Winlink 2000
A Digital Communications System
with support for
P2P, intranet, and internet
E-Mail & File exchange
via Amateur Radio
WL2K System Overview
CMS Halifax
CMS San Diego
CMS Perth
CMS Brentwood
CMS Wien
Internet
World wide COMMON MESSAGE SERVERS (CMS)
Synchronized and Redundant – one or two required - five available
Think of these guys as Net Control
CMS Halifax
CMS San Diego
CMS Perth
CMS Brentwood CMS Wien
Internet
Normal
Email Server
Situation normal – direct access via the web
Using RMS Express – Outpost or other
compatible message client
WR4CC@WINLINK.ORG
ANYBODY@ANYWHERE.ORG
CMS Halifax
CMS San Diego
CMS Perth
CMS Brentwood CMS Wien
Internet
HF or VHF
Situation normal or ECOM –
direct access via RF LINK
Regularly used by Maritime & RV
Using RMS Express – Outpost
or other compatible message client
No commercial traffic on Amateur
Freqs. – watch third party overseas!
WR4CC@WINLINK.ORG
Maritime Marine
ANYBODY@ANYWHERE.ORG
CMS
ANY or all of them
The last mile!
HF or VHF
Your Normal
Email Server
Radio
Data
Interface
Radio
RMS
Special Software Layer
Data
Interface
MR-ANYBODY@ANYWHERE.ORG
WR4CC@WINLINK.ORG
RMS_SYS_OP@WINLINK.ORG
VHF (packet) or HF (Pactor or Winmor)
CMS
ANY or all of them
The last mile!
HF or VHF
Your Normal
Email Server
Radio
NORMAL
INTERNET
Data
Interface
Radio
RMS
Special Software Layer
Data
Interface
MR-ANYBODY@ANYWHERE.ORG
RMS_SYS_OP@WINLINK.ORG
Emergency situation where this link
Replaces downed internet link
WR4CC@WINLINK.ORG
Agency System (LAN)
County EMC Red Cross or
Hospital
HF or VHF
Radio
Data
Interface
Radio
Data
Interface
WR4CC@WINLINK.ORG
PEER TO PEER
(P2P)
JUST LIKE ANY OTHER
DIGITAL MODE
Normally Not
keyboard to keyboard
ANY_HAM@WINLINK.ORG
What Is Needed to Use the System
To Access an RMS VHF
Packet Gateway (Local)
Computer with RMS EXPRESS or
compatable email client
Packet Terminal Node
Controller (TNC) hardware or
Software.
Audio and PTT (or CAT) interface
{Rascal, Signal Link or HB}
Within full quieting range of Packet RMS
Station – (listed at www.winlink.org)
VHF/UHF Radio
What Is Needed to Use the System
To Access an RMS HF Gateway (Worldwide)
Computer with RMS EXPRESS or compatible email client
software.
Terminal Node Controller TNC (sometimes called a modem)
Hardware or Software (Pactor or Winmor compatible)
Audio and PTT (or CAT) interface
{Rascal, Signal Link or HB}
HF Transceiver (stable) – for fully automated system you
will need CAT interface and propagation predicting
software on the control computer.
Winlink 2000 Today by the numbers
• Over 99% system availability since Nov, 1999.
•5 Full-time, Redundant, Mirror image, Common Message Servers
(CMS) in Halifax, San Diego, Washington DC, Perth, and Vienna all in
hardened sites, providing excellent reliability, worldwide. (Wash DC is DHS
sponsored, Halifax is Canadian Sponsored)
•600+ total Radio Message Servers, worldwide, in 3 major Service
Classes: Public, EmComm, Amateur, and Government (MARS
controlled) maintaining separate operations.
•Approximately 13,000 Radio users communicating with over 100,000
Email recipients, pushing an average of 150,000 messages or 280,000
minutes, monthly, with an average duration of 3.4 Minutes at 3,600
bytes/per message. The average time from message origination to
availability for delivery is less than 1 minute, regardless of distance.
•The greatest growth is now in Emergency Communications
preparedness. (Not all Amateur Radio)
Traditional role of Amateur Radio in ECOM:
• Support – Incident Command, Search,
• Report health and welfare of affected public
• Voice communications among served agencies
(EOC's, hospitals, shelters, and incident command.)
• Site tactical and rescue, damage and storm reporting
(SKYWARN).
• “Formal,” - limited written emergency traffic
handling – RTTY at best.
Why Winlink?
Our traditional methods fail to meet needs for complex
message handling in today’s agency environment!
•
Since the advent of e-mail:
– Need for delivering written procedures, lists, graphics, images,
and Pre-defined, formatted, documents to multiple recipients!
– Multiple recipient e-mail with binary attachments is the de
facto standard to carry written information.
– Hand-written message forms are seldom used, and are not
transparent to normal operations!
•
For complex messages, voice, Morse code, Radiograms, and
traditional Packet radio won’t do…
– Way too slow, translation required, inflexible, prone to error,
no permanent record, not self-originating, not point-tomultipoint.
– Doesn’t go end-to-end from user-to-user on their own
computers in their own offices & no attachments and no
automatic distribution..
Moving into the 21st Century
“Written documents impose
their own kind of discipline”
Albert Einstein
“I can’t work without a blackboard!”