Aerospace Communications Router with Microservice Media Policy Mediation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional aerospace communications systems are complex and difficult to maintain due to the need to manage different information formats and media policies for various communication devices, leading to a cumbersome and inflexible communications router.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an intermediate layer of microservices, each managing a specific communication device type, to standardize information formats and media policies, simplifying the communications router's operation by handling these tasks independently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a conventional communications router manages all communication devices directly, then it can handle communications traffic routing, but the system complexity and difficulty of maintenance increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the communications management function by introducing intermediary controllers between the communications router and individual communication devices. Each controller manages a specific communication device type, handling device-specific information formats and media policies independently. This segmentation reduces the complexity of the central communications router while improving maintainability through distributed, specialized management units.
Solution Approach 2:
Intermediary controllers are introduced as mediator components between the communications router and communication devices. These controllers translate device-specific information into standardized formats for the router and enforce media policies locally, acting as buffers that simplify the router's operation while maintaining comprehensive control over heterogeneous communication devices.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the communications router handles multiple information formats directly, then it can support various communication devices, but the device complexity and processing burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediary controllers are designed with universal functionality to handle multiple information formats and media policies specific to different communication devices. Each controller is specialized for its device type but collectively they provide universal support across the entire system, allowing the central router to maintain a simplified, standardized interface while the system as a whole supports diverse communication devices.
3Adaptability or versatility
If new media types are added to the conventional system, then the system becomes more versatile, but the router requires alteration and maintenance becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system achieves dynamic adaptability by allowing new media types to be integrated through addition of new intermediary controllers rather than modification of the central router. Each new communication device type can be managed by a dedicated controller that implements the necessary information format translations and media policy enforcement, enabling the system to evolve without disrupting the core router architecture.
Data Source
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AI summary
An aerospace communications management system comprising: a communications router configured to receive information associated with a first communication device and/or a second communication device; and a first controller and a second controller each implemented as a microservice and configured to obtain respective first and second information associated with the first and second communication device, the first information being different from the second information. The first and second controllers are configured to reconfigure the respective information into a common format suitable to be received by the communications router. The first controller is configured to obtain first media policy information relating to a first media policy governing the use of the first communication device, to determine, based on the first information and the first media policy information, that the requirements of the first media policy are fulfilled; and to relay, based on the determination, the reconfigured first information to the communications router.