Architecture Technology Corporation

About Architecture Technology Corporation

Architecture Technology Corp. is a company that received a Department of Defense SBIR/STTR grant for a project entitled: Border Gateway Protocol with Mobility Extensions. The abstract given for this project is as follows: The inter-domain routing protocol BGP (Border Gateway Protocol), was designed for statically configured land-based networks which experience infrequent topology changes. BGP is remarkably successful in the stable 'network-of-networks' environment it was designed for and is one of the fundamental protocols of the Internet. Any internetworking scheme that will connect to the Internet today must be compatible with BGP. Cutting-edge military and commercial networks have begun to undercut some of the fundamental assumptions on which BGP is based. Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) are becoming more prevalent and will continue their growth. MANETs are characterized by frequent topology changes and geographic movement of nodes. Indeed, in the Mobile Airborne Network and other military applications, entire MANET networks become mobile. The task of maintaining a stable, reliable routing mesh between 'networks-of-networks' where the networks themselves are inherently mobile strains BGP to the breaking point. The Border Gateway Protocol with Mobility Extensions (BGP-MX) is the initial phase of an eventual replacement for BGP. BGP-MX will control mobility-induced configuration changes to the underlying BGP protocol. The approach will maintain full compatibility with existing BGP networks, while overcoming the static nature of existing BGP implementations and allow for seamless integration of MANETs into the GiG. Architecture Technology Corp. is a company that received a Department of Defense SBIR/STTR grant for a project entitled: Multicast Security for Tactical Networks (MSEC-T). The abstract given for this project is as follows: The Army has identified the need for secure IPv6 multicast to support operational synchronization through efficient bandwidth utilization in low-bandwidth tactical network environments. The current group control and key distribution schemes do not perform well in networks with limited bandwidth, longer delay and intermittent connectivity, and are susceptible to network-based attacks. In this SBIR effort, Architecture Technology Corporation (ATC) will develop an innovative technology called Multicast Security for Tactical Networks (MSEC-T) to provide secure group control and key management for multicast groups with high resilience to network variability and scalability for the tactical operational environment. A set of countermeasures will also be provided to defend against network-based attacks on IPv6 multicast, such as enemy traffic analysis and DoS attacks. The technology will be developed to operate within the existing COTS network infrastructure to provide a cost-effective solution to secure IPv6 multicast in tactical networks. Architecture Technology Corp. is a company that received a Department of Defense SBIR/STTR grant for a project entitled: Border Gateway Protocol with Mobility Extensions. The abstract given for this project is as follows: The inter-domain routing protocol BGP (Border Gateway Protocol), was designed for statically configured land-based networks which experience infrequent topology changes. BGP is remarkably successful in the stable 'network-of-networks' environment it was designed for and is one of the fundamental protocols of the Internet. Any internetworking scheme that will connect to the Internet today must be compatible with BGP. Cutting-edge military and commercial networks have begun to undercut some of the fundamental assumptions on which BGP is based. Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) are becoming more prevalent and will continue their growth. MANETs are characterized by frequent topology changes and geographic movement of nodes. Indeed, in the Mobile Airborne Network and other military applications, entire MANET networks become mobile. The task of maintaining a stable, reliable routing mesh between 'networks-of-networks' where the networks themselves are inherently mobile strains BGP to the breaking point. The Border Gateway Protocol with Mobility Extensions (BGP-MX) is the initial phase of an eventual replacement for BGP. BGP-MX will control mobility-induced configuration changes to the underlying BGP protocol. The approach will maintain full compatibility with existing BGP networks, while overcoming the static nature of existing BGP implementations and allow for seamless integration of MANETs into the GiG. Architecture Technology Corp. is a company that received a Department of Defense SBIR/STTR grant for a project entitled: Enhancements for Lossy Optical Networks (EFLON). The abstract given for this project is as follows: The US Navy has identified a need for optimized coding and protocols for free-space optical links. Such links provide the high bandwidth required by future service oriented networks in maritime and expeditionary environments. However, atmospheric turbulence and attenuation can have a deleterious impact on the performance of IP based communications operating on these networks. Architecture Technology Corporation (ATC) will leverage its extensive experience in network technology to develop Enhancements for Lossy Optical Networks (EFLON). These enhancements will alleviate the performance problems caused by atmospheric phenomenon, such as turbulence. The objective of this effort is to establish the feasibility of EFLON in Phase I. The follow-on Phase II effort will then implement a prototype of EFLON that will be demonstrated in a realistic environment. Architecture Technology Corp. is a company that received a Department of Defense SBIR/STTR grant for a project entitled: Organically Assured Routing System (OARS) for the Airborne Network. The abstract given for this project is as follows: The Air Force has identified the need for an assured routing system for the Airborne Network (AN) that will protect the routing infrastructure from security attacks designed to disrupt the operation of the network. Subversion of the network routing function by attackers could be catastrophic for mission-critical applications running on the AN. This is because security attacks on the routing function could propagate misinformation within the routing tables resulting in misrouting of data packets in the network and consequent application failure. Architecture Technology Corporation (ATC) proposes an innovative approach called Organically Assured Routing System (OARS) for implementing an attack-resistant routing infrastructure for the AN environment. The proposed Phase I effort will establish the implementation feasibility of OARS and lay the groundwork for a full-scale prototype (TRL 5 or 6) implementation of the technology in Phase II. Architecture Technology Corp. is a company that received a Department of Defense SBIR/STTR grant for a project entitled: An End-to-end Hybrid IntServ Signaling Platform for Airborne Networks (HISA). The abstract given for this project is as follows: Transporting multimedia information over multi-domain heterogeneous and dynamic networks has significant advantages in both the military and civilian arenas. . In order for these networks to be efficiently employed, there needs for methods that can guarantee a minimum level of Quality of Service (QoS) for critical and real time data. This is particularly important for the airborne networks. In order to reserve a specified bandwidth for an application flow between nodes, Integrated Services (IntServ) QoS is needed. However, currently there does not exist a solution that can provide an efficient end-to-end IntServ signaling mechanism across airborne network environments. This is true because of the characteristics of airborne network environments and of IntServ signaling protocols. Architecture Technology Corporation (ATC) will leverage its extensive experience in network technology to develop, evaluate and demonstrate an efficient end-to-end IntServ signaling techniques for airborne network environments. Architecture Technology Corp. is a company that received a Department of Defense SBIR/STTR grant for a project entitled: Reliable Services for Continuity of Operations (ReSCO). The abstract given for this project is as follows: ATC will combine the fault tolerance and scalability of an Active Replication system with a dynamic Peer-to-Peer back-end to build a Reliable Services for Continuity of Operations (ReSCO) system. The ReSCO system will provide true dynamic automated application and service mobility while providing fast rollover of live systems. During an attack or disaster when COOP protocols are enacted, the network and the system need to quickly recover and allow for the transfer of critical applications to other sites and locations. By using Active Replication with redundant systems the transfer is nearly instant; allowing users to continue using the system remotely or locally, as needed. The ReSCO system will by built using application and service objects to provide service mobility and transfer, an Active Replication system to coordinate multiple redundant copies of services and applications, and a peer-to-peer back-end which will track and maintain the current state of needed services and handle the discovery and registration of resources to be used for dynamic allocation when needed. Architecture Technology Corp. is a company that received a Department of Defense SBIR/STTR grant for a project entitled: Agent based Viral Object Caching and Dissemination Overlay (AVOCADO). The abstract given for this project is as follows: Improved dissemination of software, updates, messages, and data in tactical networks require new and adaptive systems to improve war fighter's decision making abilities, performance and systems readiness. Degradation of services across platforms needs to be avoided while reducing update times for C4I applications, techniques and technologies in tactical networks including remote nodes with limited and intermittent communications. The Agent based Viral Object Caching and Dissemination Overlay (AVOCADO) system provides a novel dissemination system for existing networks (such as the GCCS-M in Tactical networks) based on an overlay data caching system using agents, data objects, and automation scripts. Existing update management systems send files from a base node to each other node, causing countless redundant data paths. AVOCADO will stop redundant data transfer and wasted bandwidth while guaranteeing delivery of data, software and updates to all needed nodes. Architecture Technology Corp. is a company that received a Department of Defense SBIR/STTR grant for a project entitled: 6-Synch. The abstract given for this project is as follows: This proposed SBIR effort will develop 6-Synch, a tool for monitoring NCW assets, based on agents that are "Network Health" aware, and act appropriately given the "Health" of their links. 6-Synch utilizes routing protocol derived network connectivity information for the placement of the agents. Intelligent agents will be dynamically and optimally placed in the network based on the current network topology. A minimal set of agents will provide complete reporting to the upper levels of managers. Managers will spread the collection analysis and consolidation task around to the entire system, so that any one node only handles local and/or child information. 6-Synch combines intermediate level controllers placed to gather information, and master controllers to combine information. The controllers would be used to look at data flow and to alert users to bottlenecks and other network problems. Controllers would not know the exact location of the other agents and/or mid-level controllers, but will use intelligent algorithms to gather data at all levels. The agents will be bandwidth aware, and will be self-limiting as far as reporting status and information up the hierarchy. Synchronization of nodes will be done by placing GPS receivers at key locations.