CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES)

The Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) is an accepted skills training
programme, which forms part of the approved minimum Academic Standards in the various
degree programmes for all Nigerian Universities. It is an effort to bridge the gap existing
between theory and practice of Management and other professional educational
programmes in the Nigerian tertiary institutions.

The Scheme exposes students to industry based skills necessary for a smooth transition
from the classroom to the world of work.

It affords students of tertiary institutions the opportunity of being familiarized and exposed
to the needed experience in handling machinery and equipment which are usually not
available in the educational institutions.

Participation in SIWES has become a necessary pre-condition for the award of Diploma and
Degree certificates in specific disciplines in most institutions of higher learning in the
country, in accordance with the education policy of government.

1.1.1 OBJECTIVES OF SIWES

Specifically, the objectives of the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme are to:
1. Provide an avenue for students in the Nigerian Universities to acquire industrial skills
and experience in their course of study;
2. Prepare students for the work situation they are likely to meet after graduation;
3. Expose students to work methods and techniques in handling equipment and machinery
that may not be available in the universities;
4. Make the transition from the University to the world of work easier, and thus enhance
student’s contacts for later job placement;
5. Provide students with an opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge in real work
situation, thereby bridging the gap between university work and actual practice ; and
6. Enlist and strengthen employers’ involvement in the entire educational process of
preparing university graduates for employment in industry.

1.2 BACKGROUND OF THE COMPANY

ipNX Nigeria Limited is a leading provider of infrastructure-based Telecommunications and

Information Technology services here in Nigeria. With more than a decade of experience,
the company was formed by the divestment of the telecommunications services division of
Telnet Nigeria Limited and has been in operation for over four years.

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ipNX provides 5 different services and they include:

1. ipNX Connect
ipNX Connect is the service provided for organizations wishing to connect 2 or more
locations across the same metropolis. This service is available to IPNX customers located in
Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Yenagoa – where IPNX is licensed by the NCC to provide
Fixed Wireless Access in the 3.5G frequency.

This is IP based and able to carry all forms of traffic including data, voice, Internet and video.
It is provided using an OFDM technology (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing)
platform which gives allows more robust capabilities.

2. ipNX VSAT*
This is a satellite based offering developed to address communications needs of business
organizations needing connectivity to remote or locations or businesses seeking to connect
a number of geographically dispersed sites to Head Office and to each other.

ipNX Vsat supports IP and is therefore ideally suited to today’s broadband applications
including corporate data and intranets, digital video broadcasting, disaster recovery,
distance learning, fax, Internet Access, Local Area Networks, video conferencing, video
streaming, and Voice over IP (VoIP).

The service provides virtually error-free digital data communications and a minimum
network availability of 98% of the service period.

3. ipNX Web
Users of ipNX Web can either access the service over ipNX metropolitan networks (Lagos,
Abuja, Port Harcourt, Yenagoa) or over the VSAT network (c band) for all areas outside the
previously listed locations.

ipNX Web is particularly suited to corporate organizations to which Internet access is

mission critical. These users can monitor their link usage online real time and can share a
pool of Internet bandwidth over several locations within a metropolis. Bandwidth can also
be shared between points located in different towns.

iWireless is a variation of ipNX Web that was recently introduced and it wireless broadband
internet access based on the WiMax technology. This feature offers non line of sight (NLOS)
access at speeds above 400Mbps with easily installed plug and play devices.

4. ipNX Mail
ipNX Mail is an outsourced corporate email platform designed to drastically reduce the
resource commitments required for any business wishing to have the benefit of a
customized, corporate email system by providing an affordable out sourced e-messaging
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platform that eliminates the cost and complexity of management currently associated with
e-messaging in Nigeria.

5. ipNX Host

The chart below illustrates how the departments at ipNX are divided:

Table 1.0: Departments at ipNX Nigeria Limited

1.3 THE NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTER (NOC)

During the course of my Industrial Training, I was stationed at the Network Operations
Centre, located at Oregun Ikeja. The Network Operations Center, or NOC, is the primary
work space engineers utilize to monitor, manage and troubleshoot problems on a network.
The Network Operations Center offers oversight of problems, configuration and change
management, network security, performance and policy monitoring, reporting, quality
assurance, scheduling, and documentation by utilizing sophisticated network management,
monitoring and analysis tools.

The NOC was also solely responsible for the installation, commissioning, management and
maintenance of all ipNX’s Vsat links and also acted as the VSat hub. It basically designs,
creates, secures and supports satellite communications across dispersed geographical
locations in other to stream line processes as well as increase profitability by providing data
and internet access to clients ranging from financial institutions, manufacturing companies,
oil and gas industries, multi national conglomerates and a whole lot of others.

Typical functions of the NOC include:

Installation and maintenance of new and existing vsat links.

Maximize network reliability to maintain high up time

Proactively monitor the Vipersat Network (ipNX VSat Virtual Private Network)

Troubleshooting of all network and system related problems.

Communicate network status to ipNX clients during fault situations

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Opening tickets to track and document resolution of problems.

Providing quality support for network users.

Network Alterations

Network Service requests.

Maintain and report network statistics to ipNX management

Ensuring continuous operation of servers and services.

24 hours a day, 7 days a week supervised operation by highly skilled network and system
engineers.

1.3.1 NETWORKING EQUIPMENT AT THE NOC

The set of equipment outside of the building is called the Outdoor Unit (ODU) and it
includes the following:

a. Solid State Power Amplifier: This is a low powered transmitter used to amplify radio
frequency signals.
b. Feed System: This comprises of the Feedhorn, the BUC and the LNB
The Feedhorn gathers the reflected RF signals from the earth station antenna and
focuses the signal on the Low Noise Block Down Converter (LNB)

The LNB receives, amplifies and converts the RF signal to an Intermediate Frequency
(IF) signal which are the useable frequency in the In Door Unit (IDU)

The Block Up Converter (BUC) converts a block or band of frequencies to a higher

frequency. It transmits an L-Band input signal.

c. Radio Frequency Terminal (RFT): this is an equipment which provides the up and down
conversion of signals in a satellite based network
d. Earth Station Antenna: this equipment sends and receives signals from a satellite. There
are 4 dish systems in the ODU of the NOC.

For the 2.4m dish systems, the attached equipment includes the LNB and RFT. The
satellite in orbit is the NSS7 and the bandwidth leased by Newskies for uplink is
1Mbps while the downlink is 7.17Mbps

The 3.8m dish system has its satellite orbit on Intelsat 904 and the bandwidth leased
from Intelsat for Transmission (uplink) is 320Mbps while the downlink is 1Mbps. The
attached equipments are the RFT and the LNB

For the 6.5m dish, the satellite in orbit is Intelsat 903 and it’s receive and transmit
bandwidth vary from client to client as data services are provided to the Vipersat
clients through the dish.

The 9.3m dish is on Satellite orbit Intelsat 903 and the bandwidth based for transmit
is 896Kbps. SSPA attached to the dish system amplifies the transmitted signal. An
RFT is also attached.
The set of equipment in the building of the NOC is called the In Door Unit (IDU) and it
includes the following:

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a. Modems (Modulator – Demodulator)
The 70MHz Vipersat SMR5000 modem is used in the IDU of the NOC. A receive IF cable
is connected to the “RCV IF IN” port at the back of the modem in other to receive data
traffic. Also a transmit IF cable is connected to the “XMT IF OUT” port at the back of the
modem.

If the Single Channel Per Carrier (SCPC) system of channeling is used, then a modem is
used to represent a single carrier/client.. The carrier is dedicated to all the satellite
resources allocated to its single terminal configuration.

In the NOC, there are about 21 clients in number being serviced using this technology.
These clients receive data only at a very good link performance. The SCPC vipersat
clients range from FCMB, Pan Ocean, Intercontinental and a whole lot of others.

If the Selective Time Division Multiple Access (STDMA) system of channeling is

employed, then a single carrier is time shared by many uses. The modem is used to
represent about seven users’ clients with each sharing the same terminal configuration.
There are 5 STDMA group modems ranging from group 1 to 5 each with a receive
bandwidth of 512Mbps

b. The Outbound Modems

These basically transmit and receive data. There are three outbounds; outbound 1, 2,
and 3, with bandwidths of 1024Kbps, 1024 Kbps and 512kbps respectively.

To receive data traffic, the RX modems have the IF cable connected to the RXV IF IN port
thereby forwarding the traffic to the viper switch connected to each respective RX
modem.

c. Digital Video Broadcaster (DVB)

This is also a modem that supports Internet services (images and voice). The DVB is used
to receive Internet services. The RX IF cable from the RFT of the 2.4m and 3.8m dish
system is directly connected to the tunner LNB port of the respective DVB. The DVB is
directly connected to the outside switch.

The TX IF cable from the RFT of the dish system for internet access services is connected
to the XMT IF OUT of the TX modem whose data interface port is connected to the serial
port of the internet access outside router. This router is also connected to the outside
switch.

d. Packeteer: is connected to the outside switch identifies how WAN and internet
resources are consumed. It shapes the packet received from the outside switch
depending on the Committed Information Rate (CIR).

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e. The Inside Switch: is connected to the Packeteer and distributes the traffic to the
various equipments connected to it.

f. The AP Gateway and VPN Routers: connected to the inside switch forward the internet
traffic to the Pasolink radio which forwards the Ikeja base station that eventually gets
the internet services to the end users.

g. Test Equipment: these devices are used for testing the quality of the links during link
outages or at other times and include the Spectrum Analyzer and a digital multimeter.

The digital multimeter is used to test the continuity of the Inter Facility Link (IFL)
cables. These are cables that run between the RFT’s and the modems and could
sometimes be damaged. To check for continuity, one end of the cable is bridged
while the other end is tested.

The spectrum analyzer is an instrument that displays levels of an electrical signal as
a function of the respective frequencies. It can show the individual frequency
components that make up a complex signal can be used to check/measure
frequency, absolute power levels, Carrier to noise ratio, bandwidth, and interfering
signals.

Figure 1.0 NOC network connections

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Figure 1.2: Internet and VPN data path through NOC

Figure 1.3 A section of the indoor unit at the NOC

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 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS BASICS

2.1 SATELLITES
The satellite itself is also known as the space segment, and is composed of three separate
units, namely the fuel system, the satellite and telemetry controls, and the transponder. The
transponder includes the receiving antenna to pick-up signals from the ground station, a
broad band receiver, an input multiplexer, and a frequency converter which is used to
reroute the received signals through a high powered amplifier for downlink. The primary
role of a satellite is to reflect electronic signals.

New-generation satellites are regenerative; that is, they have onboard processing capability
making them more of an intelligent unit than a mere repeater. This capability enables the
satellite to condition, amplify, or reformat received uplink data and route the data to
specified locations, or actually regenerate data onboard the spacecraft as opposed to simply
acting as a relay station between two or more ground stations.

2.1.1 TYPES OF SATELLITES

There are in general, four types of satellites:

Low-Earth-Orbiting Satellite (LEO)

LEO satellites orbit the earth in paths that stretch approximately 160 to 1,600 km above the
earth’s surface. These satellites are small, and easy to launch, and thus are easily mass
produced.
A network of LEO satellites typically has the capacity to carry vast amounts of facsimile, e-
mail, batch file, and broadcast data at great speed and communicate to end users through
terrestrial links on ground-based stations.

Middle-Earth-Orbit Satellites (MEO)

An MEO is a circular orbit, orbiting approximately 8,000 to 18,000 km above the earth’s
surface, and not necessarily above the equator. An MEO satellite is a compromise between
the lower orbits and the geosynchronous orbits.
MEO system design involves more delays and higher power levels than satellites in the
lower orbits. However, it requires fewer satellites to achieve the same coverage.

High-Elliptical-Orbiting Satellites (HEO)

An HEO satellite is a specialized orbit in which a satellite continuously swings very close to
the earth, loops out into space, and then repeats its swing by the earth. It is an elliptical
orbit approximately 18,000 to 35,000 km above the earth’s surface, not necessarily above
the equator. HEOs are designed to give better coverage to countries with higher northern or
southern latitudes.

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Systems can be designed so that the highest altitude-point of the orbit, the apogee, is
arranged to provide continuous coverage in a particular area.

Geostationary Satellites (GEO)

Communications satellites are usually brought into the geostationary orbit (or Clarke belt)
which is located 35,800km above the equator. At this altitude, the satellite has an orbital
velocity equal to the earth’s rotational speed, causing the satellite to appear to remain
motionless above the earth. Thus ground antennas can easily be aimed and stay pointed
towards the right place.

The position of a satellite on the Clarke Belt is referred to as a position or slot. It is expressed
n degrees and indicates a point east or west of the prime meridian. Figure 2.1 shows the
orbital position of some of the commercial communications satellites.

Most commercial GEO’s provide satellite services in the C and Ku band of the radio
spectrum. Table 2.1 shows typical link frequency bands. The uplink and downlink frequency
are different to avoid interference between the two signals on the satellite and at the earth
station. The uplink frequency is higher because it reduces the complexity of the satellite by
permitting a smaller receive antenna and reducing the size of the travelling wave tube in the
power amplifiers.

To further isolate the signals, one polarization is usually used for the uplink and the on the
downlink, although the principal reason for polarization is to allow for frequency reuse.

Band Uplink Frequency (GHz) Downlink Frequency (GHz)

C 5.925 – 7.075 3.7 – 4.2
Ku 14.0 – 14.5 11.7 – 12.2
Ka 27.5 – 31.0 17.7 – 21.2
Table 2.1 Typical Links Frequency Band Allocation

2.1.2 SATELLITE FOOTPRINTS

This is an area on earth illuminated by a satellite antenna. Its shape and size depends on a
number of factors, including the antenna design and the satellite’s angle of elevation. The
measure of the signal strength of this footprint is known as the Effective Isotropic Radiated
Power (EIRP). It is a product of the power supplied to the antenna and the antenna gain in a
given direction and it is expressed in dBW.

An earth station located near the centre of the footprint will have an advantage in the
received signal compared to another located at the edge of the same beam of the satellite.
It should be noted that there is an inverse relationship between EIRP and the antenna
diameter. The higher the EIRP, the smaller the dish required.

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Figure 2.1 Commercial Satellites in Geosynchronous Orbit

2.2 The Earth Station

An earth station basically comprises of an antenna, a downconverter, an upconverter, and a

modem.

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2.2.1 EARTH STATION ANTENNAS
The initial gain of a satellite system is provided by the earth station antenna and it is by far
the most important gain in the satellite system. The antenna consists of a parabolic reflector
and a feed system. There are three main types of parabolic antenna:

Prime Focus Antenna: this type of antenna is round and has its feed system located at
the focal point of the antenna. They are relatively simple and easy to manufacture.

Offset Antenna: these antennas have smaller diameters and the feed offset from the
centre of the reflector. Offset antennas achieve better radiation because of less aperture
blockage.

Cassegrain Antenna: this can either be centre feed or offset fed and it is a parabolic dish
using a secondary hyperbolic sub-reflector. It achieves higher efficiency than the primary
types because the angle of the wave front entry to the feed horn is less. Bigger earth
station dishes are usually of this type of antenna.

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2.2.1.1 THE FEED SYSTEM
The basic function of a feed system is to shape the beam in order to provide the required
uniform illumination of the main reflector and to separate the transmit and receive signals
with minimum loss and interference.

A typical feed construction consists of the following:

Feedhorn: An open-ended waveguide designed to radiate maximum power in one
direction by shaping the beam.

Ortho Mode Transducer (OMT): this consists of a circular section of waveguide and a
rectangular branch section and it allows the transmit and receive signals co-exist in a
common unit with minimum interaction between the two.

Transmit Reject Filter: this is connected to the receive port of the OMT and it prevents
uplink (transmit) signal from entering the LNA

Waveguides: this provides a low loss transmission path for microwave signals as coaxial
cables or wire would cause very high attenuation at such frequencies.

Low Noise Amplifier (LNA): this is a preamplifier between the antenna and the earth
station receiver. The LNA is especially designed to contribute the least amount of
thermal noise to the received signal. The gain is typically between 50-100 dB.

Figure 2.5 : An antenna feed system with an LNB and a BUC.

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2.2.2 DOWNCONVERTERS

Low Noise Converter (LNC)

This is a combination of an LNA and a down converter which receives Radio Frequency from
a satellite and converts it to Intermediate Frequency (IF) used by the demodulators.

Low Noise Block Converter (LNB)

This is an inexpensive receive component that converts broadband data and video signals
on satellite downlinks to L-band frequencies. It receives power via the coaxial cable and no
external local oscillator signals are required for the down conversion.

Figure 2.6: Block Diagram of an LNB

2.2.3 UPCONVERTERS

Block Upconverter (BUC)

A BUC converts a band (or "block") of frequencies from a lower frequency to a higher
frequency. Modern BUCs convert from the L band to Ku band, C band and Ka band.

Most BUCs use phase-locked local oscillators and require an external 10 MHz reference
frequency to maintain the correct transmit frequency.

Radio Frequency Transceiver (RFT)

The RFT provides the up and down conversion between 70MHz IF and Ku/C Band frequency.
It consists of a LNC/LNB and a driver unit which contains the power supply, Up Converter,
synthesized frequency sources, monitor and control (M&C) circuitry, and a Solid State Power
Amplifier (SSPA).

2.2.4 Modems
Satellite modems usually support the following features and functions:

Satellite Modem Transmit: this modulates the data from the input interface using either
BPSK or QPSK and amplifies it to the correct level to drive the RF transceivers or the
upconverter.

Satellite Modem Receive: this filters the signal from the downconverter and passes it on
to the demodulator which recovers the data stream and performs error correction.

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Data Interface: this serves as a data switch, converting signals from the external
equipment to digital levels from processing by the modem. It could be in the form of an
RS-232, RS-449,DB-60 or a V-35.

Forward Error Correction (FEC): this is a process where extra bits are added to the data
before transmission to allow the receiver detect and correct errors without the need for
retransmissions.

Monitor & Control: this allows users set up the operational parameters and it also
monitors the performance of the modem and raises any alarms that occur.

2.3 EFFECTS ON SATELLTE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

The quality of the uplinked and received signal can be affected by different orbital effect
and they include:

2.3.1 Rain Fade

High frequency signals are susceptible to attenuation caused by absorption and the
scattering effects of water in the atmosphere. Clouds attenuate satellite signals according to
their liquid water content and their proportions.
This attenuation depends also on the elevation angle of the satellite; the smaller the angle,
the higher the attenuation. The effects of rain fade can be overcome by increasing the
transmit power levels and/or reducing the noise temperatures in the initial design of the
system.

2.3.2 Terrestrial Interference

This occurs when a satellite system receives unwanted microwave signals from a nearby
microwave source operating at the same band of frequencies as the received satellite signal.
This could come from GSM towers or another satellite antenna nearby with a high transmit
power level.

2.3.3 Sun Outage

This is the distortion of geostationary satellite signals caused by interference from solar
radiation. The effect is due to the sun's radiation overwhelming the satellite signal.
Generally, sun outages occur in February, March, September and October, that is, around
the time of the equinoxes.
At these times, the apparent path of the sun across the sky takes it directly behind the line
of sight between an earth station and a satellite. As the sun radiates strongly at the
microwave frequencies used to communicate with satellites (C-band and Ku-band) the sun
swamps the signal from the satellite.
The effects of a sun outage can include partial degradation, that is, an increase in the error
rate, or total destruction of the signal.

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 CHAPTER THREE
3.0 NOC OPERATIONS
The NOC operations are broadly divided into four main areas namely: Installation,
configuration, monitoring, troubleshooting, and report generation.

3.1 VSAT OVERVIEW

VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminals) provide point-to-point or point-to-multipoint
connectivity between points across the globe and offers a number of advantages over
terrestrial alternatives.
VSAT networks offer value-added satellite-based services capable of supporting the
internet, data, video, LAN, voice / fax communications, and can provide powerful,
dependable private and public network communications solutions.

SATELLITE CAPACITY ACCESS PROTOCOLS

A Satellite access protocol describes the way in which multiple VSATs share the satellite
bandwidth. There are three major techniques to divide satellite bandwidth among multiple
users and they are:

Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)
The simplest access technique used by VSATs, allows the network to share satellite capacity
by using a different frequency assignment for each carrier. As pictured in Figure below,
VSAT terminals share the allocated capacity by transmitting their carriers at different
frequencies. The carriers need not have the same power or bandwidth, but their sum must
be within the allocated capacity.

Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
The second access technique, allows users to access the allocated capacity in a time-shared
mode. Each VSAT transmits in bursts during set time slots. Once the allocated burst time is
finished, the VSAT will cease its transmission and yield the capacity to other VSATs. As
indicated in Figure below, at any given time, the entire allocated bandwidth and power are
filled by one user.

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)
Under CDMA, the third access technique, all VSATs transmit simultaneously in the same
allocated frequency, bandwidth, and power. In CDMA, a pseudo-random sequence encodes
the original signal by spreading the signal over a larger bandwidth. To restore the original
signal, the receiver correlates the composite input with the original encoding sequence
stored in its memory.

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Advantages of VSAT

Single network for voice, data, video, e-mail and fax.

Unaffected by geographical barriers and natural disasters.

Quick Installation.

Customized bandwidth.

High network availability (99.5% to 99.9%).

Offer superior flexibility and performance.

Can be secured with VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) using industrial strength
encryption.

3.1.1 VSAT INSTALLATION

Some of the steps taken during a typical VSAT installation are detailed below.

1. SITE SURVEY
The purpose of the site survey is to gather specific information necessary to design and
implement the client’s contract requirements. The following points are noted:

Ensuring the chosen installation site has a clear view to the desired satellite

Selecting the best placement for the antenna

Determining the GPS coordinates of the site.

Determining the type of mount needed

Planning and documenting the path of the cable run

Identifying and confirming interface requirement

2. INSTALLATION OF INTER FACILITY LINK (IFL) CABLES

The transmit and receive intermediate frequency (IF) or L-Band signals are carried between
the indoor and outdoor unit by shielded coaxial cable. Low loss cables are used for extended
lengths to avoid significant reduction in the ODU’s output and to avoid signal distortion,
especially for L-Band systems as they operate at a higher frequency.

The route the IFL cable is planned so as to allow the minimum cable length between the IDU
and the ODU noting that about 1.5 meters should be left at both ends of the cables for drip
and service loops. For lengths less than 30 meters, the RG-6 type cable is used and for
lengths above 30 meters, the RG-11 type cable is used.

The type of RF connector used at the end of the cable depends on the cable type and the
type of device it terminates into.

After installation, the connectors are tested and the cables are then tested for continuity.

3. ERECTING AND POINTING THE ANTENNA

To point a parabolic antenna, the longitudinal position of the satellite and the GPS
(longitudinal and latitudinal) position of the antenna are required. From these parameters,
the antenna’s elevation and azimuth is determined.

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The elevation is the vertical angle measured from the horizon up to the targeted satellite
and it is measured with an inclinometer. When the beam axis is parallel to the ground, the
elevation is zero.

The Azimuth is the angle between the antenna beam and the meridian plane. The zero
reference for measuring true azimuth is north, east is 90⁰, south is 180⁰ and west 270⁰. It is
measured with a compass.

A simplified approach to antenna pointing is as follows:

Know the orbital position of the satellite and the geographical location of the antenna

Calculate the azimuth and elevation for the specific satellite based on your location
(specialized computer softwares can be used to automatically calculate these values)

Read the compass at ground level ensuring to stay away from large metallic objects as
they could interfere with the readings.

To find the true azimuth, one must add or subtract the variation to your compass
reading

Note any obstruction between the antenna and the satellite and correct, if possible, use
a pole mount to clear the obstruction.

Identify a landmark in the assigned azimuth pointing direction and refer to the landmark
when pointing the antenna.

4. ANTENNA ALIGNMENT
Antenna alignment using a spectrum analyzer ensures that the antenna’s transmit and
receive performance is optimum and at the same time ensuring protection from
interference.

For the line up alignment, a splitter is connected to the receive IFL cable and one end is
connected to the spectrum analyzer while the other end is connected to the modem. The
modem is powered on and the spectrum analyzer is then set to the center frequency of the
pilot carrier on the satellite using a wide span and maximum sensitivity.

The feedsystem is then adjusted very slowly for largest possible carrier amplitude. If the
polarizer is not oriented for the correct polarization, rotate it 90 degrees from the position
of maximum amplitude.

The signal strength is peaked by carefully varying the antenna azimuth and elevation. The
feedsystem and the antenna are then tightened.

5. GROUNDING AND LIGHTING PROTECTION

All VSAT equipment is subjected to electrical noise and high voltage surges, caused mainly
by lightening or power switching.

Proper grounding is absolutely necessary and it is of three types:

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Power Distribution System Grounding: This type of grounding is for power panels and
service entrance equipment. It protects occupants from exposure to dangerous shocks.

RF Grounding

Telecoms Equipment Grounding: Sensitive equipment are grounded to protect them
from excessive transients caused by lightening and utility switching.

6. VSAT LINK TESTING

After installation, the following tests can be performed to ensure optimum performance:

IFL Cable loss measurement

Determine initial modem output level

Absolute receive level measurement

Margin Test: to verify the minimum link margin

Verify the Bit Error Rate (BER) and Eb/No levels

Data and Application tests: Checks IP connectivity, ping response time, customer specific
application tests.

Power and UPS/Inverter tests.

A general flow chart for VSat installation is shown below.

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3.2 VIPERSAT MODEM
ipNX currently deploys VSAT solutions using the Vipersat SMR5000L modem at the remote
and the Vipersat SMR5000 at the hub. These modems are rugged and suitable for online
operations.

3.2.1 FRONT PANEL

The SMR5000L modem consists of the following units.

DISPLAY UNIT: This is the liquid crystal display that shows the current configuration and
status of the modem.

VERTICAL OPERATION BUTTONS (VOB): they are next to the display unit and it consists
of four buttons:
1. UNIT Button: This button gives general information on the modem.

2. MOD (Modulator) Button: It is used to access to the transmit configuration and fault
status. It has four subsections; Status, IF, Data and BUC.
The common fault under this section is the BUC Power Alarm

3. DEM (Demodulator) Button: This section relates to the demodulator and gives
access to the receive configuration and fault information. It also has four subsections
and they are the IF, Status, Data and LNB.
Common fault under this section is the AGC Alarm and the Demodulator Unlock
Alarm

4. INT’F (Interface) Button: gives access to modem interface configuration and fault
information. The subsections under this unit are the Status, I/O,O/I Mode and SDMS
IP Address.
The common fault here is the SDMS Lite Failure.

DIAGONAL BUTTONS: are used to navigate the parameter currently being monitored or
controlled.

NUMERIC and OPERATOR KEYS: are used to edit, enter values, accept or reject an
operation.

STATUS INDICATORS: are a set of LED’s that indicate the current working condition of
the modem. It has 3 units ant they are:

1. Modulator LED Indicators: This has four sub-sessions the Transmit LED indicator,
Major and Minor Alarm LED Indicators and the Test LED indicator.
Transmit LED (Steady Green): indicates that the transmit output is currently active
Transmit LED (Flashing Green): indicates the modem is transmitting in STDMA mode
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 Major Alarm LED (Steady Red): indicates the transmit direction has failed.
Minor Alarm LED (Steady Yellow): indicates a transmit warning condition exists
Test LED (Flashing Yellow): indicates the modulator is currently under test.

2. Demodulator LED Indicators: This also has four sub-sessions. Lock LED Indicator,
Major and Minor Alarm LED indicator and the Test LED indicator.
Lock LED (Steady Green): indicates the receiver is locked to an incoming signal.
Major Alarm LED (Steady Red): indicates the receive direction has failed.
Minor Alarm LED (Steady Yellow): indicates a receive warning condition exists such
as a carrier with a low Eb/No level.
Test LED (Flashing Yellow): indicates the demodulator is currently under test.

3. Auxiliary Indicators: These are: Power Indicator, Sum Alarm Indicator, Local
indicator and the Remote indicator.
Power LED (Steady Green): indicates that the modem is currently under power
Alarm LED (Steady Red): indicates a summary fault condition exists.
Local LED (Steady Green): indicates that the unit is set to respond to the front panel
Remote LED (Steady Green): indicates that the unit is set to respond to a remote
input.

Figure 3.3: Front panel of a Vipersat SMR5000 Modem

3.2.2 BACK PANEL

Apart from the power input socket, the back panel of the modem has five (5) other
important ports and they are:

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RCV IF IN: this connects to the cable from the LNB

XMT IF OUT: connects to the cable from the BUC.

BUC POWER IN: connects to the BUC Power Unit (Elpac system) that is supplied with the
modem.

BUC POWER INDCATOR: shows a steady green light when the BUC power unit is plugged
in and turned on.

LAN: connects to the router LAN (Ethernet or fast Ethernet) port with a cross- over
cable. The router is also connected to the switch or client server using a straight through
cable.

DATA INTERFACE: this uses an RS-449 serial connector to connect to a corresponding

serial interface on the router.

Figure 3.3: Back Panel of a Vipersat SMR5000 Modem

3.2.3 MODEM CONFIGURATION

At the remote, the following parameters are set on the modem:

Set the IF Receive Frequency

Set the IF Transmit Frequency

Set the Data Rate

Enable BUC Power

Enable LNB Power

Set the Spectrum to INVERTED

Set the IP Address

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At the hub (NOC), for a Single Channel Per Carrier (SCPC) configuration, the following
demodulator parameters are set on the modem (since a separate modem is used to
transmit to the remote):

Set the IF Receive Frequency

Set the Data Rate

Set the Spectrum to NORMAL

Set the IP Address

For a Selective Time Division Multiple Access (STDMA) configuration, the demodulator
parameters set are:

Enable the clients on the STDMA demodulator by using the IP address of the remote
modems

Set the Group number on the demodulator

Set the frequency of the group

Set the Preamble Length; a set of data that allows the modem lock on the remote signal

Set the Data Slot Size; the amount of time each remote is allowed to transmit (or burst)

Set the minimum Data Slot Size, and

Set the Guard Band; a period during which no transmission occurs to allow
synchronization

3.3 MONITORING
Apart from observing the variation of the Status Indicators on the modems, the following
monitoring tools and procedures are also used at the NOC to monitor the state of the VSAT
and radio links:

3.3.1 WhatsUp Gold Monitoring Tool

WhatsUp Gold software is specifically designed to proactively monitor network availability
and provide real-time notification of any specific failure. It checks the device status, by
monitoring the services, ports, resources, and events which are related to the device.

WhatsUp Gold monitors the performance and availability of devices on our network 24/7
and with a simple graphical representation, shows green for devices that are OK, red for
errors. The software was run on a central server that could be accessed from anywhere over
the internet.

We also used it to track back historical data and obtain secure remote access to network
data.

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3.3.2 SolarWinds Monitoring Software
The Solarwinds software monitors and analyzes real-time, in-depth network performance
metrics for routers, switches, servers, and any other SNMP-enabled devices, providing Port
monitoring, threshold monitoring of system resource such as CPU, disk space and memory,
event logging and SNMP traps.
The information obtained is displayed on a customizable web interface that supports
multiple views by individual users and department, as well as map views of our whole
network.
Enables advanced alerting for correlated events, sustained conditions, and complex
combinations of device states.

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3.3.3 Cacti Monitoring Software
Cacti is a resource monitoring software for observing the status of ipNX radio clients and
devices. It uses a round robin database tool to store data and this complex data is used
create graphs. It has a fast poller to collect data from different resources simultaneously and
has many user management features.

Cacti is a very easy tool to use and it does not require in depth knowledge in networking or
resource management.

3.3.4 Using the Spectrum Analyzer

To check the status of a signal, the input of the spectrum analyzer is connected to the
receive splitter of the system you want to observe.

Typical Spectrum Analyzer settings are as follows:

Attenuation is set to manual

Scale per division is first set to 4dB per division

The centre frequency of 70MHz is chosen and the Reference Level is adjusted till the
signal is in the middle of the screen

The Span is set to 2MHz (an increase in Span leads to a decrease in the width of the
pulse)

The Sweep is set to 2 seconds (an increase in the sweep time leads on a decrease in the
rate at which the signal refreshes)

Video Bandwidth is set to 30kHz (this controls how sharp the signal edges are)

Resolution Bandwidth is set to 10 kHz (this determines how defined the grooves
between two signals is.)

The frequency is now set to the frequency of the remote to be monitored.

Figure 3.6: A Spectrum Analyzer

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3.3.5 Ping Sessions
The Packet Internet Groper (Ping) is used to test the availability of a host on a network or on
the Internet.
Ping is a simple program that attempts to make a very basic kind of connection to a target
machine. If the target machine responds, the ping alerts you that it is "alive"; otherwise ping
returns a message that the machine is unreachable. Note that the ability to ping a machine
does not mean that the machine is fully functional, but it does indicate that the network
path to that machine are up and functioning.

For an SCPC configuration, the minimum return time for a ping packet is 500ms (i.e. 125ms
from the hub to the space segment, 125ms from the space segment to the remote, and
250ms for the return trip). For an STDMA configuration, the minimum return time for a ping
packet is 600ms, depending on a number of factors such as number of clients, data slot size
etc.

3.4 TROUBLESHOOTING
The table below contains a list of common problems I encountered at the NOC and
procedures on how to resolve them.
FAULT ACTION
NO POWER LIGHT INDICATION
Check if the modem is powered ON.
ON THE MODEM

Press the MOD button and check the screen for the alarm
MOD ALARM ON UNIT SECTION
type
DEMOD ALARM ON UNIT
Press the DEMOD button and check the screen for the
SECTION alarm type

Check if the Receive cable is connected.
AGC ALARM
Check if the connector at the end of the cable is loose or
disconnected.

Check if the BUC status indicator is displaying a steady red
light.
BUC POWER ALARM

Check if the Transmit cable is connected tightly.

Check if the BUC power pack is properly plugged in.
SDMS LITE FAILURE ON
Cause: Software failure on SDMS-lite card.
INTERFACE STATUS
The software will have to be re-installed.
MODEM LIGHT ALL GREEN AND
Power Cycle the modem.
CANNOT WORK
Check if LAN router and server are functional.

Check if the cable between the router and the modem is
CAN PING MODEM,
properly connected.
CANNOT PING ROUTER

Ensure the cable is a cross-over cable

Check if the router and the modem are switched ON
CANNOT PING ROUTER,

Power cycle the modem
CANNOT PING MODEM.

If problem persists, power cycle the router.

Check if the receive cable is properly connected.
DEMOD Unlock

Check the modem configurations.

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Check the Eb/No level on the receive modem
FLUCTUATING LINK
Check for congestion on the graphs

Check for high transmission levels on the outbound modems

Check for local interference using Spectrum Analyzer
NO LOCK ON SIGNAL
Check antenna’s elevation and azimuth

Check the power supply to the ODU

Try pings to the internet
NO INTERNET CONNECTION
Check the default gateway

Check the parameters on the DVB
Table 3.1: Common network faults and troubleshooting procedures

Modems at the NOC operated in 70MHz Intermediate Frequency (IF), those at the remote
operated in L-Band while our antennas transmitted at C-Band. Thus, to help with
troubleshooting, during the course of my training, I developed a code using Microsoft Excel
to help with the conversion of the various frequency bands used on the network.

Figure 3.7: 70MHz, L-Band and C-Band Frequency Converter

3.5 REPORT GENERATION

In order to ensure optimum operation of the network, the following reports/readings were
taken at various times during the day:

Up and Down Conversion Temperatures on the RFT’s

This reading is taking just after shift change. It is a measure of how much noise the
antenna system detects from the surrounding environment.

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Eb/No and Received Signal Strength on the SCPC Modems
This was taken at 8:30am every week day. The Eb/No (Energy Bit to Noise ratio) is a
measure of the amount of power coming into the modem.

Utilization Of Outbound and Group Modems

This reading was taken every our between 9am and 5pm. The data obtained from this
reading was compiled and plotted on a graph at the end of the week. It helps us to
determine the bandwidth utilization and plan for network expansion if necessary.

Daily Activity Report

All the faults for the day and procedures taken to resolve them are documented to help
as a reference in the case a similar fault occurs.

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 CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

4.1 SUMMARY

Working at the Network Operations centre of ipNX Nigeria Ltd has given me the opportunity
of getting a firsthand appreciation of satellite communication technology, learning its
fundamentals, learning to work with various equipments used in its implementation and
monitoring, and also acquiring skills in monitoring and troubleshooting network faults. I was
able to apply some of the theoretical knowledge gained during my study at the university to
real work situations thereby bridging the gap between school work and actual practice.

I also gained experience in other fields of science, engineering and project management. I
learnt invaluable lessons on the code of conduct of big firms and it prepared me for work
scenarios I am likely to meet after graduation.

Personally, one of the most important skills I gained during the course of my IT was
communication skills within major companies. During the course of my work, I had to liaise
with network engineers and IT professionals from banks, manufacturing companies, oil and
gas industries, multi national companies and others. To carry out projects, I had to work
together with personnel from different departments. I also had to relate with senior
engineers from my company and our international service partners.

4.2 PROBLEMS
During my first few weeks, I had difficulties understanding a lot of the terms and technology
that was used at the office because a lot of them were very new to me. This made it hard for
me to follow the procedures. Fortunately, most of the staff and other IT students were very
patient with me and were very helpful in bringing me up to speed.

4.3 CONCLUSION
Industrial Training plays an important role in an undergraduate study. It exposes students to
the real working environment. We are able to gain working experience and some knowledge
that we cannot learn from lectures. Having the experience, we are ready to face the
challenges when we come to the real working life after graduate. Another benefit is we are
able to deal with the latest technology being used in industry, where the technologies in
books are usually older than that.
Communication skills and association skills with other people also can be gained during the
training.

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