WGN02-WP05
AERONAUTICAL COMMUNICATIONS PANEL
WORKING GROUP “N” Networking
System-Wide Information Management (SWIM) Concept in the ATN
Architecture
Presented by Leon Sayadian
Prepared by Leon Sayadian (USA)
Eric Weill (USA)
November 2003
SUMMARY
This paper introduces the SWIM concept for global ATM, discusses how SWIM
incorporates many objectives and constructs with the ATN, and proposes that the future
Working Group N tasking include convergence with the SWIM approach for global ATM
information exchange.
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1. Introduction
1.1 Background
Eurocontrol initially presented the SWIM System concept to the FAA in 1997. The AMCP
published a paper introducing the SWIM concept in February 2000 at the third meeting of the
Working Group of the Whole in Melbourne, Australia [1]. This conceit was formally presented
by the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation to - and accepted by - the ICAO
and World Meteorological Organizations (WMO) at their Montreal conference in September
2002 [2]. RTCA elaborated on SWIM objectives in their 2002 NAS Concept of Operations
documents [3]. Subsequently, the FAA published the NAS Wide Information System (NWIS)
Concept of Use, which included more refined NWIS/SWIM objectives [4]. The FAA continues
to pursue the SWIM initiative in collaboration with US National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), US Department of Defense (DoD), and the Boeing Company. The
tentative plan for deployment is in three phases, by the end of years 2009, 2012, and 2015,
respectively.
Eurocontrol has also pursued the SWIM initiative in the air-ground domain under the TALIS
project, currently scheduled for completion by February 2004 [8]. The International Transport
Association (IATA) has also presented a position paper on the SWIM concept for ATM [9].
1.2 Scope
This paper discusses the SWIM concept for the global management of ATM information
storage, access, and exchange with modern, standardized technology. Similarities between
SWIM and ATN objectives and schema will be shown, establishing a case for the incorporation
of SWIM constructs that address ATN limitations regarding scalability, flexibility, and
interoperability. Specifics of ATM applications and their processes (e.g., weather, surveillance,
navigation, airspace, traffic, flow, management, and separation processing) will not be elaborated
upon in this paper beyond their conceptual interfaces to SWIM services.
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2. References
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ATMCP-WG/WHL/32Information Management: An Overall Approach
WP/51, 2/16/00
ICAO/WMO MET/02-IP/40 Abstract of the Eurocontrol ATM Strategy for the years
CAeM-XII/INF.40, 9/9/02
2000+ Information Management Requirements
RTCA Select Committee for National Airspace System Concept of Operations and
Free Flight, Fall 2002
Vision for the Future of Aviation
FAA/NASA/Boeing, 8/29/03 Concept of Use for Global Communications, Navigation
and Surveillance System (GCNSS)
ICAO Doc 9705, 3rd
Manual of Technical Provisions for the Aeronautical
Edition: 2002
Telecommunications Network (ATN)
ICAO AN-WP/7820:
Review of the AMCP/8 Meeting on Agenda Item 7
28/2/03
(Future Work)
ICAO AN-WP/7809: 2003
Approval of an Executive Summary for a New Task and
of the Establishment of a New Study Group
http://www.eurocontrol.fr
TALIS: Total Information Sharing for Pilot Situational
Awareness Enhanced by Intelligent Systems
IATA, AI1, Rev 5, 5/6/03
Position Paper: Operational Concept and the Need for an
ATM Global Implementation Roadmap
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3. Assumptions
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The ATN architecture will migrate to TCP/UDP/IPv6 protocols, which maps to the
SWIM architecture [6, 7].
Canonical ATN end system naming and addressing will be mapped to the IPv6 schema,
in conformance with SWIM objectives
Application information exchange language must comply with eXtensible Markup
Language (XML) to conform to SWIM requirements
Enterprise management must be enabled with SNMPv3, as per the SWIM architecture
Security services must include IPSec, PKI and either Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or
Transport Layer Security (TLS)
The ATN infrastructure will adopt the Common Information Network (CIN) network of
networks concept, with associated communications and data management functions, to
provide a high level of integration among the constituent sub-networks [4].
4. Discussion
The current ATN architecture is a framework for deploying global ATM applications,
communications, system management, directory, security, and registration services [5]. SWIM is
a newer initiative (see Figure 1), which was conceived to address the technical, operational, and
technical shortcomings of the legacy Air Navigation System and its subsystems [1].
Specifically, lack of integration, interoperability, and availability of ATM information has
hindered efficient planning and operational decision making for civil aviation. Disparate ATM
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system development efforts resulted in costly and redundant implementations, often resulting in
failures to deploy. Deployed systems have not been designed to coordinate with legacy
applications, which impacts overall management of security, configuration, and other system
parameters to achieve ATM mission goals. Additionally, the current ATN infrastructure is based
upon outmoded communication mechanisms (e.g., X.25), which have limited bandwidth and
vanishing vendor support.
With the advent of SWIM, information sharing and collaborative decision-making will be
enabled with standardized interfaces to common data repositories and communication channels.
This infrastructure will be scalable and adaptable to address future demands of global ATM.
Elements of SWIM will include:
 G-G and A-G communications (voice and data)
 Common Information Presentation
 Common Airspace Environment Database
 Integrated Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) and Aviation Meteorological Services
(i.e., MET)
 Dynamic revision of AIS and MET information to aircraft in flight
 Data management functions that enable collaborative work spaces, multi-level security and
access, and an active publish/subscribe paradigm for data access and information assurance
ATN and SWIM share similar objectives, with the following enhancements:
 SWIM supports operational and administrative applications, whereas ATN focuses primarily
on operational mission (see Figure 2)
 ATN was built upon a client-server model that required specification of ATN-compliant
communication stacks, whereas SWIM assumes that applications bundle standardized
TCP/UDP/IP communication stacks, which also enables high-speed broadband media (e.g.,
SONET)
 SWIM supports multi-cast, broadcast, and mobile (e.g., satellite link) modes
 SWIM is based upon an open, standards-based system architecture that accommodates and
manages new and legacy communication media and applications in a holistic framework
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5. Recommendation
ICAO/ACP Working Group N should study the SWIM initiative and its progress among its
various implementers (e.g., US SWIM, Euro TALIS, and IATA). The focus of this tasking
should be a serious consideration towards adopting the SWIM approach for enhancing the ATN
future architecture in support of integrating legacy and enhanced services with stakeholders.
Implementation of SWIM offers a comprehensive, flexible, timely, interoperable, secure, and
modernized approach for unified management and dissemination of vital information that will
enable globally harmonious ATM.
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6. Abbreviation
A/G
AIS
ATM
ATN
CIN
DoD
G/G
IATA
ICAO
IEFT
IPv6
ISO
MET
NAS
NASA
Nav
NWIS
OSI
PKI
QoS
RFC
SNMPv3
SONET
SSL
Surv
SWIM
TCP
TLS
UDP
Wx
XML
Air-Ground
Aeronautical Information Services
Air Traffic Management
Aeronautical Telecommunication Network
Common Information Network
Department of Defense
Ground-Ground
International Air Transport Association
International Civil Aviation Organization
Internet Engineering Task Force
Internet Protocol version 6
International Standards for Organization
METeorological services
National Air Space
National Aeronautic and Space Administration
Navigation
NAS Wide Information System
Open System Interconnection
Public Key Infrastructure
Quality of Services
Request for Comments
Simple Network Management version 3
Synchronous Optical Network
Secure Socket Layer
Surveillance
System Wide Information Management
Transmission Control Protocol
Transport Layer Security
User Data-gram Protocol
Weather
eXtensible Markup Language
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Figure 2. ATM Enabled with SWIM
Interface
standards
define open
architecture
and promote
interoperability
Human-Interface Applications
Domain Specific Applications
Client and Legacy
Airspace
Flow
Traffic
Separation
Nav
Surv
Wx
...
Information Repository and Access Methods
SWIM
TCP/UDP/IP Communications
Communications Core
Legacy
A/G Comm
Legacy
G/G
Comm
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