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How
does a VSAT network work? A
VSAT network has three components:
- A central hub (also called a master earth station)
- The satellite
- A virtually unlimited number of VSAT earth stations in various
locations - across a country or continent
Content originates at the hub, which features a very large -15 to
36-foot (4,5 -11m)- antenna. The hub controls the network through a
network management system (NMS) server, which allows a network operator
to monitor and control all components of the network. The NMS operator
can view, modify and download individual configuration information to
the individual VSATs.
Outbound information (from the hub to the VSATs) is sent
up to the communications satellite's transponder, which receives it,
amplifies it and beams it back to earth for reception by the remote
VSATs. The VSATs at the remote locations send information inbound (from
the VSATs to the hub) via the same satellite transponder to the hub
station.
This arrangement, where all network communication passes through the
network's hub processor, is called a "star" configuration,
with the hub station at the center of the star. One major advantage of
this configuration is that there is virtually no limit on the number of
remote VSATs that can be connected the hub. "Mesh"
configurations also allow for direct communication between VSATs. |
