Comtech EF Data Heights Networking Platform Hubs - HEI Solo-Mini, HEI-Solo and HEI-VNO

Heights Networking Platform Hub

The Comtech EF Data Heights Networking Platform hubs are engineered to elevate your services with unparalleled horsepower, efficiency and intelligence. The features within the platform were designed with the VSAT service provider and its multi-tenant environments in mind, from concept to operation. Heights combines our most efficient waveforms, header and payload compression engines, WAN optimization, proven dynamic bandwidth and power management along with bidirectional ACM capability to provide the highest user throughput, highest availability, and most optimal resource utilization available in the industry.

The Heights Networking Platform meets the demands of those operating on traditional wide beams while providing distinct advantages for those with High Throughput Satellites (HTS) in their futures. Heights is HTS ready, providing the lowest cost highest throughput solution for feeder link teleports supporting fixed or remote terminals, scaling from tens to thousands of sites economically.

Three VSAT hub configurations are offered:

 Heights Solo-Mini – Single network hub with single outbound carrier and shared bandwidth pool for inbound connections, for small private networks

 Heights Solo – Single network hub with single outbound carrier and shared bandwidth pool for inbound connections

 Heights VNO – Multi-network hub with multiple outbound carriers along with multiple associated shared bandwidth pools for inbound connections

 Custom VSAT hub configurations are also available

Heights Dynamic Network Access (H-DNA) H-DNA is an evolutionary dynamic network access technology designed for Heights return links that:

• Rapidly adapts to changing environments 
• Delivers superior efficiency & Quality of Experience (QoE) 
• Instantly assigns capacity based on network-wide demand 
• Intelligently utilizes total network bandwidth at all times 

H-DNA is fast, flexible and uncompromising, delivering unprecedented benefits to users and service providers alike.

Multi-Layer Optimization

The multi-tier optimization in the Heights Networking Platform provides the highest spectral and power efficiency in its class – delivering highest user IP bits per Hz and user IP bits per Amplifier Watt. This multi-layer approach includes:

Comtech’s Efficiency Boost (EB) on Outbound - waveform achieves a 10% – 35% increase in efficiency over the DVB-S2 standard without an increase in power or occupied bandwidth. EB accomplishes this by virtually doubling the number of available MODCODs, introducing three new ROF figures (5%, 10% and 15%) and minimizing implementation loss to near theoretical operation.

VersaFEC-2 on Inbounds – the VersaFEC-2 high-performance LDPC FEC method was specifically designed to optimize application and RF performance. VersaFEC-2 High Rate provides 38 ModCods (BPSK to 32-ARY) with performance generally better than DVB-S2 at significantly lower latency and VersaFEC-2 provides 36 ModCods (BPSK to 32-ARY). All higher order constellations are quasicircular for optimal peak-to-average performance.

Bi-Directional ACM – provides a significant increase in throughput and availability as it converts fade margin into increased capacity, making it possible to more than double the throughput for Ku-band operation, even under deep fade. Unlike other satellite networking platforms, Heights leverages ACM in both directions, ensuring that both directions of links are optimized based upon weather, beam location and antenna size.

Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation - the dynamic bandwidth allocation engine of the Heights solution resizes and can move the center frequency of inbound SCPC carriers based upon user-defined policies. The dynamic bandwidth allocation engine manages the return bandwidth pools, acting upon an automatic switching request that is initiated by a remote in response to traffic load or protocol classification of inbound traffic.

IP Header and Payload Compression – a highly robust lossless compression engine and IP header compression technique operate in conjunction to significantly reduce the total amount of data that need be transmitted over the satellite, creating a significant increase in user IP throughput for a given satellite resource. The hardware-based payload compression engine leverages industry-leading GZIPbased compression with session management for maximum compression, typically reducing required satellite bandwidth by 30-40% while software compresses Ethernet, IP, UDP, TCP and RTP headers. For a VoIP call the typical 54 byte Ethernet/IP/UDP/RTP header is reduced from 54 bytes down to as little as 1 byte, creating up to 75% additional savings. This combination ensures mission-critical application integrity while driving maximum net efficiencies.

Advanced Multi-Tier QoS – the advanced multi-tier QoS mechanism of the Heights platform performs traffic shaping while ensuring the highest quality service with minimal jitter and latency for real-time traffic, priority treatment of mission critical applications and maximum bandwidth efficiency.

Key Features

• Designed from the ground up for the VSAT service provider; seamless integration with existing IT infrastructure 
• Highly scalable platform able to support multiple business models simultaneously with networks ranging from a few sites to thousands of sites 
• Seamless layer 2 operation with VLAN support simplifies “plug-n-play” integration with provider infrastructure and maintains traffic separation among users 
• Advanced multi-tier QoS to support the service provider environment of diverse end users operating in a multi-tenant environment 
• Intelligent NetVue NMS provides insight required to operate the network optimally, maximizing resource utilization and enhancing profitability 
• Allows a network operator to support a number of different business models, including VNO and co-location 
• Comtech Network Planning Tool seamlessly integrates with the NetVue NMS to port configurations from planning to operations 
• ESS Prime service provides 24x7 consultation to ensure optimal design, implementation and operation 
• Bi-directional ACM enables optimal operation and highest network availability under all conditions, especially for on-the-move applications 
• Dynamic bandwidth and power management provide optimal resource utilization achieving highest user throughput for available bandwidth and power 
• High-performance multi-core packet processing enables the most demanding services to be supported while providing the highest throughput abilities in the industry 
• WAN optimization improves user QoE while saving bandwidth 
• Maximizes Quality of Experience (QoE) by providing the best support of mission-critical business applications that require the lowest latency and jitter possible