Virtualization Application Software and Technology (VAST)

In response to the evolving landscape of naval warfighting requirements and the Navy's strategic shift towards a common computing architecture, the AN/SQQ-89 modernization initiative is underway. This modernization initiative adopts an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) design, leveraging tactical software within virtual machines (VM).  The IaaS architecture presents numerous advantages, allowing for the seamless porting of legacy software to the latest COTS hardware with minimal investment. However, a key challenge persists in the form of the cost-intensive management of external interfaces with Navy Tactical Data System (NTDS) based systems.  In-Depth Engineering Corporation, in collaboration with IXI Technology hereby proposes our Virtualization Application Software and Technology (VAST) solution to address this problem. Our VAST solution provides a software-only abstraction of the NTDS hardware interface that (1) implements an NTDS virtual driver communicating over Ethernet, (2) uses the existing AN/SQQ-89 NTDS driver Application Programming Interface (API) termed the “Swift API” to shield tactical software from modifications, residual effects, and recertification and (3) offers an abstraction interface for extending virtualized drivers to accommodate different NTDS driver APIs.  Our approach that includes the virtualization of the Swift API retains the Navy’s investment in that API and avoids any breakage to the combat system.