An Open Environment for Rapid Embedded Planning of On-The-Move Communications Networks Using Multi-Level Abstraction

The rapid pace of future Net Centric Warfare requires that communication plans for mission specific demands be reduced from weeks/days to hours/minutes. The demands of the mobile networks change constantly as warfighters move their network infrastructure in response to battlefield dynamics, terrain, and logistics. There is a critical need for new technology to help automate the planning process for wireless on-the-move (OTM) networks. The Army's Communications Planner for Operational and Simulation Effects with Realism (COMPOSER) project is developing an open Framework with pluggable tools for assessing and planning OTM network operations that will give warfighters the ability to predict network performance required for mission success. Once on a mission, COMPOSER allows the warfighter to check plans against actual environmental and communications conditions and replan as necessary. At the heart of the COMPOSER architecture is the Communications Effects Simulator (CES), which can model dynamic OTM network, networks at multiple abstraction levels for user selectable efficiency and accuracy. This paper will describe the technical details of the COMPOSER architecture. Additional details of the COMPOSER CES, including examples of simulation abstraction techniques, will be presented. The paper also discusses the current project status and the current transition plan into ARMY operations. The original document contains color images. Prepared in cooperation with HQ RDECOM CERDEC, Fort Monmouth, NJ.