The Local And sub-Regional Airspace management support system (LARA) has been considered for Pan-European Network Service (PENS) testing purposes in the context of SESAR.
Pan-European Network Service (PENS)
PENS is a joint EUROCONTROL/ANSPs-led initiative to provide a common Internet protocol (IP)-based network service across the European region covering voice and data communication providing efficient support to existing services and new requirements that are emerging from future Air Traffic Management (ATM) concepts.
The PENS backbone service can be used to interconnect national or regional IP networks (e.g. FAB domains). A network may be connected to this IP backbone service via one or more access points.
In order to create virtually different networks for different services (or sets of services), according to their security or performance requirements, the PENS backbone may expand and include different virtual private networks (VPN). The Local And sub-Regional Airspace management support system (LARA) is being considered for testing purposes in the context of SESAR.
Local And Regional Airspace Management (LARA)
As part of the enhanced operational concepts in Europe, the LARA system was developed to support dynamic allocation of airspace. This system allows all actors involved in airspace management, including different stakeholders such as air navigation service providers and military ATC units, to perform dynamic management and allocation of airspace. The system notably supports local and regional airspace management processes and improves civil-military co-operation and co-ordination.
Application type
The overall LARA technical architecture is based on the distributed client/server concept using modern JAVA technology and advanced the Relational Data Base Management System (RDBMS). The LARA system is mainly composed of:
- The LARA Server (LS) that will host the LARA Data Base Management System (POSTGRES RDBMS) and related LARA applications. The LARA server will make use of the JAVA RMI. This API is implemented on top of the SSL/TCP session. Both IPv4 and IPv6 internet protocols can be supported.
- The LARA Working Position (LWP), a simple desktop or laptop PC that allows the user to access the LARA services. The LWP must have a JAVA runtime environment and must support the same communication protocols as the LS.
Test Trials
For the evaluation of end-to-end performance of PENS as the potential IP backbone for ATM applications, the SESAR WP.15.2.10 project developed its own network acceptance tests. It applied the test and validation procedure for various applications and as well for the LARA application.
For the testing, three different LARA Clusters were built up in two different locations. In Maastricht Upper Area Control centre (MUAC) it was simulated one cluster and in Madrid (AENA) there were installed two other clusters. For all clusters the option was to use a server and a client on a separated PC to simulate the different users in one country. In addition to each cluster it was also used a remote client to simulate a military flying Squadron on an exercise or overseas.
The overall test result of LARA performance over the PENS network has shown a good performance of the real time use of the PENS network (IPv4 or IPv6) and the easy use of a civil-military application in a state of the art IP network.
The next step in WP 15.2.10 will be to run a security test on different applications. The LARA application will be also verified against the different attacks from the outside environment. During the test the attacker will use open-source software available on the market. The test trails will be conducted in November this year.