Networking for Ocean Bottom Observatories Taken from the Cabled Observatory Presentation School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology February 2006

System Development and Testing Objectives The Observatory structure should be invisible to the user. To maintain reliability, minimal complexity should be placed on the ocean floor. The Observatory should not impose restrictions which will make realistic testing of instruments difficult or time-consuming. Highly reliable COTS components should be used where available.

The Ideal Observatory Structure “If it works in the Lab, it should also work on the Observatory.” The Observatory should provide reasonable levels of well-conditioned power. Data and Control communications should be transparent.

One Observatory Implementation Configure the Observatory as an extension of a Local Area Network originating at the Shore Station. Use Ethernet TCP/IP protocol to handle multiplexing and error correction.

Benefits The user can set up a model network in his lab and operate in the “full Observatory configuration” from the earliest prototype. After deployment, the TCP/IP connectivity can be extended virtually anywhere if desired. This level of expertise is available at most any participating institution.

Data The user can interact in real time with his instrument to optimize his data recovery. Data can be archived on shore and downloaded periodically or streamed continually to the user.

Conclusions A standard Local Area Network is a well- understood configuration with a very wide range of COTS equipment to chose from. The user can test his instrument – from the earliest prototype stage – in a configuration virtually identical to the Observatory.