Aitech claims S-A6640 is first managed space-ready Ethernet switch
Claimed to be the space industry’s first managed Ethernet switch, the S-A6640 has been released by Aitech. The standalone small form factor managed Ethernet switch is suitable for near earth orbit and low earth orbit (NEO / LEO) space missions.
Aitech Systems provides rugged boards and system level solutions for military, aerospace and space applications. The S-A6640 is a managed Ethernet switch / router with 12x1GE copper ports and uses IP and Ethernet protocols to help significantly improve communication speeds. It is also claimed to lower costs and “significantly improve” time-to-market for small satellite constellations as well as manned missions.
The S-A6640 can be installed in any NEO or LEO space mission with any target platform size, said Aitech.
In addition to serving as the centerpiece of the Aitech Space Digital Backbone (DBB) architecture for LEO / NEO applications, the switch operates as the main connectivity hub for any small satellite or human rated space mission, operating as a scalable network architecture for all on board computing and communication equipment.
Alex Trigoub, space product line manager for Aitech, said: “Compared to other protocols, such as 1553B, Serial and SpaceWire, Ethernet provides a much higher bandwidth and far more flexibility in a wide variety of applications. It also provides its own mechanisms for protection and redundancy, including xSTP & VRRP, which are both supported by the S-A6640 to eliminate the chance of communications failure.”
Specific uses of the S-A6640 include connectivity for general purpose graphic processing units (GPUs), edge computing and storage as well as network protection, resiliency and scalability in NEO / LEO space applications, especially in applications with two redundant S-A6640s installed.
The switch offers fast boot to restore operation immediately in the event of a power spike / outage. The IPv4 / IPv6 dual stack routing enables the S-A6640 to be used in any type of IP network and the secure SSH and HTTPS interfaces allows for remote management access.
