Part VII

VSAT – Very Small Aperture Terminal

1. Introduction
2. VSAT/WLL
3. Implementation of VSAT
4. Access Control Protocols
5. Delay Considerations
 Introduction
• VSAT = Very Small Aperture Terminal
• Early Earth Stations in commercial systems were
very large and expensive (about 30 m).
• Need to make system more affordable to end user.
• Increased transmit power from satellite.
• Higher frequencies
• Smaller Earth Station antenna size required.
 Large Antenna Systems
 Large antennas are usually implemented using a
symmetrical configuration,
 For ease of construction, with the feed on the boresight axis.
 The feed can either be in front of the antenna (a front-fed
design) or behind the antenna, as in Cassegrain or
Gregorian designs.
 These different approaches may be axially symmetric or
offset.
 A common break point in the design of antennas is at a
main reflector diameter of about 100 wavelengths.
 If the diameter is larger than this, the additional cost of a
Cassegrain or Gregorian design is more
 Also the increased gain (up to 1 dB) that can be achieved by
shaping the reflectors.
 Large Antenna Systems
 Cassegrain and Gregorian antennas require a sub
reflector with a minimum diameter of ~ 10
wavelengths.
 If the main reflector is less than 100 wavelengths
in diameter, the sub reflector becomes an
appreciable fraction of the main reflector
diameter and causes significant blockage and
scattering problems.
 VSAT
 Earth stations with antenna aperture diameters
less than 100 wavelengths were called very
small aperture terminals (VSAT).
 As the size reduced, the term VSAT was coined
and then USAT (ultra small aperture terminal).
 VSAT antennas are also much larger than the
ultimate USAT
Figure shows a typical VSAT antenna
on the roof of a commercial building
 VSAT
 The standard VSAT antennas are not as small as the
Ku-band direct-to-home (DTH) antennas used for
direct broadcast satellite television reception,
 Typically 0.5-0.8 m in diameter.
 DBS-TV satellite use very powerful transponders,
typically 160-240 W compared to 20 to 50 W of
Ku-band satellites used for VSAT service.
 A handheld satellite telephone as used in Iridium,
Globalstar, New ICO, and other mobile satellite
service (MSS) systems, have an omnidirectional
antenna.
 VSAT
 The size of the VSAT antenna is a key factor in making
the service both economically attractive to the user and
environmentally acceptable to the community,
 It places server restrictions on the end-to-end system design.
 A careful balance has to be drawn between
 Satellite transponder loading,
 Transmitted power (both up and down),
 VSAT antenna off-axis emission (for interference
considerations),
 Clear sky performance, and
 Especially for Ku-band frequencies and above
 Availability during impaired propagation conditions (i.e., during rain).
 VSAT
 The underlying concept behind most VSAT
systems is to bring telecommunications service
directly to the end user without any intermediate
distribution hierarchy.
 Traffic from individual users was bundled
together into larger groups and
 Carried over trunk transmission lines via terrestrial
microwave systems, satellite systems, or optical
fiber cables, before being divided up (demultiplexed)
into smaller traffic streams and redistributed to the
users at the far end.
 VSAT
 This is still the most economical transmission
architecture for point-to-point communications
when the services are being brought into areas
with relatively high concentrations of users.
 Such conditions do not always apply,
 VSAT networks take advantage of the wide area
broadcast capabilities of GEO satellites.
 VSAT
 In many regions of the world, the potential users are
either widely distributed or the existing
telecommunications infrastructure lacks the capacity to
expand quickly to meet the demand for new users.
 This situation applies to most developing countries and,
 In many cases, network implementations have been adopted.
 Geostationary satellites allied to microwave cellular
technologies have been used to bypass completely the
traditional expansion of analog telephony.
 One such solution is wireless local loop (WLL) coupled with
VSAT distribution architectures.
VSAT/WLL
 VSAT/WLL
 The geostationary satellite is used to link a large
number of VSATs with the main switching
center in a large city.
 Each VSAT acts as the link to the local
switching center in the village or rural
community, with the final mile of the telephony
link being carried over a wireless local loop
 VSAT/WLL
 The VSAT/WLL concept usually has an
optimum range of user densities where the
economics are most favorable.
 VSAT/WLL
 Approximate economic break points in the
implementation choices for serving new regions with
different population densities.
 Physical distances, major transportation routes, and
geographic barriers, as well as the individual country’s
demographics and political influences, can alter the break
points
 Can be affected by
 local topography,
 availability of optical fibers in the country’s
telecommunications network,
 significant transportation routes such as a major rail systems,
 Allows a lower cost optical fiber to be laid alongside the
railroad tracks or right-of-way.
 VSAT/WLL
 VSAT networks allow multimedia traffic to be
brought directly to the end user, but generally
handle only small traffic streams
 Sometimes as the equivalent of one voice circuit.
 The traffic stream is also usually intermittent in
nature:
 User accesses the satellite in a demand assigned
multiple access (DAMA) mode whenever a message
is to be sent and receives a short reply in due course.
 VSAT/WLL
 This is typical in a point of sale (POS) VSAT
system that is used to transmit credit card
information at a petrol pump or general store.
 Information about the sale and the customer’s
credit is sent to a central computer facility, and
an authorization or denial is received in response.
 The interaction between the VSAT and the main
hub earth station in the POS transaction is
completely automatic and transparent to the user.
 VSAT/WLL
 Most VSAT networks do not generate
enough traffic to justify a dedicated satellite.
 Many do not even have enough traffic at any
given instant to fill one satellite transponder.
 Most VSAT networks are designed around
the use of leased transponders, in the case of
a large network, or
 A fractional transponder lease for a medium
to small network.
Implementation of VSAT Networks
 There are three basic implementations of any
telecommunications service:
 One-way Implementation
 Spilt-two-way Implementation (sometimes referred
to as split-IP, when referring to Internet traffic, since
the outbound and inbound channels are routed over
different systems).
 Two-way Implementation
 The two-way implementation is further divided into two
basic network architectures:
 Star and Mesh Networks
One Way Implementation
 One Way Implementation
 This is the mode of a satellite used in the broadcast
satellite service (BSS).
 The introduction of digital technology allows the
provider and user much greater flexibility in the
operation of a broadcast network.
 By means of software in the user terminals,
different parts of the downlink can be accessed by
different subscribers according to the programs
ordered from the supplier (and paid for by the user).
 This form of channel selection is called narrowcasting.
 There can be many narrowcasting groups within a
larger broadcasting area.
 One Way Implementation
 Schematic of a broadcast satellite service
coverage region in which smaller, narrowcasting
groups exist within the broader coverage area.
 The master control station sends encoded signals
within the broadcast stream that enables certain
users to have access to particular channel
groupings according to the subscriber’s choice.
 Split-Two-Way (Spilt IP)
Implementation
 This implementation is used when there is no
normal return channel.
 For example, with Ku-band broadcast satellite service
(BSS) systems that carry Internet traffic.
 The relatively high capacity downlink stream is not
complemented by an uplink capability from the user
terminal.
 If the BSS downlink is used as the download
channel from an Internet service provider,
 The only option the user has for a return link is via
another telecommunications channel, such as a standard
telephone line.
 Split-Two-Way (Spilt IP)
Implementation
 The Internet protocol (IP) is therefore split between
a satellite downlink (outbound) channel and a
terrestrial telephone (inbound, or return) channel;
 Hence the term split IP for this implementation.
 The advantage of this approach is that the VSAT
terminal does not require a transmit capability,
which significantly reduces its cost and complexity.
 The disadvantage is that the telephone line
connection must usually be through a modem, with
a bit rate generally restricted to 56 kbps or less.
 Two –Way Implementation
 In this case, a return link is designed into the
service so that two-way communications can be
set up over the same satellite, from the hub to the
user and from the user back to the hub.
 The VSAT/WLL implementation is a two-way
service between the hub (in this case the satellite
gateway) and any VSAT terminal.
 The architecture selected is the key to the
economics of two-way connections:
 It can be either Mesh or Star.
 Two –Way Implementation –
Architecture I
 In this network
architecture, all of the
traffic is routed via the
master control station,
or hub.
 If a VSAT wishes to
communicate with
another VSAT, they
have to go via the hub,
thus necessitating a
“double hop” link via
the satellite.
 Since all of the traffic
radiates at one time or
another from the hub.
 This architecture is
referred to as a Star
network.
Master Control Station
 Two –Way Implementation –
Architecture II
 In this network
architecture, each of the
VSATs has the ability to
communicate directly with
any of the other VSATs.
 Since the traffic can go to
or from any VSAT, this
architecture is referred to as
a Mesh network.
 It will still be necessary to
have network control and
the duties of the hub can
either be handled by one of
the VSATs or the master
control station functions
can be shared among the
VSATs.
 Topology of a Star VSAT network
 Viewed from the satellite’s perspective
 VSAT communications links are routed via the
satellite to the hub in all cases.
Topology of a Mesh VSAT network
 Viewed from the satellite’s perspective.
 All of the VSATs communicate directly to each
other via the satellite without passing through a
larger master control station (hub).
 Two –Way Implementation
 Initially, the most common VSAT architectures
were Star networks
 Since very low receive G/T ratio of the VSATs, coupled
with their limited transmit EIRP, was compensated for
by using a large hub with high G/T and EIRP.
 The cost of the hub was therefore quite high.
 This led to the concept of a shared hub, where
several networks operate through one main hub.
 The difficulty with this approach for large countries is
that the host computers for the small VSAT networks are
rarely close to the hub.
 Two –Way Implementation
 A high-speed terrestrial data link is required between the host
computers of the networks and the hub, which increases the cost
of the network.
 Rather than have one large hub for all of the VSAT networks
sharing the same satellite, the overall network evolved to allow
each sub network to have its own hub.
 In this way the host computer of each VSAT network can be co-
located with its own hub.
 Thus eliminating the cost of the interconnection between the hub earth
station and the computer controlling the service offered through the
VSAT network.
 Whether the hub is shared/dedicated or the VSAT is connected to
a single user/local area network (LAN) with multiple users
sharing access through an Ethernet connection on the other.
 An access control protocol is needed.
 Access Control Protocols
 The International Standards Organization has specified the open
systems interconnection (ISO/OSI) that mandates a seven-layer
model for a data communication system as shown in Figure.
Protocol architecture of a Star VSAT.
VSAT networks are normally maintained as independent, private networks, with
the packetization handled at the user interface units of the VSAT terminals.
The satellite access protocol (with a larger time-out window) is handled in the
routing and switching, and network management functions.
Protocol conversion is handled by the gateway equipment.
 Access Control Protocols
 A satellite communications link occupies primarily
the physical layer, which is the place where the bits
are carried between the terminals.
 A VSAT network must have terminal controllers at
each end of the link and these occupy the network
and link layers.
 The network control center typically controls the
system and is responsible for the remaining layers.
 It is very useful as a conceptual model which
identifies functions that must be performed
somewhere in every data communication network.
 Access Control Protocols
 Most data communication networks use some form of packet
transmission, in which blocks of data are tagged with an
address, error control parity bits, and other useful information
before transmission.
 The receiving end of a link checks arriving packets for errors.
 Then sends an acknowledgement signal (ACK) that the packet was
received correctly, or a not acknowledge signal (NAK) that tells the
transmit end to resend a particular packet because the packet had an
error.
 Some systems do not send acknowledgements, only NAK
signals to request a retransmission of a packet with an error,
since this speeds up data transmission.
 This is the error control method used in the Internet protocol
TCP/IP.
 Generically, such systems are known as automatic repeat request
(ARQ) systems.
 Access Control Protocols
 The ISO-OSI stack was initially developed for terrestrial
communications systems.
 For this reason, the protocols that implement the functions of
each layer were designed for use in terrestrial circuits with
low delay and low bit error rate (BER), with very high
performance levels.
 Many of the early protocols had a connection time-out of
a few milliseconds.
 If no reply was received from the recipient in this interval,
transmissions ceased.
 Similarly, an errored signal received from the source or an
intervening node would trigger an automatic error recovery
sequence.
 For example, in ARQ approach, on detecting an error in a packet,
immediately requests a retransmission and halts further transmissions
until the corrected packet is received.
 Access Control Protocols
 Frame relay and ATM (asynchronous transfer
mode) systems flag the error but continue the flow
of information (continuous transmission ARQ).
 In both cases, the errored transmission must be corrected
and suitable buffers at the receiver end (or intermediate
node) used to restore the packets in their original order.
 More errors that occur in the link,
 Need many retransmission of packets,
 Reduces the effective data throughput rate of the link
becomes.
 The potential for delay and propagation induced
errors are therefore critical design elements in
digital VSAT connections
 Delay Considerations
 A typical slant range to a GEO satellite is 39,000 km.
 The one-way delay over such a GEO link (earth
station to satellite to earth station) is
2 × (range/velocity) = 260 ms.
 The one-way delay in a typical 4000-km
transcontinental link via fiber-optic cable is a little
over 13 ms.
 Neither example includes processing delay
 (e.g., source coding and/or compression, channel coding,
baseband processing in the switching elements, frame
length)
 Can add several tens or hundreds of milliseconds.
 Delay Considerations
 The time out element of a protocol is often
referred to as the window of the connection.
 As long as the window is “open,”
communications can continue without
interruption.
 Delay Considerations
 Clearly, satellite systems have to operate
satisfactorily, and seamlessly, with existing
terrestrial networks.
 There are two ways to make terrestrial protocols
work with a satellite link.
 First, the protocols can be changed so that the time-
out window is well in excess of 260 ms;
 Second, the satellite element of the packet network
can be configured to exist as a separate sub network
within the global packet network.
 In practice, both solutions are adopted
 Delay Considerations
 A typical data link layer protocol used in a low delay,
terrestrial link employs modulo-8 operation.
 That is, the protocol will transmit only 7 unacknowledged
frames before it stops transmissions;
 This leads to the low throughput particularly for GEO satellite links.
 High level data link control (HDLC) protocol used in layer
2 for satellite systems employs a modulo-128 operation.
 That is, 127 frames may be sent without receiving any
acknowledgements before it stops the transmissions.
 Moving from modulo - 8 to modulo - 128 operation
significantly increases the “window” size permitted for the
link layer control.
 This concept is called as protocol emulation.
 References
 Timothy Pratt, and Charles Bostian, “Satellite
Communications”, Wiley Publications

 Dennis Roddy, “Satellite Communications”,

Tata Mcgraw Hill Publications