Communications effects server-realistic communications effects for distributed simulations

The communications effects server (CES) is a key component of US Army Communications-Electronics Commands (CECOMs) Tactical Internet Model (TIM) suite of command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) simulation software. It provides a realistic high-fidelity communications model of the army´s lower (Brigade and Below) Tactical Internet (TI) to client simulations within the TIM suite. The CES is designed to provide realistic, simulated communication effects that are nearly indistinguishable from real TI radio networks. A major application of the TIM suite is to support the Simulation, Testing, Operations, and Rehearsal Model (STORM) program. STORM combines live and simulated entities in a synthetic environment. The CES router discovery process models the Request For Comment (RFC) 1256+ protocol to identify which router will act as the gateway for hosts within a given network. The CES additionally models the lower TI´s Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) variant called IGMP+. IGMP+ allows simulated non-gateway routers to register with gateway routers for multicast message traffic. The following three radio models are presently implemented: (1) the Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) Advanced System Improvement Program (ASIP); (2) the Enhanced Position Location Reporting System (EPLRS) Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA); and (3) the EPLRS Duplex radio. Preliminary verification and validation (V&V) testing indicates that the CES performs as designed, providing close representation of the real C4I systems being simulated