CHAPTER 1

CENTER OPERATIONS

Upon completing this chapter, you should be able to do the following:

Identify the procedures for transmitting messages via automated systems and manual circuits.

Identify the procedures for monitoring and reporting of circuit backlogs.

Identify the steps to verify broadcast number continuity.

Determine the procedures for preparing, updating, and verifying the command guard list (CGL) and the master station log (MSL).

Identify the procedures to verify STU-III systems parameters for remote/dial-in users and explain the need to set up and operate the STU-III terminals with remote/dial-in users.

Determine the procedures for the preparation of the communications plan.

Identify the steps to reset communications systems to RADAY.

Determine communications protocols applied to circuit set up/restorations.

List the steps to activate, deactivate, and place communications circuits in standby, set up, or restoration.

Identify the procedures to transmit or receive cryptographic keying material via OTAT/OTAR.

Define the steps to analyze network capacity and reliability.

Telecommunications capabilities are continually advancing as technology improves. Because of advances in technology, we are seeing great improvements in the quality and speed of communications, and an increase in our information transfer capabilities. The Navy's modern automated systems greatly reduce writer-to-reader times in message handling, and the volume of messages that can be processed is steadily increasing.

ASHORE AUTOMATED TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS

Two new shore command systems that are coming on-line in the 1990s are the Navy Standard Teleprinter Ashore (NSTA) and the Manual Relay Center

Modernization Program (MARCEMP). We will discuss these two new systems as well as the other in-place automated shore systems and their interface components.

NAVY STANDARD TELEPRINTER ASHORE

With the introduction of the Navy Standard Teleprinter (NST) at afloat commands, there was a need to replace antiquated communications systems ashore with a system compatible with the NSTs. To meet this need, the Navy has developed the Navy Standard Teleprinter Ashore (NSTA) program.

The heart of the NSTA program is the Personal Computer Message Terminal (PCMT) and its

associated software. The PCMT (shown in figure l-l) is a PC-based microcomputer. The PCMT is a major step toward modernizing the entire Naval Telecommunications System.

Personal Computer Message Terminal

The Personal Computer Message Terminal (PCMT) is a remarkable military message-processing software package that runs on a combination of IBM-compatible PC- or AT-class desktop microcomputers and input/output devices called bus interface units (BIUs). The PCMT has the following advantages:

For sites having a message relay requirement, the PCMT system eliminates handling torn paper tape.

For small naval telecommunications centers (NTCs), the PCMT provides a sophisticated, easy-to-use automated message-handling system.

For Local Digital Message Exchange (LDMX) or Naval Communications Processing and Routing System (NAVCOMPARS) subscribers that must be served remotely, the PCMT can provide an excellent, low-cost remote terminal capability. Received traffic can be reviewed at a terminal and selected messages shifted to a printer when a hardcopy is needed. The system will allow the operator to compose and save any number of partially completed pro forma messages. Subsequently, these messages can quickly and easily be retrieved, completed, and sent whenever needed.

The PCMT allows messages to be exchanged via diskette media. For users who wish to exchange AUTODIN message traffic with their own PC-

Figure 1-1.-Personal Computer Message Terminal (PCMT) with printer. based systems, the PCMT provides an excellent vehicle for doing so.

PCMT System

The PCMT message-processing system is a store-and-forward system that provides full accountability for all messages transmitted and received. The PCMT consists of a microcomputer configured with an 84-key keyboard, monitor, hard disk, and one or two floppy diskette drives. The PCMT also includes a medium-speed printer for printing message logs and hard-copy messages when required. Bus interface units (BIUs) are required to interface between the PCMT and the automated shore systems.

The PCMT microprocessor has 640K (minimum) of random-access memory (RAM) and uses the Microsoft(r) Disk Operating System (MS/DOS). The PCMT has a 5 1/4- and 3 l/2-inch disk drive capability. The minimum hard disk has a capacity of 10 million bytes. The hard disk varies based on software and user storage requirements. The PCMT may have either a nonremovable or removable drive, depending upon the user's security requirements.

The MS/DOS software is designed for a single workstation operation with operator-entered commands controlling the workstation. Powerful, easy-to-use message edit software will help the operator correct errors in input data from diskettes and generate messages. The monitors are monochrome except where the software has been coded to display pertinent information in color. In the next paragraphs, we will describe some of the capabilities of the PCMT.

The PCMT system assigns a message accountability number (MAN) to each complete or partial message processed. Once a MAN is assigned, the system reports each step in the processing of that message. This is done by automatically generated and on-demand log entries and on-demand message accountability reports. Message accountability reports identify all processing activity completed or pending for each message processed by the system.

The system also generates a log entry each time a complete or partial message is received, transmitted, or canceled. All messages received from or delivered to a diskette are further identified in the log entries and message accountability reports by the appropriate diskette volume identification.

The PCMT can be used to recall a specific message from the hard disk, which can be printed on an output

device. The operator can recall a message by providing a message accountability number (MAN), a component identification number (CIN), or a channel service number (CSN). The operator can also recall a message with an originating station routing indicator (OSRI), station serial number (SSN), or time of file (TOF).

The PCMT also provides significant paper reduction since information on receipt and delivery of message traffic is recorded on diskettes instead of paper. The PCMT stores messages on the hard disk until the operator requests delivery. The PCMT then outputs messages to a diskette, thereby reducing manual processing steps.

The PCMT system is setup so that narrative and data pattern (card image) traffic received from the serving LDMX and NAVCOMPARS can be delivered to the printer and/or diskettes. Data pattern traffic is usually delivered only to diskettes. Messages delivered to diskettes are segregated by routing indicators so that message centers receive only those messages addressed to them.

An operator can use the PCMT to enter a narrative or card image message, or create anew message using a simple keyboard/display screen editor. The terminal allows the operator to save a partially completed message on a diskette, recall it, and continue to edit it. At some communications centers, the operator can enter narrative or card image data pattern traffic prepared elsewhere.

Simple PC-based application programs that can be used in an office environment to review and prepare both narrative and card image messages are being developed. Once a day, the PCMT system will generate a summary report that identifies all traffic processed by the terminal during the previous 24-hour period.

The PCMT is the outgrowth of a program begun by COMNAVTELCOM (now COMNAVCOMTELCOM) in 1982 to provide automation support for fleet message relay centers. The Navy had a continuing requirement to exchange message traffic over HF radio channels terminated at a relay site. Unfortunately, such channels impressed transmission garbles on any message they carried.

Since NAVCOMPARS required that message data presented by a TTY circuit be letter-perfect, NAVCOMPARS could not terminate such circuits directly. In the past, a message received on these circuits had to be punched out onto paper tape and printed simultaneously. The fleet center operator would then examine the printed copy and, if there were no

errors, feed the paper tape into a reader that was on-line to NAVCOMPARS. If there was an error, either the ship would have to resend the message or the operator would have to recut the message's paper tape on a Model 28 TTY.

The process was slow, manpower intensive, and error prone. The system built in response to this need is now what we call the Manual Relay Center Modernization Program (MARCEMP).