SatSig topic:

iDirect 5IF DVBS2

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Mar 13^th, 2008 at 11:22am

Can anybody tell me if the 5IF chassis is fully upgradable to DVBS2. I have been told there is a limitation on the chassis back plane that has been engineered only for the 18Mbits and there fore if this is the case will I have to change the complete chassis to take advantage of the new full transponder capability of the eVolution product.

Mar 13^th, 2008 at 2:13pm

The M1D1 is what is limited to 18MB (that, and its only capable of 1700 MHz). The evolution models will tune to 2GHz for Ka

Mar 13^th, 2008 at 2:28pm

Yes, Thank you Mike. But, iDirect claimed all their hardware was DVBS2 backwards compatible but itseems most of us have 5IF chassis are only going to be able to saturate a partial transponder, which means we have to buy a new chassis. This is my understanding. Perhaps you care to comment.Thanks.

Mar 14^th, 2008 at 12:03am

Depends on what your interpretation of backwards compatible is.

iDirect has no intentions of leaving behind the iNFINITI users, they are just saying that if you want to use the DVBS2 capability you have to have the hardware to do so (and that hardware/software will work with all of their satellite routers).

Mar 14^th, 2008 at 12:58pm

Thanks for that Mike. Looks like my thoughts are correct on the 5IF chassis. It looks as though we can only use 18 Mbits which does not really help me if I want to grow my network.

Mar 14^th, 2008 at 11:25pm

Researched this further today. DVBS2 is coming in the form of a single line card (M1D0)......and DVBS2 capable remotes.

So, to take advantage of DVBS2 with your iNFINITI 5IF you can slide in an M1D0 eVolution line card and build the rest of your network with standard M1D1 Rx line cards (thus retaining the highly efficient proprietary inroute-upstream protocol structure). This is incredible news if you ask me.

The iNFINITI Chassis is not a limitation at this time. If you want to illuminate and entire transponder, then a line card is what you will require (and a remote capable of seeing that outbound/downstream carrier)

Mar 28^th, 2008 at 2:15pm

Don't panic.

Each line card in the 5IF interfaces with an Ethernet connection on the back of the hub chassis that is used for transporting data to the protocol processor via an external Ethernet switch. iDirect started shipping the 5-IF hub with GigE ports a few months ago – the older hubs have 10/100M (RJ-45) Ethernet ports.

Both of these hubs can support the DVB-S2 line cards, however, the 10/100M version will not be able to transmit data to fill a full speed DVB-S2 carrier (which is close to 160 Mbps).

Pat Gannon

Business Satellite Solutions, LLC

Mar 28^th, 2008 at 5:01pm

Thanks TDMA Mike - I'm still a little confused. In the "iDirect DVB-S2 ACM FAQ" sheet it says; "Q1: What new equipment components and enhancements are part of iDirects DVB-S2/ACM offering" and one of the items listed is "Series 15000 universal 5IF with enhanced GigE Interfaces" - what is the enhanced GigE interface? Is this a field upgradeable addon to my existing 5IF chassis or does this mean I need to purchase a new 5IF that comes equiped with an ehanced GigE interface? Thanks again.

Mar 28^th, 2008 at 5:22pm

To the best of my knowledge the 10/100 interfaces on the back of the older 5-IF chassis are not upgradeable.

As I mentioned above, the DVB-S2/ACM card in an older chassis would be limited to a maximum data rate of 100 Mbps.

In the chassis with the GigE interfaces, you could run up to the full DVB-S2 limits on each DVB-S2/ACM line card that you have installed in the hub.

In the older chassis, you could run up to 100 Mbps on each DVB-S2/ACM card you have installed in the chassis.

Each line card has it's own "passthrough" connection to the RJ45 connector on the back of the hub. The max speed of the connector on the older hubs is 100 Mbps. The max speed on the connector of the new hubs is 1000 Mbps.

Does that answer your question?

Pat Gannon
Business Satellite Solutions, LLC

Mar 28^th, 2008 at 5:35pm

Thanks pgannon, you have confirmed my original suspicions. The iDirect 5IF chassis (unless u bought it in the last few months) is not fully upgradable to DVBS2 , in other words it can only saturate 18MHz of outbound traffic. Split this into 2 networks certainly does not justify me purchasing another chassis at 3 to 4 hundred thousand dollars and iDirect's claim of everything being fully backwards compatible is not accurate. I think there will be a lot of disillusion for the majority of people who have bought a 5IF chassis when they find they have to buy a new one to get the full benefits of DVBS2 Sad

Mar 28^th, 2008 at 6:04pm

NO! NO! NO!

That is not what I said.

The only difference is that you can only run up to 100 Mbps on the old chassis, versus the potential capability of DVB-S2 at 160 Mbps with the new chassis. And that is on a per line card basis.

Forget about the 18 MHz. You are confusing power (megahertz) with bandwidth (megabits). The amount of Megahertz to support either 100 Mbps or 160 Mbps will vary depending on the modulation used, but in either event it will be much, much higher than 18 MHz.

You are absolutely wrong with regard to iDirect's claims of backwards compatibility. This is an incredible feature that as far as I know is unmatched in the industry. As far as I know, everyone else providing a DVB-S2 service requires that you buy a new hub. iDirect's old hubs will support up to 100 Mbps per line card using the new DVB-S2/ACM module.

Let me see if this helps... Today's TDM (M1D1) runs at a maximum of 18Mbps. The new DVB-S2/ACM module will run at up to 100 Mbps in the old chassis, and up to 160 Mbps (or whatever the DVB-S2 maximum is) with the new chassis.

Pat Gannon
Business Satellite Solutions, LLC

Mar 28^th, 2008 at 8:31pm

By the way, the new DVB-S2/ACM module will saturate a 54 MHz transponder. It makes no difference which chassis is used.

What is still unknown as testing progresses, is how much IP throughput that much space segment will deliver. If it's more than 100 Mbps, then the old chassis will be limited to that amount, while the new one will pass any IP bandwidth above that level.

Again, please remember that Megahertz (power) and Megabits (bandwidth) are not the same. How many Megabits (Mbps) you can get out of your Megahertz (MHz) has to do with the FEC and modulation schemes used.

Pat Gannon
Business Satellite Solutions, LLC

Apr 7^th, 2008 at 12:54pm

Thanks for that pgannon.