SAFENET Overview

The SAFENET program is an effort to develop network standards which support the needs of shipboard mission critical computer resources. There are currently two SAFENET standards in development, SAFENET I and SAFENET II. Each standard defines a communications subsystem which uses a local area network LAN to perform data transfer. Each standard is based on existing and proposed commercial network standards to reduce development time and cost, and to permit the use of commercial components whenever possible. The distinction between the two SAFENET standards is restricted to the commercial LAN standard which each is based upon. SAFENET I uses the IEEE 802.5 token-ring LAN which operates at 16 Mbps. In contrast, SAFENET II uses the emerging FDDI LAN which operates at 100 Mbps. The SAFENET standards provide a system integrator with a number of significant features. First, each standard uses fiber optics for its transmission medium. Second, SAFENET contributes to system survivability by providing automatic fault isolation and reconfiguration. The standards also permit a variety of physical implementations, including embedded or stand-alone network interfaces. Finally, SAFENET is based on commercial standards, making it possible to obtain compliant networks and components from different vendors. Reprints.