satcom entities

OpenSAND entities

Table of content

• OpenSAND entities
  • OpenSAND Exploitation
  • OpenSAND Software Design

In OpenSAND, entities emulate one or more elements found in real-life satellite telecommunication systems. In OpenSAND, three entities are defined:

• the Satellite (SAT), that emulates the functionalities of a transparent or regenerative satellite.
• the Gateway (GW), that emulate functionalities of DVB-S2/RCS2-like gateways and NCCs.
• the Satellite terminals (STW), that emulate functionalities of DVB-RCS2-like user terminals.

OpenSAND Exploitation

OpenSAND entities are distributed with the opensand-core package, installed when installing the opensand meta-package. Each entity is composed of a binary that emulates all its functions when launched. To aid with the configuration and interaction between the different hosts, the OpenSAND Daemon is used. The daemon is on charge of generating the configuration for the entity, and starting/stopping the entity binaries when a simulation is started/stopped in the OpenSAND manager. Although optional, its use is strongly recommended. Otherwise, entities' binaries can be executed manually. For more information, consult the page of each entity.

OpenSAND Software Design

OpenSAND entities consist of a stand-alone binary each, that implement all emulation functionalities. OpenSAND entities interact with each other in the testbed via the OpenSAND daemon, which is also in charge of configuring the network, and generating the configuration files for the binary. For more information about the opensand:testbed_description:management:daemon:index, consult its page.

OpenSAND entities are formed by blocks, each implementing a specific set of features. The blocks are defined by the opensand:testbed_description:core:real_time:index, and interact with other blocks placed immediately upwards or downwards. The blocks at the top-most and bottom-most can also interact with external entities via sockets. For example, in both the ST and GW, the top-most block interacts with the LAN network, and the bottom-most block interacts with the emulation network.

The blocks used on each entity are described on each entity's page.