An analysis of future capacity requirements for the U.S. Army's tactical packet network

Abstract

This thesis examines US Army's infrastructure for data communication in a tactical environment, in light of anticipated requirements. The first part of the study covers the nature of this problem; it is a technology forecast for an infrastructure project. This is followed in Chapter II by an examination of the existing infrastructure. This is used as a foundation for the discussion of the Army's approach to determining its future acquisition plan in Chapter III. Chapter IV considers the future use of the network in terms of the types of application programs that are likely to run over the network. Chapter V then considers the communications capacity that will be required simply to establish and operate the network itself. The conclusions are summarized in Chapter VI. The conclusion of this study is that the optimum future network capacity will greatly exceed the level that would be predicted by extrapolating from currently identified uses. This future level of demand will need to be supported by the network infrastructure, which requires a long lead time and large capital investment to put in place. Because future demand for digital communications will grow so rapidly, an aggressive approach to determining the future network capacity requirement is recommended. In the next ten year period, any capacity available will likely be utilized rapidly resulting in desirable operational and cost saving benefits. Therefore, future capacity should be determined to a large degree by the maximum that it is technically and economically feasible to provide.