Configuration
The Configuration tab is where you configure the Ephemeris servers, equipment rooms and SatGen positions that are part of your TunnelSat system.
The Ephemeris software runs on a computer with a Novotel GNSS engine connected. The software will gather all the live sky data and save it to the Ephemeris server. The Ephemeris servers will store the live sky data and send it to your system. SatGen uses the data it receives from the Ephemeris server to generate new positions based on the locations set in the TunnelSat configuration, which is then sent to the relevant TunnelSat units.
The Equipment Rooms group equipment that are installed in the same area, and the SatGen positions will provide the physical locations of the TunnelSat units in the configured equipment rooms.
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Click on the Settings button in the top right corner to open and edit the software and Monitoring Service settings. |
Settings
- ►General
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The General settings cover the startup tab and the auto-refresh settings.
Tab on Startup:
Auto-Refresh
Auto-Refresh Interval (s)
- ►Configuration
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The Configuration settings apply to the master configuration location and data storage. The default master configuration location is the computer you are currently working and the default data storage location is set as a TunnelSat directory on the loacal computer.
PC Name:
Data Path:
- ►Monitoring
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The Monitoring settings apply to the Monitoring Service(s) that is performing the status monitoring of the TunnelSat system.
Note: Monitoring settings will take effect until they have been deployed. -
Communicate Directly with TunnelSats
Tick this box to bypass the monitoring service and the API and make the software communicate directly with the connected TunnelSat units.
Note: This feature will not provide any fault information, it will only provide the real-time data from the TunnelSat units. Status Monitor Startup Grace Period (s)
When the Monitoring Service starts monitoring, it will wait for the set amount of time before it starts reporting on the data. This gives the system time to start generating and simulating data before the Monitoring Service starts raising potential faults and attempts to resolve them.
Enter the number of seconds you want it to wait before it starts reporting on the data.
You can use the arrow buttons next to the field to increase/decrease the time or you can type it directly into the field.Due to the complexity of the system setup, we recommend that you use a minimum of 120 seconds for the Status Monitor Startup Grace Period.
Post Resolution Grace Period (s)
If the Monitoring Service has raised a fault and attempted to resolve it, the Monitoring Service will not raise any new faults during the set grace period. It will, however, continue to report the status of an already-raised fault.
Enter the number of seconds you want the Monitoring Service to wait before raising potential new faults.
You can use the arrow buttons next to the field to increase/decrease the time or you can type it directly into the field.Due to the complexity of the system setup, we recommend that you use a minimum of 120 seconds for the Post Resolution Grace Period.
Position Restart Grace Period (s)
If the Monitoring Service has raised a fault and attempted to resolve it by requesting a position restart, the Monitoring Service will not raise any new faults during the set grace period.
Enter the number of seconds you want the Monitoring Service to wait before raising potential new faults.
You can use the arrow buttons next to the field to increase/decrease the time or you can type it directly into the field.Due to the complexity of the system setup, we recommend that you use a minimum of 120 seconds for the Position Restart Grace Period.
Time Out of Tolerance Threshold (ms)
The Monitoring Service looks at the difference in time that is being generated compared to the current time on other parts of the system. The API computer, the Status Monitoring computer and the SatGen computer in the system all need to have their time synchronised to the grand master clock (within milliseconds). This can be done via NTP or PTP. If, for any reason, these computers are out of sync by more than the set threshold, the Monitoring Service will raise a fault and attempt to resolve the fault.
Enter the number of milliseconds you want the Monitoring Service to start raising faults at.
You can use the arrow buttons next to the field to increase/decrease the time or you can type it directly into the field.We recommend that you use a threshold of 1000 ms.
Position not in Tolerance Distance Threshold (m)
The Monitoring Service will compare the position that is set to be simulated with the position it is receiving in the data. If the difference is bigger than the set threshold distance, it will raise a fault and take action to resolve the fault.
Enter the number of meters you want the Monitoring Service to start raising faults at.
You can use the arrow buttons next to the field to increase/decrease the distance or you can type it directly into the field.We recommend that you use a threshold of 5 to 10 m.
TunnelSat Buffer Errors Overrun Threshold
The Monitoring Service will receive data from the TunnelSat units reporting the amount of overruns they are experiencing. The Monitoring Service raise a fault if the reported number is above the set threshold and attempt to resolve the fault.
Enter the number of overruns you want the Monitoring Service to start raising faults at.
You can use the arrow buttons next to the field to increase/decrease the number of instances or you can type it directly into the field.We recommend that you use a threshold of 5 instances.
TunnelSat Buffer Errors Underrun Threshold
The Monitoring Service will receive data from the TunnelSat units reporting the amount of underruns they are experiencing. The Monitoring Service raise a fault if the reported number is above the set threshold and attempt to resolve the fault.
Enter the number of underruns you want the Monitoring Service to start raising faults at.
You can use the arrow buttons next to the field to increase/decrease the number of instances or you can type it directly into the field.We recommend that you use a threshold of 5 instances.
TunnelSat Soft Restart Only
There are two ways to restart the TunnelSat:
- Soft restart - restarts the main processor but not the FPGA. This means that the PPS and 10 MHz pass-through will be unaffected.
- Hard restart - This type of restart will disrupt the PPS and 10 MHz pass-through, which means that all downstream TunnelSat units will be affected and will need to restart SatGen and maybe restart themselves.
Tick this box to stop the Monitoring Service from performing hard restarts on TunnelSat units.
Close
When you have adjusted the settings to your requirements, click Close to confirm the changes and close the Settings window.
Log
Click the Log button in the bottom left corner of the Settings window to open the Log directory in File Explorer. Version
You will see the version number of the current instance of the TunnelSat Setup and Monitoring software in the bottom right corner of the Settings window.
Master Configuration:
The Master Configuration area is where you set the Ephemeris server you want to use to use to send the live sky data to your system and the connection mode you want to use for it.
Ephemeris Server IP Addresses
Enter the IP address to the Ephemeris server you want to use. If you have not configured an equipment room yet, you must configure an equipment room before you can apply the Ephemeris server.
Ephemeris Connection Mode
There are two modes for connecting to the Ephemeris server. We recommend that you use Multicast Endpoint (UDP).
IP Servers (TCP)
With the TCP server method, SatGen will open a connection to the server (via the Ephemeris server's IP address) that they can use to communicate directly with each other.
Multicast Endpoint (UDP)
With the Multicast Endpoint (User Datagram Protocol) method, the Ephemeris server will send a constant data stream to the multicast endpoint, which devices in that multicast group can listen to. When using Multicast, SatGen will automatically listen for activity on the multicast address. You can use any valid multicast endpoint suitable for your use case.
When you select Multicast Endpoint (UDP) as your mode, the IP address and Port fields will become available.
Enter the IP address for your Multicast Endpoint and the port you want to use for it.
Apply All
Click Apply All to apply the set Ephemeris server and connection method to the system.
Deploy
When you have configured the Ephemeris Server, the required equipment rooms, and SatGen positions, click Deploy to push the configuration to the relevant locations in the system. The Deploy button will have a number in brackets that indicate how many locations will be affected by the configuration you are deploying.
When you click the Deploy button, the Compare Configuration pop-up will appear. This window will highlight the changes you have made in the different system areas to make it easier to check and confirm the changes before they are deployed to the system.
- ►Compare Configuration Pop-Up
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The Compare Configuration window has a navigation tree on the left-hand side where you can navigate between the different setting areas relevant to the new or changed settings. New settings will be highlighted green. Any settings that have been changed from the currently deployed configuration will be highlighted in yellow.
Cancel
If you want to make further changes, click Cancel to close the Compare Configuration window and return to the Configuration tab. Make the relevant changes and click Deploy again.
Deploy All
When you are happy with your changes, you must decide if you want to deploy the updated settings only or if you want to deploy the full configuration again.
The Deploy All tick box is located in the bottom left corner in the Compare Configuration window.
When this box is ticked the software will deploy the full configuration again.
When this box is not ticked the software will deploy the updated settings only.
Deploy
Click the Deploy button to confirm your changes and selections and deploy them.
Equipment Rooms:
Add Equipment Room
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Click the Add Equipment Room button on the right-hand side of the Equipment Rooms: area to configure a new equipment room. This will open the Add Equipment Room pop-up, where you can add relevant information and configure the room. |
- ►Add Equipment Room Pop-Up
- Equipment Room Number
When you add a new equipment room the software will automatically allocate the next available sequential number as the room number.
You can change the allocated room number by using the arrow buttons on the right-hand side of the text field to increase/decrease the number or by typing it directly into the field.
- Equipment Room PC Name
The PC name can either be the friendly PC name or the IP address of the machine that will be running the required services in the equipment room.
When using the friendly PC name, you must be using a network with a DNS server.
- Equipment Room Data Location
This is the local path to the TunnelSat root directory used for the equipment room.
This will usually not need to be changed unless you require a network path to access the root directory.
- Web API IP Address
If you are running the Web API on a different machine than the one specified in the Equipment Room PC Name field, you must enter the IP address of the Web API here.
If this does not apply to your setup, leave the field empty.
Ephemeris Connection Mode
Select the required method to connect to the Ephemeris server(s).- IP Servers (TCP)
Select this method if you want your equipment room to communicate directly with the Ephermeris server. - Multicast Endpoint (UDP)
Select this method if you want your equipment room to collect data from a set multicast endpoint that is receiving data from the Ephemeris server.
- IP Servers (TCP)
- IP Addresses:
This field will be available when you select IP Servers as the Ephemeris Connection Mode.
Enter the IP addresses you want to use for TCP communication to receive the Ephemeris data.
- IP Address:
This field will be available when you select Multicast Endpoint as the Ephemeris Connection Mode.
Enter the IP address to the multicast endpoint you want to use for the distribution of the Ephemeris data.
- Port:
This field will be available when you select Multicast Endpoint as the Ephemeris Connection Mode.
Enter the port for the multicast endpoint you want to use for the distribution of the Ephemeris data.
- Add
Click on the Add button to confirm the configuration and add the new equipment room to the list.
- Close
Click Close to close the pop-up without adding a new equipment room.
- Close After Add
When this box is ticked, the new equipment room will be added to the list when you click Add and the pop-up window will be closed.
When this box is not ticked, the new equipment room will be added to the list when you click Add and the pop-up will automatically reopen for you to add another equipment room.
- Equipment Room Number
Edit Equipment Room
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Click on an equipment room in the list to select it and click the Edit Equipment Room button on the right-hand side of the Equipment Rooms: area to update the configuration for it. This will open the Edit Equipment Room pop-up, which contains the configuration that was entered when the equipment room was added. |
Remove Equipment Room
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Click on an equipment room in the list to select it and click the Remove Equipment Room button on the right-hand side of the Equipment Rooms: area to remove the room from the list. |
SatGen Positions:
When you have created an equipment room, click on the relevant equipment room to select it and add SatGen positions to that room.
Add SatGen Position
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Click on the Add SatGen Position button on the right-hand side of the SatGen positions: area to open the Add SatGen Instance window and input the information needed for the position. |
- ►Add SatGen Instance Pop-Up
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- Position Number
When you add a new SatGen position, the software will automatically allocate the next available sequential number as the position number.
You can change the allocated position number by using the arrow buttons on the right-hand side of the text field to increase/decrease the number or by typing it directly into the field.
- SatGen PC Name
The SatGen PC name can either be the friendly PC name or the IP address of the machine that will be running the required services in the equipment room.
When using the friendly PC name, you must be using a network with a DNS server.
- SatGen Data Location
This is the local path to the TunnelSat root directory used for the SatGen position.
This will usually not need to be changed unless you require a network path to access the root directory.
- TunnelSat IP Address
This is where you enter the IP address to the relevant TunnelSat unit on the network.
- TunnelSat RF Channel
This is the RF channel that this SatGen instance is using on the TunnelSat unit.
Use the arrow buttons in the field to increase/decrease the channel number or you can type the required number directly into the field.
- TunnelSat Port
This is the required TCP port to connect the SatGen instance to the correct channel on the TunnelSat unit.
The TunnelSat port is populated by default.
- Override
Tick this box to access and manually change the TunnelSat Port.
- Latitude ( °)
Enter the latitude value in degrees of the position you want to be simulated.
Use the arrow buttons in the field to increase/decrease the channel number or you can type the required number directly into the field.
- Longitude ( °)
Enter the longitude value in degrees of the position you want to be simulated.
Use the arrow buttons in the field to increase/decrease the channel number or you can type the required number directly into the field.
- Altitude (m)
Enter the altitude value in metres of the position you want to be simulated.
Use the arrow buttons in the field to increase/decrease the channel number or you can type the required number directly into the field.
- Attenuation (dB)
Enter the attenuation value in dB that you want to apply to the position (between 0 and -30 dB) to reduce the signal strength.
Use the arrow buttons in the field to increase/decrease the channel number or you can type the required number directly into the field.
- Timing Advance (ns)
Enter the required delay in the TunnelSat unit (in nanoseconds). This is to reduce or remove time difference between the incoming PPS and the output PPS to avoid data loss.
Use the arrow buttons in the field to increase/decrease the channel number or you can type the required number directly into the field.
- Final Cable Delay (ns)
Enter the delay between the TunnelSat unit and its connected antenna (in nanoseconds). This is to reduce or remove time difference between the signal leaving the TunnelSat unit and the time it reaches the antenna due to the cable length an type.
Use the arrow buttons in the field to increase/decrease the channel number or you can type the required number directly into the field.
- Timing Pulse Cable Delay (ns)
Enter the delay between the timing pulse and the TunnelSat unit (in nanoseconds). This is to reduce or remove time difference that is caused by the cable length and the timing signal pass through of the units.
Use the arrow buttons in the field to increase/decrease the channel number or you can type the required number directly into the field.
- Max Satellites
Enter the maximum number of satellites that should be simulated for this position (we recommend using 8 for a stable signal.)
The more satellites you simulate the more strain it will put on your SatGen machine.
Use the arrow buttons in the field to increase/decrease the channel number or you can type the required number directly into the field.
- Add
Click on the Add button to confirm the configuration and add the new position to the list.
- Close
Click Close to close the pop-up without saving the configuration and adding a new position.
- Close After Add
When this box is ticked, the new position will be added to the list when you click Add and the pop-up window will be closed.
When this box is not ticked, the new position will be added to the list when you click Add and the pop-up will automatically reopen for you to add another position.
- Position Number
Edit SatGen Position
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Click on a position in the list to select it and click the Edit SatGen Position button on the right-hand side of the SatGen Positions: area to update the configuration for it. This will open the Edit SatGen Position pop-up, which contains the configuration that was entered when the position was added. |
Remove SatGen Position
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Click on a position in the list to select it and click the Remove SatGen Position button on the right-hand side of the SatGen Positions: area to remove the position from the list. |