International Space Station welcomesaboard ProCurve Networking

When ProCurve Networking by HP received an enquiry from EADS Space Transportation at the beginning of 2003, no one could have suspected what was to happen in the months that followed. EADS was interested in equipping the International Space Station’s (ISS) European Columbus module with a number of Ethernet switches. The plan was not to equip EADS’s networking workstations in Germany, but rather to use them as the basis for the first Ethernet switching solution on board the
International Space Station. This enquiry developed into one of the most demanding and unusual customer orders in the history
of ProCurve Networking.

ProCurve on board Columbus
Based in Bremen, Germany, EADS is responsible for the planning, development and manufacturing of the Columbus research module, which will in 2007 dock to the International Space Station. The module will enable scientific organisations and businesses to conduct research and experiments on the ISS. On board Columbus, a data management system and a local area network (LAN) connect the research module internally, allowing uninterrupted data exchange between the Space Station and its communication systems.

Three computers manage the IT tasks on board Columbus, carrying out functions such as data acquisition, data transmission to the ground station as well as the initiation of scheduled IT-related activities. The computers are currently networked together via 10 Mbit/second Ethernet in half duplex mode. Thanks to the capabilities of the ProCurve switches, the payload systems can now be networked at 10 Mbit/second or 100 Mbit/second (full duplex mode). In the centre of the network, there are two redundantly networked Columbus LAN switches (CLSW), developed by EADS.

To maximize its research and computing capabilities, Columbus required the implementation of a high-performance, reliable and highly resistant managed Ethernet network, to ensure that by 2007, the network on board Columbus is equipped to enable scientists the maximum research possibilities in a zero gravity environment. This network implementation on the European module of the Space Station, the requirements of which demanded a servicelife of at least ten years, will mean that for the first time in the history of space travel, there will be fully functional, production Ethernet switches operating in space.

Customer at a Glance Industry sector: Aerospace Name: EADS Space Transportation Headquarters:
Germany URL: www.eads.net

Challenge

• EADS planned to create an Ethernet switching solution on board the International Space Station.
• The solution needed to be absolutely reliable and have a service life of at least ten years.

Solution

• EADS rigorously tested devices from manufacturers including Avaya, Cisco and 3Com.
• Only the ProCurve 2524 switch from ProCurve Networking met all the requirements in terms of performance, radiation resistance, mechanical resistance, and management features.

Results

• EADS configured and installed a number of ProCurve 2524 switches.
• These were developed and optimised to ensure viability for use in space.

A rigorous selection process
Extensive tests were carried out at the Proton Irradiation Facility in Villigen, Switzerland, where switches from various
manufacturers were exposed to radiation in a particle accelerator under conditions similar to those found in space. Switches
from manufacturers including Avaya, Cisco, Netgear, 3Com and D-Link were put through rigorous examinations over a lengthy
period of time. The results revealed that the ProCurve Switch 2524 was the only switch to meet the Space Station’s needs in terms of performance, robustness, reliability, and radiation/mechanical resistance. Furthermore, impressively, the ProCurve
Switch 2524 used in testing was one taken from the standard production line.

Rolf Schmidhuber, Columbus data management system technology team leader for EADS ST explained how the components of the ProCurve Switch 2524 were a key determining factor in the selection process:

“Inside the ProCurve Switch 2524, a central switch fabric handles the majority of tasks, while the switches from other manufacturers tend to distribute across a number of chips. By using significantly fewer chips on the circuit board, this proved much more advantageous to us, as the fewer components present, the lower the susceptibility to radiation and mechanical duress during the launch into space. This was a key reason why ProCurve beat the competition.”

Another decisive factor for EADS was that the ProCurve 2524 comes with a wealth of administration and configuration options. After the decision was made to implement ProCurve, the EADS team further developed and optimised the ProCurve Switch 2524 to ensure its viability as a switch for use in space. The task of developing and optimising this implementation was handled by the EADS team responsible for Columbus system technology for on-board data processing.

Schmidhuber concluded: “To put it simply, ProCurve was the only networking vendor whose switches offered us the level of reliability and performance required to handle the intense demands on board Columbus.”

The home stretch
After nearly three years of development time, the EADS team, supported by ProCurve
Networking, finally completed the installation in April 2005. The ProCurve switches were finally configured and were
then in a position to undergo qualification testing prior to installation onboard the Columbus module.

The finishing touches were made to the ProCurve network installation on the Columbus module in December 2005. The
Columbus module is scheduled to dock with the ISS and become fully functional as of 2007. These ProCurve 2524 switches will then become the first commercial Ethernet switches in space. Given that Columbus will be operating some 400 kilometres above the Earth, EADS has on this occasion kindly waived ProCurve’s usual next business-day on-site replacement policy!

What Makes it Work Hardware

• ProCurve 2524 switches

For more information on ProCurve Networking, please visit: www.hp.com/eur/procurve

For information about the ProCurve Network Design Centre, please visit:
www.hp.com/go/requestyo urnetworkdesign