The design and simulation of an adaptive HF data network

The availability of agile, remotely controllable HF equipment has been exploited in the design of an HF data network which will provide communications between some 80 locations in a full deployment. Each station will be software controlled so that network management, frequency management and link management will be handled automatically without operator intervention. This represents a major improvement in HF systems which have traditionally relied on the skills of experienced operators to achieve adequate performance. The network architecture will be outlined with a high level description of the network management, frequency management and link management subsystems. Then a traffic simulation model is described which has been a valuable tool in the design of the network and, more importantly, will be an essential element in network acceptance testing.<>