image files to remotes and line cards.
To upgrade from one version to another, you should schedule a maintenance window with your
customers. The time required for an upgrade varies based on the number of remotes you have
deployed. The upgrade process is described in the Network Upgrade Procedure for your
release. That document is specific to each release.
This chapter includes:
• “Image Package Versions” on page 325
• “Downloading an Image to Remotes and Line Cards Concurrently” on page 326
• “Resetting Remotes” on page 330
• “Downloading an Image or Configuration File via TCP” on page 331
• “Downloading Remotes Using Revision Server” on page 331

11.1 Image Package Versions

The iDirect NMS GUIs, NMS Servers, Protocol Processor, embedded software and firmware are
all released with the same version number. The NMS GUIs and NMS servers must match in
version number or you are not allowed to log on. A mixed installation (one where not all
components have the same version) is not guaranteed to function properly.
A number of packages are installed on the NMS server during the upgrade. See the Network
Upgrade Procedure for your release for details.

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11.2 Downloading an Image to Remotes and Line Cards

Concurrently
The Multicast Download feature allows you to download images to multiple remotes or
multiple line cards in any given network. However, images can only be downloaded to a single
network at a time. The Multicast Download feature uses UDP, which is explained below.

Note: Your upstream router must have multicast enabled before you can multicast
images to your line cards.

11.2.1 Multicast via UDP

The Multicast Download operation is driven by the NMS Configuration Server, which spawns a
stand-alone command that resides on the NMS server machine. The protocol for packet
transmission exists entirely between the modems and the standalone command; the Protocol
Processor isn’t involved in any way, except to transmit multicast packets on the downstream
(and ACKs/NACKs on the upstream).
The multicast address used for package downloads is statically configured in all iDirect
equipment. Therefore, IGMP is not required by iDirect modems to process these update
messages. However, IGMP messages are advertised in case there is third party equipment that
needs to be dynamically updated.
A multicast download operation consists of two phases: the data transmission phase and the
flash phase. During the data transmission phase, the package is broken into multicast IP
packets, each of which is given a sequence number. All recipients reassemble the individual
packets, in order, into the original image package. If a recipient misses a packet, it will send
a NACK back to the sender, at which point the sender re-winds to the missed packet and
begins re-sending. A remote will only NACK once; if it doesn’t receive the missing packet it
gives up and sends a final NACK when it receives the last packet.
When reassembly is complete, the flash phase begins. Each individual component of the
package is extracted and written to the modem’s flash memory. After flashing is complete,
the modem resets automatically if the reset option was checked in iBuilder.
We refer to the protocol used for transmission as “semi-reliable”. It is reliable in that
recipients will NACK missing packets, but only semi-reliable in that packets are not re-sent
forever. Also, the recipients only NACK missing packets; a single ACK is sent when all packets
have been received, but no ACKs are sent during packet transmission.

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11.2.2 Multicast Download Procedure

Follow these steps to perform a multicast download:
1. Right-click the Network and select Package DownloadMulticast. The Multicast
Download dialog box is displayed.

Figure 305. Multicast Download Dialog Box

2. Select the download parameters. (See Section 11.2.3 “Selecting the Download

Parameters” for details.)
3. Click Start.

11.2.3 Selecting the Download Parameters

In the Multicast Download dialog box (Figure 305), you can select an image to download to
multiple remotes or multiple line cards, but the images for remotes and line cards are
different files, and the two files cannot be downloaded to the remotes and line cards at the
same time. You must download the images to all of the remotes and then perform the
procedure again to download the appropriate images to all of the line cards. You can deselect
any remote or line card that you do not want to receive the new image.

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The dialog box is divided into the following sections.

Package Section
The upper-left section of the dialog box contains a drop-down list of all available image
packages (see “Image Package Versions” on page 325). Select your Hardware, Role, Mode,
and Version to determine the Selected Package. When you select a particular package, the
contents of the package are displayed in the Contents box below the drop-down list. Confirm
that the control application version is correct; it is in the last row of the list.
The eM1D1 Line Card, the Evolution e8350 remote, and the iConnex e800/e800mp remotes
are all capable of supporting either an iNFINITI outbound carrier or a DVB-S2 outbound carrier.
The firmware for these two modes is contained in two separate packages. Therefore, when
you select Remote Role for Evolution Remote or Hub Role for Evolution Line Card, you can
select one of two modes: DVB-S2 or iNFINITI. (See Figure 305.) This determines which
package is downloaded to the hardware.

Figure 306. Selecting DVB-S2 or iNFINITI Firmware Package

WARNING! In cases where the hardware supports both DVB-S2 and iNFINITI, iDirect
strongly recommends that you download both packages. If you change a
remote’s configuration (options file) to receive a different carrier type but
the remote does not have the corresponding firmware package installed, the
remote will be stranded. A site visit will be required to recover the remote.

Modems and Hubs Sections

iBuilder does not allow you to download an image package to an element that is not
compatible. When you select an image package for a given element (for example, an iNFINITI
8350 remote or an M1D1 line card), only the elements that are compatible with that package
are displayed in the list of remotes or hubs in their respective boxes on the right side of the
dialog box. For example, if you select the package for e8350 remotes, only e8350 remotes are
displayed in the Remotes box. Likewise, if you select the package for Receive line cards, only
Receive line cards are displayed in the Hubs box. This is a safety feature that prevents you
from sending a mismatched image package to the remotes and hubs. If you do not want to
download the image package to a given remote or line card, clear the check box next to it.

Download Parameters Section

The lower-left corner of the dialog box contains run-time parameters that change the
behavior of the multicast. iBuilder automatically chooses an appropriate Download Rate for
your network; setting this rate higher is not recommended as it may cause the download to
fail.

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The Credentials and Group Address fields are primarily for reference purposes, and should
be left unchanged. The Reset check box, if selected, tells each remote to reset after the
package has been processed.
When you have made your selections, click Start to begin the download. The Progress bar at
the bottom of the dialog box will indicate the status of your download. The results of the
download to each remote (or line card) recipient are displayed next to that recipient’s name
in the appropriate pane. Depending on the status of the download, you will see either
“Download Complete” or “Download Incomplete”. If you receive the latter message, this
doesn’t necessarily mean the download failed; it simply means the sending application didn’t
receive an ACK (acknowledgement) from that recipient. This behavior is explained in the next
sections.

11.2.4 Downloading an Image to Out of Network Remotes

You can download an image to remotes that are out of network. As long as the remote is
locked on the downstream carrier, it will receive the packets, reassemble the package, and
flash its contents. Make sure you set the reset flag if you multicast images to out-of-network
remotes.
Since the remotes are out-of-network and unable to send the final acknowledgement, the
iBuilder dialog box will display the “Download Incomplete” message after sending all packets.
If the remote is encrypted and out-of-network, you cannot perform a multicast download to
it. This is because the required key exchange can’t take place. The workaround in this
situation is to temporarily turn encryption off, send the package, and turn it back on after the
image has been downloaded.

11.2.5 Interactions with Other iBuilder Operations

The sequence of events during a multicast download is as follows:
1. The image package is broken into separate IP multicast packets.
2. Each packet is sent in order to the recipients.
3. When all packets have been received, each recipient sends an acknowledgement to the
sender
4. The contents of the package are extracted and written to flash memory (a defragment
operation is performed automatically if necessary).
5. If the reset option was checked in iBuilder, each recipient resets.
After step 3, iBuilder and the NMS are “out of the loop”. iBuilder declares the download
complete, and the user is free to move on to other tasks; however, the recipients are not
finished – they will take up to a minute to flash the package contents. For this reason, it is
wise to view recipient multicast activity in iMonitor, and wait until step 5 is complete before
continuing with other tasks in iBuilder. Recipients send events into the NMS indicating the
progress of the multicast operation, and these events can be viewed in an iMonitor events
pane if the recipients are in-network.
For example, consider the following sequence of events:
1. You send a package to a group of remotes.

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2. When iBuilder declares the operation complete, you immediately send an options file to a
particular remote.
Because options files are also stored in flash memory, and the remote may still be flashing
package contents, the options file apply will “block” until the package flash is complete.
iBuilder, meanwhile, is waiting for a response to the options apply, and will probably time out
waiting for that response. The apply will work, but not until after iBuilder gives up waiting for
a response. iDirect recommends you wait until all multicast activity is complete before
performing additional tasks in iBuilder.

11.3 Resetting Remotes

Modifications must be applied to all of the affected remotes in the network by resetting
them.
1. Right-click the remote, select Reset RemoteReliable (TCP).

2. Click Yes to confirm the reset.

A message appears confirming that the reset command has been issued. The success of
the reset is confirmed with a dialog box.
3. Click OK to acknowledge the confirmation.

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11.4 Downloading an Image or Configuration File via

TCP
You can download an Image or Options file via the TCP protocol by using the TCP Download
feature. However, images and options files can only be downloaded to a single network at a
time.
Follow these steps to download an Image or Options file via the TCP protocol:
1. Right-click your Network and select Package Download  TCP.

The TCP Package Download dialog box is displayed.You work with the TCP Package
Download dialog box the same way you do with the Multicast Download dialog box. Follow
the directions in “Selecting the Download Parameters” on page 327.
2. Select the appropriate options in the lower left portion of the TCP Download dialog box.
3. Click Start.

11.5 Downloading Remotes Using Revision Server

Prior to iDS Release 7.0, it was the responsibility of the network operator to ensure that all
remotes were successfully upgraded to the current version of their image files. The network
operator had to monitor the network to determine if any remotes failed to receive the initial
image upgrade. If so, the operator had to manually resend the image package until all
remotes were up-to-date.
Using iDirect’s Revision Server, you can configure the NMS to automatically upgrade remote
sites that have not yet received the latest download. Once you select a set of remotes to
upgrade, the Revision Server packages the current images and options files together. (This
includes the Board Support package.) It then periodically transmits the latest package to the
selected remotes, stopping only after all remotes in the list have successfully received their
upgrades.

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You can also use the Revision Server to send only options files, without reloading the images.
This allows you to change the configuration of one or more remotes and ensure that the
changes will be applied without further operator intervention.
The Revision Server has the following characteristics:
• The Revision Server can download multiple networks simultaneously.
• By default, the Revision Server uses up to 10 percent of the downstream bandwidth when
it is active. (However, you can modify the download rate when you launch an upgrade.)
• Once you start the Revision Server, it immediately begins to upgrade all the selected
remotes. If one or more remotes fail to receive the package during an upgrade cycle, the
revision server will automatically begin a new cycle to retransmit the package to those
remotes. (The time remaining before the next cycle is displayed on the Revision Server
dialog box.) Once all remotes in the list are upgraded, the revision server stops.
• You can command the Revision Server to stop upgrading one or more networks while the
upgrade is in progress.
• VNO users can use the Revision Server to download remotes as long as the VNO has the
necessary permissions or ownership of the appropriate network elements. Only remotes
that the VNO is allowed to download are displayed on the Revision Server GUI.

11.5.1 How the Revision Server Works

In order to decide which remotes require updates, the Revision Server determines the
versions of software and configuration (options file) currently loaded on each remote. It then
compares the versions on the remote to the latest versions for that remote as stored at the
NMS. Based on this comparison, the NMS assigns each remote a status of UpRev or DownRev.
An UpRev remote is up-to-date; i.e., it is loaded with an options file version and a software
version that match the versions configured at the NMS. A DownRev remote is a remote with
an options file version and/or software version that do not match the versions configured at
the NMS.
Under normal operation, the Revision Server sits in an idle state waiting for commands from
iBuilder. When commanded to perform an upgrade and/or options file application, it operates
in a specific “duty cycle” until its assigned tasks are complete or until it is commanded to
stop by an iBuilder user.
The Revision Server’s duty cycle is shown in Figure 307 on p. 333. As the figure shows, the
Revision Server performs the following tasks for each cycle:
1. Compiles a list of DownRev remotes.
2. Creates a single package file containing the appropriate images (if upgrading) and options
files for all down-rev remotes.
3. Multicasts the package to the remotes using 10% of the downstream channel capacity.
4. Waits a calculated amount of time for the multicast to complete and for remotes to
receive the package and process it. (When a remote gets a complete package, it picks out
the images (if upgrading) and its own options file, writes the file(s) to flash, and resets.)
5. Returns to step 1. When the list of down-rev remotes reaches zero, the revision server
returns to the inactive state.

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Figure 307. Revision Server Duty Cycle

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11.5.2 When to Use the Revision Server

The Revision Server is useful both during network upgrades (when remotes require new image
packages) and during normal operations when applying configuration changes to your
network.
There are two ways you can use the Revision Server to automate remote upgrades:
1. Follow the manual upgrade procedure for all of your iDirect equipment, including
remotes. Then launch the Revision Server to upgrade any sites that were unreachable at
the time of the initial upgrade.
2. Upgrade your hub equipment, including line cards and protocol processors, manually.
Then launch the Revision Server to upgrade all remote sites.
When you make changes to your remotes’ configuration parameters, you can use the Revision
Server to automatically apply those changes by sending the updated options files to the
remotes as they become available in the network.

Note: The Revision Server will upgrade or downgrade your remotes to the iDirect
version that is currently running on your NMS Server. Therefore you should
upgrade the NMS servers, followed by your Protocol Processors, before starting
a Revision Server upgrade.

Note: You can use the Revision Server to upgrade to the new release provided you are
upgrading from iDS Release 5.05 or later.

11.5.3 Starting the Revision Server

To start the Revision Server, follow these steps:
1. Right-click your network in the Tree and select Package Download  Revision Server
from the menu.

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The Revision Server dialog box appears (Figure 308), including a list of all the remotes in
the network. Remotes with a status of DownRev have a different package version from
that of the NMS server. UpRev remotes are current.

Figure 308. Revision Server Dialog Box

2. In the Remotes section of the dialog box, select all remotes you want to upgrade by
clicking the check boxes. You can also click any of the following buttons to select remotes
for download:
• The Select All button selects all remotes in the network.
• The Select Down Rev button selects only remotes with a status of DownRev.
• The Select Active button selects only remotes that are currently acquired into the
network.
• The Changes Pending button selects all remotes with remote-side configuration
changes that have not yet been applied.
• The Clear All button clears the check boxes for all remotes in the network.

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3. You can change the Download Rate specified in the Download Parameters section if
desired. By default, the download rate is calculated to be 10 percent of the downstream
information rate.
4. Select Options Files Only if you only want to send options files to the remotes. No image
files will be sent.

Note: The status of UpRev or DownRev is determined solely by the version string of
the image package. Therefore, remotes with an up-to-date package for which
the remote-side options files have not been applied will have a status of UpRev.
5. Click Start Upgrade to begin the upgrade process.
6. Once you have started the upgrade, you can observe the following real-time status in the
Revision Server dialog box:
• The Next Cycle counter will begin to count down, indicating the time remaining
before the Revision Server will restart the upgrade process for any remotes that are
not updated during this cycle.
• In the Remotes section of the dialog box, the status will change from DownRev to
UpRev when a remote has successfully received its upgrade.
• Status messages will be displayed in the Messages section of the dialog box, logging
the progress of the upgrade.
• Real-time events are displayed in the event pane at the bottom of the dialog box.

11.5.4 Controlling the Revision Server Real-Time Event Display

By default, all real-time events for up to five hundred remotes are displayed in the event
pane at the bottom of the Revision Server dialog box. If more than five hundred remotes are
being upgraded, only events for the first five hundred remotes are displayed.
This default behavior has two drawbacks during downloads of large networks:
• The large number of events may make it difficult for you to monitor them on the display.
• You can only see events for the first five hundred remotes.
To address these limitations, the Revision Server GUI allows you to change the Realtime
Display settings for the remotes being downloaded. By doing this, you can configure the set of
remotes for which events are displayed in the event pane. You can access these settings by
selecting remotes in the Remotes area of the dialog box and then choosing the option you
want from the Realtime Display menu.

Figure 309. Revision Server Realtime Display Menu

The Realtime Display options that you can select are shown in Figure 309. They include:
• Start Highlighted: Starts the event display for the highlighted remotes

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• Stop Highlighted: Stops the event display for the highlighted remotes
• Start All: Starts the event display for all remotes
• Stop All: Stops the event display for all remotes
• Clear RT Display: Clears all events from the event pane at the bottom of the Revision
Server display
The following example shows how to stop viewing events from all remotes and begin viewing
events only from selected remotes. The procedure assumes you have selected all remotes for
download and are currently receiving events for all remotes.
1. Right-click in the Remotes area of the Revision Server dialog box and select Stop All from
the menu to stop events from all remotes.

Figure 310. Revision Server: Stop All

2. Highlight the remotes for which you want to view events. (Use Shift + click to highlight a
range of remotes. Use Ctrl + click to select multiple, individual remotes.)
3. Right-click any of the highlighted remotes in the Remotes area of the Revision Server
dialog box and select Start Highlighted from the menu.

Figure 311. Revision Server: Start Highlighted

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Only events from the highlighted remotes are added to the event pane at the bottom of the
Revision Server dialog box.

Figure 312. Revision Server Event Pane with Highlighted Remotes

4. To begin viewing events from all remotes again, right-click in the Remotes area of the
Revision Server dialog box and select Start All from the menu.
As an alternative to Stop All followed by Start Highlighted, you can select all remotes you do
not want to monitor. Again, assuming you have selected all remotes for download and are
currently receiving events for all remotes:
1. Highlight the remotes for which you do not want to view events.
2. Right-click any of the highlighted remotes in the Remotes area of the Revision Server
dialog box and select Stop Highlighted from the menu.

Figure 313. Revision Server: Stop Highlighted

Events from the selected remotes are no longer added to the event pane at the bottom of the
Revision Server dialog box.

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11.5.5 Monitoring Upgrades Using the Revision Server Status

Pane
The Revision Server Status pane displays the status of all current upgrades, as well as the
status of completed upgrades. To display the Revision Server Status pane, follow these steps:
1. Select Revserver Status from the View menu.

Figure 314. Selecting Revision Server Status from the View Menu

The Revision Server Status pane will appear in place of the Network Tree, showing the
status of all upgrades that are in progress. Note that two tabs appear at the bottom of the
pane allowing you toggle between the Network Tree (iBuilder Tree View tab) and the
Revision Server Status pane (Revision Server tab) as shown in Figure 315.

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Figure 315. Revision Server Status Pane

2. If you want to see the status of completed upgrades as well as current upgrades, select
Show historical information.

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3. Click Details for any upgrade to see more information about that upgrade. This includes
the upgrade Status of each remote in the upgrade list.

Figure 316. Revision Server Details Display

11.5.6 Cancelling an Upgrade

You can cancel a Revision Server upgrade at any time as follows:
1. Right-click your network in the Tree and select Package Download  Revision Server to
launch the Revision Server dialog box.
2. Click the Stop Upgrade button to cancel the upgrade.

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12 Commissioning a Line
Card, Private Hub or
Mini Hub
This section provides instructions for commissioning iDirect line cards, private hubs, and mini
hubs to transmit iNFINITI outroutes. It discusses the following topics:
• Powering on the equipment
• Determining the IP address
• Downloading the initial image package and options file
• Performing the 1 dB compression test when necessary
• Setting the transmit power for the iNFINITI downstream carrier

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, the term “line card” as used here refers to iDirect
Private and Mini Satellite Hubs as well as iDirect Line Cards.

12.1 Before You Begin

Before you execute this procedure, the following tasks should have already been performed
at the hub:
• The physical teleport installation must be complete.
• The hub antenna should have been pointed and cross polarization test performed.
• The NMS client and server software should be running.
• Using iBuilder, you should have already:
• Defined your hub equipment, satellite transponder bandwidth, and the upstream
carrier to be transmitted by this line card. (See “Defining Hub RFT Components and
the Satellite” on page 65)
• Added your hub components to the iBuilder Network Tree. (See “Defining Network
Components” on page 85)
• Added your network to the iBuilder Network Tree. (See “Defining Networks, Line
Cards, and Inroute Groups” on page 103)

Note: If you are adding a new line card, the Tx Out, Rx In and Lan A ports should not
be connected at this time. Do not connect these cables until instructed to do so
by this procedure.

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12.2 Add the Line Card in iBuilder and Retrieve the

Configuration
Use iBuilder to add the line card to the Network Tree and configure the line card parameters
in the options file.
1. In iBuilder, right-click your network in the Tree and follow the procedure in “Adding a
Transmit or Transmit and Receive Line Card” on page 108 to configure the line card.
2. Right-click your network in the Network Tree and select Apply  Network Configuration
from the menu.

Note: Do not apply the line card configuration at this time.

3. Right-click the line card in the Tree and select Retrieve  Saved Configuration.

4. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to the folder on your PC in which you want to save
the options file. Then click the Save button to save the file to your PC.
5. After you save the options file, it will be displayed in Notepad as a text file. If desired,
review the configuration in Notepad; then close the Notepad window.

12.3 Power on the Line Card

Follow these steps to power on the line card or private hub.
1. If you are commissioning a private or mini hub, plug in the AC power cord.
2. If you are commissioning a line card:
a. Insert the line card into the slot in the chassis you plan to use.

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b. In iBuilder, right-click the chassis in the Network Tree and select Modify  Item. The
Chassis dialog box will appear.

Figure 317. Chassis Dialog Box

c. Select the check box for the slot that contains the new line card. This will toggle the
setting from Off to On.
d. Right-click in the Hub Assignment column and select your line card.
e. Click OK to save the Chassis configuration.
f. Wait two minutes.
g. Right-click the Chassis in the iBuilder tree and select Apply Configuration to power
on the slot

12.4 Determine the IP Address

Follow these steps to determine the IP Address and subnet mask of your line card.

Note: The default IP Address of iNFINITI line cards is 192.168.0.1, with a subnet mask
of 255.255.255.0. If you already know the IP address, you can skip this section.
1. Connect a console cable from the COM1 port on your client PC to the console port on the
line card.
2. Using a terminal emulator program such as Tera Terminal or HyperTerminal, connect to
the line card with the following settings:
• 9600 bps
• 8 bits
• No parity
• 1 stop bit

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This is illustrated in Figure 318 using Tera Terminal.

Figure 318. Tera Terminal Serial Port Setup Dialog Box

3. Log in as:
Username: root
Password: <password>
Either iDirect or P@55w0rd! is the default password for the root account.
4. At the Linux prompt, type
telnet localhost
The Telnet login screen will appear.
5. Log in to the Telnet session as:
Username: admin
Password: <password>
Either iDirect or P@55w0rd! is the default password for the admin account.
6. At the Telnet prompt, type the following command to determine the IP Address and
subnet mask of the line card:
laninfo
The output of the laninfo command is shown in Figure 319.

Figure 319. laninfo Command Output

7. Note the IP address and subnet mask. You will need this information when downloading
the image packages and options file.

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12.5 Download the Image Packages and Options File

When installing a new line card or private hub, you can use iSite to download the image
packages containing the software and firmware before establishing connectivity with the
NMS. (For information on downloading images from iBuilder, see “Upgrading Software and
Firmware” on page 325.)
These steps assume that you are still connected to the console port of the line card and that
you have not yet connected your line card to the LAN.
1. Configure the IP address and subnet mask on your PC to be an IP address in the same
subnet as the IP address of the line card.

Note: The default IP Address of iNFINITI and Evolution line cards is 192.168.0.1, with
a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0.
2. Connect a cross-over Ethernet cable between the LAN port of the line card and your PC or
laptop.
3. Launch iSite. The main iSite screen will appear.

Figure 320. iSite Main Screen

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4. Right-click the globe in the Network Tree and select New. An Unknown element appears
in the Tree.

Figure 321. Creating a New Element in the iSite Tree

5. Right-click the new element and select Login to display the Login dialog box.

Figure 322. iSite Login Dialog Box

6. Enter the IP Address of the line card and a password. (iDirect is the default password.)
7. Select Admin in the Login as section and click OK. The line card will appear in the
Network Tree, replacing the unknown element.

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8. In the iSite Tree, right-click the line card and select Download Package to display the
Download Package dialog box.

Figure 323. Download Package Dialog Box

9. In the Download Package dialog box:

a. Click the Open button to display the Open dialog box.

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b. Navigate to the folder on the client PC that contains your iDirect image packages.

Figure 324. Locating the Hub Packages for Download

c. Double-click the folder for your line card model (Evolution or iNFINITI) to open it.
This folder contains the packages that you need to download to your line card.

Figure 325. Evolution and iNFINITI Line Card Packages

Note: You must download all packages to your line card, beginning with the Board
Support Package (BSP), followed by the hub package(s).

Note: For Evolution line cards, the evo_d_hub package is used for DVB-S2
networks. The evo_l_hub package is used for iNFINITI networks. iDirect
recommends that you download both packages to your Evolution line card. If
you switch between iNFINITI and DVB-S2 and both packages are not present,
the line card will not function correctly.
d. Select the Linux Board Support Package (BSP).
e. Click the Open button to return to the Package Download dialog box.
f. In the Download Package dialog box, select:
• Don’t check versions
• Download images only
• Don’t reset
g. Click the Start button to download the package.
h. Repeat Step a through Step g, but this time download the hub package(s) for your line
card model rather than the BSP. For Evolution line cards download both the
evo_d_hub package (DVB-S2) and the evo_l_hub package (iNFINITI).

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10. After you have downloaded all packages, right-click the line card in the Network Tree and
select Download Option From Disk to display the Open dialog box.
11. Navigate to the folder containing the options file that you saved from iBuilder when
executing step 4 of section 12.2 on page 344. Then select the options file.
12. Click the Open button.
13. Click Yes to download the options file to the line card.

14. Right-click the line card in the Network Tree and select Reset from the menu.
At this point the new configuration (including the new IP address of line card) will be applied
and you will lose connectivity to the line card. Do not disconnect the console cable.

12.6 Connect the Transmit and Receive Ports

Follow these steps to connect the transmit and receive ports of your line card or private /
mini hub to the network.

WARNING! Connecting the transmit port of your line card will result in the transmission
of a carrier on the satellite. This step should only be performed while on line
with the satellite provider.

If you are adding a Tx-only line card:

1. Connect the Tx coax patch cable to the line card’s Tx Out port.
2. Connect the Tx coax patch cable to the corresponding Tx patch panel port above the line
card slot.
If you are adding an Rx-only line card:
1. Connect the Rx coax patch cable to the line card’s Rx In port.
2. Connect the Rx coax patch cable to the corresponding Rx patch panel port below the line
card slot.
If you are adding a private hub or mini hub:
1. Power off the private hub or mini hub.
2. Connect the Rx cable to the Rx In port on the back panel.
3. Connect the Tx cable to the Tx Out port on the back panel.
1. Power on the private hub or mini hub.

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12.7 Perform 1 dB Compression Point Test with the

Satellite Operator
This step determines the maximum transmit power level at which line card or private hub
operates before starting to saturate the BUC. This test should not be necessary if your
teleport is using an SSPA or a BUC with more than five watts of power. However, if you are
using a BUC with five watts of power or less, this test should be performed to ensure that you
do not overdrive the BUC.
The 1 dB Compression Point test is performed at the direction of the satellite operator using a
CW carrier. The satellite operator should inform you of the transmit frequency for the test.
To perform the test, follow these steps:
1. If you do not have a console connection to the line card, establish one now by following
the steps in section 12.4 on page 345. (Note that the IP address that you configured for
your line card should now be loaded on the line card. You may need to reconfigure the IP
address of your PC to match the new subnet.)
2. Set the transmit frequency of the line card by entering the command:
tx freq <fx>
where fx represents the L band frequency in MHz.
3. Set the initial transmit power of the line card by entering the command:
tx power <pwr>
where pwr represents the power setting in dBm. Typically you should begin with a low
value such as -25 dBm to minimize the chance of interfering with other carriers.
4. Turn on a CW signal by entering the command:
tx cw on
At this point the satellite operator should see your signal.
5. While the satellite operator is observing your CW carrier, increase the transmit power in 1
dBm increments until a 1 dBm change in power no longer results in a corresponding 1 dBm
change in signal strength as measured by the satellite operator. The last point at which
the CW changes by 1 dB is the 1 dB compression point. This is maximum Tx power.
6. Disable the CW signal by entering the command:
tx cw off

12.8 Set the Transmit Power for the Outroute

Work with the satellite operator to determine the contracted power at the satellite.

Note: The tx pn commands in these steps are used to transmit a modulated carrier at
the configured data rate, FEC rate, and modulation. The satellite operator my
request you to transmit a CW carrier rather than a modulated carrier. In that
case, replace the tx pn commands with tx cw on and tx cw off. Note, however,
that iDirect recommends using a modulated carrier to set the transmit power.

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Note: Whenever tx pn or tx cw commands are used, you must reset the line card to
restore normal operation. Be sure to follow the instructions in the next section
to reset your line card after applying the configuration.
1. If you do not have a console connection to the line card, establish one now by following
the steps in section 12.4 on page 345.
2. Configure the line card to transmit at the frequency indicated by the satellite operator by
entering the command:
tx freq <fx>
where fx represents the L band frequency in MHz.
3. Configure the line card to transmit a signal with pseudo-random data by entering the
command:
tx pn on
4. Working with the satellite operator, adjust the transmit power to achieve the contracted
power at the satellite. To change the tx power to a new value, type:
tx power <pwr>
where pwr represents the power setting in dBm.
5. Disable the PN carrier by entering the command:
tx pn off
6. Open iBuilder and select the line card in the Network Tree. Then select Modify 
Assigned Downstream Carrier from the context menu.
7. In the Downstream Carrier dialog box, enter the value for Power determined in step 4.

Figure 326. Assigning the Downstream Carrier Power

8. Exit the console window by entering the command:

exit
9. You can disconnect the console cable at this time.

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12.9 Connect to the LAN and Apply the Line Card

Configuration
Connect your line card to the LAN and apply the updated configuration.
1. Connect the Ethernet to the LAN A port on the line card or private / mini hub.
2. In iBuilder, right-click the line card in the network tree and select Apply 
Configuration from the menu. Select the option to Reset your line card.

12.10 Set the TDMA Nominal C/N Parameter for an

Inroute
Whenever you add an inroute, you should set the TDMA Nominal C/N parameter on the
Acquisition/Uplink Control tab for that inroute according to the TDMA carrier modulation
type. The value for TDMA Nominal C/N is determined based on the link budget analysis for
your network, which takes into consideration the modulation and FEC rate of the carrier.
For details on setting this parameter in iBuilder, see “Adding an Inroute Group” on page 133.

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and User Groups

Prior to iDS Release 7.0, all user accounts were independent of one another. Beginning with
iDS Release 7.0, all users belong to one of a variable number of User Groups. Visibility of
network elements and access rights to those elements are now defined at the user group level
rather than for each user account. This chapter explains how to create and manage user
groups and user accounts, and how to define the permissions and access rights associated with
each. It discusses the following topics:
• “Conversion of User Accounts During Upgrade Procedure” on page 355
• “NMS User Groups” on page 356
• “Modifying Group QoS Settings for VNO User Groups” on page 372
• “Adding and Managing User Accounts” on page 382
• “Changing Passwords” on page 387
• “User Privileges” on page 388
• “Simultaneous Changes to the NMS Database” on page 390

13.1 Conversion of User Accounts During Upgrade

Procedure
If you are upgrading from a pre-7.0 release, the database conversion process, which runs
automatically when you upgrade your NMS server, performs the following actions on existing
user accounts:
• All non-VNO accounts are put into the System group automatically.
• For each VNO account, the upgrade creates a new user group and adds the user account
to it.
• Account permissions are maintained, but all VNO visibility settings are turned off. You
must use iBuilder to re-establish appropriate visibility for each user group.
WARNING! As soon as possible after you upgrade from a pre-7.0 release, you must re-
define the visibility settings for each VNO user group. VNO users will be
unable to use the system until you have done this.

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13.2 NMS User Groups

There are three types of NMS User Groups:
• The System User Group
• VNO (Virtual Network Operator) User Groups
• CNO (Customer Network Observer) User Groups
The System User Group provides specific permissions and access rights above all other groups.
Members of the system group are the Host Network Operators (HNOs), system administrators,
NOC managers, and other “super users” of the system.
All database items are visible to users in the system group, including all network elements
created by VNO users. Individual permissions of system users may vary from account to
account.
VNO users may create and manage their own QoS profiles, filter profiles, antenna
components, or any other network components, subject to permissions established at the
group level by the HNO.
VNO User Groups restrict visibility and access rights of group members based on the
permissions granted to the group. Creating and managing VNO User Groups is discussed in
detail later in this chapter.
CNO User Groups can be created to allow customers to monitor groups of network elements
without the ability to add new elements or modify the network in any way. CNO users are
restricted to iMonitor read-only access to the network elements that are visible to their CNO
User Group. They cannot log into iBuilder.

Note: VNO and CNO User Groups are licensed features. If you plan to define VNO or
CNO User Groups in your network, please contact your iDirect Account Manager.

Note: The term HNO Administrator is used in the following sections to refer to a
System Group User with permissions to create and modify VNO User Groups.

13.2.1 Visibility and Access for VNO User Groups

iBuilder distinguishes between network elements (such as inroute groups and remotes) and
component folders (such as QoS and Filter folders) when applying rules for visibility and
access within a VNO User Group. Each is discussed separately in the following sections.

Visibility and Access for Network Elements

When setting network element visibility and access rights for VNO groups, it is important to
keep the following principles in mind:
• Visibility propagates up the tree, but not down the tree. For example if you make a
remote Visible to a User Group, members of the group will see that remote’s “parentage”
all the way to the up to the teleport element. However, if you set visibility at the teleport
level, group members will see only the teleport when they log in; they will not see any
elements underneath it.
• Visibility has three different levels of access rights. When you give visibility of an
element to a User Group, for example an inroute group, you have the following additional
access rights you can grant or revoke:

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• Create access allows users to create new elements underneath this node. For
example, you can allow a user to create new remotes in an inroute group.
• Write access allows users to modify the contents of the element itself. For example,
a user with Write access to an inroute group could modify the inroute group to turn
off frequency hopping.
• Control access gives users the right to perform control operations on child elements
of the specified node. For example, users with Control access for an inroute group can
perform all control operations on remotes in that inroute group.
• Ownership is different from Visibility. When you set a node as Owned by a VNO group,
you are dedicating that node and all of its children to this VNO group exclusively (except
for system users, of course). No other VNO groups are able to see or interact with this
group in any way. Visibility to network elements, however, can be shared across multiple
VNOs.
• VNOs cannot see each other; System users see all. When a VNO creates a network
element, only the members of that group and the System User Group are able to see the
element. When the system group creates or owns a network element, no VNOs can see
this element unless they are granted visibility to it.
• User Groups are highly configurable. The implementation of VNO User Groups is quite
flexible; you can configure groups in a number of ways. However, unless you are careful
when configuring your user groups, this flexibility can result in unwanted results. It is
possible to give VNO User Groups various combinations of write and visibility access that
may create confusion in practice.
For example, giving a VNO Write access to an inroute group, without granting Control
access at the Network level, could result in a condition from which the VNO user is unable
to recover. In this example, a VNO user could modify the inroute group so that it sets the
Network to the “Changes Pending” state, yet be unable to apply the changes.

Visibility and Access for Components Folders

Visibility and access rights are handled differently for components folders than they are for
elements of the Network Tree. The following options exist when setting up VNO group
visibility and access to components folders in the Tree:
• Users see the contents of folders. In general, users in a VNO group can see the contents
of all component folders. However, they cannot change them or add new components.
• Users can add elements to some folders. VNO users can add Remote Antenna
Components, Operators, Distributors and Customers. Folder elements added by a VNO
user are owned by the VNO.
• QoS Profile folders are special. By default, VNO users cannot add or modify QoS filters
or QoS profiles. However, selecting the Create property on a QoS profile folder allows the
customer to create new entries in that folder. For more information, see “Setting VNO
Permissions for QoS Profiles” on page 379.
The rules for QoS visibility and control are:
• All VNO users see profiles created in the System User Group.
• Profiles created by VNO members are visible only to members of that VNO User Group and
the System User Group.

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13.2.2 Visibility and Access for CNO User Groups

CNO User Groups have the following characteristics:
• CNO users can log in to iMonitor only. They cannot log in to iBuilder.
• Within iMonitor, CNO users can view all network elements that have been made Visible to
their CNO User Group. The rules of visibility propagation in the network tree that apply to
VNOs also apply to CNOs. (See “Visibility and Access for Network Elements” on page 356).
• CNO users have no access rights other than the ability to view visible elements.
Specifically, Create, Write and Control access cannot be granted to CNO users.
• CNO users cannot execute iMonitor Probe functions that modify or control remote
modems. However, they can use all Probe read-only functions.
• CNO users cannot select the Connect command from the iMonitor GUI.

13.2.3 Creating and Managing VNO and CNO User Groups

You can manage User Groups and their users from iBuilder’s Network Tree View. When you add
or modify a User Group, the Group dialog box is displayed (Figure 327).

Figure 327. Group Dialog Box

The Information tab contains a Full View of the network tree in the left pane and the User
Group View in the right pane. Notice that the visibility and ownership properties of the Tree

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elements in the User Group View are color coded according to the key at the bottom of the
window.

Adding or Modifying a VNO or CNO User Group

To add or modify a new User Group:
1. To add a User Group, right-click the User Group folder in the Tree and select either Add
VNO User Group or Add CNO User Group. To modify an existing User Group, right-click
the User Group’s name in the Tree and select Modify. Both alternatives are shown below.

2. In the Group dialog box, enter a Group Name for the User Group. If desired, you can also
change the Group Type and add a Description of the group.

Figure 328. Group Dialog Box: Modifying a User Group

3. On the Information tab of the dialog box, right-click on elements in the Full View to set
their visibility and permissions for the User Group.
The menu displays a check mark next to all access rights selected for this element. The
User Group View shows you which elements this group’s users will have access to, and
what their access rights will be. Figure 329, Figure 330, and Figure 331 show examples of
VNO User groups with various settings.

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Figure 329. Setting a VNO Element to Visible with Create Permission

Figure 330. Setting a VNO Element to Visible Only

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Figure 331. Setting a VNO Element to Owned

Note: If you are configuring a CNO User Group, you can only select Visible from the
context menu. Other permissions in the list apply to VNO User Groups only.

13.2.4 Setting Global Rate Limits for User Groups

You can use the Properties tab of the Group dialog box to limit the maximum upstream and
downstream information rates for a User Group. When either or both of these fields is greater
than zero, a rate limit above the specified value cannot be configured for any remote under
the group’s control.
1. In the Group dialog box, select the Properties tab.

Figure 332. Setting Rate Limits for User Groups

2. To limit the downstream information rate, select the MaxDownstreamKbps check box and
enter the rate limit in kbps.

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3. To limit the upstream information rate, select the MaxUpstreamKbps check box and
enter the rate limit in kbps.
In Figure 332, remotes created or controlled by members of the User Group are restricted to a
maximum of 256 kbps on the downstream and a maximum of 32 kbps on the upstream.

13.2.5 Modifying per Node VNO Properties

In addition to changing a VNO User Group’s properties directly, you can also modify multiple
VNO access rights for a particular element in the Network Tree. To view or change all VNO
properties for an Inroute Group, for example:
1. Right-click the inroute group and select ModifyVNO.

2. To make the element visible to a VNO, select the check box next to the VNO name. (You
can also do this by selecting from the context menu as described in the next step.)

Figure 333. Making an Element Visible to Multiple VNOs

In Figure 333, the inroute group is visible to three different VNO groups. VNO1 and VNO3
can only view the Inroute Group. VNO2 can perform control operations such as applying
configuration changes.

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3. To modify a VNO’s permissions for the selected element, right-click on the VNO name and
select the desired permissions from the menu.

Figure 334. Setting Element Permissions for a VNO

4. To change ownership of the selected element, click the arrow in the Owned by drop-
down box and select a new group.

Figure 335. Selecting a New VNO Owner for an Element

13.2.6 Changes Made by an HNO During a VNO Session

If a VNO user is already logged on to iBuilder when an HNO administrator changes permissions
for the VNO User Group, a pop-up window is displayed to the VNO user with the following
message:

Clicking OK causes iBuilder to log out and then log back on to the VNO user session,
committing the configuration changes executed from the HNO’s administrative session.

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13.2.7 Sharing a Chassis Among Multiple VNO User Groups

Beginning with iDX Release 2.0, an HNO can assign VNOs access rights or ownership for
individual slots in a 20-slot or a four-slot chassis. This allows an HNO to share a single chassis
among multiple VNOs. It allows the VNOs to perform configuration and control operations on
some chassis slots while disallowing access to other slots.
Figure 336 shows two possible configurations of a chassis in the Full View of the Modify VNO
configuration screen. On the left, the first eight slots of a 20 slot chassis have been divided
between VNO 1 and VNO 2. VNO 1 owns slots 1 through 4. VNO 2 owns slots 5 through 8. On
the right, VNO 1 has been granted visibility to slots 1, 2 and 3 in a four-slot chassis, but no
visibility to slots 4 and 5.

Figure 336. VNO Full View: Owned Slots vs. Visible Slots

If a VNO has write access to a chassis, then a VNO operator can modify the chassis. The
operations that each VNO can perform on the chassis slots depend on the VNO’s access rights
to those slots.
• If the VNO owns a chassis slot, a VNO operator can power on and off the slot and assign a
line card to the slot.
• If the VNO owns all slots in two adjacent timing groups, a VNO operator can enable the
jumper between the timing groups. (This is subject to additional backplane checks.)
Ownership of all slots in both timing groups is required to set these jumpers.
• If the VNO has both write access and control access to a chassis slot, a VNO operator can
assign line cards to the slot and power on or off the slot.
• If the VNO has only write access to a chassis slot, a VNO operator can assign line cards to
the slot. However the VNO operator cannot power on or off the slot.
• If the VNO has only control access to a chassis slot, a VNO operator can power on or off
the slot. However the VNO operator cannot assign line cards to slot.

Note: A VNO must own a network and its line cards in order to manage line card
redundancy.
If two VNOs have write access to the same chassis, VNO users in both VNO user groups can
modify the chassis in iBuilder. However, on the chassis modify screen, each VNO sees only the
slot assignments of its own line cards or to line cards set to Visible for the VNO. A VNO
operator cannot see the line card assignments for line cards owned by another VNO.

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Figure 337 shows two versions of the same Chassis Modify screen.

Figure 337. HNO and VNO Views of Chassis Modify Screen

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In Figure 337, VNO 1 owns the line cards in slots 1 and 2 and VNO 2 owns the line cards in slots
9 and 10. The top image in Figure 337 shows what the HNO sees when right-clicking the
chassis in the iBuilder Tree and selecting ModifyItem. Both VNO 1’s line cards and VNO 2’s
line cards are displayed to the HNO.
The bottom image in Figure 337 shows the same screen when a VNO 1 user is logged on to
iBuilder. Notice that VNO 1 cannot see the slot assignments for slots 9 and 10, since those line
cards are owned by VNO 2.
If a VNO owns a chassis slot, then iBuilder does not allow any other VNO to assign line cards to
that slot. Therefore, no conflicts can arise. However, if two VNOs have write access to the
same slot, the slot may be occupied by a line card owned by one VNO that cannot be seen by
the second VNO. In that case, if the second VNO attempts to assign a line card to the occupied
slot, iBuilder does not allow the assignment and displays an error message. Figure 338 show
the result when a VNO attempts to assign slot 1 when the slot is already occupied.

Figure 338. Chassis Modify: Attempting to Assign an Occupied Slot

13.2.8 Configuring VNO Access Rights for a Shared Chassis

The following procedure illustrates how an HNO might configure a chassis to be shared by two
VNOs. In this example, the HNO grants each VNO write and control access to the chassis and
control access to specific slots within the chassis. This allows each VNO to perform
redundancy operations on their own line cards and to power on and off the slots containing
their line cards. Since the HNO does not grant the VNOs write access to the timing groups, the
VNOs cannot change their slot assignments.
For details on configuring a chassis see “Configuring a Hub Chassis” on page 277. For details
on line card redundancy management see “Managing Line Card Redundancy Relationships” on
page 124.

Note: This example assumes that the VNOs have been granted ownership of their
respective networks and line cards. The VNOs must own these elements to
manage their line card redundancy.

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1. Log on to iBuilder as an HNO administrator.

2. Under the User Groups folder in the iBuilder Tree, right-click the first VNO user group and
select Modify.

3. In the Full View section of the Modify Configuration screen for the VNO, expand the tree
to expose the chassis you want the VNOs to share.
4. Right-click the chassis and grant Visibility and Write and Control access to the VNO.

Figure 339. Granting Chassis Rights to a VNO

Note: Control access allows the VNO to apply configuration changes to the chassis.
For example, if the VNO enables or disables the power to a slot, the VNO can
then download the changes to the chassis.
5. Expand the chassis in the Full View to display the chassis slots.

Figure 340. Expanded Chassis in VNO Tree

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6. Right-click each Slot that you want the VNO to use and grant Visibility and Control to the
VNO.

Figure 341. Granting Control of Chassis Slots to a VNO

7. Click OK to save the changes.

8. Repeat these steps for the other VNO, granting chassis and slot access as desired.
Once the VNOs are configured according to this example, a VNO user can right-click the
shared chassis in the iBuilder Tree and select Modify. On the Chassis Modify screen:
• The VNO user can toggle on and off the power for line cards owned by the VNO, since
Control access has been granted for the slots. (See Figure 341.)
• The VNO user cannot change the slot assignments for line cards owned by the VNO, since
Write access has not been granted for the timing groups.
• The VNO user cannot view or modify the slot assignments for line cards owned by other
VNOs.
Because the VNOs in the example have ownership of their networks and line cards, a VNO user
can establish line card redundancy relationships and swap active and standby line cards, but
only for those line cards owned by the VNO. Figure 342 shows the Manage Line Card
Redundancy screen when logged on as VNO 1. VNO 2’s line cards are not displayed to the VNO
1 user.

Figure 342. VNO View of Manage Line Card Redundancy Screen

Note: If you are sharing a chassis among multiple Network Management Systems,
please see “Sharing a 20 Slot Chassis in a Multi-NMS System” on page 287.

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13.2.9 Configuring VNO Access Rights for SCPC Return Channels

Beginning with iDX Release 3.0, some iDirect line card model types can be configured to
receive a single SCPC upstream carrier or multiple SCPC upstream carriers. The number of
SCPC carriers that a line card can receive depends on the line card model type, the selected
receive mode, and licensing. (See “Adding Receive-Only (Rx-Only) Line Cards” on page 111 for
details.)
An HNO can assign VNOs ownership of individual SCPC return channels on a line card in single
or multiple channel SCPC receive mode. For multichannel line cards, this allows more than
one VNO to share the line card.
Figure 343 shows a multiple channel SCPC line card fully expanded in the Full View of the
Modify VNO configuration screen. In the figure, the first four channels of the line card are
owned by VNO 1 User Group and the last four channels are owned by VNO 2 User Group.

Figure 343. VNO Full View: SCPC Return Channels Shared by two VNOs

When one or more SCPC return channels are owned by a VNO, the line card is automatically
Visible to the VNO. The VNO can add remotes to the SCPC line card or move remotes between
SCPC line cards and inroute groups.
A VNO can own an SCPC return channel even when the channel has not been assigned an
upstream carrier or a remote. This allows VNO users to assign upstream carriers and remotes
to the VNO’s SCPC return channels without the assistance of the HNO.

Note: The HNO must make an SCPC upstream carrier Visible to the VNO before the
VNO can assign that carrier to an SCPC return channel or to a remote. A VNO
cannot own an upstream carrier.

Note: When the HNO assigns an SCPC return channel to a VNO user group, and that
channel is already associated with an SCPC upstream carrier, then the carrier is
automatically visible to the VNO user group. Furthermore, if the upstream
carrier is also assigned to a remote, then the VNO automatically owns the
remote.

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As an HNO, you can assign ownership of SCPC upstream channels to a VNO as follows:
1. Right-click the VNO user group in the iBuilder tree and select Modify from the menu.
2. In the Full View, expand the line card to view the channels. Channels are numbered from
zero to seven.
3. Right-click the channels you want to assign to the VNO and select Owned (Figure 344).
The line card will automatically become Visible to the VNO, with Create permission.

Figure 344. Setting Ownership of an SCPC Return Channel

Note: If a VNO owns one or more channels on an SCPC line card, then you can assign
SCPC upstream carriers to the VNO when you select the carriers for the line
card. See Step 7 in “Adding Multiple Receive Carriers to a Line Card” on
page 113 for details.

13.2.10 VNO Operations on Line Cards in SCPC Return Mode

When a VNO owns individual channels on a line card in SCPC return mode, a VNO user can:
• Assign SCPC upstream carriers to the line card
• Create remotes under the SCPC line card
• Move remotes from the SCPC line card to another SCPC line card with owned channels
• Move remotes between SCPC line cards and inroute groups that have the correct
permissions set
See “Moving Remotes Between Networks, Inroute Groups, and Line Cards” on page 305 for
details on moving remotes.
As a VNO user, if your VNO owns individual return channels on an SCPC multiple channel line
card, then you can modify the SCPC carrier assignments as follows:
1. Right-click the line card in the iBuilder tree and select Modify Carriers from the menu.

The Line Card dialog box opens in read-only mode.

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2. In the Line Card dialog box, click the Configure Carriers button to open the Select
Carrier dialog box (Figure 345).

Figure 345. Line Card Dialog Box: VNO User Selecting Configure Carriers

When opened by a VNO user, the Select Carrier dialog box shows the SCPC upstream
carriers currently assigned to the line card and any additional carriers that the VNO user
can assign. Only carriers that are visible to the VNO are displayed.
3. To assign a new carrier to the line card, select the check box of the carrier. The User
Group is automatically updated with your VNO user group name.

Note: A VNO user cannot select more SCPC upstream carriers than the number of
SCPC return channels owned by the VNO.
4. To remove a carrier from the line card, clear the check box of the carrier. The User Group
is automatically cleared.

Note: A VNO user cannot change the line card center frequency.
5. Click OK in the Select Carrier dialog box to save the new carrier assignments.
6. Click OK in the Line Card dialog box to save the changes.

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13.3 Modifying Group QoS Settings for VNO User

Groups
Host Network Operators (HNOs) can selectively turn on or off different levels of Group QoS
(GQoS) configuration privileges for Virtual Network Operators (VNOs). Under a network or
inroute group, an HNO can set VNO permissions for the Bandwidth Pool, Bandwidth Groups
and Service Groups. An HNO can assign ownership or visibility to a VNO User Group for these
GQoS nodes. However, visible GQoS nodes cannot be assigned Create, Write or Control access.

13.3.1 Restricting VNO Access to GQoS Tab Only

If a VNO owns a GQoS node, the VNO can modify that node from the Group QoS tab of the
network or inroute group dialog box. However, unless the VNO also has write permission or
ownership for the network or inroute group itself, the VNO cannot modify parameters on
other tabs of the network or inroute group element.
For example, Figure 346 shows a VNO configured with Visibility to VNO 1 Network but no
additional permissions for the network. The VNO owns the Bandwidth Pool for the network,
including all Bandwidth Groups and Service Groups.

Figure 346. VNO with Network Visibility and GQoS Node Ownership

Note: Visibility is indicated by green text. Ownership is indicated by magenta text.

When ownership is assigned to a node, visibility is automatically granted to all
higher nodes in the tree necessary to reach the owned node.

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As shown in Figure 347, when a VNO user right-clicks the network, the user can only select
ModifyGroup QoS but cannot select ModifyItem.

Figure 347. VNO Network Menu with Owned GQoS Nodes but No Network Access

When the VNO User selects ModifyGroup QoS, the network dialog box is displayed with all
tabs. However, the user can only modify owned QoS nodes on the Group QoS tab. The VNO
user cannot change anything on the Information tab or the Custom tab.
However, if the VNO has Write access to or Ownership of the network or inroute group, then a
VNO user can change any settings on the network or inroute group as well as on its owned
GQoS nodes. For example, Figure 348 shows the VNO from Figure 346 re-configured to add
Write and Control access to the network.

Figure 348. VNO with Network Write Access and GQoS Node Ownership

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Because the VNO has been granted Write access to VNO 1 Network, a VNO user can select
both ModifyGroup QoS and ModifyItem from the network menu. This is illustrated in
Figure 349.

Figure 349. VNO Network Menu with Owned GQoS Nodes and Write Access to Network

When the VNO user selects ModifyItem for the network, the user can change the
configuration on the Information and Custom tabs as well as the configuration of its owned
GQoS nodes on the Group QoS tab.

13.3.2 Assigning Ownership of Group QoS Nodes to a VNO

By selectively assigning ownership of GQoS nodes to a VNO, the HNO can delegate the GQoS
configuration privileges for the branches under that node to the VNO. If a VNO owns a GQoS
Node, then VNO users can modify the node and create new subnodes. VNO users cannot
modify any parts of the bandwidth tree which are not owned by the VNO.
For example, Figure 350 shows a VNO with Ownership of Bandwidth Group 1 (and all its
subnodes) but no ownership of or visibility to Bandwidth Group 2.

Figure 350. VNO Ownership of Partial Bandwidth Pool

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When a VNO user modifies the Group QoS settings for VNO 1 Network, the VNO user has
access to all nodes in Bandwidth Group 1 but cannot see or modify Bandwidth Group 2. This
is illustrated in Figure 351.

Figure 351. VNO View of Partially-Owned Bandwidth Pool

Notice in Figure 351 that the VNO user cannot see Bandwidth Group 2, since the VNO has not
been granted any permissions for that Bandwidth Group. However the VNO can see (and
modify) Bandwidth Group 1, since it is owned by the VNO.

Note: On the Group QoS tab, a VNO user can only see remotes assigned to a Remote
Service Group if those Remotes are Visible to or Owned by the VNO.
Some properties of Group QoS nodes (called Request Properties) affect how the parent node
allocates bandwidth among its subnodes. When a VNO is granted ownership of a Group QoS
node, the VNO can only modify the Request Properties of the node if the VNO has the right to
modify the parent node. If the VNO could modify the Request Properties of a node without
having permission to modify the parent node, then the VNO could change settings such as the
MIR and CIR granted to the owned node by the parent node, potentially at the expense of
competing nodes. Therefore, the ability to change the Request Properties of a Group QoS
node is dependent on permissions set for the parent.

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An example is illustrated in Figure 352.

Figure 352. Request Property Access for GQoS Nodes

On the left side of Figure 352, the VNO owns Bandwidth Group 1 but does not have ownership
of the network’s Bandwidth Pool. Therefore, the VNO cannot modify the Request Properties
of Bandwidth Group 1. On the right side of Figure 352, the VNO owns Bandwidth Group 1 and
its parent node, the network’s Bandwidth Pool. Therefore, the VNO can modify the Request
Properties of Bandwidth Group 1.

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13.3.3 Setting VNO Permissions for Group QoS Nodes

This section describes how to assign a VNO ownership or visibility to nodes and subnodes of a
Group QoS bandwidth pool.
To assign the VNO permissions to a GQoS node such as a Bandwidth Pool, Bandwidth Group or
Service Group to a VNO:
1. Log on to iBuilder as an HNO administrator, right-click the VNO User Group, and select
Modify.

2. In the Group dialog box (Figure 353), expand the Full View tree to expose the node or
nodes you want to assign to the VNO. Group QoS nodes are displayed in folders under
Networks and Inroute Groups. The top-level folder for the Group QoS Nodes is always
labeled Bandwidth Pool.

Figure 353. Group Dialog Box: Viewing GQoS Nodes

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3. Grant the desired access by right-clicking the GQoS Node and selecting the desired
options. You can either select Owned or Visible for a GQoS node. However, if you select
Visible, you cannot select any additional access rights.

Figure 354. Selecting VNO Permissions for GQoS Nodes

Figure 355 shows a Visible Bandwidth Group (Bandwidth Group 1). VNO users can view
the Bandwidth Group 1 settings but cannot change them. VNO users in this VNO cannot
see Bandwidth Group 2.

Figure 355. A Visible Bandwidth Group

In Figure 356, the VNO owns Service Group 1under Bandwidth Group 1. Therefore,
Bandwidth Group 1 (and higher nodes) are automatically set to visible for the VNO. VNO
operators in this VNO cannot see Service Group 2.

Figure 356. An Owned Service Group

Note: An HNO cannot assign Create, Write or Control access to a VNO for a Visible
Group QoS node. For a VNO user to modify or control a Group QoS node, the
VNO must own the Group QoS node.
4. Click OK to save the changes to the VNO User Group configuration.

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13.3.4 Viewing GQoS Nodes in a VNO Session

By logging on as a VNO user, the HNO can verify that the VNO permissions have been set
correctly. Using the example from the previous section as shown in Figure 356, a VNO User
with the Group QoS Planning permission should be able to create subnodes (such as GQoS
Applications) under Service Group 1 in Bandwidth Group 1. However, the VNO User should
have no visibility to Service Group 2 in Bandwidth Group 1.
Figure 357 shows the Group QoS tab for the network when logged on as a VNO user.

Figure 357. VNO View of the Group QoS Tree

Notice in Figure 357 that the VNO user can Modify Service Group 1 or Add Applications to it.
However, since the VNO does not own Bandwidth Group 1, the VNO user cannot Insert
additional Service Groups into Bandwidth Group 1 or Delete Service Group 1 from
Bandwidth Group 1. Notice also, that the VNO user cannot see Service Group 2 in Bandwidth
Group 1 (see Figure 356), since the VNO was not granted visibility to Service Group 2.

Note: Before VNO users can add new Applications to a Service Group, the Application
must first be created and then made Visible to the VNO User Group by the HNO
administrator. This is discussed in the next section.

13.3.5 Setting VNO Permissions for QoS Profiles

This section describes how an HNO administrator can perform the following tasks:
• Make individual QoS Profiles available to a VNO User Group or hide individual QoS Profiles
from a VNO User Group. (See “Managing VNO Visibility to QoS Profiles” on page 380.)
• Change QoS folder permissions to allow VNO Users to create their own Upstream or
Downstream profiles. (See “Allowing VNO Users to Create QoS Profiles” on page 381.)
• Change permissions on individual Filter Profiles to allow VNO Users to modify those
profiles. See (“Allowing VNO Write Access to Individual Filter Profiles” on page 381.)
For details on configuring the various types of QoS Profiles, see “Configuring Group QoS” on
page 210.

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Managing VNO Visibility to QoS Profiles

When a profile is visible to a VNO User Group, the VNO Users in that group can select the
profile when configuring QoS for their Networks or Inroute Groups. For example, if an
Application Profile is visible to a VNO User Group, the VNO users in that group can add the
Application to the VNO’s Application Service Groups. Similarly, if a Remote Profile is visible to
the VNO User Group, VNO Users can assign the Remote Profile to their remotes. QoS profiles
that are not visible to a VNO User Group do not appear in the iBuilder tree of the VNO users.
The example in this section illustrates how to make an Application Profile visible to a VNO
User Group. You can follow similar steps for other QoS Profile types to make them available
for use by VNO User Groups.
1. Log on to iBuilder as an HNO administrator, right-click the VNO User Group, and select
Modify to open the Group dialog box.
2. Expand the tree in the Full View pane to view the profile you want to modify in the
Downstream or Upstream folder under the Application Profiles folder.
3. In the Full View, right-click the Profile and select Visible from the menu.

Figure 358. Setting VNO Visibility for a QoS Profile

In Figure 358, VNO 1 Downstream Profile has been set to Visible for the VNO User Group.
Notice in the User Group View that in addition to the Default and NMS Downstream Profiles,
only VNO 1 Downstream Profile is available for use by this VNO. To remove a Visible Profile
from the User Group View, re-select the Visible permission from the menu to clear the check
mark.

Note: You can also right-click the QoS profile in the iBuilder Tree and select
ModifyVNO from the menu to easily make a profile visible to multiple VNOs
at the same time. See “Modifying per Node VNO Properties” on page 362 for
more information.

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Allowing VNO Users to Create QoS Profiles

To allow VNO users to create their own profiles, you must select the Create permission for a
VNO User Group on the Upstream or Downstream folder for a QoS profile type.
The example in this section illustrates how to allow VNO users in a particular VNO User Group
to create Upstream Remote Profiles. You can follow similar steps for other QoS Profile types
to make them available for use by VNO User Groups.
1. Log on to iBuilder as an HNO administrator, right-click the VNO User Group, and select
Modify to open the Group dialog box.
2. Expand the tree in the Full View pane to view the Upstream and Downstream folders
under the Remote Profiles folder.
3. Right-click the Upstream folder and select Create from the menu.

Figure 359. Enabling the Create Permission on a QoS Folder for a VNO User Group

In Figure 359, the image on the left shows the VNO permissions set for the Upstream Remote
Profile folder by the HNO; the image on the right shows the VNO User’s right-click menu for
the same folder. As illustrated on the right of Figure 359, VNO users can now add their own
Upstream Remote Profiles. Any QoS profile created by a VNO User is owned by that VNO User
Group.

Allowing VNO Write Access to Individual Filter Profiles

VNO User Groups can also be granted write permission to individual Filter Profiles owned by
the System group. To allow VNO Users to modify a Filter Profile:
1. Log on to iBuilder as an HNO administrator, right-click the VNO User Group, and select
Modify to open the Group dialog box.
2. Expand the tree in the Full View pane to view the profile you want to modify in the
Downstream or Upstream folder under the Filter Profiles folder.

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3. Right-click the Profile in the Full View and select Write from the menu.

Figure 360. Enabling the Write Permission for a QoS Profile

In Figure 360, the image on the left shows the VNO permissions set for the Filter Profile by the
HNO; the image on the right shows the VNO User’s right-click menu for the Filter Profile. As
illustrated on the right of Figure 360, VNO users can now Modify the profile.

Note: Write permission cannot be granted to VNO User Groups for individual
Application Profiles or Remote Profiles. If you want to allow VNO Users to
define their own Application Profiles and/or Remote Profiles, you should enable
the Create permission as discussed in “Allowing VNO Users to Create QoS
Profiles” on page 381.

13.4 Adding and Managing User Accounts

You can create and manage User Accounts from iBuilder’s Network tree. Depending on your
permission level within the NMS, you can perform the following actions:
• Add new user
• Clone an existing user and change the name and some of the properties
• Delete a user
• Modify a user’s account
• View a user’s current properties
The next few sections explain these operations in detail.

13.4.1 Adding a User and Defining User Privileges

To add a new user to a User Group, follow the procedure below.
1. Right-click the User Group in the Network Tree and select Add User.

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2. When you select Add User, the User dialog box appears.

Figure 361. User Dialog Box: Adding a User

3. Enter a user name and click Change Password.

Figure 362. Change Password Dialog Box

4. Enter and confirm a password for this user.

5. If you click either the Super User or Guest check box, the permissions allowed for the
user level you selected appear with check marks next to them on the User dialog box, but
they are not selectable. These permissions may vary in accordance with the type of User
Group.
6. If you clear both of the main User Level boxes (Super User and Guest), the individual
permissions detailed in Table 10, Custom Privileges on page 389 become selectable. Click
the boxes next to the customized functions that you want to assign to the user.
7. Click OK to save the settings for the user account. The new user will appear in the
Network Tree under the User Group you selected.

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13.4.2 Modifying a User

To modify a user account:
1. Right-click the User Name in the Network Tree and select Modify  Item.

2. When the User dialog box appears, change the settings as desired. (For details, see
“Adding a User and Defining User Privileges” on page 382.)
3. Click OK to save the changes.

13.4.3 Adding a User by Cloning a User’s Account

To clone a user in the same User Group:
1. Right-click the User Name in the Network Tree and select Clone.

2. A new user appears in the Tree and the User dialog box is displayed with settings identical
to the cloned user.

Figure 363. User Dialog Box: Cloning a User

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3. Modify the Name and Password.

4. If desired, change the permissions.
5. Click OK to save the changes.
For a detailed description of user permissions, see “User Privileges” on page 388.

13.4.4 Viewing a User’s Account Properties

To view a user’s account properties:
1. Right-click the User Name in the Network Tree.
2. Select View Properties  Item.

3. View the properties of the user account.

4. Click the Close button at the top of the dialog box to exit the pane.

13.4.5 Deleting an Existing User’s Account

To delete a user from a User Group:
1. Right-click the User Name in the Network Tree and select Delete.

2. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.

13.4.6 Managing Accounts from the Active Users Pane

In addition to managing users accounts from the Network Tree, you can perform some of the
same operations from the Active Users pane. In addition, the Active Users pane allows you to
view the list of operators currently logged on to iBuilder and iMonitor.
The Active Users pane is a standard Microsoft Windows “dockable” display that you can
attach to any part of iBuilder’s main window; detach into its own window; or hide altogether.

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When you first open the pane, it will appear on the right side of the NMS window. The last
setting you select is saved between iBuilder sessions.
The Active Users pane(Figure 364) has four columns. The columns display the Name,
Permissions, Group (User Group) and Logged On status for all users defined in the system.
The Logged On column indicates the logon session count for that user under both iBuilder and
iMonitor. This pane is updated in real time as values change.

Figure 364. Active Users Pane

To open the Active Users pane, Select View  View Active Users from the main menu.

Figure 365. Opening the Active Users Pane from the View Menu

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Depending on your permission level within the NMS, you can perform the following actions:
• Delete a user
• Modify a user’s account
• View a user’s current properties
To perform any of these actions:
1. Right-click on any user in the Active Users pane. A list of the user management options
available from this pane is displayed.

Figure 366. User Account Options from the Active Users Pane

2. Select the desired operation from the menu.

3. For details, see the section indicated below for your menu selection:
• Delete: “Deleting an Existing User’s Account” on page 385
• Modify: “Modifying a User” on page 384
• View Properties: “Viewing a User’s Account Properties” on page 385

13.5 Changing Passwords

You can change your own password, regardless of what authorization level you are assigned.
Super Users and users with the Manage Users permission can see and change all user
passwords.
To change your password:
1. Select File  Change Password from the Main Menu to open the Change Password dialog
box.

Figure 367. Change Password Dialog Box

2. Enter your current password in Old Password.

3. Enter your New Password before the change is processed.

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4. Re-enter the new password in Confirm New Password.

5. Click OK.

Note: For security reasons, it is important to change the passwords for the default
user names as soon as possible.

Note: Changes to user accounts take place immediately, i.e. you do not have to
“apply changes” for users. However, new settings for a specific user will not
take effect until the next login under that account. If the user is logged in while
you make changes, the old settings remain in effect for the remainder of that
session.

13.6 User Privileges

The NMS allows users to be assigned a predetermined set of privileges or a custom-defined set
of privileges. There are two standard user levels: Super User and Guest. Both the standard
user levels and the custom-defined user level are described in detail in this chapter.
Initially, the Super User in the System group is the only user who can set up accounts. User
Groups and users can be added or deleted, and user privileges can be added or removed at
any time. For System and VNO users, a user’s privilege level is the same for both iMonitor and
iBuilder. For example, a user cannot be a Guest in iBuilder and a Super User in iMonitor. CNO
users have access to iMonitor only.
The NMS is shipped with a Super User and a Guest account already set up in the System User
Group. The Super User can then set up additional user groups and users and assign them to
have any of the following user levels:
• Super User
• Guest
• Individually-defined User
If the Super User sets up a user as one of the standard user levels, the NMS system
automatically generates a predetermined set of privileges for that user level. (See Table 9.)
If the Super User sets up a user as a custom-defined user, the Super User can assign that user
any number of privileges from a list provided in the system. (See Table 10.)

Table 9. User Types and Access Privileges

Access User Name

Account Type Access Privileges
Level Password
Pre-Programmed Super User admin Access to the NMS database and all of its
by iDirect admin components within this user group, including the
ability to configure, modify, and delete anything in
the database owned by the group, including users
and their privileges. For System Super Users, ability
to perform these operations on other User Groups
as well.
Pre-Programmed Guest guest Read-only access to the NMS database and all of its
by iDirect guest components within this user group. System Guests
can read all User Group information.

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Table 9. User Types and Access Privileges (continued)

Access User Name

Account Type Access Privileges
Level Password
Custom Custom Defined by See Table 10, Custom Privileges.
Defined by Defined Super User or
Super User else the VNO
Super User
must have
Manage Users
privilege

Table 10 lists the various privileges that can be granted or revoked for a custom-defined user.

Table 10. Custom Privileges

NMS
Privilege Name Description
Application
Database Read The most basic privilege; allows retrieval of stored configuration iBuilder,
information. This is the only privilege Guest users are granted. iMonitor
You cannot grant or revoke this privilege from iBuilder.
Change Database Allows modification of configuration information. iBuilder
Download Allows download of firmware to line cards and remote modems. iBuilder
Firmware
Apply Allows application of configuration changes to networks, hub iBuilder
Configuration lines cards, and remote modems.
Reset Modem Allows remote and line card resets. iBuilder,
iMonitor
Manage Users Allows modification of user names and passwords. iBuilder
Edit Permissions Allows modification of user permission settings. iBuilder
Upload Allows retrieval of a remote modem’s or line card’s active iBuilder
Configuration configuration.
Basic Probe Allows retrieval of real-time statistics in the Probe tab. iMonitor
Advanced Probe Allows all Probe functions (reset, connect, change tx power, iMonitor
etc.).
Customize Allows access to the “Custom” tab in the Remote Modify Dialog iBuilder
Configuration Box.
Password in Clear Controls whether or not an NMS user can see remote and protocol iBuilder
Text processor passwords in clear text.
Monitor Longterm Allows monitoring of long term statistics in iMonitor. iMonitor
Statistics
GQoS Planning Allows modifications to the Group QoS configuration for iBuilder
Networks, Inroute Groups and Group Profiles.

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13.6.1 Super User and Guest Level Privileges

The two basic privilege levels are Super User (all privileges) and Guest (read-only).
• The Super User access level gives the user complete access to all features of the NMS, in
both iBuilder and iMonitor, that are available to the User Group in which the Super User is
defined.
• Guest access level provides read-only access to all parts of the network in iBuilder with
no ability to change data or download images. Guest access provides most functions in
iMonitor, with the following exceptions:
• Guest-level users cannot connect to remote modems.
• Guest-level users cannot exercise functions on the Probe tab of iMonitor’s remote
control panel.

13.6.2 Super User and Guest Privileges for VNOs

A user defined in a VNO as a Super User is able to see and operate on only those network(s)
that the Super User specifies, with the following additional restrictions. VNO Super Users can
add, modify or delete all remotes within their visible nodes. Generally, they are provided with
full remote management capability on these nodes.
1. They cannot create or modify any network components in the network tree
(Spacecraft/Carriers, remote/hub antenna components, QoS Profiles).
2. They cannot create or modify Hub RFT or Hub Chassis records.
3. They cannot perform any operations on the Teleport or Protocol Processor entries in the
network tree.
4. From the network level in the tree, they cannot perform multicast downloads, delete
networks, or create new line cards.
5. They can modify the network record, but only to activate/deactivate remotes.
6. They cannot see or modify acquisition or uplink control parameters.
7. From the hub level in the tree, they cannot perform image downloads, nor can they
create or delete line cards.
A user defined in a VNO as Guest has read-only permissions to the nodes visible to a Super
User in that the VNO.

13.7 Simultaneous Changes to the NMS Database

Beginning with iDX Release 3.0, an iBuilder user is no longer prevented from modifying the
configuration database if another iBuilder user has already opened a modify dialog box.
Therefore, multiple users can update the configuration at the same time.
In addition, iBuilder no longer requires a user to accept other users changes before modifying
the configuration. Instead, by default, the other user’s changes are automatically accepted
without notification. However, an iBuilder user can disable the auto-accept changes feature
by selecting Preferences from the Edit menu and clearing the Automatically accept
configuration changes check box. (See “Accepting Changes” on page 14 for details on turning
off and on the feature for automatically accepting changes.)

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With auto-accept changes off, if multiple users are changing the configuration at the same
time, and one user has saved configuration changes, then each subsequent user who attempts
to save changes is informed that another user has modified the configuration. The user
attempting to save the changes then has the option of either saving the changes or cancelling
the transaction.
Figure 368 shows the message that you will see (with auto-accept changes off) if you attempt
to save your changes after another user has changed the configuration while you have any
modify dialog box open.

Figure 368. Message Displayed if Another User Has Modified the Configuration

WARNING! You will only be notified of configuration changes if you have disabled the
feature to automatically accept configuration changes discussed in
“Accepting Changes” on page 14.

If you choose to save changes after being alerted that another user has modified the
configuration, then the changes made by the first user may be lost if you are both modifying
the same element. For example, if you and another user are modifying the same remote,
when the other user clicks OK to save the configuration, the modifications will not be
reflected in your remote modify window. Therefore, when you save the remote configuration,
the fields changed by the first user will be overwritten with their pervious values. To ensure
that you are not overwriting another user’s changes, you can cancel your changes and re-open
the dialog box.

Note: If you attempt to save configuration changes to a network element that has
been deleted, iBuilder will not be able to save your changes. You will see an
error message stating that iBuilder failed to save the configuration.

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14 Converting a Network to
TRANSEC

Transmission Security (TRANSEC) prevents an adversary from exploiting information available

in a communications channel without necessarily having defeated the encryption inherent in
the channel. Even if a wireless transmissions’ encryption is not compromised, by using basic
signal processing techniques taken from wireless transmission acoustics, information such as
timing and traffic volumes can be determined. This information could provide someone
monitoring the network a variety of information on unit activity.
iDirect achieves full TRANSEC compliance by presenting to an adversary eavesdropping on the
RF link a constant “wall” of fixed-size, strongly-encrypted (AES, 256 bit Key) traffic segments,
the frequency of which does not vary in response to network utilization. For a detailed
technical description of iDirect’s TRANSEC feature, see the iDirect Technical Reference
Guide.
This chapter explains how to convert an existing iDirect network to use the TRANSEC feature.
Before you can do this, all hardware in your network must be TRANSEC-compatible. In
addition, all TRANSEC line cards and Protocol Processor blades must be licensed by iDirect to
use the TRANSEC feature. If you are not licensed to use TRANSEC, please contact the iDirect
Technical Assistance Center (TAC).
This chapter contains the following major sections:
• “TRANSEC Hardware Requirements” on page 394
• “TRANSEC Host Certification” on page 394
• “Reconfiguring the Network for TRANSEC” on page 395
• “Configuring the Initial ACC Keys on the Remotes” on page 398
• “Changing from TRANSEC to Non-TRANSEC” on page 398

Note: iDX Release 3.1 only supports TRANSEC in DVB-S2 networks. It does not support
TRANSEC in iNFINITI networks. In addition, the TRANSEC downstream carrier
must be configured to simulate CCM; i.e., the Maximum MODCOD must equal the
Minimum MODCOD. See “Adding Downstream Carriers” on page 73 for details.

Note: iDX Release 3.1 only supports upstream TRANSEC when the upstream carrier is
using 2D 16-State Inbound Coding. See the Technical Reference Guide for details
about 2D 16-State Inbound Coding.

Note: Beginning with iDX Release 2.2, a remote requires the current Network
Acquisition Key (ACC Key) in addition to an X.509 certificate to join a TRANSEC
network. The initial ACC Keys must be manually configured on the remote using
a console command as part of this procedure.

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Note: Time synchronization of server machines is essential for TRANSEC networks.

iDirect highly recommends that you use NTP to synchronize the time among all
NMS servers, Protocol Processor Blade servers and GKD servers in your
TRANSEC networks.

14.1 TRANSEC Hardware Requirements

All line cards and remote model types under a TRANSEC Protocol Processor must be TRANSEC-
compatible. If you attempt to convert a Protocol Processor to TRANSEC which has non-
TRANSEC elements in its sub-tree, iBuilder will disallow the conversion and generate an error
message. Therefore you must ensure that all installed model types support TRANSEC and are
correctly configured in iBuilder.
In iDX Release 3.1, only the following iDirect model types support TRANSEC:
• eM1D1 line cards
• Evolution e8350 remotes
• iConnex e800/e800mp remotes

Note: Evolution eM1D1 line cards must be licensed to operate in a TRANSEC network.
(See “Managing NMS Licenses” on page 57.) In addition, Protocol Processor
blades must be licensed for TRANSEC. For complete details on requesting and
installing iDirect licenses, see the iDirect Features and Chassis Licensing Guide.

Note: TRANSEC is not supported on SCPC upstream carriers. Therefore, you cannot
configure an Evolution eM1D1 line card in SCPC receive mode in a TRANSEC
network.

14.2 TRANSEC Host Certification

All hosts in an iDirect TRANSEC network must have X.509 certificates issued by the iDirect
Certificate Authority (CA) Foundry. Hosts include NMS Servers, Protocol Processor blades,
TRANSEC line cards, TRANSEC remotes, and GKD Servers. Since uncertified remotes will not
be allowed to join the network, you should issue your certificates before converting your
network to TRANSEC.
Follow this procedure to issue X.509 certificates to your TRANSEC hosts:
1. Follow the procedure in “Accessing the CA Foundry” on page 417 to log on to your NMS
Server and execute the CA Foundry.
2. If you have not created your Certificate Authority (CA), do so by following the procedure
in “Creating a Certificate Authority” on page 419.
3. Follow the procedure in “Logging On to a Certificate Authority” on page 420 to log on to
your CA.
4. Following the procedure in “Certifying a Host” on page 423, connect to each host in your
network and issue an X.509 certificate to the host from your CA. Issue certificates in the
following order:
a. Issue a certificate to each NMS Server.
b. Issue a certificate to each Protocol Processor blade in the sub-tree of the Protocol
Processor.

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Note: After you issue a certificate to a Protocol Processor blade, you must restart the
iDirect service before it will take effect. After issuing the certificate, log on to
the root account of the blade and enter the command service idirect_hpb
restart.
c. Issue a certificate to each line card in the sub-tree of the Protocol Processor.
d. Issue a certificate to each remote in the sub-tree of the Protocol Processor.
Figure 369 illustrates a single TRANSEC sub-tree in the iBuilder network tree with one blade,
one line card and two remotes. All of those network elements, plus the NMS Servers, should
be certified before you convert to TRANSEC.

Figure 369. Elements of a TRANSEC Network

Note: Although it is more convenient and secure to certify your remotes before
TRANSEC is enabled, there may be times when you are required to certify a
non-TRANSEC remote over the air in an existing TRANSEC network. For details
on how to accomplish this, see “Bringing an Unauthorized Remote into a
TRANSEC Network” on page 421.

14.3 Reconfiguring the Network for TRANSEC

If you have not yet licensed your Protocol Processor blades and your eM1D1 line cards for
TRANSEC, contact the iDirect TAC to request your licenses. You cannot configure a TRANSEC
network until these licenses have been installed on your system. For more information, see
“Managing NMS Licenses” on page 57 and the iDirect Features and Chassis Licensing Guide
available on the TAC Web site.

WARNING! Once you have converted your network to TRANSEC and applied the changes,
all remotes will be “out of network” until the current Network Acquisition
Key is configured on the remotes. This requires local access to each remote.

Once you have ensured that all hardware is TRANSEC-compatible, all licenses are in place,
and you have issued certificates to all X.509 hosts, follow these steps to convert your network
to TRANSEC:
1. Ensure that the Minimum MODCOD and Maximum MODCOD of your DVB-S2 downstream
carrier are set to the same value. (See “Adding Downstream Carriers” on page 73.)
2. Ensure that all TDMA upstream carriers are configured for 2D 16-State Error Correction.
(See “Adding TDMA Upstream Carriers” on page 76.)

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3. Right-click the Protocol Processor in the network tree and select ModifyItem.

The Protocol Processor dialog box opens with the Information tab selected.

Figure 370. Enabling TRANSEC for an Existing Network

4. Select TRANSEC Enabled.

5. Click OK to save the change. This will cause all elements under the Protocol Processor to
display pending changes in the iBuilder tree.

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6. For each network under the TRANSEC Protocol Processor, right-click the network icon and
select Apply ConfigurationMultiple to display the Automated Configuration
Downloader dialog box.

Figure 371. Automated Configuration Downloader Dialog Box

7. In the Automated Configuration Downloader dialog box, select the following options:
a. In the Remotes area of the dialog box:
• Select all remotes.
• Under Target, select Both.
• Under Protocol, select Reliable (TCP).
• Under Reset, select Reset on Success.
b. In the Line Cards area of the dialog box:
• Select all line cards with Status of Changes Pending.
• Under Protocol, select Reliable (TCP).
• Under Reset, select Reset on Success.
c. In the Network area of the dialog box, select your network.
8. Click the Start button to apply the changes to your network.
9. Repeat Step 6 through Step 8 for any remaining networks under your TRANSEC Protocol
Processor.
10. Right-click the Protocol Processor in the Network Tree and select ApplyConfiguration.
11. In the confirmation dialog box, click Yes to confirm the change.
12. Configure the current ACC Keys on all remotes. (See the next section for details.)

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14.4 Configuring the Initial ACC Keys on the Remotes

A remote cannot acquire a TRANSEC outbound carrier until the current Network Acquisition
Keys (ACC Keys) have been manually configured on the remote. Therefore, after applying the
changes to your network, all remotes will be “out of network.” Follow the steps in
“Configuring the ACC Key on a Remote” on page 427 to determine the current ACC Key and to
configure the key on each remote in your network. Once a remote has the correct ACC Key, it
can join the TRANSEC network.

14.5 Changing from TRANSEC to Non-TRANSEC

By design, a remote that was in a TRANSEC network cannot join a non-TRANSEC network until
all secure data is removed from the remote by entering a remote console command.
Executing the console command removes all encryption keys, X.509 certificates, and the
remote options file from the remote modem.
When you remove the secure data from the remote, the iDirect application running on the
remote stops immediately and the remote loses the TRANSEC network. To bring the remote
into the non-TRANSEC network, you must locally install the remote’s new options file for the
non-TRANSEC network.

Note: This procedure requires physical access to the remote modem. It cannot be
performed from the NMS.
Before the local procedure in this section is executed at the remote site, the network
operator should perform the following steps while the remote is still in the TRANSEC network:
1. In iBuilder, move the remote to the non-TRANSEC network to generate the new remote
options file.

WARNING! Do not apply the remote-side changes in iBuilder to move the remote to the
non-TRANSEC network until the secure data has been removed from the
remote. The remote must be in the TRANSEC network to remove the secure
data.

2. Supply the non-TRANSEC remote options file to the on-site personnel who will remove the
secure data from the remote.
3. Follow the procedure in “Revoking a Remote’s Certificate” on page 424 to invalidate the
remote’s X.509 certificate.
The remaining steps in this section require physical access to the remote modem. The
procedure assumes that you have all of the following items available locally:
• A copy of the new (non-TRANSEC) options file
• A console connection to the remote modem
• Ethernet connectivity to the remote modem through the LAN port
• A secure copy client such as WinSCP installed on your laptop

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Follow these steps to remove the secure data from the TRANSEC remote and to re-configure
the remote for the non-TRANSEC network:
1. Open a console session to the remote modem and log on to the root account of the
remote.
2. Enter the command:
telnet localhost
3. At the Username prompt, log on to the admin account.
4. At the command line prompt, enter the command:
csp enable
5. Enter the following command to remove all secure data:
zeroize all
At this point the main falcon application process will stop. However, falcon_monitor will
still be running.
6. Enter the following command to stop falcon_monitor. This prevents the remote from
automatically rebooting.
service idirect_falcon stop
7. Using WinSCP (or another secure client application), copy the non-TRANSEC options file to
the following path and file name on the remote modem:
/etc/idirect/falcon/falcon.opt
8. Enter the following command from the console session to reboot the remote:
reboot
The remote is now configured to join the non-TRANSEC network.

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iDirect iNFINITI and DVB-
S2 Networks
Some iDirect hardware can support either an iNFINITI or a DVB-S2 outbound carrier. An eM1D1
or XLC-11 line card can transmit either carrier type. Evolution e8350, Evolution X5, and
iConnex e800/e850mp remotes can receive either carrier type. This chapter describes how to
convert an existing iDirect network from iNFINITI to DVB-S2 or from DVB-S2 to iNFINITI when
your hardware supports it.

Note: Before converting between iNFINITI and DVB-S2, verify that your link budget
meets the requirements of the new outbound carrier configuration.
Beginning in iDX Release 2.0, a single package contains the firmware to allow remotes to
receive both iNFINITI and DVB-S2 carriers. Therefore, you are no longer required to re-load
the remote firmware to convert your network to a different type of outbound carrier.
However, a line card must execute different firmware depending on the type of outbound
carrier configured for the network. For a line card to operate in an iNFINITI or DVB-S2
network, it must have the correct firmware package for that carrier type installed.
For example, an XLC-11, eM1D1 or XLC-M line card executing iDX Release 3.1 requires the
evo_d_hub package to operate in a DVB-S2 network. The same line card requires the
evo_l_hub package to transmit operate in an iNFINITI network.
The line cards that support iNFINITI and DVB-S2 are able to store both packages
simultaneously. Downloading one package does not overwrite the other package. Once the
modem has both packages, you can switch between iNFINITI and DVB-S2 without reloading
firmware.
Follow the procedure in this chapter to convert a network from iNFINITI to DVB-S2 or to
convert a network from DVB-S2 to iNFINITI. The procedure consists of the following main
steps:
• Download the new firmware to the line card that will transmit the new carrier.
• Define the new carrier and assign it to the transmit line card.
• Apply the configuration changes to the remotes in the network.
• Apply the configuration changes to the network.

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15.1 Download the New Firmware to the Tx Line Card

You must ensure that the eM1D1 or XLC-11 transmit line card in your network is loaded with
the correct firmware package for the new carrier type. If you are not certain that your Tx line
card has both packages, follow the steps in this section to download the new package. If you
have a standby line card backing up your transmit line card, download the new firmware to
that line card as well.
1. Right-click your network in the iBuilder tree and select Package DownloadTCP.
2. In the Package section of the TCP Download dialog box, make the following selections:
• Hardware: EvolutionLinecard
• Role: Hub
• Mode: Select DVB-S2 if you are converting to DVB-S2. Select iNFINITI if you are
converting to iNFINITI.
Figure 372 shows the appropriate selections for converting your Evolution line card from
iNFINITI to DVB-S2.

Figure 372. Selections for Downloading DVB-S2 Line Card Firmware

3. Verify that the Selected Package is correct: evo_d_hub for DVB-S2; evo_l_hub for
iNFINITI.
4. In the Line Cards section of the TCP Download dialog box, verify that all line cards you
want to download are selected.
5. In the Options section of the TCP Download dialog box, under Reset, select Reset on
Success.
6. Click the Start button to begin the download.
7. When the download is complete and the line card has reset, verify that the remotes re-
acquire the existing network and become operational before continuing. At this point
your network should be operating as it did prior to starting this procedure.
Your line card now has both packages and your network is ready for conversion. Perform the
remaining steps to switch the network to the new carrier type.

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15.2 Assign the Carrier and Update the Configuration

1. If you have not already done so, follow the steps in “Adding Downstream Carriers” on
page 73 to configure your Tx (or Tx/Rx) carrier for the new carrier type.

Note: You can also convert your existing carrier to the new carrier type by modifying
the appropriate fields in the Downstream Carrier dialog box.
2. Once the carrier parameters are configured, in the Assigned to Line Card field of the
Downstream Carrier dialog box, select your Tx line card.

Figure 373. Assigning a Line Card to a Carrier

3. Click OK to save your changes.

4. Right-click your network and select Apply ConfigurationMultiple.
5. In the Automated Configuration Downloader dialog box, select All remotes in your
network.

Figure 374. Selecting All Remotes for Configuration Download

6. For Target, select Both.

7. For Protocol, select Reliable (TCP).
8. For Reset, select Reset on Success.
9. Click the Start button to apply the configuration to your remotes.

Note: At this point the remotes will lose the network as they update their
configuration for the new carrier type.
10. Once the remotes have been updated, right-click your network and select Apply
ConfigurationNetwork to complete the conversion.

11. Once the line card begins transmitting the new outbound carrier, verify that the remotes
acquire the new carrier and the network becomes operational.

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Appendix A Configuring a
Distributed NMS Server

You can distribute your NMS server processes across multiple NMS server machines. The
primary benefits of machine distribution are improved server performance and better
utilization of disk space.
iDirect recommends a distributed NMS server configuration once the number of remotes being
controlled by a single NMS exceeds approximately 800.

A.1 Prerequisites
Before you begin the configuration process, ensure that you have the following in place:
• Four NMS servers, each installed with the same version of NMS software; three of these
servers are used for running various services and the fourth is used as a backup server. If
you already have a single Primary NMS server and a single Backup NMS server in place, you
will need to add two more NMS servers with the same version of software the current
Primary NMS is running.

Note: For information on setting up a Backup NMS server for your DNMS, see the
iDirect Technical Note “NMS Redundancy and Failover” for your release.
• IP addresses for all additional NMS servers must be on the same subnet as the Primary and
Backup servers. These servers are on the upstream side.
• If the NMS servers have private IP addresses and you need to access these servers (for
running iBuilder and iMonitor) externally, then you have the following options: configure a
VPN system to allow access to the servers, or NAT the private addresses to the public
addresses and run the iDirect provided script on every client PC that will run iBuilder and
iMonitor clients. See “Running the NAT Script” on page 414 for the script.

A.2 Distributed NMS Server Architecture

The distributed NMS architecture allows you to match your NMS server processes to server
machines however you want. For example: you can run all server processes on a single
platform (the current default); you can assign each server process to its own machine; or you
can assign groups of processes to individual machines.
Server configuration is performed one time using a special script distributed with the
nms_servers installation package. Once configured, the distribution of server processes
across machines will remain unchanged unless you reconfigure it. This is true even if you
upgrade your system.

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The standard distribution scheme is shown in the figure below.

Figure 375. Sample Distributed NMS Configuration

This configuration has the following process distribution for the main processes:
• NMS Server 1 (Primary) runs the configuration server (cfgsvr) and MySql, the chassis
manager server (cmsrv) and the Protocol Processor controller process. (You should also
run skysvr on this NMS server.)
• NMS Server 2 (Auxiliary) runs only the Statistics server (nrdsvr).
• NMS Server 3 (Auxiliary) runs the Event server (evtsvr) and the Latency Server (latsvr).
The latsvr is not shown in this diagram.

Note: Not all distributed configurations are supported. If you require a different
configuration, please contact the iDirect TAC.

A.3 Logging On to iBuilder and iMonitor

From the iBuilder or iMonitor user’s perspective, a distributed NMS server functions identically
to a single NMS server. In either case, users provide a user name, password, and the IP address
or Host Name of the NMS configuration server when logging in. The configuration server stores
the location of all other NMS servers and provides this information to the iBuilder or iMonitor
client. Using this information, the client automatically establishes connections to the server
processes on the correct machines.

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A.4 Setting Up a Distributed NMS Environment

You may set up or modify a Distributed NMS environment at any time while your network
remains operational. However, you will be required to stop your NMS server processes briefly
and restart them on the new machine(s) for the new configuration to take effect.

Note: There is a slight probability that problems will occur if the database server
process should exit during the reconfiguration. You can avoid this possibility by
stopping your NMS processes prior to setting up the new configuration. In that
case, the NMS outage will be slightly longer.
To configure a distributed NMS, you will run the script NMS-configuration-client.pl. This
script resides on the primary NMS server. When executed, it queries the local subnet,
determining the IP addresses of all NMS server machines and the current assignment of NMS
processes to server machines. The script then asks you to specify the new distribution and
updates the assignments before exiting. You then restart the NMS processes.
To configure a distributed NMS and retain historical data, begin with Step 1. To configure a
distributed NMS and not retain historical data, begin with Step 8.
1. Verify that all four servers are configured with correct IP addresses, that there is IP
connectivity between all the of the servers, and that iDirect NMS software is installed on
each server such that NMS server 1, 2, and 3 are installed as primary and NMS server 4 is
installed as backup.
2. Log on to NMS 2 as root.

Note: Beginning with iDX Release 2.1, by default you cannot use SSH to log on directly
to the root account of your NMS server or Protocol Processor blade. You can use
SSH to log on to other accounts such as the idirect account. You can then enter
su - from the command line to log on as root.
3. Stop the NMS processes on the server by entering the following command:
service idirect_nms stop
4. Repeat Step 2 and Step 3 on NMS 3.
5. Copy the database from NMS 1 to NMS 2 as follows:
a. Log on to NMS 2 as idirect.
b. On NMS 2, create a temporary directory for the database:
mkdir /var/tmpdb/
c. Log on to NMS 1 as root.
d. Change to the NRD Archive directory on NMS 1:
cd /var/lib/mysql/nrd_archive
e. On NMS 1, copy the database to the temporary directory on NMS 2:
scp * idirect@x.x.x.x:/var/tmpdb/
Where x.x.x.x represents the IP address of NMS 2.

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f. On NMS 2, enter the following commands to move the database files to the correct
directory and delete the temporary directory. (Enter the root password when
prompted by the su command.)
su -
cd /var/lib/mysql/nrd_archive
rm -rf *.*
cd
mv /var/tmpdb/* /var/lib/mysql/nrd_archive/
chown -R mysql:mysql /var/lib/mysql/nrd_archive
rmdir /var/tmpdb/
6. Repeat Step 5 for NMS 3.
7. Start the NMS configuration on NMS 2 and NMS 3 by entering the following command on
each machine:
service idirect_nms start nms_config
The following steps must be done during a maintenance window as network downtime will
occur.
8. Logon to NMS 1 as root.
9. Stop the NMS services by entering the following command:
service idirect_nms stop
10. Run the conversion script by entering the following command:
/home/nms/utils/db_maint/NMS-configuration-client.pl
The conversion script prompts you to select which services are to run on which servers. At a
minimum, the nrdsvr runs on NMS 2; the evtsvr and the latsvr run on NMS 3. The nmssvr,
nms_config, nms_monitor, cmsvr, cntrl, revsvr, and snmpsvr run on NMS 1.
Enter the number of the respective NMS when prompted. Sample output is shown below.

Note: If this NMS shares the Chassis Manager Server of an external NMS that is not
part of this DNMS, you should enter a 0 when prompted for the CM Server to
skip that IP address. The procedure to point your configuration server to an
external CM Server is described in “Sharing the Chassis Manager Server” on
page 288.
root@x3550 ~
# /home/nms/utils/db_maint/NMS-configuration-client.pl
NMS Config Client >>> Looking for NMS installations with bcast
255.255.255.255, please wait...
===========================================================
List of existing NMS configurations
===========================================================
From NMS.ServerConfiguration on computer with 192.168.76.82 :
127.0.0.1 nms_cfg_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_cm_server_ip

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127.0.0.1 nms_ctl_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_evt_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_lat_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_nrd_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_oss_server_ip

From NMS.ServerConfiguration on computer with 192.168.76.80 :

127.0.0.1 nms_cfg_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_cm_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_ctl_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_evt_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_lat_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_nrd_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_oss_server_ip
From NMS.ServerConfiguration on computer with 192.168.76.65 :
127.0.0.1 nms_cfg_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_cm_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_ctl_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_evt_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_lat_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_nrd_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_oss_server_ip
From NMS.ServerConfiguration on computer with 192.168.76.67 :
127.0.0.1 nms_cfg_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_cm_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_ctl_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_evt_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_lat_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_nrd_server_ip
127.0.0.1 nms_oss_server_ip
===========================================================
List of IPs, where NMS installation was presented:
===========================================================
192.168.76.82 (1)
192.168.76.80 (2)
192.168.76.65 (3)
192.168.76.67 (4)
NMS Config Client >>> Please enter index for MySql server
(use number in parentheses above)
1
NMS Config Client >>> Server MySql assigned to IP address
192.168.76.82
NMS Config Client >>> Please enter index for CFG server
(use number in parentheses above)
1
NMS Config Client >>> Server CFG assigned to IP address
192.168.76.82
NMS Config Client >>> Please enter index for CTL server

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(use number in parentheses above)

1
NMS Config Client >>> Server CTL assigned to IP address
192.168.76.82
NMS Config Client >>> Please enter index for EVT server
(use number in parentheses above)
3
NMS Config Client >>> Server EVT assigned to IP address
192.168.76.65
NMS Config Client >>> Please enter index for NRD server
(use number in parentheses above)
2
NMS Config Client >>> Server NRD assigned to IP address
192.168.76.80
NMS Config Client >>> Please enter index for LAT server
(use number in parentheses above)
3
NMS Config Client >>> Server LAT assigned to IP address
192.168.76.65
NMS Config Client >>> Please enter index for OSS server
(use number in parentheses above)
1
NMS Config Client >>> Server OSS assigned to IP address
192.168.76.82
NMS Config Client >>> Please enter index for SKY server
(use number in parentheses above)
1
NMS Config Client >>> Server SKY assigned to IP address
192.168.76.82
NMS Config Client >>> Please enter index for CM server
(use number in parentheses above)
1
NMS Config Client >>> Server CM assigned to IP address 192.168.76.82
NMS Config Client >>> storing to NMS table ServerConfiguration
NMS Config Client >>> Done
11. Start all services on NMS 1 by entering the following command:
service idirect_nms start
12. Log on to NMS 2 and repeat Step 11.
13. Log on to NMS 3 and repeat Step 11.

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A.5 Regenerating the Options Files

Now that you have removed the SNMP proxy from the servers, you are ready to regenerate the
options files. The steps to do this follow:
1. Log on to NMS 1 as root.
2. Enter the following command:
telnet localhost 14123
3. Enter the Username and Password when prompted as follows:
Username: admin
Password: iDirect
4. Enter the following commands:
cfg status recalc netmodem.*
cfg status recalc rmtdef.*
cfg status recalc netdef.*
cfg status recalc ppglobal.*

Note: Once these commands have been entered successfully, all the devices (remote,
HLC, network, PP) will display “Changes Pending” in iBuilder.
5. Launch iBuilder and apply the changes in the following order: all remotes, all Hub Line
Cards, network, and Protocol Processor.

WARNING! Downtime will be incurred while devices reboot.

A.6 Granting Read Permissions to NMS 2 and NMS 3

Now that you have regenerated the options files, you are ready to grant “read” permissions to
NMS 2 and NMS 3. Follow these steps to change the permissions:
1. Log on to NMS 1 and enter the following command:
mysql --exec=‘GRANT ALL ON *.* TO “root”@”x.x.x.x”’
Where x.x.x.x represents the IP address of NMS 2.
2. On NMS 1, enter the following commands to flush the register:
mysql --exec=‘FLUSH PRIVILEGES’
3. On NMS 1, repeat Step 1 and Step 2, replacing x.x.x.x with the IP address of NMS 3.
4. On both NMS 2 and NMS 3, enter the following command from the command line prompt:
mysql --host=x.x.x.x
Where x.x.x.x represents the IP address of NMS 1.
If this command immediately connects you to the mysql prompt on NMS 1, then the new
permissions have been correctly configured on the server from which you are connecting.

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5. Restart the iDirect NMS services on each server sequentially, starting on NMS 1, by
entering the following command:
service idirect_nms restart

A.7 Assigning QoS Profiles

Once you have set up your distributed NMS, you must redirect your IP packets for remote NMS
traffic to the correct NMS servers by modifying the NMS Service Levels in your Upstream and
Downstream Application Profiles.
For the NMS Upstream Application Profile, modify the Service Levels as follows:
• Assign the destination IP address for NMS_TCP to NMS 1
• Assign the destination IP address for NMS_UDP to NMS 2
• Assign the destination IP address for NMS_ICMP to NMS 3
For the NMS Downstream Application Profile, modify the Service Levels as follows:
• Assign the source IP address for NMS_TCP to NMS 1
• Assign the source IP address for NMS_UDP to NMS 2
• Assign the source IP address for NMS_ICMP to NMS 3
For each of the above Service Levels, (the Upstream Application Profile is shown in this
example) follow these steps to reassign the destination IP address of the upstream traffic:
1. In the iBuilder tree, right-click the NMS Upstream Application Profile folder and select
Modify  Item to open the Upstream Application Profile dialog box.

Figure 376. Upstream Application Dialog Box

2. In the Service Level area of the dialog box, select the appropriate Service Level for the
IP packet type you want to modify. (NMS_UDP, NMS_TCP or NMS_ICMP).
3. In the Rules area of the dialog box, select the Rule for that traffic.

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4. Click the Edit button to open the Edit Rule dialog box.

Figure 377. Edit Rule Dialog Box

5. Change the Destination IP address and Subnet Mask to match the NMS server’s IP address
for this type of traffic. (TCP traffic must be routed to config server, UDP traffic to nrd
server, and ICMP traffic to both evt server and lat server.)
6. There will be “Changes Pending” on all remotes. Apply the changes.

A.8 Configuring Database Backup and Restore

You must configure your NMS Servers and your Backup Server to ensure that your databases
are backed up automatically on a periodic basis and that your Backup Server is configured to
failover for your Distributed NMS. This includes changes to the crontab file on all four servers
as well as other redundancy procedures.
To configure your servers for database backup and restore and to prepare your system for
failover, please follow the DNMS procedures in the iDirect NMS Redundancy and Failover
technical note for your release, which is available for download on the TAC web page located
at http://tac.idirect.net.

A.9 Verifying Correct Operation

Now that you have completed the configuration steps, the cfgsvr, nrdsvr, evtsvr, cmsvr and
latsvr should all be running on the appropriate servers. To ensure proper operation, you must
verify that no service is running on more than one server. Enter the following command on
each server and verify that the correct services are running:
ps -ef | grep svr | grep -vi mysql | grep -vi logger
A list of running services displays.
If a service is running on a server that it should not be, use the following command to kill the
service:
killall service
where service represents the name of the service

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For example, if the evtsvr process is running on NMS 1, enter the following command to kill
the process:
killall evtsvr

A.10 Running the NAT Script

The iDirect NAT script translates private IP addresses to public IP address so that you can run
iBuilder and iMonitor from an external source. This section describes how to run the script for
iBuilder and iMonitor.
The steps for running the script for iBuilder are as follows:
1. On your PC or laptop, open Note Pad.
2. Copy the following lines into Note Pad:
@ECHO OFF
SET ENV_NRD_NMSAPI_IPADDR=x.x.x.x
Where x.x.x.x represents the IP address of NMS 2.
SET ENV_EVT_NMSAPI_IPADDR=x.x.x.x
Where x.x.x.x represents the IP address of NMS 3
SET ENV_LAT_NMSAPI_IPADDR=x.x.x.x
Where x.x.x.x represents the IP address of NMS 3
ibuilder.exe
3. Rename the Note Pad file to ibuilder.bat.
4. Save the file to the same directory where iBuilder is located.
The steps for running the script for iMonitor are as follows:
1. On your PC or laptop, open Note Pad.
2. Copy the following lines into Note Pad:
@ECHO OFF
SET ENV_NRD_NMSAPI_IPADDR=x.x.x.x
Where x.x.x.x represents the IP address of NMS 2
SET ENV_EVT_NMSAPI_IPADDR=x.x.x.x
Where x.x.x.x represents the IP address of NMS 3
SET ENV_LAT_NMSAPI_IPADDR=x.x.x.x
Where x.x.x.x represents the IP address of NMS 3
imonitor.exe
3. Rename the Note Pad file to iMonitor.bat.
4. Save the file to the same directory where iMonitor is located.

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A.11 Managing a Distributed NMS

Run all scripts to mange a Distributed NMS from the directory: /home/nms/utils/db_maint.
To verify the DNMS server configuration, including the server IP addresses, enter the following
mysql command on the primary NMS server. Sample output is show after the command.
# mysql -e"select * from ServerConfiguration" nms | grep MISCELLANEOUS
MISCELLANEOUS allow_ad_hoc 1
MISCELLANEOUS allow_fips 0
MISCELLANEOUS use_remote_active_flag 0
MISCELLANEOUS default_password iDirect
MISCELLANEOUS default_su_password P@55w0rd!
MISCELLANEOUS nms_server_ip
MISCELLANEOUS manage_tunnel_information 1
MISCELLANEOUS calculate_ppglobal_status 1
MISCELLANEOUS default_ppglobal_status Nominal
MISCELLANEOUS manage_remote_location 0
MISCELLANEOUS manage_remote_antenna 0
MISCELLANEOUS hub_sat_is_eth 1
MISCELLANEOUS manage_teleport_location 0
MISCELLANEOUS outroute_hub_has_rx_carrier 1
MISCELLANEOUS inroute_hub_has_tx_carrier 1
MISCELLANEOUS nms_cfg_server_ip 172.16.137.9
MISCELLANEOUS nms_nrd_server_ip 172.16.137.13
MISCELLANEOUS nms_evt_server_ip 172.16.137.14
MISCELLANEOUS nms_lat_server_ip 172.16.137.14
MISCELLANEOUS nms_ctl_server_ip 172.16.137.9
MISCELLANEOUS nms_cm_server_ip 172.16.137.9
MISCELLANEOUS nms_oss_server_ip 192.168.76.80
MISCELLANEOUS nms_sky_server_ip 172.16.137.9
The various forms of the NMS-configuration-client.pl command are shown here. It is unlikely
that you will need to use any command arguments when configuring your distributed NMS.
# ./NMS-configuration-client.pl –h
NMS-configuration-client.pl [-cd=NAME] [-ad=NAME]
[-udp=UDPPORT] [-bcast=BCASTADDRESS]
-cd : Change config database from [nms]
-ad : Change archive database from [nrd_archive]
-udp : Change default UDP port [70123]
-bcast: Change default bcast address[255.255.255.255]
-vvv : verbose mode level equals number or v(s)
-qos : reload service level QoS rules -- do not use it
-h : print help

The NMS-domain-commands.pl command stops, starts or restarts the NMS server processes
on all NMS machines. You can run the command on any of the server machines.
The various command forms are:
# ./NMS-domain-commands.pl -h

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Usage:
NMS-domain-commands.pl [-udp=UDPPORT] [-exec="<command> <server
name> <server name> ..."
-udp : Change default UDP port [70123]
<command> is <start | stop | restart | reload | status >
<server name> is <nmssvr | evtsvr | nrdsvr | latsvr | cntrlsvr |
snmpsvr | nms_monitor>
For example, the following two commands show the status of NMS server processes. The first
example shows the status of all processes. The second example shows the status of the
nms_monitor process.
./NMS-domain-commands.pl -exec="status"
./NMS-domain-commands.pl -exec="status nms_monitor"
The following commands start, stop and restart server processes. The first example starts all
processes. The second example stops all processes. The third example starts the evtsvr
process. The final example restarts the latsvr process.
./NMS-domain-commands.pl -exec="start"
./NMS-domain-commands.pl -exec="stop"
./NMS-domain-commands.pl -exec="start evtsvr"
./NMS-domain-commands.pl -exec="restart latsvr"
An example of the output for NMS-domain-commands.pl script is presented below:
# ./NMS-domain-commands.pl -exec="status"
ip = 172.16.137.13, servers: nrdsvr nms_monitor
ip = 172.16.137.9, servers: nmssvr revsvr snmpsvr mapsvr nms_monitor
cntrlsvr
ip = 172.16.137.14, servers: evtsvr nms_monitor latsvr
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Using configuration from MySQL NMS.ServerConfiguration table on
computer 127.0.0.1:
>>>>> 172.16.137.13:
nms_config (pid 28903) is running...
nrdsvr (pid 30734) is running...
cmsvr (pid 6373) is running...
nms_monitor (pid 30755) is running...
>>>>> 172.16.137.14:
nms_config (pid 6346) is running...
evtsvr (pid 18493) is running...
latsvr (pid 6917) is running...
nms_monitor (pid 6931) is running...
>>>>> 172.16.137.9:
nms_config (pid 2118) is running...
nmssvr is stopped
revsvr is stopped
snmpsvr is stopped
cntrlsvr is stopped
nms_monitor is stopped

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Appendix B Using the
iDirect CA Foundry

All hosts in an iDirect TRANSEC network must have X.509 public key certificates. Hosts include
NMS Servers, Protocol Processor blades, TRANSEC line cards, TRANSEC remotes, and GKD
Servers. Certificates are required to join an authenticated network. They serve to prevent
man-in-the-middle attacks and they add an additional safeguard against unauthorized
admission to the network. You can use the iDirect Certificate Authority (CA) utility (called the
CA Foundry) to issue the certificates for your TRANSEC network. For more information on the
iDirect TRANSEC feature, see the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.
This appendix contains the procedures required to issue and manage the X.509 certificates in
an iDirect TRANSEC network. It contains the following major sections:
• “Accessing the CA Foundry” on page 417
• “Creating a Certificate Authority” on page 419
• “Logging On to a Certificate Authority” on page 420
• “Connecting to a Host” on page 420
• “Bringing an Unauthorized Remote into a TRANSEC Network” on page 421
• “Certifying a Host” on page 423
• “Revoking a Remote’s Certificate” on page 424

Note: Time synchronization of server machines is essential for TRANSEC networks.

iDirect highly recommends that you use NTP to synchronize the time among all
NMS servers, Protocol Processor Blade servers and GKD servers in your
TRANSEC networks.

B.1 Accessing the CA Foundry

This section explains how to start the iDirect CA Foundry and how to use its operator
interface. The CA Foundry is copied to your NMS Server during the release installation or
upgrade procedure. Subsequent sections in this appendix explain the details of the specific CA
Foundry commands that you will need to certify your TRANSEC network.

Note: All certificates for a TRANSEC network must be generated by the same CA
foundry.

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Start the CA Foundry as follows:

1. Log on to the root account of your NMS Server.

Note: Beginning with iDX Release 2.1, by default you cannot use SSH to log on directly
to the root account of your NMS Server or Protocol Processor blade. You can use
SSH to log on to other accounts such as the idirect account. You can then enter
su - from the command line to log on as root.

Figure 378. Logging On to the NMS Server

2. At the command line prompt, enter the ca command to display the initial CA Foundry
menu shown in Figure 379. Once you have created a CA and logged on to it, more menu
choices will become available.

Figure 379. Initial CA Foundry Menu

3. Navigate in the CA Foundry as follows:

• For all menus (and sub-menus), use the arrow keys to change menu selections. The
current selection is indicated by the cursor.
• Press Enter to select any menu item.
• If you want to terminate a command without completing it, press the F5 key. This will
return control to the menu at the top of the window.
• To exit the CA Foundry and return to the Linux command prompt, select Exit from the
menu, or press the F5 key when the top-level menu is active.

Figure 380. Exiting the CA Foundry

For details on specific CA Foundry operations, see the remaining sections in this appendix.

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B.2 Creating a Certificate Authority

You should create a Certificate Authority (CA) to certify all hosts in your TRANSEC networks.
iDirect does not support a hierarchical “chain of trust” for CAs.
Follow these steps to create a new CA:
1. Start the CA Foundry according to the procedure in “Accessing the CA Foundry” on
page 417.
2. Using the arrow keys, select New CA from the top-level menu and press Enter.

Figure 381. Creating a New Certificate Authority

3. When prompted, enter the information for your new CA. A CA name and password are
required. The remaining entries are optional.

Figure 382. Configuring the New Certificate Authority

4. Press any key to continue. You will be automatically logged on to the new CA.

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B.3 Logging On to a Certificate Authority

Follow these steps to log on to an existing CA:
1. Start the CA Foundry according to the procedure in “Accessing the CA Foundry” on
page 417.
2. Using the arrow keys, select Open CA from the top-level menu and press Enter to display
a menu of available CAs.

Figure 383. Logging On to a Certificate Authority

3. Select the CA you want to open and press Enter.

4. Enter the CA’s password at the prompt.
You are now logged on to the CA. When you are logged on to a CA, a status bar is displayed at
the bottom of the window. The status bar displays the name of the CA you are logged on to,
the CA that signed this CA’s certificate, and, if you are connected to a host, the IP address of
the host.

Figure 384. CA Foundry Status Line

Note: Since chain-of-trust certification is not supported by iDirect, the CA certificate

should be displayed as Self-signed.

B.4 Connecting to a Host

Your CA must be connected to a host before you can perform any host operations. If desired,
you can first connect to the host by selecting Connect to Host from the CA Foundry’s Host
Operations menu and, once connected, select the specific host operation you want to
execute. Alternatively, you can simply select the host operation from the menu without
connecting first. If you are not connected to a host, the CA Foundry will prompt you for the
required host information and establish the connection before executing the operation.

Note: If you are certifying a new remote in a TRANSEC network, please see “Bringing
an Unauthorized Remote into a TRANSEC Network” on page 421. The remote
must have authentication disabled and it must be configured with the current
Network Acquisition Key before it can acquire the TRANSEC network.

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Follow these steps to connect to a host:

1. Start the CA Foundry and log on to a CA according to the procedure on page 420.
2. Use the arrow keys to select Host Operation from the top-level menu and press Enter.
3. Select Connect to Host from the Host Operation menu and press Enter.
4. When prompted, enter the following host information:
a. Enter the IP address of the host to which you want to connect.
b. Unless you are connecting to a GKD Server, accept the default port number by
pressing Return. To connect to a GKD Server, enter port number 45010.
c. Enter the admin password of the host.
Figure 385 shows an example of a successful attempt to connect to a host from a CA.

Figure 385. Certificate Authority Connected to a Host

B.5 Bringing an Unauthorized Remote into a TRANSEC

Network
In general, it is best to certify your TRANSEC remotes over a direct LAN connection at your
hub before commissioning them in your TRANSEC network. If you are converting an existing
network to TRANSEC, you should certify the existing remotes over the air before you enable
TRANSEC for the network to avoid the necessity of connecting to unauthorized hosts over the
TRANSEC link.
However, there may be times when you are required to issue certificates to uncertified
remotes over the air in an existing TRANSEC network. Therefore, iDirect provides a way for
you to disable authentication for a remote, allowing the uncertified remote to join the
TRANSEC network without checking its X.509 certificate. You can then certify the remote
using the CA Foundry. Once the remote is certified, you should immediately re-enable
authentication for the remote.
It is not possible to bring an unauthorized remote into a TRANSEC network without local
access to the remote for two reasons:
• The remote options file with the remote’s configuration for the TRANSEC network must be
transferred to on-site personnel for local download to the remote via iSite.
• After the options file is loaded, the current Network Acquisition Keys must be configured
on remote before the remote can acquire the TRANSEC network. This requires access to
the remote console.
Once the remote options file (with authentication disabled) and the ACC Keys are present on
the remote, the remote will be able to acquire the TRANSEC network. At that point, you can
use the CA Foundry to connect to your remote over the air and issue the X.509 certificate.

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Follow these steps to certify the remote in your TRANSEC network. This procedure assumes
that the remote has been configured in the TRANSEC network in iBuilder and that
Authentication has not yet been disabled on the GUI.
1. In iBuilder, right-click the remote in the network tree and select ModifyItem to display
the Information tab of the remote configuration dialog box.
2. Select the Disable Authentication check box.
3. When the warning message appears, click Yes to confirm the change.

Figure 386. Warning Message when Disabling Authentication

4. Click OK to save the change.

5. Right-click the remote in the network tree and select Apply ConfigurationReliable Hub
Side (TCP) to download the configuration change to the Protocol Processor.
6. Right-click the remote in the network tree and select RetrieveSaved Remote-Side
Configuration. Click the Save button in the Save As dialog box to save the remote options
file to disk.
7. Transfer the remote options file to on-site personnel outside of the iDirect network.

Note: As an alternative, you can wait and transfer the options file and the ACC Key to
the remote site at the same time. In either case, the options file must be
loaded onto the remote (Step 8) before the remote will accept the ACC Key
(Step 9).
8. Have the on-site personnel load the options file on the remote using iSite. The procedure
for downloading an options file using iSite is documented in the Installation and
Commissioning Guide for iDirect Satellite Routers.
9. Follow the procedure “Configuring the ACC Key on a Remote” on page 427 to retrieve the
current Network Acquisition Key from the hub and to configure it on the remote. Once the
remote has its ACC keys, it should acquire the TRANSEC network.
10. Use the CA Foundry to connect to the remote over the air and issue the X.509 certificate.
(See “Certifying a Host” on page 423 for details.)
11. Once the remote has its certificate, return to the remote configuration dialog box, clear
the Disable Authentication check box, and click OK.
12. Right-click the remote in the network tree and select Apply ConfigurationReliable
Both (TCP) to download the configuration change.

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B.6 Certifying a Host

All hosts in an iDirect TRANSEC network must have X.509 public key certificates. Hosts include
the following network elements:
• NMS Servers
• Protocol Processor blades
• TRANSEC line cards
• TRANSEC remotes
• GKD Servers

Note: After you issue a certificate to a Protocol Processor blade or a GKD server, you
must restart the iDirect service before it will take effect. After issuing the
certificate, log on to the root account of the blade or GKD server and enter the
command service idirect_hpb restart (blade) or service idirect_gkd
restart (GKD).
You can use the procedure in this section to certify a new host or to update the certificate on
an existing host. Your NMS Server must have IP connectivity to the host to issue a certificate.
Follow these steps to issue a certificate to a host.
1. Start the CA Foundry and log on to a CA according to the procedure on page 420.
2. Use the arrow keys to select Host Operation from the top-level menu and press Enter.
3. Select Flush Host from the menu and press Enter.

Figure 387. Flushing a Host

Note: Select Flush Host rather than Generate Host Key and Cert. The Flush Host
command performs all operations required to certify the host.
4. When prompted, enter the following host information:
a. Enter the number of days that you want the certificate to be valid. (The default is
3,650 days, or ten years.)
b. Enter the IP address of the host you want to certify.
c. If this is not a GKD Server, accept the default port number by pressing Return. If this is
a GKD Server, enter port number 45010.
d. Enter the password of the admin account of the host you want to certify.

Note: When certifying a TRANSEC line card, it is possible that the CA will time out
due to high CPU loading on the line card. If this happens, wait a few minutes
and execute the Flush Host command again.

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The CA Foundry will issue a new X.509 certificate to the host, signed by your CA. Sample
output is shown in Figure 388.

Figure 388. CA Foundry Issuing a New X.509 Certificate

B.7 Revoking a Remote’s Certificate

The procedure in this section describes how to revoke a remote’s X.509 certificate and force
the remote to exit the TRANSEC network. Updating the Dynamic Network Keys twice at the
end of the procedure forces the remote to leave the network, since certificates are validated
after each key update. Updating the Network Acquisition Keys twice ensures that the remote
can no longer decrypt the acquisition data.
Follow these steps to revoke a remote’s X.509 certificate:
1. Using iBuilder, right-click the remote in the Network Tree and select View
PropertiesItem.
2. Note the number in Derived ID field of the remote Information tab.

Figure 389. Determining the Derived ID in iBuilder

3. Start the CA Foundry and log on to a CA according to the procedure on page 420.

4. Use the arrow keys to select Maintenance from the top-level menu and press Enter.

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5. Select Show Issued Certs from the Maintenance menu and press Enter.

Figure 390. Determining Certificates Issued by a CA

6. In the Subject field of the command output, note the highest CA serial number that
matches the DID determined in Step 1. (In the case that the CA has multiple certificates
for a single remote, the one with the highest serial number is the certificate currently in
use.)

Figure 391. Listing of Issued Certificates

7. Select Revoke Certificate from the Maintenance menu and press Enter.
8. At the prompt, enter the serial number of the certificate to be revoked as determined in
Step 6 and press Enter. Sample output is shown in Figure 392.

Figure 392. Revoking a Certificate

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9. For each Protocol Process Blade in the remote’s network:

a. Select Update Chain of Trust from the Host Operation menu and press Enter.
Respond to the prompts as follows:
• Enter the IP address of the blade.
• Accept the default port number by pressing Return.
• For host password, enter the password of the blade’s admin account.
Sample results of this command are shown in Figure 393.

Figure 393. Updating the Chain of Trust

The updated blades will no longer allow the remote to enter the TRANSEC network.
10. If you want to ensure that the remote leaves the network immediately, you should force
two updates of the Dynamic Network Keys (DCC Keys). The procedure for updating the
DCC Keys is documented in “Updating the DCC Keys” on page 429.
11. If you want to ensure that the remote’s Network Acquisition Keys (ACC Keys) are no longer
valid, you should force two updates of the ACC Keys. The procedure for updating the ACC
Keys is documented in “Updating the ACC Keys” on page 431.

WARNING! Use great caution when updating the ACC Keys. Any remote that misses two
consecutive ACC Key updates will be stranded. A site visit is required to re-
configure the ACC keys on the remote.

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Appendix C Managing
TRANSEC Keys

This appendix contains procedures for managing TRANSEC keys. It includes the following
major sections:
• “Configuring the ACC Key on a Remote” on page 427
• “Updating the DCC Keys” on page 429
• “Changing the DCC Key Update Frequency” on page 430
• “Updating the ACC Keys” on page 431
• “Verifying the ACC Keys on an In-Network Remote” on page 432
• “Identifying the Blade that Distributes TRANSEC Keys” on page 434
• “Setting Up Global Key Distribution” on page 436
• “Additional GKD Procedures” on page 443

C.1 Configuring the ACC Key on a Remote

The current Network Acquisition Key (also called Acquisition Channel Ciphertext Key or ACC
Key) must be present on a remote before the remote can join a TRANSEC network. If the
remote does not have the current ACC key, it must be manually configured using a remote
console command.
The ACC Key must be manually configured on a remote under a number of circumstances. For
example:
• When commissioning a new remote in a TRANSEC network
• When moving an existing remote into a TRANSEC network
• When a remote in a TRANSEC network has missed two consecutive ACC Key updates
The current ACC Key must be determined at the hub and transferred to the remote modem.
The ACC Key is protected by a user-generated “passphrase” entered by the hub operator
when retrieving the key. The passphrase is required to update the key on the remote.
Transmitting the key and passphrase to the remote is done outside of the iDirect system. This
can be accomplished verbally (over a secure phone line) or through secure file transfer.

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Before the key can be entered on the remote, you must retrieve the current key from the
Protocol Processor blade responsible for key distribution. To determine the current ACC key:
1. Follow the steps in “Identifying the Blade that Distributes TRANSEC Keys” on page 434 to
determine the Protocol Processor blade responsible for transmitting the ACC Keys to this
remote’s network.
2. Log on to the idirect account of the blade identified in Step 1.
3. At the command line, enter the following command:
telnet localhost 13255
4. At the prompt, log on to the admin account.
5. Enter the following command:
csp enable
6. Enter the following command:
key_ctrl getGACCkey DID passphrase
where DID is the unique remote identifier and passphrase is a string of any length.

Note: A remote’s DID is displayed on the Remote Information tab in iBuilder. The
passphrase will be required to update the ACC key on the remote modem.
The Protocol Processor displays a string consisting of three lines (or “segments”). This
string represents the ACC Key. The key as represented by the string is encrypted using the
Password-Based Key Derivation Function (PBKDF2) described in PKCS #5 v2.1: Password-
Based Cryptography Standard from RSA laboratories.
Figure 394 shows sample output for the getGACCkey command.

Figure 394. getGACCkey Command Example

7. Securely transfer the three string segments to the personnel responsible for entering the
new key on the remote modem.
To update the ACC Key on the remote modem:
1. From the console port, log on to the root account of the remote.
2. Enter the command:
telnet localhost
3. At the Username prompt, log on to the admin account.

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4. At the command line prompt, enter the command:

csp enable
5. Enter the command:
keyroll_mgr setACCKey
6. At this point, you will be prompted for each of the three segments (lines) of the
encrypted key and the “passphrase” from Step 6 on page 428. Respond to each prompt
with the requested information. You can type uppercase Q to quit at any time.
7. When asked if you want to continue, enter:
Yes
You should see a message stating that the Network Acquisition Key has been updated. At
this point, if the TRANSEC network is up and the remote is certified, the remote should
acquire the outbound carrier.
8. Once the remote acquires the network, to check the status of the remote, enter the
remotestate command. Sample output is shown below.
remotestate
TX Power: -26.000000 dbm
TX Freq: 1115.000000 Mhz
FSD: 0
Assigned IGroup: 1
Assigned HDLC: 0xd
Assigned UID: 0x40 - 0x4e, 0x4f
TXer State: ON
RXer Lock: LOCKED
Modem State: In Network
Link Layer State: In Data Transfer
Transec: Up

Note: Step 8 assumes the remote already has its X.509 certificate for the TRANSEC
network. If not, the hub operator can now disable authentication for the
remote on the iBuilder Remote Information tab to allow the remote to join the
network the first time. Once it has acquired the network, the hub operator can
issue the certificate to the remote over the satellite link and then re-enable
authentication on the remote. See “Bringing an Unauthorized Remote into a
TRANSEC Network” on page 421 for details.

C.2 Updating the DCC Keys

This section describes the procedure for forcing updates of the Dynamic Network Keys (DCC
Keys) used for encryption of your TRANSEC network. Although keys are updated on a regular
basis, you may want to force Key updates (also called “key rolls”) after you have revoked a
remote’s X.509 certificate in order to force the remote to leave the network immediately.
Because of the specifics of iDirect’s key management protocol, you must update the DCC Keys

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twice to ensure that a remote no longer has a valid key. For details on the TRANSEC key
management protocol, see the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.
Follow these steps to update the DCC Keys in a TRANSEC network:
1. Follow the steps in “Identifying the Blade that Distributes TRANSEC Keys” on page 434 to
determine the Protocol Processor blade responsible for distributing the DCC Keys to this
remote’s network. Note your Network ID from this procedure.
2. Log on to the idirect account of the blade identified in Step 1.
3. At the command line, enter the following command:
telnet localhost 13255
4. At the prompt, log on to the admin account.
5. Enter the following command to enable security commands:
csp enable
6. Enter the following command to update the DCC Keys:
key_ctrl net <net id> update
where <net id> is the network ID determined in Step 1.
7. You can repeat the Step 6 to ensure that no unauthorized hosts have a valid DCC Key.

C.3 Changing the DCC Key Update Frequency

By default, DCC Keys are automatically updated every eight hours. You can change the
frequency of the DCC Key update for a TRANSEC network by following these steps in iBuilder:
1. Right-click your TRANSEC network in the iBuilder Tree and select ModifyItem.
2. Click the Custom tab.
3. Enter the following Custom Key:
[TRANSEC]
dyn_key_update_time_sec = <Seconds>
where <Seconds> is the new DCC Key update frequency in seconds.
4. Click OK to save your changes.
5. Right-click your network in the iBuilder Tree and select Apply ConfigurationNetwork to
download the changes.
The Custom Key in Figure 395 changes the DCC Key update frequency to four hours.

Figure 395. Changing the DCC Key Update Frequency

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C.4 Updating the ACC Keys

This section describes the procedure for forcing updates of the Network Acquisition Keys (ACC
Keys) used for encryption of acquisition data in your TRANSEC network. By default, ACC Keys
are automatically updated every 28 days. If you are updating the ACC Keys to ensure that they
are no longer present on a de-certified remote, you must update the ACC Keys twice.
For details on the TRANSEC key management protocol, see the iDirect Technical Reference
Guide.

WARNING! Use great caution when updating the ACC Keys. Any remote that misses two
consecutive ACC Key updates will be stranded. A site visit is required to re-
configure the ACC keys on the remote.

Note: Even if a valid ACC Key is present on a de-certified remote, the remote cannot
send or receive IP traffic if you have performed two DCC Key updates.
If you are using Local Mode (ACC Keys generated by the Protocol Processor blades), you must
execute the ACC Key update from the blade that is generating your ACC Keys. If you have one
or more GKDs configured for your TRANSEC network, you must execute the ACC Key update
from the Master GKD. (For more information, see “Setting Up Global Key Distribution” on
page 436.)
Follow these steps to update the ACC Keys in a TRANSEC network:
1. If using Local Mode:
a. Follow the steps in “Identifying the Blade that Distributes TRANSEC Keys” on page 434
to determine the Protocol Processor blade responsible for key distribution.
b. Log on to the idirect account of the blade.
c. At the command line, enter the following command:
telnet localhost 13255
d. At the prompt, log on to the admin account.
2. If you have one or more GKDs configured for your TRANSEC network:
a. Log on to the root account of the Master GKD Server.
b. At the command line, enter the command:
telnet 0 46002
c. At the Username prompt, log on to the admin account. (The default password is
iDirect.)
3. On the GKD or the Protocol Processor blade responsible for generating the ACC Keys,
enter the following command to enable security commands:
csp enable
4. If you are on a GKD Server, verify that this is the Master GKD by entering the command:
kd status
5. To update ACC Keys, enter the command:
kd keyroll update confirm

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Note: The ACC Key update may take several minutes to complete. Therefore, you
should wait at least an hour before executing the kd keyroll update
command a second time.
6. To ensure that no unauthorized hosts have a valid ACC Key, wait at least one hour and
repeat Step 5.

WARNING! Any remote that misses two consecutive ACC Key updates will be stranded. A
site visit is required to re-configure the ACC keys on the remote.

C.5 Verifying the ACC Keys on an In-Network Remote

This section contains a procedure to ensure that a TRANSEC remote’s ACC Keys are
synchronized with the ACC Keys on the Protocol Processor blade that distributes the keys to
the remote. The procedure assumes that the remote has acquired the network and is
operational.
1. Follow the steps in “Identifying the Blade that Distributes TRANSEC Keys” on page 434 to
determine the Protocol Processor blade responsible for transmitting the ACC Keys to this
remote’s network.
2. At this point, you should be connected to the admin account of the iDirect application on
the blade responsible for key distribution. If not, follow these steps:
a. Log on to the idirect account of the blade.
b. At the command line, enter the following command:
telnet localhost 13255
c. At the prompt, log on to the admin account.
3. Enter the following command:
CSP enable
4. Enter the following command:
key_mgr net <Network> acc key
where <Network> is the network number that you identified for your remote in Step 1.
Figure 396 shows sample output for the key_mgr command.

Figure 396. Viewing the ACC Key Data Structure on the Protocol Processor

5. Note the number of the active key. (The active key is Key 0 in Figure 396.)

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Note: If you have one or more GKDs configured for your network, it is possible that
the ACC Keys have been updated on the Master GKD but have not yet been
accepted by the Protocol Processor blade. You can enter the kd keyroll show
command on the Master GKD to ensure that the active key on the GKD matches
the active key on the Protocol Processor blade.
6. From the root account of the NMS server, enter the following command to open a secure
connection the remote.
ssh <ip address>
where <ip address> is the IP address of the remote.
7. When prompted, enter the remote’s admin password.
8. Enter the following telnet command and log on with Username admin and the remote’s
admin password:
telnet localhost
Step 6 through Step 8 are illustrated in Figure 397.

Figure 397. Creating a Secure Connection to a Remote Modem

9. Enter the following command:

csp enable
10. Enter the following command to view the current key data structures:
keyroll_mgr key
Figure 398 shows sample output of the keyroll_mgr key command.

Figure 398. Viewing the Key Roll Data Structure on a Remote Modem

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11. Compare the ACC Key output of the key_mgr command on the Protocol Processor (Step 4)
with the ACC Key output of the remote keyroll_mgr key command. The active key
numbers should be the same. In the example in Figure 399, the remote has successfully
received the latest ACC Keys. Therefore the number of the active key on the Protocol
Processor (on the left) is identical to the number of the active key on the remote (on the
right).

Figure 399. ACC Keys After Successful Key Update

If the ACC Keys were updated again and the remote had not yet received the new key, Key 1
would become the active key on the Protocol Processor but the remote active key would
remain the same. This is shown in Figure 400.

Figure 400. ACC Keys with Remote Not Updated

C.6 Identifying the Blade that Distributes TRANSEC

Keys
Several procedures in this appendix require that you determine the Protocol Processor blade
responsible for propagating the TRANSEC Keys to the remotes and line cards in a TRANSEC
Network. When multiple blades are present, any blade may be assigned this function for a
specific network.

Note: The blade responsible for sending the TRANSEC keys to a network is always the
same blade that is responsible for multicast traffic for that network.
You must know both the Protocol Processor ID and the Network ID to determine the Protocol
Processor blade responsible for propagating the keys to your network. Follow these steps to
determine the IDs:
1. In iBuilder, select Details from the View Menu.
2. Select Collapse Details Hierarchy from the View Menu
3. Click your Teleport in the iBuilder Tree
4. Click the Type column heading in the Details View to sort elements by Type.

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5. Scroll down until you find the IDs of both your network and your protocol processor. In
Figure 401, the Network ID for TRANSEC Network 1 is 9. The Protocol Processor ID for
TRANSEC Protocol Processor is 2.

Figure 401. Determining the Network ID and Protocol Processor ID in iBuilder

Once you have determined the Network ID and the Protocol Processor ID, you must identify
the Protocol Processor blade responsible for multicast traffic for your network. This is the
blade responsible for sending out the TRANSEC Keys.
Follow these steps to determine the blade that sends the TRANSEC Keys to your network:
1. Log on to the idirect account of your NMS server.
2. Enter the following command to connect to the pp_controller process for your protocol
processor.
telnet localhost <pp_controller port_number>
where <pp_controller port_number> is 15000 + the Protocol Processor ID. For the
example in Figure 401, you would enter the command telnet localhost 15002, since
the Protocol Processor ID is 2. if the Protocol Processor ID were 11, you would telnet to
port number 15011.
3. At the Username prompt, log on to the admin account of the Protocol Processor.
4. From the command line, enter the following command to determine the Tunnel Interface
IP Addresses of all blades responsible for multicast for this Protocol Processor:
blades query multicast
Sample output of this command is shown in Figure 402. In the figure, the Tunnel Interface
IP Address (eth1) of the multicast blade for Network ID 9 is 192.168.77.230.

Figure 402. Identifying the Multicast Blade for a Network

Note: This command returns the Tunnel Interface IP address of your blade, not the
Upstream Interface IP Address. You can view both IP Addresses on the Protocol
Processor Blade dialog box in iBuilder.

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C.7 Setting Up Global Key Distribution

Beginning with iDX Release 2.2, all TRANSEC remotes must have the latest Network
Acquisition Keys (or ACC Keys) to join a TRANSEC network. By default, for any TRANSEC
network, the ACC keys are generated and distributed by the Protocol Processor blade
responsible for multicast in that network. However, you should override this default behavior
by configuring one or more Global Key Distributors (GKDs) to generate and synchronize the
ACC Keys for your TRANSEC networks. A Linux server running the GKD application is called a
GKD Server.
Once you have set up a TRANSEC network, no additional steps are required to enable your
protocol processor blades to generate the ACC Keys. (See “Converting a Network to TRANSEC”
on page 393 for details on enabling TRANSEC.) This default configuration in which the
Protocol Processor blades generate the ACC Keys is called Local Mode. However, Local Mode is
not recommended due to the following limitations:
• In Local Mode, ACC Key management is not redundant across Protocol Processor blades.
Therefore, if the blade generating the ACC Keys for a TRANSEC network fails, the new
blade responsible for ACC Key generation on that network is not guaranteed to be
synchronized with the remotes. If the ACC Keys are not synchronized between the blade
and the remotes, remotes that lose the network cannot re-acquire until the new keys
have been manually configured on the remote. This requires local access to those
remotes. Configuring GKDs for your networks ensures that the ACC Keys are synchronized
across all blades that send the ACC Keys to your remotes.
• Remotes that use iDirect’s Automatic Beam Selection (ABS) feature must be able to move
from network to network as they travel across the globe. If an ABS remote in one network
attempted to acquire a new network with different ACC Keys, acquisition would fail.
Therefore, ACC Keys must be the same on any network that the remote is allowed to join.
Synchronizing the ACC Keys across TRANSEC networks using GKD Servers allows ABS
systems to meet this requirement.
This section explains how to configure your GKDs. By configuring multiple GKDs for your
TRANSEC networks, you can ensure redundant, synchronized management of ACC Keys across
your TRANSEC networks.
You can configure one or more GKDs to manage the ACC Keys in your TRANSEC networks. In
iBuilder, GKDs are configured per Protocol Processor. The same set of GKDs can be configured
for multiple Protocol Processors in the same NMS, or on multiple NMSs.

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A system with three GKDs and four Protocol Processor blades that propagate those keys is
shown in Figure 403.
Backup GKD Backup GKD

KeyDistributor KeyDistributor

Master GKD

KeySync KeySync

KeyDistributor

KeySync

PP Blade PP Blade

KeySync KeySync

PP Blade PP Blade

KeySync KeySync

Figure 403. Sample GKD Network

In any established network of GKDs, there is only one Master GKD. The Master GKD is
responsible for generating the ACC Keys for all Protocol Processors that have that GKD
configured under it in iBuilder. All other GKDs (called Backup GKDs) are responsible for
synchronizing their ACC Keys with the Master GKD.
Each GKD is configured with a unique priority. The highest-priority GKD is the “configured
Master” GKD. If the Master GKD fails, the highest-priority Backup GKD will become the
“promoted Master” GKD. When the configured Master GKD recovers, it will resume the
function of ACC Key generation and the promoted Master will return to the Backup role.
Similarly, if a backup GKD loses connectivity to the Master GKD and promotes itself to Master,
it will return to Backup status when connectivity to the configured Master GKD is restored.
A Protocol Processor blade responsible for sending out the ACC Keys to one or more networks
will attempt to synchronize its keys with the Master GKD. However, if the blade cannot
communicate with the Master GKD, it may synchronize with a Backup GKD. If the blade cannot
communicate with any GKD, new ACC Keys will not be generated for the network.

Note: In order to minimize the possibility that remotes will not have a valid ACC Key,
a Protocol Processor blade that has received a new ACC Key from a GKD will not
accept the next ACC Key for one hour. This one hour wait is not enforced if Key
Updates are performed manually using the kd keyroll update confirm
command.

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The following sections explain how to install and run one or more Global Key Distributors for
your TRANSEC networks.

C.7.1 Installing the GKD Server Software

The GKD Server software can reside on an existing NMS Server, Protocol Processor Blade
Server, or on a separate machine installed as an iDirect GKD Server. To install the GKD Server
software on a dedicated machine, you will need to burn and run an iDirect Kickstart CD and
select GKD Server at the installation prompt. For instructions, please see the Software
Installation Guide for New Hubs.
If you are configuring a GKD to run on an existing NMS or blade server, the GKD package should
already be installed on the server. To verify that the GKD package is installed on your target
machine, enter the following command from the root account of your server:
rpm -qa | grep gkd
Sample output of this command is shown in Figure 404.

Figure 404. Verifying that the GKD Package is Installed on a Server

C.7.2 Configuring GKDs in iBuilder

After you have verified that the GKD software is installed on your GKD Server, configure your
GKDs in iBuilder as follows:
1. Right-click your TRANSEC Protocol Processor in the iBuilder tree and select ModifyItem
from the menu.
2. In the Protocol Processor dialog box, click the GKD tab.

Figure 405. Protocol Processor GKD Tab

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3. Click the Add button to open the GKD dialog box.

Figure 406. GKD Dialog Box

4. In the GKD dialog box:
a. Enter the IP Address of your GKD Server.
b. Enter Port number 45001.
c. Enter a Priority for this GKD Server.

Note: When multiple GKDs are configured, the relative priorities of the GKDs
determine which active GKD will assume the roll of Master. The highest-
priority operational GKD serves as the Master GKD responsible for
generating the ACC Keys.
5. Click OK in the GKD dialog box.
6. Repeat Step 3 and Step 4 for each additional GKD you want to add for this Protocol
Processor.
7. Click OK in Protocol Processor dialog box to save the configuration.

Note: Wait until you have created the GKD options files and started the GKDs to
apply the changes to your Protocol Processor.

C.7.3 Creating a GKD Options File

You must create an options file for each GKD and copy the file to the GKD Server. Part of the
options file can be copied from the global options file for the Protocol Processor. The rest can
be created in any text editor. The procedure in this section demonstrates one way to create a
GKD options file. It assumes that you have already configured the GKDs in iBuilder, allowing
you to cut and paste from the saved configuration of the options file.

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The example uses a Protocol Processor configured in iBuilder with three GKDs. The options file
for the GKD with priority 30 is shown below.
[GKD_NODE_10]
connect_addr = INET;192.168.77.27;45001
priority = 10
[GKD_NODE_20]
connect_addr = INET;192.168.77.30;45001
priority = 20
[GKD_NODE_30]
connect_addr = INET;192.168.77.32;45001
priority = 30
[GKD_LOCAL_CFG]
priority = 30
Note the following regarding the sample GKD options file:
• The GKD_NODE definitions give the IP address and port number for all GKD Servers in the
GKD network as configured in iBuilder. In this case there are three GKD Servers. These
GKD_NODE definitions must be included in the GKD options file of each GKD.
• All priorities in the GKD options file must match the priorities configured for the GKD in
iBuilder. Priorities must be unique. No two GKD Nodes in an options file can have the same
priority.
• All GKD_NODE numbers must match the priorities configured in iBuilder. For example,
GKD_NODE_20 must have priority = 20.
• The GKD_LOCAL_CFG definition at the end of the options file identifies this GKD. Since
GKD_LOCAL_CFG priority is 30 in the example, this is the options file for the GKD running
on 192.168.77.32. The options file for GKD_NODE_20 would be identical to this options
file except that the final line defining the GKD_LOCAL_CFG would be priority = 20.
• Since it has the highest priority, GKD_NODE_30 is the Configured Master for this group of
GKDs. In other words, if all three GKDs are operational and connected, GKD_NODE_30 will
always assume the role of Master GKD.
Since you can create a GKD options file in any text editor, you do not have to follow the
procedure in this example. However, retrieving the options file for the Protocol Processor
allows you to cut and paste the GKD_NODE definitions into the GKD options files rather than
typing them by hand. The procedure assumes that the three GKDs in the sample options file
have been configured as shown in “Configuring GKDs in iBuilder” on page 438.
To create the GKD options file shown in the example above:
1. In the iBuilder tree, right-click the TRANSEC Protocol Processor with the configured GKD
and select RetrieveSaved Configuration.
2. Click the Save button. The options file will open in Notepad.

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3. Scroll down until you find the GKD_NODE definitions for the Protocol Processor.

Figure 407. Protocol Processor Options File with GKD Node Definitions

4. Delete everything from the options file except the GKD_NODE definitions.
5. Add the following to the end of the options file:
[GKD_LOCAL_CFG]
priority = <This Node’s Priority>
where <This Node’s Priority> is the priority of the GKD that will use this options
file.
6. Select FileSave As and save the file in the folder of your choice with the name of your
choice.
7. Using WinSCP (or any other method) transfer the file to the idirect account of the GKD
Server machine.
8. Log on to the root account of the GKD Server identified by GKD_LOCAL_CFG.
9. Move the GKD options file to /etc/idirect/gkd/gkd_opts.opt. For example:
mv /home/idirect/gkd_opts_30.opt /etc/idirect/gkd/gkd_opts.opt

Note: Each GKD options file must be named gkd_opts.opt and must be present in the
directory /etc/idirect/gkd on the GKD Server.
To create the options files for the other two GKDs in the example, you could make two
additional copies of this options file and change the GKD_LOCAL_CFG definitions to match
the priorities of the other two GKD Servers.

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C.7.4 Certifying and Starting the GKD Server

A GKD Server is an X.509 host. Therefore, you must issue an X.509 certificate to each GKD
Server. Unlike the other X.509 hosts in your TRANSEC networks, you must enter port 45010
when prompted for the port number. You cannot certify the GKD until you start the GKD
service on the GKD Server.
After you have created the GKD options file and copied it to the GKD Server, follow these
steps to certify the GKD Server:
1. Log on to the root account of the GKD Server.
2. Enter the following command to start the GKD application:
service idirect_gkd start
3. Follow the procedure in “Certifying a Host” on page 423 to issue an X.509 certificate to
the GKD.

Note: When certifying a GKD Server, you must enter port 45010 when prompted for
the port number. Do not use the default port number.
4. The GKD must be restarted after it receives its certificate. Enter the following command
to restart the GKD:
service idirect_gkd restart
5. To run the GKD service automatically at startup, enter the command:
chkconfig idirect_gkd on
6. Check the status of the GKD service by entering the command:
service idirect_gkd status
Two processes (gkd and gkd_monitor) should be running.

Figure 408. Checking the Status of the GKD Service

7. In iBuilder, right-click the Protocol Processor in the network tree and select Apply
Configuration to update the GKD configuration on the blades.

Note: If you add, modify or remove GKDs, you must update all GKD options files to
match the new configuration and restart the GKD service on all GKD Servers.
If this is the first time any GKD is being brought on line for this Protocol Processor, then when
you apply the changes to the Protocol Processor, the blade or blades that were responsible for
generating ACC Keys for your networks will no longer have that responsibility. Instead, they
will request the ACC Keys from the Master GKD and forward them to the network.
The blade will not accept more than one new ACC Key per hour (by default) from the GKD.
Therefore, a remote that is not in the network at the time that you bring the first GKD on line
should still be able to acquire for at least one hour. However, if that remote does not acquire
the network by the time the blade has synchronized both the current and next keys with the
GKD, it will be unable to acquire the network until its ACC Keys are manually updated. See
“Configuring the ACC Key on a Remote” on page 427.

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C.8 Additional GKD Procedures

This section contains additional procedures that you may require to manage and monitor your
GKDs.

C.8.1 Logging On to the GKD Console

To log on to the GKD Console:
1. Log on to the root account of the GKD Server.
2. At the command line, enter the command:
telnet localhost 46002
3. At the Username prompt, log on to the admin account.

Note: The default password is iDirect. You can change the password by following
the procedure in the next section.

C.8.2 Changing the GKD Console Password

As described in the previous section, you must log on to the GKD admin account to connect to
the GKD Console. The default password for the GKD admin account is iDirect. However, you
can change this password for any GKD by modifying the GKD options file.
The procedure in this section explains how to change the password to be the same as the
Admin Password configured for any Protocol Processor in iBuilder. If you want to set a
password that is different from the Protocol Processor’s password, change the Admin
Password in iBuilder and save the configuration; follow the procedure below; then return the
password in iBuilder to the original setting.
The Admin Password is configured in iBuilder on the Information tab of the Protocol
Processor as shown in Figure 409.

Figure 409. Admin Password of Protocol Processor

To change the password of the GKD admin account to the Admin Password of an iBuilder
Protocol Processor:
1. In the iBuilder tree, right-click the Protocol Processor and select RetrieveSaved
Configuration.
2. Click the Save button. The options file will open in Notepad.

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3. Scroll down until you find the [SECURITY] group.

Figure 410. Admin Password in Protocol Processor Options File

4. Copy the information highlighted in Figure 410 into the GKD options file. A sample GKD
options file is shown below.
[GKD_NODE_20]
connect_addr = INET;192.168.77.30;45001
priority = 20
[GKD_NODE_30]
connect_addr = INET;192.168.77.32;45001
priority = 30
[GKD_LOCAL_CFG]
priority = 20
[SECURITY]
admin_password =
$idi3$//kdd/$0bwUdQy2daA/d95g6/DC4KkVJ40091r0sdVSi0dqFy6lbSBO9zOiYA
qY8GtVYiCf08BricTpbNeF6C45UrNf03
5. Follow the procedure on page 441 to copy the GKD options file into the correct directory
on the GKD Server.
6. Restart the GKD service by entering the following command from the root account of the
GKD Server:
service idirect_gkd restart
7. Follow the procedure in “Logging On to the GKD Console” on page 443 to verify that the
password change was successful.

C.8.3 Determining the GKD Status

You can use the commands in this section to determine status of your GKDs.

Note: The kd (Key Distributor) and ks (Key Synchronizer) commands documented in

this section are also available from the admin account of the protocol
processor blades. Typically kd commands are relevant if this GKD or blade is
generating ACC Keys; ks commands are relevant if this GKD or blade is
receiving ACC Keys.
1. Log on to the GKD Console. (See “Logging On to the GKD Console” on page 443.)

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2. Enter the following command:

csp enable
3. Enter the kd status command to determine the Key Distributor status of this GKD,
including:
• The Node ID of this GKD. (The Node ID equals the priority of the GKD.)
• The Current State of this Key Distributor. (Master, Backup, Promoted Master, etc.)
• The number of clients (GKDs and blades) receiving keys from this GKD.
Figure 411 shows an example of the kd status command executed on both a Master GKD
(on the left) and on a Backup GKD (on the right).

Figure 411. kd status Command Examples

4. Enter the ks status command to determine the Key Synchronizer status of this GKD,
including:
• The Node ID of this GKD. (The Node ID equals the priority of the GKD.)
• The Current State of this Key Synchronizer.
• If the Key Synchronizer is connected, the IP Address of the GKD supplying the keys.
Figure 412 shows an example of the ks status command executed on both a Master GKD
(on the left) and on a Backup GKD (on the right).

Figure 412. ks status Command Examples

5. Enter the kd clients command to determine the IP Addresses of all clients receiving
ACC Keys from this GKD. Clients include both Backup GKDs and protocol processor blades
responsible for distributing the ACC Keys to the networks.
Figure 413 shows an example of the kd clients command executed on a Master GKD
with two clients.

Figure 413. kd clients Command Example

(REG) after the client IP address indicates that this client has registered with the GKD
Server. (UNREG) indicates that the client has not registered with the GKD Server. Only
registered clients will receive ACC Key updates. Under normal circumstances, clients will
always register with the GKD Server shortly after connecting and re-register periodically.

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C.8.4 Viewing and Changing the ACC Key Update Frequency

By default, the Master GKD updates the ACC Keys every 28 days. To display the time between
ACC Key updates:
1. Log on to the GKD Console. (See “Logging On to the GKD Console” on page 443.)
2. Enter the following command:
csp enable
3. To view the current ACC Key update frequency in seconds, enter:
kd params
Figure 414 shows an example of the kd params command executed on a Master GKD. In
the example, the ACC Key Update Frequency is 2419200 seconds which equals 28 days.

Figure 414. kd params Command Example

To change the ACC Key update frequency:

1. From the root account of the GKD Server, edit the GKD options file. The GKD options file
always has the following path and file name:
/etc/idirect/gkd/gkd_opts.opt
2. Add the new ACC Key update frequency to the options file as shown below.
[GKD_COMMON]
keyroll_frequency_sec = <Seconds>
where <Seconds> is the new time between ACC Key updates in seconds.
3. Save the changes and exit the editor.
4. Restart the GKD service by entering the following command:
service idirect_gkd restart

Note: Any parameter displayed by the kd params or ks params GKD console

commands can be modified by adding an entry under the [GKD_COMMON] group
of the options file.
The new ACC Key update frequency is not propagated to other GKDs. If a Backup GKD is
promoted to Master GKD, it will use its local setting unless you have also changed it in the
options file of the Backup GKD.

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C.8.5 Determining the Time of the Next ACC Key Update

To determine the time of the next scheduled ACC Key update:
1. Log on to the Master GKD Console. (See “Logging On to the GKD Console” on page 443.)
2. Enter the following command:
csp enable
3. To view the current ACC Key update frequency in seconds, enter:
kd keyroll next_update
Figure 414 shows an example of the kd keyroll next_update command executed on a
Master GKD.

Figure 415. kd keyroll next_update Command Example

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Appendix D Configuring
Networks for Automatic
Beam Selection
Beginning with iDS Release 7.0, iDirect remotes are no longer restricted to a single network.
Customers can define remotes that “roam” from network to network around the globe. These
roaming remotes are not constrained to a single location or limited to any geographic region.
Instead, by using the capabilities provided by the iDirect “Global NMS” feature, remote
terminals have true global IP access.
The decision of which network a particular remote joins is made by the remote. When joining
a new network, the remote must re-point its antenna to receive a new beam and tune to a
new outroute. Selection of the new beam can be performed manually (using remote modem
console commands) or automatically. This appendix documents the procedures you should
follow to enable the Automatic Beam Selection (ABS) feature for your mobile remotes. A
technical description of this feature is contained in the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.

Note: Evolution X1 remotes do not support Automatic Beam Selection.

This appendix contains the following major sections:
• “Configuring and Running the Map Server” on page 450
• “Configuring Remotes for Automatic Beam Selection” on page 453
• “Remote Custom Keys for Automatic Beam Selection” on page 458
• “Remote Console Commands” on page 462

Note: If you are using the iDirect TRANSEC feature for your ABS networks, you must
set up Global Key Distribution to ensure that the Network Acquisition Keys are
the same for all networks. A remote cannot roam from one TRANSEC network to
another unless these keys are the same. See “Setting Up Global Key
Distribution” on page 436 for details.

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D.1 Configuring and Running the Map Server

In an ABS system, a map server is responsible for managing the iDirect beam maps for the
remotes in its networks. The map server reads the beam maps and waits for map requests
from remote modems. In prior releases, when you started the iDirect NMS services on you NMS
server machine, the map server was automatically started with the other NMS processes.
Beginning with iDX Release 3.0, the map server is no longer an NMS process. Now, the map
server runs as a separate, stand-alone application.
The map server continues to be automatically installed on all NMS servers. It is also
automatically installed when you install or upgrade a GKD server. Please see the Network
Upgrade Procedure or Hub Software Installation Guide for more details on installing iDirect
servers.

D.1.1 The Map Server Configuration File

A map server requires a valid configuration file called map.conf. On an NMS or a GKD server
machine, this file is typically located in the directory /etc/idirect/map.
Figure 416 shows two versions of map.conf. The first is a typical map.conf file for beam maps
that use the Intelsat format for the conveyance beam map file. The second is a typical
map.conf file for beam maps that use the GXT format for the conveyance beam map
file.(Conveyance beam map files are discussed further in “Adding Beams to the Beam Map
File” on page 451.)

Figure 416. Two Versions of map.conf

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For most parameters in map.conf, the default settings are identical and can be left
unchanged for standard installations. However, note the following differences in Figure 416:
• For Intelsat format, conveyance_file should be set to curr.in and
conveyance_format should be set to intelsat.
• For GXT format, conveyance_file should be set to Beams and conveyance_format
should be set to gxt_dir.
If you were using the ABS feature before upgrading to this release, map.conf should already
exist on your NMS server machine. If you are setting up ABS for the first time, then you can
use the template file (/etc/idirect/map/map.conf.template) on your map server machine to
create map.conf. Copy the template file to map.conf and edit the file to comply with your
format if necessary.

D.1.2 Adding Beams to the Beam Map File

To determine the best beam for the current remote location, the modem relies on a beam
map file that is downloaded to the remote and stored on the modem. iDirect provides a utility
that converts the beam information supplied by your satellite provider into a beam map file
that can be used by the iDirect system. Adding a new beam requires a new conveyance beam
map file from your satellite provider that includes all beams. For a detailed discussion of this
topic, see the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.

Note: This procedure is valid only if your map server process is running on an iDirect
server such as the NMS server or GKD server. It is not valid for a local map
server process co-located with the remote modem.
You must execute the procedure in this section during the initial set up of the ABS feature for
your network. Re-execute the procedure any time you need to add a new beam to your beam
map file.

Note: When you add a new beam, the beam name used in the conveyance beam map
file must exactly match the name of the network configured for that beam in
iBuilder. For example, if a beam name in the conveyance file is Beam_10, then
the name configured in the iBuilder tree for the corresponding network must
also be Beam_10.
The satellite provider delivers conveyance beam map files to the customer in a pre-defined
format. This format is defined in a specification document agreed upon between the beam
provider and iDirect. iDirect provides each ABS customer with a software utility that converts
the conveyance beam map files into a format that is usable by the map server. Once the
conversion is complete and the map server must be restarted, the new beam becomes
available for the map server to send to remotes using ABS.
Follow these steps to convert a conveyance beam map file from your satellite provider into
the map server format and make it available for use in your networks.
1. Log on to the map server machine as root.
2. Change to the map server directory:
cd /etc/idirect/map

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3. If using the Intelsat format:

a. Copy the conveyance beam map file into the /etc/idirect/map directory using an
appropriate form of file transfer such as CD-ROM or WinSCP.
b. Enter the following command to copy the conveyance beam map file to the file name
curr.in:
cp <conveyance file name> curr.in
where <conveyance file name> is the name of the conveyance beam map file.
c. Run the newmap conversion utility by entering the following command at the
command line prompt:
newmap_intelsat
4. If using the GXT format:
a. If it does not exist, create the directory: /etc/idirect/map/Beams
a. Copy all conveyance beam map files into the /etc/idirect/map/Beams directory
using an appropriate form of file transfer such as CD-ROM or WinSCP.
b. Run the newmap conversion utility by entering the following command at the
command line prompt:
newmap_gxt
5. Wait until the conversion is complete.
6. If your map server is already running, restart the map server by entering the following
command:
service idirect_map restart

D.1.3 Running the Map Server

Once you have ensured that map.conf is correctly configured (“The Map Server Configuration
File” on page 450) and you have converted the beam information from your satellite provider
(“Adding Beams to the Beam Map File” on page 451), you can start the map server application
from the root account.
Commands for starting, restarting, stopping, and checking the status of the map server are:
service idirect_map start
service idirect_map restart
service idirect_map stop
service idirect_map status

Note: To configure the idirect_map service to start automatically at boot time, run
the following command as the root user: chkconfig idirect_map on

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D.2 Configuring Remotes for Automatic Beam

Selection
In order to use iDirect’s Automatic Beam Selection (ABS) feature, you must install and
configure your remotes to use one of the supported antennas. The following antennas are
supported:
• Orbit-Marine AL-7104
• Schlumberger Spacetrack 4000
• SeaTel DAC-97 (Also supports the DAC-03, DAC-2200, and DAC-2202)
In addition to the antennas listed above, iDirect supports the OpenAMIP protocol as defined in
the document titled Open Antenna — Modem Interface Protocol (AMIP) Specification. This
section explains how to configure your ABS networks for any of the supported antennas or for
use with OpenAMIP.

D.2.1 Configuring an Antenna Reflector for ABS

When you configure your remote in iBuilder, you must select an Antenna Reflector for a
controllable antenna on the Remote VSAT tab as described in “Configuring a Remote for ABS”
on page 455. The reflector that you select must be configured to use a supported Antenna
Controller. Reflectors for all supported controllable antennas are pre-defined in the iBuilder
database. You can also create your own controllable antenna reflector by checking
Controllable in the Reflector dialog box and, and then selecting the Controller Type that is
compatible with your antenna.
Figure 417 shows an antenna reflector definition for an antenna controlled by the OpenAMIP
protocol. Notice in the figure that Controllable is selected, along with the OpenAMIP
Controller Type, indicating that the antenna can be controlled by the modem using
OpenAMIP.

Figure 417. OpenAMIP Reflector Definition

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Follow these steps to modify one of the pre-configured ABS antenna definitions:
1. In iBuilder, right-click the reflector in the Remote Antenna ComponentsReflector
folder and select ModifyItem to open the Reflector dialog box (Figure 417).
2. Enter the Size of the Reflector in meters.
3. Enter the Offset Angle in degrees.
4. Select Controllable.
5. Select the Controller Type for your antenna.
6. On the right-hand side of the dialog box (Figure 417) you can define multiple Elevation /
Gain pairs, each of which represents the variation in antenna gain for a specific satellite
elevation. You can enter as many as 91 values, one for each degree between zero and 90,
inclusive.
During beam acquisition, iDirect uses these data points to interpolate the gain variation
for the elevation at the remote’s current location. This gain variation is used in the
calculation of initial transmit power. (See the iDirect Technical Reference Guide for
details on how the initial transmit power is calculated.)

Note: Elevation / Gain pairs are only applicable to flat plate antennas with
multiple plates. If you are not configuring an applicable antenna, leave this
area blank. If you are configuring an applicable antenna, please contact your
antenna manufacturer for the correct data.

Note: If you are entering Elevation / Gain pairs, then you must enter values for
both 0o and 90o. If these two values are not included, some gain variations
will be undefined.
For each Elevation / Gain pair you want to add:
a. Click the Add button to open the Gain dialog box.

Figure 418. Gain Dialog Box

b. Enter the Elevation in whole degrees.

c. Enter the Gain, in dB, associated with the Elevation.
d. Click OK to save your changes.

Note: You can modify or remove an existing Elevation / Gain pair by selecting the
entry and clicking the Edit or Delete button. (See Figure 417.)
7. When you have finished configuring your Reflector, click OK to save your changes.

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D.2.2 Configuring a Remote for ABS

This section describes the ABS-specific fields on the Remote VSAT screen. In addition, ensure
that the mobile parameters for your correctly configured for your ABS remote as described in
“Remote Geo Location Tab” on page 175.
Follow these steps to configure your remote for Automatic Beam Selection:
1. In iBuilder, right-click the remote and select ModifyItem.
2. When the remote’s Modify Configuration dialog box is displayed, click the VSAT tab
(Figure 419).

Figure 419. Remote VSAT Tab Default Fields

3. In the Remote Antenna section of the dialog box, enter the antenna components for your
antenna. (See “Remote VSAT Tab” on page 177 for details on configuring the fields shown
in Figure 419.)
4. To enable ABS for this remote, select one of the following for the Reflector, as shown in
figure Figure 420.
• OpenAMIP. (An open antenna controller protocol developed by iDirect.)
• DAC-97. (Used for any supported SeaTel DAC antenna controller: DAC-97 DAC-03,
DAC-2200, or DAC-2202)
• Spacetrack 4000 for Schlumberger Spacetrack 4000
• AL-7104 for the Orbit-Marine AL-7104

Figure 420. Selecting a Remote Reflector for ABS

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When you select a Reflector that supports ABS, additional configuration fields appear in the
Remote Antenna section of the remote VSAT tab. Many of these fields apply to all ABS
antennas. Other fields apply only to specific antenna types or to antennas controlled by the
OpenAMIP protocol. The two right-hand columns in Figure 421 show the fields that apply to all
ABS antennas. Additional fields appear on the bottom right of the screen when you select the
DAC-97, Al-7104 or OpenAMIP. Those additional fields are discussed later in this section.

Figure 421. Remote Antenna Settings with General ABS Fields

Note: You will not see the ABS-specific fields on the right-hand side of this screen
until you have selected a controllable Reflector.
To configure the ABS-specific fields for the remote antenna:
1. Enter the IP address (Antenna Address) and port number (Antenna Port) of the antenna
on the remote LAN. This addressing is required for the remote modem to communicate
with the antenna controller.
2. In Hunt Frequency, enter the L-Band hunt frequency to be programmed into the antenna
controller. This frequency may be different for different instances of your roaming
remote, depending on the beam in which that remote instance is defined.

Note: Noise Reference Frequency is currently not used.

3. In Rx Polarization, select the polarization of the remote’s receive carrier.
4. In Tx Polarization, select the polarization of the remote’s transmit carrier.
5. Enter a value for Connect Timeout. This is the number of seconds the remote modem
waits to reconnect to the antenna controller if the connection is lost. The default timeout
is 30 seconds.
6. Enter the Init Tx Power Offset determined at commissioning for this remote.
The Init Tx Power Offset is used to adjust the transmit power of the remote during beam
acquisition based the EIRP budgeted for the link at the current location as received from
the beam map. The console command used to determine this value during commissioning
is described on page 466. For information on how this value is used during operation, see
the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.

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Figure 422 shows the additional fields that appear on the VSAT tab if you select OpenAMIP,
DAC-97 or AL-7104 as your antenna.

Figure 422. OpenAMIP, SeaTel and Orbit SBC Antenna Parameters

7. If you select a reflector configured to use the OpenAMIP controller type, the OpenAMIP
parameters shown on the left of Figure 422 appear on the VSAT tab. To configure these
parameters:
a. In Tx Frequency, enter the center frequency of your transmit carrier.
b. In Tx Bandwidth, enter the width of you transmit carrier.
c. In Hunt Bandwidth, enter the width of the Hunt Frequency.
d. In Tx Local Oscillator, enter the frequency of your transmit local oscillator. This
should match the Frequency Translation field configured for the remote’s BUC.
e. In Rx Local Oscillator, enter the frequency of your receive local oscillator. This should
match the Frequency Translation field configured for the remote’s LNB.
8. The SeaTel DAC controller type should be used for any of the four SeaTel antenna
controllers supported by the ABS feature. If you select a reflector configured to use the
SeaTel DAC controller type (such as DAC-97), the SeaTel parameters shown in the center
of Figure 422 appear on the VSAT tab. To configure these parameters:
a. Select the LNB Voltage. This is the nominal voltage being supplied by external
equipment to the LNB. You can select either 13V or 18V. The default value is 18V.
b. Select 22 KHz Tone to tell the antenna controller to enable the 22 KHz tone to the
LNB.
c. DAC 97 distinguishes a SeaTel DAC-97 from the other supported SeaTel DAC variants
(DAC-03, DAC-2200, or DAC-2202). Select this check box only if using a DAC 97
antenna controller.
d. Enter the NID. This is the Network ID of the DVB carrier specified by the Hunt
Frequency and Hunt Polarity.
e. Enter a value for DVB_FEC. This is the FEC rate of the DVB carrier specified by the
Hunt Frequency and Hunt Polarity.
9. If you select a reflector configured to use the Orbit SBC controller type (such as AL-7104),
the Orbit SBC parameters shown on the right of Figure 422 appear on the VSAT tab. To
configure these parameters:
a. Select the LNB Voltage. This is the nominal voltage being supplied by external
equipment to the LNB. You can select either 13V or 18V. The default value is 18V.
b. Select 22 KHz Tone to tell the antenna controller to enable the 22 KHz tone to the
LNB.

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D.2.3 Changing the Minimum Look Angle

You are no longer required to define a custom key to change the minimum look angle for a
mobile remote. Instead, you can change the default minimum look angle used for all remote
antennas associated with a satellite on the Spacecraft dialog box. You can override this
setting for specific remotes on the Remote Geo Location Tab. See “Adding a Spacecraft” on
page 69 and “Remote Geo Location Tab” on page 175 for details.
If, for previous releases of the ABS feature, you have defined the remote-side min_look_angle
custom key for any remotes in your network, you should delete each custom key and override
the setting on the Remote Geo Location tab instead. This will prevent the custom key from
inadvertently overwriting your intended setting if you change the minimum look angle on the
Geo Location tab in the future.

D.3 Remote Custom Keys for Automatic Beam

Selection
There are a number of custom keys that you can define to control the behavior of your
remotes during Automatic Beam Selection. All the custom keys discussed here must be
configured in the Remote-side Configuration area of the remote Custom tab.

Note: In addition, for high-speed (greater than 150 mph) applications, a number of
custom keys and iBuilder settings should be set for your networks and remotes.
See “High-Speed COTM Custom Keys and Optimizations” on page 469 for
details.

Note: Custom keys in the [BEAMS_LOCAL] group only apply to the remote instances
on which they are defined. If you want a custom key in the [BEAMS_LOCAL]
group to apply to all instances of a remote, then you must add the custom key
to the remote in each of the remote’s networks. See “Configuring the Network
Acquisition Timers” on page 459 and “Changing the Download Timeout” on
page 460.
The general steps for configuring the custom keys defined in this section are:
1. In iBuilder, right-click the remote and select ModifyItem.
2. Click the Custom tab.
3. In the Remote-side Configuration section of the screen, configure the custom key. (See
the subsections below for definitions.)
4. Click OK to save your changes.

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5. Right-click the remote in the remote’s current network in the iBuilder tree and select
Apply ConfigurationReliable Remote-Side (TCP).

The example in this figure changes the remote’s net_state_timeout (discussed below) to six
minutes. The same general steps can be used to define any of the custom keys described in
the remainder of this section.

Figure 423. Changing a Remote’s net_state_timeout

D.3.1 Configuring the Network Acquisition Timers

The following custom keys determine how a remote behaves when it attempts, but fails, to
join a network:

Table 11. Net State Timer Custom Keys

Custom Key Name Default Value Meaning

net_state_timeout
net_state_timeout_increment
net_state_timeout_max
300 seconds Time the remote waits between attempts to switch
(5 minutes) if the remote fails to join the new network.
300 seconds Time added to current value for net_state_timeout
(5 minutes) each time the remote fails to join the network.
3600 seconds The highest value net_state_timeout is allowed to
(60 minutes) reach when increments are added.

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These timers work together as follows:

• After the first failure, the remote waits net_state_timeout before it again attempts to
join the network.
• After each subsequent failure, the remote adds net_state_timeout_increment to the
current value of net_state_timeout, successively increasing the wait time before each
new attempt.
• If net_state_timeout reaches net_state_timeout_max, the remote will not further
increase net_state_timeout.
• Once the remote successfully joins a network, the remote resets net_state_timeout to its
configured value.
To configure a net_state timer, enter a remote-side custom key of the form:
[BEAMS_LOCAL]
<custom key> = <timeout>
where <custom key> is one of the custom key names in Table 11 and <timeout> is the
value of the timer, in seconds.

Note: Custom keys in the [BEAMS_LOCAL] group only apply to the remote instances
on which they are defined.

D.3.2 Changing the Download Timeout

The remote-side custom key download_timeout determines how long a remote will wait to
switch beams if an image download is in progress. The remote will not attempt to switch
unless one of the following conditions is true:
• The image download completes, or
• The download_timeout expires
The default value for download_timeout is 900 seconds (15 minutes).
To change the download timeout, enter a remote-side custom key of the form:
[BEAMS_LOCAL]
download_timeout = <timeout>
where <timeout> is the value of the download timeout, in seconds.

Note: Custom keys in the [BEAMS_LOCAL] group only apply to the remote instances
on which they are defined.

D.3.3 Muting a Remote’s Transmitter when Mapless

By default, all remote model types except the Evolution eP100 continue to transmit even if
the remote does not have a beam map that covers its current location. The default behavior
of an eP100 remote is the opposite: in the absence of a current map, an eP100 remote mutes
its transmitter by default.

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To change this default behavior for any remote, enter a remote-side custom key of the form:
[BEAMS_LOCAL]
mapless_mute = <value>
where a <value> of 1 tells the remote to stop transmitting when running without a
beam map. A <value> of 0 tells the remote to continue to transmit when running
without a beam map.

Note: Custom keys in the [BEAMS_LOCAL] group only apply to the remote instances
on which they are defined.

D.3.4 Changing the Time a Beam is Considered Unusable

A network (or beam) is considered unusable by a remote if an attempt to use it fails. By
default, a beam is considered unusable for a period of 60 minutes after the failure, or until all
visible beams are unusable. If the selected beam is unusable, the remote attempts to use
another beam, provided one or more usable beams are available.
You can change the length of time that a remote considers a beam to be unusable by entering
a remote-side custom key of the form:
[BEAMS_LOCAL]
beam_unuse_timeout = <timeout>
where <timeout> is the length of time after a failed attempt to use a beam that the
beam is considered unusable, in minutes.
To ensure that all beams get at least one chance to be acquired in a fair, round-robin order,
keep the value of the beam_unuse_timeout custom key set to 60 minutes or greater. With
incremental beam switch timeouts or a large number of beams, this value should be increased
above 60.

Note: Do not configure this value to be less than the hysteresis used in the beam map.

D.3.5 Changing the GPS Interval

The remote-side custom key latlong_interval determines the interval between GPS updates
sent from the antenna controller to the remote modem. The default value for latlong_interval
is 300 seconds.
To change the latlong interval, enter a remote-side custom key of the form:
[MOBILE]
latlong_interval = <seconds>
where <seconds> is the value of the latlong interval, in seconds.

D.3.6 Enabling or Disabling the Receive-Only Mode Feature

By default, the receive-only mode feature is enabled for remotes in an ABS network. When
this feature is enabled, remotes are placed in receive-only mode automatically (based on
data read from the beam map) or through assertion of a hardware mute signal on the
Evolution eP100 remote modem. A remote that has been placed in receive-only mode
considers itself “in network” if it is locked to the downstream carrier. A remote in receive-

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only mode does not transmit, but it does receive and forward multicast traffic. For more
information on receive-only mode, see the iDirect Technical Reference Guide.
To disable or enable the receive-only mode feature on a remote, enter a remote-side custom
key of the form:
[BEAMS_LOCAL]
rxonly_enabled = <feature state>
where a value of 0 for <feature state> disables the receive-only mode feature and a value
of 1 for <feature state> enables the receive-only mode feature. Remotes configured with
rxonly_enabled = 0 will not enter receive-only mode, regardless of the EIRP value
received from the map or the state of the hardware mute signal.

Note: If you have entered a custom key of 0 to disable this feature on a remote, you
can re-enable the feature either by setting the custom key to 1 or by deleting
the custom key.

Note: Custom keys in the [BEAMS_LOCAL] group only apply to the remote instances
on which they are defined.

D.3.7 Enabling a Local Map Server on a Remote Modem

To use receive-only mode for a remote you must run the map server on a local processor
connected to the remote modem on the LAN side. To run the map server locally, you must
override the map server IP address in the remote options file with the IP address of the local
map server.
For each remote running a local map server, enter the following remote-side custom key to
define the local IP address of the map server process:
[MAPSERVER_0]
hostname = <Ip Address>
port = <port number>
where <Ip Address> and <port number> are the local IP address and port number of the
local map server process.

WARNING! You must apply this custom key to all instances of the remote.

For information on configuring and using a local map server, contact the iDirect TAC at (703)
648-8151.

D.4 Remote Console Commands

You can use the remote console commands described in this section to observe ABS operation
on individual remotes. Two of the commands (tlev and latlong) are applicable to all
iDirect remote modems. The remaining commands (beamselector, antenna debug, and
beam debug, map debug, map show, and map delete) are specific to the ABS feature.

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D.4.1 latlong
The latlong command displays the current latitude and longitude of the remote. It also
displays the word muted if the current satellite is below the configured minimum look angle.
The precision of the values returned by the latlong command is greater than or equal to the
precision of the values returned to the remote by the antenna controller. (By contrast, the
precision sent to the NMS is in hundredths of a degree to maintain backward compatibility
with the location event format.) The latlong command is convenient when you do not want
to wait for the next location event, since the location event interval is set to five minutes by
default.
Syntax:
latlong
Example:
Figure 424 shows an example of the latlong command.

Figure 424. latlong Command Example

D.4.2 tlev
The tlev command sets or reads the system's global trace level.
Although there are seven trace levels, level 4 is the highest level that can be used effectively
under normal operations. At level 4, the various ABS state machines trace all state
transitions. Each time an event occurs, the name of the state machine, the current state, and
the name of the event are displayed on the screen. This provides the analyst with a clear view
of the sequence of events occurring in the software.
Syntax:
tlev Reads the trace level
tlev 0 Sets the trace level to normal, tracing critical events only.
tlev 4 Sets the trace level to the highest trace level that is practical during normal
operations
tlev 7 Sets the trace level too high to be usable during normal operations

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Example:
Figure 425 shows an example of the tlev command. The command in the example sets the
trace level to 4.

Figure 425. tlev Command Example

D.4.3 antenna debug

The antenna debug command sets the trace level for the antenna client subsystem,
including the state machines. There are four different sets of traces, each with seven
different levels. In practice, except for rare debugging situations in the lab, antenna debug
should be used to either enable or disable all antenna traces.
Among other things, the antenna tracing displays all commands to the antenna and all
responses received from the antenna. These commands and responses can be understood by
reading the antenna controller documentation.

Note: The antenna debug command works for all types of antennas supported by
ABS. However, the tracing for each antenna type differs dramatically because
the controller interface for each antenna type is unique.
Syntax:
antenna debug 7 7 7 7 Enables all antenna traces
antenna debug 0 0 0 0 Disables all antenna traces
Spaces are required between digits when setting the trace level.

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Example:
Figure 426 shows the trace output after the antenna debug command has been issued to
enable all antenna tracing.

Figure 426. antenna debug Command Example

D.4.4 beam debug

The beam debug command sets the trace level for the remote’s beam switch module only.
There are seven different trace levels.
Syntax:
beam debug 7 Enables all beam switch module traces
beam debug 0 Disables all beam switch module traces

D.4.5 beamselector
Depending on the command line argument, the beamselector command can be used for any
of the following purposes:
• To list the set of beams available to the remote
• To switch the remote from its current beam to a new beam
• To lock the remote to a specific beam during remote commissioning
• To determine the initial Tx power offset during remote commissioning
• To determine the current Tx power as read from the beam map
• To set the trace level of the beam switch module

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When using the list argument, the command displays the beam number and the beam name
for each beam in the current set of beams available in the options file. It also indicates which
beam is currently selected and which, if any, of these available beams are unknown to the
map server that provided the current map. A beam that is in the options file but unknown to
the current map server is listed as “not in map.”

Note: “Not in map” indicates that the modem does not have a map from a map server
that knows about the beam. In other words, the name of the beam in the
options file does not match the name of any beam in the map being sent to the
modem by the map server.
When using the switch argument, the beamselector command allows the operator to
initiate a beam switch. For example, the command beamselector switch 5 commands
the modem to switch from its current beam to beam 5. Once the command is issued, the
remote will reset and attempt to use the new beam. The beam numbers may be determined
by issuing a beamselector list command.
This form of the command will not permit you to switch to a beam unless that beam is both in
the map and in the current options file. If you are sure you want to switch to a beam that is
unknown or that is not in the map, you must use the -f (or “force”) option.
Syntax:
beamselector list Displays all beams available to this remote as defined in the
remote options file.
beamselector switch <beam number> Switches the remote to the beam indicated
by beam number.
beamselector switch <beam number> -f Forces the remote to switch to the beam
indicated by beam number, even if that beam is not in the map.

WARNING! Executing the beamselector switch command is a service-affecting

operation.

beamselector lock <beam number> Used during commissioning to prevent the

modem from attempting to switch beams every net_state_timeout when not
locked. (See “Configuring the Network Acquisition Timers” on page 459.) The modem
must be restarted after commissioning to return to normal operation.
beamselector txpower offset <initial Tx power> Used during commissioning
to determine the value to be entered for Init Tx Power Offset on the Remote VSAT
tab. (See “Configuring a Remote for ABS” on page 455.)
beamselector txpower gain Displays the tx power value for the remote’s current
location as read from the beam map.

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Example:

Figure 427 shows the results of the beamselector list command. The remote has four
beams configured in its options file. Beam 2 is the current beam.

Note: The beam names displayed by this command are identical to the beam names in
the conveyance beam map file supplied by the satellite provider, as well as to
the corresponding network names configured in iBuilder.

Figure 427. beamselector list Command Example

Figure 428 shows the results of the beamselector switch command.

Figure 428. beamselector switch Command Example

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D.4.6 map debug

The map debug command sets the trace level for the remote’s map handling module only.
There are seven different trace levels.
Syntax:
map debug 7 Enables all beam switch module traces
map debug 0 Disables all beam switch module traces

D.4.7 map show

The map show command displays the header of the maplet currently residing on the remote.
Syntax:
map show Displays the current maplet header

D.4.8 map delete

The map delete command deletes the maplet currently residing on the remote. remote.
Syntax:
map delete Deletes the current maplet

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Appendix E High-Speed
COTM Custom Keys and
Optimizations
This appendix contains recommended custom keys and iBuilder settings for high-speed mobile
remotes using iDirect’s Communications On The Move (COTM) feature. Most of the material in
this appendix is only applicable to mobile remotes that attain speeds in excess of 150 mph.
However, some settings for SCPC return channels (starting on page 475) are also applicable to
other mobile remote types.
High-Speed COTM is a licensed feature that allows mobile remotes to travel at speeds up to
700 mph. This feature is only available for the following remote model types: Evolution
eP100, Evolution e8350, and iConnex e800/e850mp. For information on requesting and
installing iDirect licenses, see the iDirect Features and Chassis Licensing Guide. For details on
importing licenses into iBuilder, see “Managing NMS Licenses” on page 57.

Note: If a remote without a high-speed COTM license exceeds 150 mph, all user
traffic to the remote is stopped.
Some settings only apply to mobile remotes in TDMA networks (TDMA remotes) while some
settings only apply to mobile remotes that transmit SCPC return channels (SCPC remotes).
The applicable type of remote is noted in each description.

Note: An Evolution eP100 remote cannot transmit an SCPC return channel.

Note: For Evolution eP100 remotes, many of the custom keys documented in this
appendix are configured for the high-speed setting by default. The default
settings are noted in the descriptions of the custom keys.

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E.1 Mobile Remote Type

Applicable to: High-speed TDMA and SCPC remotes
Two mobile remote types are supported in this release and can be selected by defining the
mobile_remote_type custom key in the Remote-side Configuration area of the Remote
Custom tab.
The supported values for this custom key are:
• 0: Used for all mobile remotes except high-speed mobile remotes
• 4: Used for high-speed mobile remotes.
Default settings:
• 4: Evolution eP100 remotes
• 0: All other remote model types
mobile_remote_type should be set to 4 for all high-speed mobile remotes. To change this
value, configure the following custom key in the Remote-side Configuration area of the
Remote Custom tab:
[OPTIONS_FILE]
mobile_remote_type = <Remote Type>
Where <remote type> is one of the above values.

E.2 UCP Interval

Applicable to: High-speed TDMA and SCPC remotes
For high-speed remotes, the UCP Interval should be set to five seconds.
Default settings:
• 5 seconds for Evolution eP100 remotes
• 20 seconds for other remote model types
If ucp_update_rate is not set to five seconds, you can change the setting by configuring the
following custom key in the Hub-side Configuration area of the Remote Custom tab:
[REMOTE_DEFINITION]
ucp_update_rate = 5

E.3 Downstream Acquisition Range

Applicable to: High-speed TDMA and SCPC remotes
For a high-speed remote, you should set the Stability of the remote antenna LNB to be wider
than the stability of the LNB for stationary remotes. Increase the value as follows:
• 5 kHz wider for C Band
• 9 kHz wider for X Band
• 15 kHz wider for Ku Band
• 25 kHz wider for Ka Band

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To modify this value:

1. Navigate to the folder: ComponentsRemote Antenna ComponentsLNB in the
iBuilder tree.
2. Right-click the LNB for your remote and select ModifyItem.
3. Update the Stability field as required.
4. Click OK.
5. Apply the changes to your COTM remotes.

E.4 Lost Contact Count and Out-of-Network Count

Applicable to: High-speed TDMA and SCPC remotes
If the NMS does not receive any messages from a remote for the number of seconds defined by
ucp_lost_contact_count, then the NMS issues a warning that the remote has lost contact
with the hub. If the NMS does not receive any messages from a remote for the number of
seconds defined by ucp_out_of_network_count, then the remote is taken out of the
network, forcing the remote to re-acquire.
Default settings:
• ucp_lost_contact_count: 20 seconds for Evolution eP100 remotes; 5 seconds for
other remote model types
• ucp_out_of_network_count: 60 seconds for Evolution eP100 remotes; 20 seconds for
other remote model types
iDirect recommends that you set these values to 20 seconds and 60 seconds for high-speed
TDMA and SCPC remotes. You can change these settings at the hub by configuring the
following custom keys in the Hub-side Configuration area of the Remote Custom tab:
[REMOTE_DEFINITION]
ucp_lost_contact_count = 20
ucp_out_of_network_count = 60
You must also change the ucp_out_of_network_count setting on the remote by
configuring the following remote-side custom key:
[OOB]
ucp_out_of_network_count = 60

E.5 Link Layer Timeout

Applicable to: High-speed TDMA and SCPC remotes
The link layer timeout is the interval during which a TCP application attempts to recover from
a blockage by retransmitting lost packets once the remote has rejoined the network. This
timeout can be adjusted by changing the value of the ll_t1_retry_limit parameter. The
link layer timeout is equal to ll_t1_retry_limit multiplied by a factor of four. For
example, if ll_t1_retry_limit is 5, the link layer timeout is 20 seconds.

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For high-speed remotes, iDirect recommends that you set ll_t1_retry_limit to 15. This
results in a link layer timeout of 1 minute.
Default settings:
• 15 for Evolution eP100 Remotes
• 5 for other remote model types
To change the ll_t1_retry_limit, configure the following custom key in the Hub-side
Configuration area of the Remote Custom tab:
[REMOTE_DEFINITION]
ll_t1_retry_limit = 15

E.6 TDMA Upstream Acquisition Range

Applicable to: High-speed TDMA remotes only
For networks with high-speed remotes, you should set the Stability of the Hub Downconverter
to be wider than the stability of the downconverter chain (e.g. PLL LNB or rack-mounted
downcoverter.) Increase the value as follows:
• 15 kHz wider for C Band
• 20 kHz wider for X Band
• 33 kHz wider for Ku Band
• 70 kHz wider for Ka Band
To modify this value:
1. Navigate to the folder: ComponentsHubRFT ComponentsDown Converter in the
iBuilder tree.
2. Right-click the Downconverter for your hub and select ModifyItem.
3. Update the Stability field as required.
4. Click OK.
5. Apply the changes.

E.7 TDMA Guard Band and Maximum Symbol Offset

Applicable to: High-speed TDMA remotes only
The Guard Band field for your TDMA upstream carrier should be set according to the following
formula:
Guard Band (Symbols) = Symbol Rate (Msps) X Maximum Velocity (mph) X 0.03125 + 8
Therefore:
Symbol Rate = (Guard Band – 8) / 0.3125 X Maximum Velocity
The maximum configurable Guard Band is 63 symbols, which limits the symbol rate at a given
maximum velocity. For example, using the above formula, for a maximum velocity of 700
mph, the symbol rate is limited to ~2.5 Msps.

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To configure the Guard Band for your TDMA upstream carrier, right-click the carrier in the
iBuilder tree and select ModifyItem.

Note: Whenever your TDMA upstream carrier is assigned to an Inroute Group or the
characteristics of the downstream carrier for your network are modified, the
Guard Band reverts to the default setting of 8 symbols. Therefore, if you
changed the Guard Band and want to maintain the new setting, you must
modify your carrier and reconfigure the Guard Band after either of those
operations.
Once you have configured the Guard Band for your carrier, you should also configure the
following custom key in the Hub-side Configuration area of the Remote Custom tab for
remotes using that carrier:
[REMOTE_DEFINITION]
symbol_offset_max = <max symbol offset>
Where <max symbol offset> = Guard Band (in Symbols) / 2 – 1

E.8 Inroute Map Stale Timeout

Applicable to: High-speed TDMA remotes only
When a TDMA remote locks onto the outbound carrier, it does not transmit any acquisition
bursts until it receives a Frequency Map Update. The timer controlling these updates is set to
20 seconds.
If a remote does not receive a new Frequency Map Update within the time period defined by
the Inroute Map Stale Timeout, the remote no longer considers the last frequency map to be
valid and will not transmit until a new Frequency Map Update is received.
Default settings:
• 30 seconds for all remote model types
For high-speed remotes experiencing frequent fades due to temporary blockage, iDirect
recommends changing this parameter to 60 seconds. To accomplish this, configure the
following custom key in the Remote-side Configuration area of the Remote Custom tab:
[OOB]
inroute_map_ttl_sec = 60

E.9 UCP Algorithm Selection

Applicable to: High-speed TDMA remotes only
iDirect supports two methods of UCP averaging over the UCP period: arithmetic averaging of
frequency offsets and exponential averaging of frequency offsets. Exponential averaging
should be used for high-speed TDMA remotes. Do not set this custom key for SCPC remotes.
Default settings:
• Exponential averaging for Evolution eP100 remotes
• Arithmetic averaging for other remote model types

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The UCP averaging method selected for a remote is controlled by the Remote hub-side custom
key ucp_exponential_average_enabled, which is defined as follows:
[REMOTE_DEFINITION]
ucp_exponential_average_enabled = <Enabled Setting>
where a value of 1 for <Enabled Setting> enables exponential averaging and a value
of 0 for <Enabled Setting> enables arithmetic averaging.

E.10 Bursts per Second

Applicable to: High-speed TDMA remotes only
For non high-speed remotes, the optimal setting for the minimum number of bursts per
second allocated to a remote is one burst every two seconds. However, for high-speed
remotes, this should be set to one burst per second. This requires star_ucp_min_slots to
be set to 1.
Default settings for star_ucp_min_slots:
• 1 for Evolution eP100 Remotes
• 2 for other remote model types
To change to one burst per second, configure the following custom key in the Hub-side
Configuration area of the Remote Custom tab:
[REMOTE_DEFINITION]
star_ucp_min_slots = 1

E.11 Minimum Symbol Rates for Mobile Remotes

Applicable to: TDMA and SCPC upstream carriers transmitted by mobile remotes.
Some configurable minimum symbol rates are not supported for TDMA and SCPC upstream
carriers transmitted by mobile remotes. Table 12 shows the valid settings for each mobile
remote type for both Ku and Ka frequency bands. See “Adding Carriers” on page 72 for details
on configuring these carriers.

Note: Some upstream modulation modes have minimum symbol rate restrictions
above 128 ksps. For details, see the Link Budget Analysis Guide for your
release.
Table 12. Minimum Symbol Rates for Upstream Carriers

Minimum Symbol Rate (ksps)

TDMA SCPC
Mobile Remote Maximum Speed Maximum
Type (km/h) Acceleration (m/s2) Ku Band Ka Band Ku Band Ka Band
Maritime 25 5 128 256 128 256
Vehicular 120 10 256 512 256 512
Train 350 5 128 256 256 512
Airplane 1280 17 400 800 512 1024

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E.12 SCPC Upstream Acquisition Range

Applicable to: SCPC return channels transmitted by all mobile remote types
For line cards in Multiple Channel SCPC return Mode or Single Channel SCPC Return Mode, you
must configure the rx_acqrange custom key on a per-channel basis. For each SCPC return
channel being received by the line card, configure the following custom key on the line card’s
Custom tab:
[INROUTE_id]
rx_acqrange = <Value>
where id is the inroute ID of the SCPC return channel and <Value> is determined from
Table 13 based on the frequency band and the maximum speed of the remote.

Table 13. Sample rx_acqrange Custom Key Settings

Acquisition Sweep Range (Hz)

Type of Maximum
Remote Speed (km/h) C Band X Band Ku Band Ka Band
Maritime 25 19000 26000 42000 63000
Vehicular 120 21000 29000 47000 73000
Train 350 26000 36000 59000 98000
Airplane 1280 48000 64000 108000 200000

Note: Table 13 assumes Hub LNB stability of 1 ppm or better and an

elevation angle of 10o.
You can determine the inroute ID of an SCPC return channel in iMonitor as follows:
1. Right-click the line card in the iMonitor tree and select Line Card Stats.
2. Click OK in the Select Line Cards dialog box.
3. In the HLC Traffic Graph window, select the SCPC channel of interest.
4. Click the second tab to view the tabular data and find the Inroute ID column.
The Inroute ID for the selected channel in Figure 429 is 62.

Figure 429. Determining a Remote’s Inroute ID

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E.13 FEC Blocks per Frame for Spread Spectrum SCPC

Return Channels
Applicable to: Spread Spectrum SCPC return channels transmitted by high-speed mobile
remotes
You must configure the fec_blocks_per_inroute_frame custom key for each Spread
Spectrum SCPC return channel being transmitted by a high-speed remote. Add this custom key
for each carrier by following these steps.
1. Right-click the Spread Spectrum SCPC Upstream Carrier in the iBuilder tree and select
ModifyItem.
2. In the Frame Parameters area of the SCPC Upstream Carrier dialog box, note the
number of FEC Blocks per Frame (Figure 430).

Figure 430. Determining FEC Blocks per Frame

3. Using iMonitor, follow the procedure on page 475 to determine the inroute ID of your SCPC
return channel.
4. In the iBuilder tree, right-click the Network in which this carrier is used and select
ModifyItem.
5. In the Network dialog box, click the Custom tab.
6. Add the following custom key:
[INROUTE_id]
fec_blocks_per_inroute_frame = n
where id is the inroute ID of the SCPC return channel determined in Step 3 and n is:
floor (FEC Blocks per Frame / 4)
For example, if the number of FEC Blocks per Frame determined in Step 2 is 10, then you
should set fec_blocks_per_inroute_frame to 2.

Note: Do not set fec_blocks_per_inroute_frame to a value that is less than 1.

7. Click OK to save your changes.
8. Right-click your network in the iBuilder tree and apply the configuration to your network.

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E.14 Guard Band for SCPC Return Channels

Applicable to: SCPC return channels transmitted by vehicular and high-speed mobile remotes
Additional Guard Band is required for SCPC return channels transmitted by vehicular or high-
speed mobile remotes. The Guard Band values in Table 14 should be added to 1.2*symbol rate
(or 1.2*chip rate for Spread Spectrum) to determine occupied bandwidth for these mobile
remotes.

Table 14. Guard Bands for SCPC Return Channels

Guard Band (kHz)

Type of Maximum
Remote Speed (Km/h) C Band X Band Ku Band Ka Band
Vehicular 120 21 29 47 73
Train 350 26 36 59 98
Airplane 1280 48 64 108 200

E.15 Remote LFO Correction Algorithm

Applicable to: High-speed SCPC remotes only
For SCPC remotes, you should set the local frequency oscillator correction algorithm to 1. To
accomplish this, configure the following custom key in the Remote-side Configuration area
of the Remote Custom tab:
[LOCAL_FREQ_CTRL]
enable_algo = 1
lfo_correction_algo = 1

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Appendix F Remote
Locking

The remote lock feature allows individual remotes to be locked to a particular network. Once
a remote is locked with a Network Key, it only functions in a network with the same key.
There are two types of Remote Locking supported in iDirect networks:
• iDirect’s Traditional Remote Locking is supported for iNFINITI remotes and Evolution e8350
remotes. It is described in “iDirect’s Traditional Remote Locking” on page 479.
• Enhanced Remote Locking using symmetric key generation is supported on Evolution X3
and Evolution X1 remotes. However, the procedure for locking these remotes differs
based on remote model type.
• Evolution X3 Remote Locking is described in “Enhanced Remote Locking for Evolution
X3 Remotes” on page 481.
• Evolution X1 Remote Locking is describe in “Enhanced Remote Locking for Evolution
X1 Remotes” on page 485.
For all types of Remote Locking, you must create a Network Key in iBuilder before you can
lock any remotes to your network. See “Configuring the Network Key” on page 488 for details.

F.1 iDirect’s Traditional Remote Locking

iDirect’s Traditional Remote Locking is supported for iNFINITI remotes and Evolution e8350
remotes. Once a remote is locked with a key, it only functions in a network with the same key.

F.1.1 Locking a Remote Using Traditional Remote Locking

You must perform the following steps to lock a remote to a network.
1. Create the Network Key at the network level in iBuilder, and apply the changes. See
“Configuring the Network Key” on page 488.
2. Open a console session to each remote that needs to be locked, and use the rmtlock
command to lock the remote to the network.
3. Enter the rmtlock command with the status argument to verify the status of the
remote lock.
The steps for performing these operations are detailed in the following sections.

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Setting the Remote Lock

The rmtlock console command is used to lock a remote to the network. A password is
required to prevent unauthorized modification of the key. This command also lets you unlock
the remote when the correct password is provided.

Note: You must know the Network Key of the remote’s network to lock your remote to
the network.
Enter the following command to lock the remote to the Network Key with a password:
rmtlock lock <network key> <password>
Where: <network key> is the Network Key you defined for your network and
<password> is 8 to 12 characters in length and conforms to password security
recommendations.
When the rmtlock command is used to change the Network Key and password, it must match
the previously-set password. You must unlock the remote before moving the remote from one
network to another network.

Checking Remote Locking Status

You can check the status of the locking state on the remote by entering the rmtlock
command with the status argument:
rmtlock status
Examples of output from the rmtlock status command:
engaged The Remote is locked to the network.
not engaged The Remote is not locked to the network.

F.1.2 Unlocking a Remote Using a Valid Password

The following command unlocks the remote (using a valid password):
rmtlock unlock <password>
Where: <password> is the valid password previously assigned to the remote.
The Network Key resets to the wildcard, allowing access to any network.

WARNING! Since the NMS does not store the password, it is the network operator’s
responsibility to maintain the list of passwords for your networks.
WARNING! If a password is lost, you must contact the iDirect TAC for assistance. The
TAC will validate the ownership of the unit in question before the default
password is given to the requestor.

F.1.3 Remote Lock Tampering

Attempts to defeat the remote lock without the password will cause the remote to stop
functioning. If the remote has been tampered with in an attempt to bypass the lock, you must
return the remote to iDirect using standard RMA procedures.

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F.1.4 Requesting a Default Remote Password

If you lose your password and need to reset it for a specific remote, the following procedure
must be followed in order to receive a new default password from the iDirect TAC.
1. You must submit a list of authorized personnel from within your organization that are
allowed to request and receive default password information.
2. You must sends a default remote password request in writing to the TAC (via e-mail) that
includes:
a. Serial number of the remote
b. Type of remote
c. DID of the remote (as seen in iBuilder)
3. TAC verifies the ownership of the specific remote(s), which may require additional
information from the Network Operator.
4. Once ownership is verified, TAC creates and sends the default password for each specific
remote to the requestor.

Note: The above procedure requires iDirect internal verification and management
approval. It may take several business days to complete.

F.2 Enhanced Remote Locking for Evolution X3

Remotes
This section describes Enhanced Remote Locking as it applies to Evolution X3 remotes.
Enhanced remote locking strengthens iDirect’s Traditional Remote Locking with the use of
symmetric key generation. A unique and secure Locking Key is generated for each remote,
using a combination of the Network Key and a randomly generated Confirmation Word for
each remote. Enhanced remote locking also adds a “hardening” option to persistently save
the Locking Key on the remote.
Remote locking is similar to locking a cell phone to a cellular network. It is performed at the
operator’s own risk. Non-Warranty RMA charges of $250 (plus all shipping) apply to all remotes
returned to iDirect for the purpose of removing a network lock. Please refer to “Non-Warranty
RMA Required to Remove X3 Locks” on page 484.

F.2.1 Soft Locking versus Hard Locking

For Evolution X3 remotes, Enhanced Remote Locking includes the choice of two levels of
remote locking using the rmtlock console command:
• Soft Locks: You can use the rmtlock engage command to set a Soft Lock on a remote.
When the command is first entered, a randomly-generated Confirmation Word is
displayed to the operator on the remote console. After re-entering the command with the
Confirmation Word to confirm the lock, the Soft Lock is set on the remote. A remote
locked with a Soft Lock can be unlocked. You can remove the Soft Lock by re-entering the
rmtlock command with the disengage option and providing the same Confirmation
Word.

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• Hard Locks: Once a remote is “soft” locked to a network, you can use the rmtlock
command to irrevocably burn the remote’s Locking Key into the remote hardware using
the same Confirmation Word that was generated for the Soft Lock. After a Hard Lock has
been burned into the remote, only a Non-Warranty RMA hardware replacement can
remove the Hard Lock. Please refer to warning notes in “Setting a Hard Lock” on
page 483.

Note: You must first Soft Lock an X3 remote to a network before you can Hard Lock
that remote.

F.2.2 Locking an Evolution X3 Remote

You must perform the following steps to lock an Evolution X3 remote to a network.
1. Create the Network Key at the Network level in iBuilder, and apply the changes. See
“Configuring the Network Key” on page 488.
2. Open a console session to each remote that needs to be locked, and use the rmtlock
command at the remote console to configure a Soft Lock on the remote.
3. Enter the rmtlock command with the status argument to verify the status of the lock.
4. If you want to hard lock the remote, use the rmtlock command at the remote console to
configure the Hard Lock.
5. Enter the rmtlock command with the status argument to verify the status of the lock.
The procedures for performing these operations are detailed in the following sections.

Note: You must know the Network Key of the remote’s network to lock your remote to
the network.

Setting a Soft Lock

To set a Soft Lock on a remote:
1. Enter the rmtlock command with the engage argument:
rmtlock engage <netkey>
Where <netkey> is the Network Key of the network to which the remote will be locked.
The following warning message is displayed, which includes the Confirmation Word:
The confirmation word is: DIFEWdsf
Please type:
rmtlock engage <netkey> <confirmation word>
to confirm.
WARNING: Remote lock will be engaged. Make sure the Network Key
is correct. Keep the confirmation word safe. If the remote has to
be disengaged, the confirmation word will be needed. If you lose
the confirmation word, you will not be able to disengage the
lock. In order to unlock the unit will have to be returned to
iDirect under Non-Warranty Repair.
You have 60 seconds to confirm it.

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Note: As a convenience, you can enter the rmtlock verify command to display the
Network Key configured for the remote.
2. Record the Confirmation Word. The Confirmation Word is required to remove the Soft
Lock or to set a Hard Lock on the remote.
3. Within 60 seconds of performing Step 1, confirm the Soft Lock by re-entering the
rmtlock command followed by the Confirmation Word:
rmtlock engage <netkey> <confirmation word>

Removing a Soft Lock

To remove a Soft Lock on a remote, enter the rmtlock command with the disengage
argument followed by the Confirmation Word that was generated when the Soft Lock was set
on the remote:
rmtlock disengage <confirmation_word>
After executing this command, the remote is no longer locked to the network.

Setting a Hard Lock

You must set a Soft Lock on a remote before you can set a Hard Lock on that remote. The
Confirmation Word generated when you set the Soft Lock is required to set the Hard Lock. The
Network Key is not required to set the Hard Lock. When you set the Hard Lock, the remote
will be permanently locked to the network. You cannot remove the Hard Lock from the
remote.
To set a Hard Lock on a remote:
1. Enter the rmtlock command with the burn argument:
rmtlock burn
The following warning message is displayed:
Please type:
rmtlock burn <confirmation word>
to confirm.
WARNING: Remote lock will be burned into the hardware. This lock
cannot be changed or removed once burned. In order to unlock the
unit will have to be returned to iDirect under Non-Warranty
Repair.

You have 60 seconds to confirm it.

WARNING! The following command will permanently lock the remote to the Network.
Only a hardware replacement can reverse this lock.

2. Within 60 seconds of performing Step 1, repeat the rmtlock burn command with the
Confirmation Word appended. This is the Confirmation Word that was generated when you
set the Soft Lock on this remote.
rmtlock burn <confirmation_word>

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WARNING! If the Locking Key is “burned” into the remote hardware using the Hard Lock
option, the remote can only function in a network with the Network Key
associated with the Hard Lock. From this point forward, the lock is
permanent and the Locking Key can only be removed with a Non-Warranty
RMA hardware replacement.

Checking Remote Lock Status on an Evolution X3 Remote

You can check the status of the locking state on the remote by entering the rmtlock
command with the status argument:
rmtlock status
This command displays the current locking state of the remote as one of the following:
engaged
not engaged
permanently engaged

F.2.3 Non-Warranty RMA Required to Remove X3 Locks

Losing the Confirmation Word for a Soft Lock or removing a Hard Lock on a remote requires
the remote modem to be returned to iDirect under Non-Warranty Repair.
• You must know the Confirmation Word to remove a Soft Lock. If you lose the Confirmation
Word, you will not be able to disengage the Soft Lock. In order to unlock the remote, you
must return it to iDirect for a Non-Warranty RMA hardware replacement.
• You cannot change or remove a Hard Lock on a remote. In order to unlock the remote, you
must return it to iDirect for a Non-Warranty RMA hardware replacement.

WARNING! RMA charges of $250 (plus all shipping) will apply to all remotes returned to
iDirect for the purpose of removing a network lock.

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 Enhanced Remote Locking for Evolution X1 Remotes

F.3 Enhanced Remote Locking for Evolution X1

Remotes
Like Remote Locking for Evolution X3 remotes, Remote Locking for Evolution X1 Remotes uses
a unique Locking Key for each remote in combination with a Network Key and a randomly
generated Confirmation Word to securely lock remotes to a network. However, unlike
Evolution X3 Remote Locking, you cannot configure a “soft” lock for an Evolution X1 Remote
that can be unlocked. Only a permanent lock (“hard” lock) can be configured for an X1
remote. Therefore, in order to unlock an X1 remote, you must return it to iDirect for a Non-
Warranty RMA hardware replacement. A Network Key Fingerprint can be used to help avoid
errors when locking an X1 remote. The fingerprint also allows you to identify a remote’s
network without revealing the Network Key on the remote.
Evolution X1 Remote Locking is performed at the operator’s own risk. Non-Warranty RMA
charges of $250 (plus all shipping) apply to all remotes returned to iDirect for the purpose of
removing a network lock. Please refer to “Non-Warranty RMA Required to Remove X3 Locks”
on page 484.

F.3.1 Locking an Evolution X1 Remote

You must perform the following steps to lock an Evolution X1 remote to a network.
1. Create the Network Key at the Network level in iBuilder, and apply the changes. See
“Configuring the Network Key” on page 488.
2. Connect to the first remote that needs to be locked and use the rmtlock command at
the remote console to permanently lock the remote. Record the Network Key Fingerprint
returned by the rmtlock command at this time.
3. Connect to each subsequent remote that needs to be locked and use the rmtlock
command at the remote console to permanently lock the remote. Only confirm the lock if
the Network Key Fingerprint returned by the rmtlock command matches the fingerprint
for your network.
The procedures for locking an Evolution X1 remote and for checking the remote’s lock status
are detailed in the following sections.

Setting the Remote Lock

Follow the steps in this section to permanently lock an Evolution X1 Remote to a network.

Note: You must know the Network Key of the remote’s network to lock your remote to
the network. See “Configuring the Network Key” on page 488 for details.

Note: When locking an Evolution X1 remote, you should use the Network Key
Fingerprint to catch typographical errors and prevent accidentally locking the
remote to the wrong network. Record the Network Key Fingerprint value
returned when locking the first remote to a network, or obtain it from a
previously-locked X1 remote by entering the rmtlock status command. When
locking subsequent remotes, verify that the Network Key Fingerprint has the
same value before confirming the lock. See Step 6 on p. page 487.

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Enhanced Remote Locking for Evolution X1 Remotes

1. Using a Web browser, connect to the Evolution X1 remote that you want to lock and log on
as admin.

Figure 431. Evolution X1 Web Login Page

Note: You must be logged on as admin to lock an Evolution X1 remote.

2. Click the Admin navigation button at the top of the Web page.
3. In the left navigation bar, click the Console button to display the Console page.

Figure 432. Displaying the Evolution X1 Console Window

4. Verify that the remote is not currently locked by entering the following command at the
command prompt (Figure 433):
rmtlock status
If the remote is not locked, the command will return:
state: unlocked

Figure 433. Remote Lock Status of an Unlocked Evolution X1 Remote

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5. To obtain the confirmation word required to lock the remote, enter the command:
rmtlock permlock <network key>
where <network key> is the Network Key of the remote’s network.
When invoked the first time, this command will return the confirmation word required to
permanently lock the remote to the network and the Network Key Fingerprint for this
network. Sample output of this command is shown here:
netkey: 123abc
netkey fingerprint: BC61D2ED
confirmation word: ptPvoK58
instructions: Please type 'rmtlock permlock 123abc ptPvoK58' within
60 seconds to confirm.
WARNING: This will permanently lock the remote to the network. This
lock cannot be changed or removed. In order to unlock the remote,
the unit will have to be returned to iDirect under Non-Warranty
Repair.
6. If you know the Network Key Fingerprint for this network, verify that the netkey
fingerprint returned by the rmtlock permlock command is correct before
proceeding to the next step. If the fingerprints do not match, you have entered an
incorrect Network Key. Repeat Step 5 with the correct Network Key.

WARNING! The following command will permanently lock the remote to the Network.
Only a hardware replacement can reverse this lock.

7. Within 60 seconds of performing Step 5, repeat the rmtlock command again as follows:
rmtlock permlock <network key> <confirmation word>
where <network key> is the Network Key of the remote’s network and
<confirmation word> is the confirmation word that was returned in Step 5.
Sample output of this command is shown here:
state: permanently locked
netkey: 123abc
netkey fingerprint: BC61D2ED
After entering this command, your remote is permanently locked to the network.

Checking Remote Lock Status on an Evolution X1 Remote

The rmtlock status command can be used to determine the remote lock status of an
Evolution X1 remote. When executed on a locked remote, the rmtlock status command
returns the Network Key Fingerprint rather than the Network Key. This allows you to identify
the remote’s network without revealing the Network Key on the remote.
If the remote is locked to a network, the rmtlock status command returns:
state: permanently locked
netkey fingerprint: <Netkey Fingerprint>
where <Netkey Fingerprint> is the Network Key Fingerprint of the network to which
the remote is locked.

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Configuring the Network Key

Figure 434. Remote Lock Status of a Locked Evolution X1 Remote

Note: You can check the remote lock status when logged on as user or admin.
However, the Network Key Fingerprint will only be displayed if you are logged
on as admin.
If the remote is not locked to a network, the rmtlock status command returns:
state: unlocked

F.3.2 Non-Warranty RMA Required to Remove X1 Locks

You cannot change or remove a lock on an Evolution X1 remote. In order to unlock the
remote, you must return it to iDirect for a Non-Warranty RMA hardware replacement.

WARNING! RMA charges of $250 (plus all shipping) will apply to all remotes returned to
iDirect for the purpose of removing a network lock.

F.4 Configuring the Network Key

Both Traditional and Enhanced Remote Locking require you to create a Network Key before
you can lock your remotes to a network. Create your Network Key by configuring the following
custom key on the Custom tab for your network in iBuilder:
[NETWORK_DEFINITION]
net_key = <Network Key>
where <Network Key> is a string of between 1 an 64 alphanumeric characters.
Once you have configured the custom key in iBuilder, propagate the key to all remotes in the
network by applying the changes to the network.
During operation, if a locked remote receives a Network Key message containing a Network
Key that is different from the key set on the remote, the remote immediately stops sending
upstream messages.
If a remote other than an Evolution X1 remote cannot join the network, the following message
is displayed:
This Remote CANNOT operate in this network!
If an Evolution X1 Remote cannot join the network, the message Wrong network is displayed
on the on the Console page of the X1 Web GUI. Click the Admin navigation button followed by
the Console link to view the Console page.

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Glossary of Terms
Acquisition A process whereby the satellite modem locks onto the proper satellite carrier.
ACU Antenna control unit.
ADC Analog-to-Digital Converter. A device that converts analog signals to a digital
representation.
Analog Method of signal transmission in which information is relayed by continuously altering
the wave form of the electromagnetic current. An analog signal is responsive to
changes in light, sound, heat and pressure. See also digital.
Antenna Device for transmitting and receiving radio waves. Depending on their use and
operating frequency, the form on an antenna can change from a single piece of wire to
a dish-shaped device.
Antenna Alignment The process of optimizing the orientation of a satellite antenna's main direction of
(pointing) sensitivity towards the satellite to maximize the received signal level and to minimize
the chance of receiving unwanted interference from other satellite systems.
Aperture A cross sectional area of the antenna which is exposed to the satellite signal.
Apogee Point in an elliptical satellite orbit that is farthest from the surface of the earth.
Asynchronous A communications strategy that uses start and stop bits to indicate the beginning and
end of a character, rather than using constant timing to transmit a series of characters.
Asynchronous methods are especially efficient when traffic comes in bursts (and not
regularly paced). Modems and terminals are asynchronous communications devices.
Attenuation Weakening, usually measured in decibels, of a signal (loss) that occurs as it travels
through a device or transmission medium (e.g. radio waves through the atmosphere).
Attitude Control The orientation of the satellite in relationship to the earth and the sun.
Azimuth The horizontal co-ordinate used to align the antenna to the satellite. See also
Elevation.
Bandwidth The amount of data a cable can carry; measured in bits per second (bps) for digital
signals, or in hertz (Hz) for analog signals. A voice transmission by telephone requires a
bandwidth of about 3000 cycles per channel (3KHz). A TV channel occupies a bandwidth
of 6 million cycles per second (6 MHz) in terrestrial systems. In satellite based systems
a larger bandwidth of 17.5 to 72 MHz is used to spread or “dither” the television signal
in order to prevent interference.
Baud The number of times an electrical signal can be switched from one state to another
within a second.
Bit Error Rate The ratio of the number of information bits received in error to the total number of bits
(BER) received, averaged over a period of time. It is used as an overall measure of the quality
of a received digital bit stream.
Bit Rate The number of bits transmitted within a second (bps) in a digital communication.
Broadcast Sending a single message to all the nodes of a network.
C band Band of frequencies used for satellite and terrestrial communications. Most
communications satellites use a range from 4 to 6 gigahertz (billion cycles per second).
Requires larger ground antennas, usually twelve feet in diameter, for television
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Capacity A proportion of the satellite’s bandwidth which is used to establish one or more
communication channel.
Carrier The basic radio, television, or telephony transmit signal. The carrier in an analog
signal.
Carrier Frequency The rate at which the carrier signal repeats, measured in cycles per second (Hertz).
This is the main frequency on which a voice, data, or video signal is sent. Microwave
and satellite communications transmitters operate between 1 to 14 GHz.
Channel A band of radio frequencies assigned for a particular purpose, usually for the
establishment of one complete communication link, or a path for an electrical signal.
Television signals require a 6 MHz frequency band to carry all the necessary picture
detail. Channel frequencies are specified by governmental agencies.
CIR See Committed Information Rate.
Coaxial Cable A transmission line in which the inner conductor is completely surrounded by an outer
conductor, so that the inner and outer conductor are coaxially separated. The line has a
wide bandwidth capacity which can carry several television channels and hundreds of
voice channels.
Collocated Two or more satellites occupying approximately the same geostationary orbital
(satellites) position. To a small receiving antenna the satellites appear to be exactly at the same
place. The satellites are kept several kilometers apart in space to avoid collision.
Committed The guaranteed network bandwidth availability.
Information Rate
(CIR)
Common Carrier An organization which operates communications circuits. Common carriers include the
telephone companies as well as the owners of the communications satellites.
Communications A satellite in Earth orbit which receives signals from an Earth station and retransmits
Satellite the signal to other Earth stations.
COMSAT Communication Satellite Corporation, the U.S. signatory for INTELSAT.
Continuous Wave Signal consisting of a single frequency especially used in testing satellite modems and
(CW) antennas.
Decibel (Db) The standard unit used to express the ratio of two power levels. It is used in
communications to express either a gain or loss in power between the input and output
devices.
Decoder A television set-top device that converts an electronically scrambled television picture
into a viewable signal.
Delay The time it takes for a signal to go from the sending station through the satellite to the
receiving station (around one-quarter of a second).
Demodulator A satellite receiver circuit which extracts or “demodulates” the desired signals from
the received carrier.
Digital Representation of information as bits of data for transmission. Digital communications
technology permits higher transmission speeds and a lower error rate than analog
technology. As an analog signal is received and amplified at each repeater station, any
noise is also amplified. A digital signal, however, is detected and regenerated (not
amplified), and any noise is lost unless it corresponds to a value that the regenerator
interprets as digital signal.
Dish Slang for parabolic antenna.
Downlink The part of the satellite communications link that involves signal retransmission from
the satellite and reception on the ground. See also Uplink.

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 Downstream Downstream carrier (synonymous to outbound carrier) is the carrier from the Hub to
Carrier the remote modem, via the satellite.
Duplex Two-way communications. The telephone line is full duplex in that both directions of
communication occur at the same time. Walkie-talkie communications is half-duplex–
only one party may transmit at a time.
Earth Station A combination of devices (antenna, receivers) used to receive a signal transmitted by
one or more satellites.
Elevation The upward tilt (vertical coordinate) of a satellite antenna measured in degrees,
required to align the antenna with the communications satellite. See also Azimuth.
Elliptical Orbit Orbits in which the satellite path describes an ellipse, with the Earth located at one
focus.
Encoder A device used to electronically alter a signal so that it can only be understood on a
receiver equipped with a special decoder.
Equatorial Orbit An orbit with a plane parallel to the Earth’s equator.
FEC Forward Error Correction is an error correction method that adds redundant bits to a
bit stream, so that the receiver can detect and correct errors in transmission.
FEC Block The basic FEC unit is a FEC block.
Feed 1) The transmission of video content from a distribution center.
2)The feed system of an antenna.
Focal Length Distance from the center feed to the center of the dish.
Footprint The geographic area over which a satellite antenna receives or directs its signals.
Free Slots Slots left in the dynamic sub-frame after all stream, guaranteed (CIR) and preemptive
bandwidth requests are satisfied. Free slots are allocated to all VSATs (up or down),
except the master, in a round-robin fashion.
Frequency The number of times that an alternating current goes through its complete cycle in one
second of time. One cycle per second is also referred to as one hertz.
Frequency A process designed to eliminate frequency interference between different satellite
Coordination systems or between terrestrial microwave systems and satellites.
Full duplex Transmission that occurs in both directions simultaneously over the communications
media (e.g. telephone).
Geostationary An satellite orbiting Earth at such speed that it appears to remain stationary with
satellite respect to the earth’s surface. See also Clarke Orbit.
Geosynchronous A satellite orbiting Earth at Earth’s rotational speed and at the same direction. A
satellite satellite in geosynchronous orbit is known as a geosynchronous or geostationary
satellite. The orbit is “synchronous” because the satellite makes a revolution in about
24 hours. The satellites are about 35,800 kilometers (22,350 miles) above Earth, and
they appear to be stationary over a location.
Ground Segment All the Earth stations that are operating within a particular satellite system or network.
Ground Station A radio station, on or near the surface of the Earth, designed to transmit or receive
to/from a spacecraft.
Guaranteed The capability for transmitting continuously and reliably at a specified transmission
Bandwidth speed. The guarantee makes it possible to send time-dependent data (such as voice,
video, or multimedia) over the line.
Guaranteed Slots Slots configured per VSAT and made available to that VSAT upon its request. When the
queue is depleted, these slots are taken away by the master and distributed to other
requesting VISNs as preemptive slots.

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Guard Band A thin frequency band used to separate bands (channels) in order to prevent
(guardband) interference and signal leakage.
Guard Channel Unused frequency space between carriers that prevents adjacent carriers from
interfering each other.
Half Duplex A communications form in which transmissions can go in only one direction at a time.
With half-duplex operation, the entire bandwidth can be used for the transmission. In
contrast, full-duplex operation must split the bandwidth between the two directions.
High Band The upper part of the Ku band downlink frequency range, from 11.7 GHz to 12.75 GHz.
HPA High Power Amplifier. Earth station equipment that amplifies the transmit RF signal and
boosts it to a power level that is suitable for transmission over an earth-space link.
Hub RFT Hub Radio Frequency Terminal - Equipment that includes the antenna, U/C (up
Converter), D/C (Down Converter) HPA, and LNA, which provides the up and down
conversion of signals in a satellite-based network.
IF Intermediate Frequency. The frequency range 70 to140 MHz used for the distribution of
satellite signals from the LNB at the dish to the user’s satellite receiver. It is always
used in direct-to-home systems and is the most suitable for distribution of digital
signals in communal systems – IF systems.
Inbound Carrier See Upstream Carrier.
Inclination The angle between the orbital plane of a satellite and the equatorial plane of the
Earth.
Indoor Unit (IDU) The satellite modem and indoor devices (in contrast to outdoor units, ODU).
Information Rate The user data rate including IP headers plus iDirect overhead. The downstream
overhead is approximately 2.75% of the information rate.
INTELSAT International Telecommunications Satellite Organization. Agency that operates a
network of satellites for international transmissions.
Interfacility Link The cable that connects the indoor unit with the outdoor unit.
(IFL)
Intermediate Generally, 70 MHz or 140 MHz.
Frequency (IF)
Ka band The frequency range from 18 GHz to 31 GHz.
Ku Band Frequency range from 10.9 GHz to 17 GHz, increasingly used by communications
satellites. Requires smaller ground antennas, usually four feet (1.2 meter) in diameter.
L-Band The frequency range from 0.5 GHz to 1.5 GHz.
LNA Low Noise Amplifier – The preamplifier between the antenna and the earth station
receiver. For maximum effectiveness, it should be located as near the antenna as
possible, and is usually attached directly to the antenna receive port.
LNB Low Noise Block Converter is the converter on the down link that takes the Ku, Ka, or C-
Band signal from the satellite and converts it to a lower frequency (L-band) signal that
can be fed through the IFL cable to the modem.
Low Earth Orbit Satellites that are not stationary from a fixed point on earth and have the lowest orbit
(LEO) satellite of all communication satellites. Most handset-to-satellite systems are based on LEO
satellites using L-Band.
Low Noise The preamplifier between the antenna and the Earth station receiver. For maximum
Amplifier (LNA) effectiveness, it must be located as near the antenna as possible, and is usually
attached directly to the antenna receive port.

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 Margin The amount of signal in dB by which the satellite system exceeds the minimum levels
required for operation.
Multiplexing Techniques that allows a number of simultaneous transmissions to travel over a single
circuit.
ODU Outdoor unit, such as an antenna dish.
Outbound Carrier See Downstream Carrier.
Passband The range of frequencies handled by a satellite translator or transponder.
Perigee The point in a satellite’s orbit where it is closest to Earth.
Polarization Design technique used to increase the capacity of the satellite transmission channels by
reusing the satellite transponder frequencies.
QPSK (Quadrature Digital modulation scheme used in transmission communications to allow increased
Phase Shift Keying) sending capacity.
Rain Outage Loss of signal at Ku or Ka Band frequencies due to absorption and increased sky noise
temperature caused by heavy rainfall.
Satellite A sophisticated electronic communications relay station orbiting 22,237 miles above
the equator moving in a fixed orbit at the same speed and direction of the Earth (about
7,000 m.p.h. east to west).
Satellite The use of geostationary orbiting communication satellites to relay transmission from
Communications one Earth station to another or to several Earth stations. It takes only three satellites to
cover the whole Earth.
Satellite Pass Segment of orbit during which the satellite “passes” nearby and in the range of a
particular ground station.
Shared hub Satellite communications operations center that is shared among several separate
network users; often used for VSAT operations.
Single-Channel- A method used to transmit a large number of signals over a single satellite transponder.
Per-Carrier (SCPC)
SNR Signal to Noise Ratio - In analog and digital communications, signal-to-noise ratio, (S/N
or SNR), is a measure of signal strength relative to background noise. The ratio is
usually measured in decibels (dB).
Spillover Satellite signal that falls on locations outside the beam pattern’s defined edge of
coverage.
Subcarrier In satellite television transmission, the video picture is transmitted over the main
carrier. The corresponding audio is sent via an FM subcarrier. Some satellite
transponders carry as many as four special audio or data subcarriers.
Symbol Rate Symbol Rate refers to the number of symbols that are transmitted in one second. From
the symbol rate, you can calculate the bandwidth (total number of bits per second) by
multiplying the bits per symbol times the symbol rate.
TDM (Time Division A type of multiplexing where two or more channels of information are transmitted over
Multiplexing) the same link by allocating a different time interval (“slot” or “slice”) for the
transmission of each channel. (i.e. the channels take turns to use the link.)
TDMA (Time A communications technique that uses a common channel (multipoint or broadcast) for
Division Multiple communications among multiple users by allocating unique time slots to different
Access) users.

Transmission A protocol developed for the internet to get data from one network device to another;
Control Protocol TCP uses a retransmission strategy to ensure that data will not be lost in transmission.
(TCP)

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Transmission Rate Includes all over-the-air data. This includes the user data (information rate), iDirect
overhead, and FEC encoding bits.
Transponder A device in a communications satellite that receives signals from the earth, translates
and amplifies them on another frequency, and then retransmits them.
UHF Ultra High Frequency. Band in the 500-900 MHz range, including TV channels 14 through
83.
Uplink The Earth station used to transmit signals to a satellite and the stream of signals going
up to the satellite.
Upstream Upstream carrier (synonymous to inbound carrier) is the carrier from the remote
modem to the Hub, via the satellite.
Carrier
VHF Very High Frequency, Refers to electromagnetic waves between approximately 54 MHz
and 300 MHz.
VSAT Very Small Aperture Terminal. Means of transmission of video, voice, and data to a
satellite. Used in business applications.

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Index supported antennas 453
Automatic Beam Switching
see Automatic Beam Selection

B
A
bandwidth
ABS
adding 72
see Automatic Beam Selection
beam selection
accelerated GRE tunnels 160
see beam switching for mobile remotes; Automatic
accepting changes Beam Selection
automatically accepting changes 14 beam selection for roaming remotes 189
enabling accept changes button 14
before you start
acquisition aperture length 77
information needed 8
activating preparing equipment 8
remotes 303 blades
active users pane 385 adding 94
activity log 49 to 52 BUC 177 to 178
copying data from 52 button
list of selectable activities 49
accept changes 14
viewing 50
right mouse 26
antenna 65
antenna, adding 66
applying changes to roaming remotes 324 C
applying configurations 316
CA Foundry 417 to 432
Automatic Beam Selection 449 to 467
connecting to a host 420
adding beams to a network 451 creating a CA 419
adding elevation / gain pairs for flat plate antennas creating a certificate authority 419
454 executing 63, 418
antenna reflector definition 453 issuing host certificates 423
changing the GPS interval 461 logging on to a CA 420
changing the minimum look angle 458 navigating in 418
changing the usable beam timeout 461 revoking host certificates 424
configuring a local mapserver IP address 462
carrier
configuring a remote for 455
configuring hunt frequency 456 acquisition aperture length 77
configuring the initial tx power offset 456 adding downstream carriers 73
determining a remote’s initial tx power offset 466 adding SCPC upstream carriers 79
determining beam numbers 467 adding TDMA upstream carrier 76
disabling or enabling the rx-only feature 461 defining an alternate downstream carrier 110
forcing a beam switch 466 information rate 77
IP address of antenna 456 large block 77
muting the remote transmitter when mapless 460 small block 77
reading the tx power from the beam map 466 switching to an alternate downstream carrier 118
remote console commands 462 symbol rate 77
setting download timeout 460 transmission rate 77
setting network acquisition timers 459 uplink/downlink center frequency 74, 76, 80
setting OpenAMIP parameters 457 carrier grooming 133
setting Orbit SBC parameters 457 certificate authority, creating 419
setting SeaTel DAC parameters 457 chassis
setting up the configuration file 450 adding the initial hub chassis 277
starting the map server 452 assigning line cards to slots 282

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 configuring and controlling 280 RTP header compression performance characteris-
daisy chaining tics 192
see also chassis group TCP payload compression 191
described 294 UDP header compression 192
limit on number of chassis 294 UDP header compression performance characteris-
physical connection of 294 tics 192
RCM interface 296 UDP payload compression 193
restrictions 294 UDP payload compression compared to TCP payload
EDAS vs. MIDAS controller boards 277 compression 193
four-slot chassis configuration changes 34
configuring 283 configuration state 45
enabling 10 MHz clock on a tx line card 285
changing 47
enabling 22 KHz tone 285
enabling BUC voltage 285 configuration, simultaneous changes 390
enabling LNB voltage 285 configurations
limitation on DC voltage supplied by 4-IF chassis changes on roaming remotes 322
285 comparing 314
LNB voltages supplied by chassis 285 deleting 311
selecting high or low LNB voltage 285 downloading
use of jumper between slots 4 and 5 283 canceling 318
use of slot 5 283 chassis 319
installing 8 line card 320
permanently enabling chassis license downloads 63 network 320
rules for assigning line cards to slots 282 protocol processor 319
setting the IP address 277 using revision server 331
sharing slots on more than one NMS 287 modifying 311
validating a chassis license 281 saving
chassis group TCP vs. UDP 321
see also chassis, daisy chaining status 45
configuring 297 uploading last modified vs. existing 311
default jumper settings 300 uploading multiple modified vs. existing 313
ordering chassis within 300 viewing 311
choose details context menu button 26
feature 37 converters
view 37 adding 67
cloning COTM
remotes 180 see remotes, mobile remotes
user accounts 384 CRTP 192
CNO User Groups CRTP performance characteristics 192
adding and modifying 359 customers
visibility and access 358 adding 149 to 150
commissioning line cards listing on remotes 149
See hub commissioning 343
comparing configurations 314
D
components
bench test 16 daisy chaining
folders 16 see chassis, daisy chaining
QoS folders 17 database, simultaneous changes 390
remote antenna components 18
deactivating
compression
remote 303
CRTP performance characteristics 192
details
enabling compression types on remotes 190
L2TP payload compression 193 choosing 37

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 choosing details feature 37 folders 15
creating sets of 37 adding entries 19
view 35 BUCs 15
DHCP 155 component 16
distributors customers 17
distributors 15, 17
adding 149 to 150
empty 17
listing on remotes 149
Hub RFT components 17
DNS 154 LNBs 15
down converter 65 manufacturers 15
adding 67 operators 17
downloading QoS profiles 15
concurrently to remotes and hub 326 reference information 18
images remote antenna components 15
TCP 331 four-slot chassis
interactions 329 see chassis, four-slot chassis
multicast 326 free slot allocation 134
multiple images 327 frequency hopping 133
out of network remotes 329
frequency translation 67
using revision server 331
downloading configurations 316
canceling 318 G
chassis 319
line card 320 geo location
network 320 remotes 175
protocol processor 319 globe
DVB-S2 sorting
adjusting CCM network parameters 141 globe
configuring a remote’s maximum MODCOD 174 hide element 22
configuring a remote’s nominal MODCOD 174 tree 22
configuring network parameters 139 GRE tunnels 160
converting to DVB-S2 from iNFINITI 401 Group Edit
estimating effective CIR and MIR for ACM outbound
procedure for group edits 43
218
rules and restrictions on group edits 43
estimating information rate for ACM outbound 83
fast fade algorithm 138 Group QoS
line card model types supported 104 see also QoS
network-level parameters defined 137 allocation properties vs. request properties 227
selecting a MODCOD range for ACM 74 allowing VNO users modify filter profiles 381
allowing VNO users to create QoS profiles 381
application scaled QoS mode vs. application based
E QoS mode 208
application service groups vs. remote service
elements 15 groups 201, 204
assigning ownership of QoS nodes to VNO user
groups 374
F
assigning remotes to remote service groups in re-
FEC blocks 75 mote profile view 253
bandwidth allocation algorithm 199
find toolbar 30
bandwidth allocation fairness relative to CIR 197
Firmware bandwidth allocation fairness relative to MODCOD
downloading to remotes and line cards 327 198
DVB-S2 vs. iNFINITI for Evolution hardware 328 bandwidth allocation for SCPC return channels 206
Evolution line card package names 402 best-effort traffic defined 196

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 changing properties on individual remotes 240 HPA 65
changing the order of application profiles within ap- adding 68
plications 232 hub commissioning 343
Committed Information Rate defined 197
1 dB compression test 352
configuring a remote’s maximum MODCOD 174
downloading line cards using iSite 347
configuring a remote’s nominal MODCOD 174
setting IP address on line card 345
configuring bandwidth allocation fairness relative to
setting tx power on line card 352
MODCOD 225
configuring group QoS settings for VNO user groups Hub RFT
372 adding 90
cost defined 196 Hub RFT Components 65
cost-based traffic defined 196 hubs
default and NMS applications for remotes with mul- assigning inroute groups 135
tiple service profiles 237
default applications in service profiles 233
effective cost with allocation fairness relative to I
CIR 223
enabling EIR for remotes in group for remote based iBuilder
mode or remote service groups 229 description 9
enforcement of MIR on inroute 197 installing 11
Enhanced Information Rate (EIR) described 197 iDirect BUCs and LNB preconfigured in iBuilder 18
estimating effective CIR and MIR for DVB-S2 ACM
iDirect network architecture 1
outbound 218
for SCPC remotes 205 iDirect network architecture example 2
full-trigger CIR defined 197 Idle and Dormant States
group profiles, available views 262 configuring 172
group view applications vs. service profile view ap- limitations on minimum rates 172
plications 235 triggering state changes 173, 271
group view example 213 images 325
Maximum Information Rate defined 196
downloading 326
multicast bandwidth group 209
interactions 329
operations on remote profiles 249
out of network 329
order of application profiles in applications 232
TCP 331
oversubscription of subnodes 201
downloading multiple units 327
preconfigured application profiles 266
UDP multicast 326
priority defined 196
QoS properties defined 196 iMonitor
relationship between information rate and IP data description 9
rate 198 information rate 77
remote profiles described 247 inroute groups
remote-based QoS mode vs. Remote Service Groups adding 132
207 assigning to hubs 135
selecting a multicast MODCOD 232 description 132
setting VNO permissions for QoS profiles 379 uplink control parameters 136
Sticky CIR defined 197
installation
tree structure 200
views 212 NMS applications 11
visibility of QoS profiles for VNO users 380 interface
VNO configuration of request properties on owned using NMS GUI 21
QoS node 376 IP configuration on remotes 151 to 160
guest user 390 iSite 9
using to download a line card 347
H iVantage NMS components xxxv

high power amplifier See HPA

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 L LNB 177 to 178
logging in 12
l 81 passwords 12
LAN to other servers 13
interface 152 longitude
remotes 151 to 154 spacecraft 70
large block 77 teleport 86
latitude
teleport 86
M
legend 32
licenses main toolbar 30
exporting data for feature license requests 60 management interface 153
importing license files 58 mobile remotes
license properties tab 60 See remotes: mobile remotes 176
license toolbar 57
modifying
list of features licensed in iBuilder 57
permanently enabling chassis license downloads 63 accepting changes 14
sharing chassis slot licenses on more than one NMS multicast fast path
287 configuring 242
validating a chassis license 281 defined 210
line cards selecting for a GQoS application 231
adding
receive 111
standby 120
N
transmit 108 NAT 156
transmit/receive 108
network architecture example 2
adding a TDMA standby 122
adding receive carriers to a multichannel line card network architecture overview 1
113 network tree, See tree
commissioning See hub commissioning networks
downloading using iSite 347 adding 105
enabling 10 MHz clock from the four-slot chassis deactivating 106
screen 285 free card slot allocation 134
failure recovery 131 inroute groups
free slot allocation 134 adding 132
managing redundancy relationships 124 assigning to hubs 135
multichannel line card operational frequency band description 132
115 line cards
NMS failover algorithm 131 adding receive 111
performing manual switchover or failover 129 adding transmit 108
prerequisites for automatic failover 121 adding transmit/receive 108
receive carrier types 111
NMS
receive mode restrictions 111
receive modes 111 applications 9
receive-mode licenses required 111 distributed NMS server 405
receive-only types 111 iVantage NMS components xxxv
rules for assignment to chassis slots 282 main components 7
selectable line card types in iBuilder 107 multiple users accessing 13
selecting carriers for multichannel line cards 115 servers used 9
setting tx power 352 setting up a distributed environment 407
solo Tx/Rx line card described 107
supported model types 104
TRANSEC-compatible model types 394
types of redundancy relationships 120

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 O Enhanced Information Rate (EIR) described 197
for SCPC remotes 205
ODU Tx 10 MHz 68 full-trigger CIR defined 197
ODU Tx DC power 68 normal CIR vs. sticky CIR vs. full-trigger CIR 197
preconfigured profiles 266
options files 309
priority defined 196
hub-side and remote-side 310 QoS properties defined 196
orbital inclination 70 remote parameters by service group type and QoS
mode 170
remote QoS Tab 166
P sticky CIR defined 197
packet segmentation
setting a downstream segment size 174 R
panes
active users 32, 385 receive line card
choose details 37 adding 111
configuration changes 34 receive properties
details 35 remotes 147
legend 32 receive-only remotes, configuring 148
network tree, See tree
remote locking
See also dialog boxes
configuring enhanced remote locking on X1 485
passwords 12, 387
configuring enhanced remote locking on X3 481
properties configuring traditional remote locking 479
viewing element 35 model types supported for traditional remote lock-
protocol processor ing 479
adding 90 requesting a new password 481
blades 94 types of remote locking 479
installing 8 remotes 143
TRANSEC support for 91 activating 303 to 304
adding 144 to 207
antenna 178
Q applying configurations 321
BUC 177 to 178
QoS
cloning 180
configuring
Committed Information Rate defined 197 actions to perform beforehand 144
cost-based traffic defined 196 data to know beforehand 144
Maximum Information Rate defined 196 configuring RIPv2 on 152
see also Group QoS customers 149 to 150
assigning a filter profile to a remote 167 deactivating 303 to 304
assigning a remote profile to a remote 167 deactivating before deleting 311
assigning a service profile to a remote 167 DHCP 155
assigning multiple service profiles to a remote 169 distributors 149 to 150
bandwidth allocation fairness relative to CIR 197 DNS 154
bandwidth allocation fairness relative to MODCOD downloading
198 using revision server 331
best-effort traffic defined 196 downloading configurations
configuring a remote’s maximum MODCOD 174 out of network 329
configuring a remote’s nominal MODCOD 174 enabling link encryption 146
configuring EIR for a physical remote 173 geo location 175
configuring Idle and Dormant States 172 information tab 145 to 151
configuring Minimum Information Rate 172 IP configuration 151 to 160
cost defined 196 LAN 151 to 154
custom key for full-trigger CIR 257

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 LAN "same as" option 153 receive-only
LAN interface 152 configuring for 148
listing customers 149 rx-only multicast 148
listing distributors 149 remote antenna 178
LNB 177 to 178 resetting 330
locking to an inroute 148 roaming remotes 181 to 189
management interface 153 adding multiple remotes to a network 187
mobile remotes adding remotes to multiple networks 188
additional guard band for SCPC return channels applying changes 324
477 beam selection for 189
automatic beam selection for 189 configuration changes 322
bursts per second for high-speed TDMA remotes managing configuration of 183
474 modifying all instances 184
configuring the default minimum look angle for modifying multiple instances 185
remote antennas 70 options files for 322
downstream acquisition range for high-speed re- pending changes across networks 323
motes 471 serial number 146
GPS Input settings defined 176 serial number, system-generated 146
handshake signalling 176 sleep mode
high-speed COTM custom keys and settings 469 enabling 147
inroute map stale timeout for high-speed TDMA triggering wakeup 270
remotes 473 static routes 156
LFO correction angle for SCPC mobile remotes supported model types 143
477 switch tab 161 to 165
link layer timeout for high-speed remotes 471 copying data to a spreadsheet 165
minimum symbol rates for mobile remotes 474 dedicating a port to a VLAN 162
mobile remote types 470 default settings 162
overriding the maximum skew for a remote an- setting a port as a trunk 163
tenna 176 setting the port speed and port mode 164
overriding the minimum look angle for a remote TRANSEC-compatible model types 394
antenna 176 transmit properties 147
security setting 176 SCPC initial power 148
setting geo location parameters 175 SCPC max power 148
spread spectrum blocks per frame for high-speed TDMA initial power 147
SCPC remotes 476 TDMA max power 148
TDMA guard band for high-speed remotes 472 VLAN 151 to 154
TDMA upstream acquisition range for high-speed VSAT 177
remotes 472 requirements
UCP algorithm selection for high-speed TDMA re- system 11
motes 473
resetting 330
UCP interval for high-speed remotes 470
UCP lost contact count for high-speed remotes retrieving configurations
471 modified vs. existing 313
upstream acquisition range for SCPC return chan- multiple 313
nels 475 single
model type 145 last modified vs. existing 311
moving between inroute groups and line cards 306 revision server 331 to 341
moving between networks, inroute groups and line cancelling an upgrade 341
cards 305 controlling real-time events 336
multicast groups 161 duty cycle explained 332
MUSiC Box 146 real-time display options 336
NAT 156 starting 334
passwords 146 status pane 339
port forwarding 159 using to download remotes 331
receive properties 147 when to use 334

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right mouse button 26 T
right-click
TCP payload compression 191
menu options 31
TCP vs. UDP download 318
RIP, see RIPv2
TDMA max symbol offset for high-speed remotes 472
RIPv2 152, 156, 158
teleport 85 to 88
roaming remotes, see remotes: roaming remotes
adding 85
adding a backup 87
RTP header compression performance characteristics latitude 86
192 longitude 86
toolbars
S choose details 37
configuration changes 34
saving configurations details 35
TCP vs. UDP 321 find 30
SCPC upstream carriers, configuring uplink control pa- icons 30
rameters 81 legend 32
license toolbar 57
servers 9
main 30
SkyMonitor main menu 31
assigning a carrier or center frequency 100 status bar 32
configuring in iBuilder 99 view menu 31
configuring RF ports 100 transceiver
described 98
selecting frequency band and cross pol mode 179
removing a line card from a port 101
selecting on the remote VSAT tab 178
selecting carriers for Tx/Rx line cards 101
supported models 178
sleep mode
TRANSEC
enabling on remotes 147
bringing a GKD online for the first time 442
triggering wakeup on remotes 270
CA Foundry, See CA Foundry
slot allocation certifying an unauthorized remote 421
free 134 certifying hosts before converting to TRANSEC 394
small block 77 changing a GKD’s password 443
spacecraft 69 to 70 changing DCC key update frequency 430
adding 69 changing the ACC key update frequency 446
longitude 70 comparing hub and remote ACC keys 432
configuring ACC keys on a remote 427
spectral inversion 68
configuring GKDs in iBuilder 438
spread spectrum consequences of missing two ACC key updates 431
empty slot requirement for line card 282, 285 converting a network to TRANSEC 393
modulation type supported 75 converting remotes to non-TRANSEC 398
selecting a downstream spreading factor 75 description 393
selecting a TDMA upstream spreading factor 78 determining the clients of a GKD 445
selecting an SCPC upstream spreading factor 81 determining the network ID 435
static routes 156 determining the time of the next ACC key update
status 447
enabling on protocol processor 91
elements 45
example of a TRANSEC sub-tree 395
status bar 32 finding the blade that distributes keys 434
super user 390 GKD defined 436
switch, eight-port: see remote: switch tab GKD kd status and ks status commands 445
symbol rate 75, 77 GKD options file example 440
symbol rate vs. transmission rate 77 installing a GKD 438
installing a GKD options file on a server 441
system requirements 11
key distribution requirements for ABS 436

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 line card and remote model types supported 394 multiple 13
local mode for ACC key distribution 436 permissions 388
logging on to a GKD 443 privileges
protocol processor described 91 defined 388
starting a GKD 442 predetermined 388 to 389
updating ACC keys 431 simultaneous access to the NMS database 390
updating DCC keys 429 super user 390
translation frequency 71 types 388
viewing user accounts 385
transmission rate 75, 77
VNO guest 390
transmit line card VNO super user 390
adding 108
transmit properties
remotes 147 V
transmit/receive line card VLAN
adding 108 adding 96
transponder default vs. upstream 152
adding 70 on eight-port switch: see remote: switch tab
tree remotes 151 to 154
upstream interface 96
description 26
elements 15 VNO guest, see users: VNO guest
folders 15 VNO super user, see users: VNO super user
tree view, See tree VNO User Groups
treebar, See tree access rights for SCPC return channels 369
adding and modifying 359
allowing VNO users modify filter profiles 381
U allowing VNO users to create QoS profiles 381
assigning ownership of QoS nodes 374
UDP payload compression 193 assigning ownership of SCPC return channels 370
up converter 65 configuration of request properties on owned QoS
adding 67 node 376
upgrade assistant configuring group QoS settings 372
creating and managing 358
See revision server
modifying visibility and access 362
uplink control parameters setting permissions for QoS profiles 379
configuring for inroute groups 136 setting rate limits 361
configuring for SCPC upstream carriers 81 sharing a chassis among multiple VNO user groups
uplink/downlink center frequency 74, 76, 80 364
User Groups visibility and access 356
CNO user groups 358 visibility of QoS profiles 380
NMS user groups 356 visibility of SCPC return channels 369
VNO user groups 358 VNO operations on line cards in SCPC return mode
370
users
VSAT 177
active users pane 385
adding user accounts 382
changing passwords 387 W
cloning user accounts 384
conversion during upgrade 355 warning properties 52 to 56
deleting user accounts 385 categories of warnings 52
guest 390 clearing customized properties 56
levels of 388 configurable properties 52
managing 388 customizing for specific network elements 55
modifying user accounts 382, 384 distinguishing customized warnings 56

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 global vs. customized 53
of line cards 110
of protocol processors 93
of remotes 180
setting global properties for network elements 53
windows, See panes
See also dialog boxes

X
X.509 certificates
issuing to hosts 423
revoking from hosts 424

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iBuilder User Guide 505
iDX Release 3.1