1 / 24

Net-Centric Operations (NCO) Overview

Net-Centric Operations (NCO) Overview. Mark Bowler Ken Cureton Kenneth.L.Cureton@boeing.com Mark.K.Bowler@boeing.com. Agenda. NCO: WHAT What is Net-Centric Operations? What are basic NCO concepts? NCO: WHY What are the benefits? What are the challenges of achieving NCO?

gur
Download Presentation

Net-Centric Operations (NCO) Overview

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Net-Centric Operations (NCO)Overview Mark Bowler Ken Cureton Kenneth.L.Cureton@boeing.com Mark.K.Bowler@boeing.com What-Is-NCO.PPT

  2. Agenda • NCO: WHAT • What is Net-Centric Operations? • What are basic NCO concepts? • NCO: WHY • What are the benefits? • What are the challenges of achieving NCO? • Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium • Who, what, where, and why What-Is-NCO.PPT

  3. … an Information Age Transformation What is Net-Centric Operations? What-Is-NCO.PPT

  4. What is Net-Centric Operations? • Typical Tactical Expectation of NCO • Communications Network: Always Connected • Sensors: See First • Situational Awareness: Understand First • Integrated Command & Control: Act First • Force Projection: Finish Decisively • Is NCO Just for Tactical Operations? • Useful for Command & Control • Useful for Logistics • Useful for Training • Useful for Administrative Activities • Useful in our Personal Lives What-Is-NCO.PPT

  5. How is NCO different than today's Ops? • Today’s Challenges Include: • Point-to-point (non-networked) communications • “Stovepiped” systems • Joint & Coalition operations • Control of data • Security concerns • Analysis/Processing requirements • “Turf” concerns • Limited Budgets: Having to “Do More with Less” • Schedules: Too short to implement; Too long to obtain • Cultural Resistance: “That’s Not How We Do Things” • Fear • Challenge to NCO: • Can we REALLY overcome these obstacles? What-Is-NCO.PPT

  6. What are Basic NCO Concepts? Net-Ready Systems • Systems can be connected to a common Communications Network to form a System-of-Systems • Individual Systems may be able to operate on their own • Systems may have their own internal networks • Overall Communications Network is oftena Network-of-Networks • System elements are referred to as “Nodes” • Nodes are “Plug-and-Play” (not –Pay or –Pray) • Common mode of communications(for data, may also be for voice, video, etc.) • Common mode of information exchange • Note: common modes not necessarily the primary modes used in the node’s mission! What-Is-NCO.PPT

  7. What are Basic NCO Concepts? Power To The Edge • End Users rapidly and efficiently obtain data and use capabilities to better perform their jobs • Hierarchical structure “flattened” as much as feasible • Eliminate intermediate “choke-points” • Goal: empower people to better operate within their RAA(Role – Accountability – Authority) • Not intended to violate hierarchy of command!!! • Not just the warfighter in the field at “the pointy end of the spear”– includes: • Maintenance personnel • Supply personnel • Administrative personnel What-Is-NCO.PPT

  8. What are Basic NCO Concepts? Communities of Interest (COI) • Users rapidly and efficiently collaborate to achieve a common goal • Many kinds of common goals, ranging from: • Perform a Mission, to • “Birds of a Feather” flocking together • Collaboration: • Typically enabled via the network • Participants may be mostly independent, may be interdependent, may be hierarchical • May be tightly-coupled (highly dependent on each other) or loosely-coupled (mostly autonomous) • May be pre-planned or may be ad hoc with whatever/whoever is available What-Is-NCO.PPT

  9. What are Basic NCO Concepts? Information Superiority • “Better” information than the opposing force • Better access to critical data • More timely access to critical data • Faster ability to understand full meaning of that data • Ability to seamlessly share that data and its importance Common Operating Picture (COP) • All users drawing from common data, information, and knowledge to do their job • Shared understanding, usually near real-time • Synchronized to minimize ambiguity • Defined Ontology to minimize differing interpretation • Not necessarily meaning that all users can access everything! • Not necessarily just tactical users What-Is-NCO.PPT

  10. What are Basic NCO Concepts? Interoperability • NCO-Enabled Systems must be: • Able to Find and Join the Network • Requires compatible communications capability • Able to Register Identity on the Network • Able to use network to Discover who can provide compatible data and services • Able to Exchange Data with other compatible systems • Usually via a packet-switching network • Usually via XML-formatted messages • May need Semantic translation or bridging • NCO-Enabled Systems don’t have to have: • Identical communications capability • Direct compatibility with all other systems • May use Gateways What-Is-NCO.PPT

  11. What are the Benefits of NCO? • TIME and AGILITY • Rapid access to crucial information • Rapid ability to understand that information and make appropriate decisions • Rapid ability to act on those decisions • Rapid ability to iterate the above as necessary • Imagine outcome of the following events,had all data at hand been comprehended in time: • Pearl Harbor • D-Day • 9-11-2001 What-Is-NCO.PPT

  12. What are Other Benefits of NCO? • LOCATION INDEPENDENCE • Nodes able to communicate to other nodes by name(or logical identity) • And not know the physical location (or address)of the other node(s) • COLLABORATION • Allows multiple participants: may be • Independent, Interdependent, or Hierarchical • Tightly-coupled or Loosely-coupled • Planned or Ad hoc • People/Systems working together such that their combined power is greater than the sum of their individual capabilities What-Is-NCO.PPT

  13. What Are Risks of NOT achieving NCO? • Asymmetric Warfare: “Threats outside the range of conventional warfare & difficult to respond to in kind” • Opponents already have common communications(e.g. cell phones) • Opponents already have common information infrastructure that enables collaboration(e.g. the Internet) • Opponent infrastructure is not robust in the Military sense… but they’re NCO-enabled NOW(and you probably aren’t fully NCO for many years) • But note experience in Afghanistan and Iraq • “He Who Fails To Set The Standards First Is Doomed To Eventually Follow Standards Set By Others” • Standards that may not be your optimal choice What-Is-NCO.PPT

  14. The Goal? The Global Information Grid (GIG) What-Is-NCO.PPT

  15. Additional Materials What-Is-NCO.PPT

  16. What is Net-Centric Operations? • “Net-Centric” rather than “Network-Centric” • Not just Network Technology (although understanding of network infrastructure is very important) • Key importance: enhanced ability to operate and use a system that has been enabled by network technology • It’s All About Being More Effective • Networked users improves information sharing and collaborative services • Shared information enhances situational awareness • Enhanced situational awareness and collaborative services via the network enables agility of response • Increased mission effectiveness What-Is-NCO.PPT

  17. What is Net-Centric Operations? • Is NCO Just Another Buzzword? • Net-Centric Operations (NCO) is the ability to: • Rapidly collect and share appropriate data in a collaborative environment • Recognize which data is significant to you • Understand the meaning of such data • Efficiently make better-informed decisions by yourself or in a collaborative environment • Rapidly act (or not act) on decisions– made by you or made by others • Rapidly get feedback and repeat the above • Understand what services are available to you • Efficiently use those services (or capabilities) • Efficiently provide services for others in a manner that is consistent with your mission • Trust and depend on availability and security of data & services What-Is-NCO.PPT

  18. What are Basic NCO Concepts? • Fundamental Approach in the Design and Use of Systems: • To operate as Net-Ready Systems • Ability to provide Power to the Edge • Ability to support applicable Communities Of Interest • Leverage Information Superiority • Draw from a Common Operating Picture • Typical Characteristic • Primary focus is on usability rather than just on performance • Users may be people and/or other systems • Services are typically flexible enough to be used in ways not anticipated by the original architects and designers What-Is-NCO.PPT

  19. How is NCO different than today's Ops? • Today: • May not be able to communicate with others • May have incompatible systems– unable to work with others • May not have timely access to all data that you need • May be overwhelmed by sheer volume of data • May not have access to people/resources to interpret that data • May not have a common operating picture of situation • May not know what capabilities are (or are not!) available • May not be able to effectively make or receive decisions • May not be able to quickly see effect of action/inaction • Goal of NCO is to Solve These Kinds of Problems What-Is-NCO.PPT

  20. What are Challenges of Achieving NCO? • Risks of achieving NCO • Cultural resistance to change • “Star Trek Phasers Make For Terrible Hammers” • NIH: “Not Invented Here” • “That’s Not How We Do Things” • “We Can’t Tolerate The Disruption of Transition” • “We Can’t Allow Ourselves To Look Bad” • Waiting for someone else to find all the pitfalls:“It’s The Second Mouse That Gets The Cheese” • Personal resistance to change • WIIFM: “What’s In It For Me” • “You’re Doing Away With My Job” • Resistance to perceived revolutionary change • Often costs much more than you can afford in terms of budget, schedule, and disruption in performance What-Is-NCO.PPT

  21. What are Challenges of Achieving NCO? • Risks of achieving NCO (continued) • Information Assurance: Assured Availability • Critical capabilities and data must be available when needed • Will the networked environment be reliable enough? • Information Assurance: Integrity • How to know that the data is timely and accurate? • How to know that nothing’s missing…or is something missing that may mislead? • Information Assurance: Security • How to keep unauthorized people from accessing or modifying data and services? • How to prevent denial of service? Virus/Worms? • How to keep proper audit trails for non-repudiation? • How to certify a networked system-of-systems? What-Is-NCO.PPT

  22. What are Challenges of Achieving NCO? • Risks of achieving NCO (continued) • Can’t Just Start Over with NCO Systems • Too many existing systems are not NCO-enabled • Not enough budget to replace everything at once • Even IF enough budget— takes a long time!(Training, Documentation, Spares, etc.) • Fundamental conclusion: for the foreseeable future, NCO-enabled systems will have to coexist with Legacy Systems Enduring Platforms! What-Is-NCO.PPT

  23. What are Challenges of Achieving NCO? • Risks of achieving NCO (continued) • NCO System-of-Systems Typically Have “Brittle” Modes • Highest Performance modes may not be best! • Often not robust: small change in something like timing may lead to total mission failure • “Best” Performance modes may be hard to determine • Need to explore performance envelope to find operating regimes that are relatively insensitive to parameter variations (e.g. timing) • But NCO System-of-Systems performance typically not deterministic— too complex • Usually requires extensive System-of-Systems Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis(and maybe experience & luck) What-Is-NCO.PPT

  24. What are Challenges of Achieving NCO? • Risks of achieving NCO (continued) • What is a Pound of NCO Worth? • Usually no single, large benefit that is easily quantifiable • Large benefits usually result from an aggregation of little factors, any one of which doesn’t seem all that beneficial • Some of those factors may be intangible or difficult to quantify (e.g. “morale”) • Net result: difficult to determine Measures of Effectiveness (MOE’s) that measure effectivity of NCO • May have to evaluate System MOE’s with NCO vs. System MOE’s without NCO (apples to oranges?) • Net result: hard to sell NCO to budget-setters What-Is-NCO.PPT

More Related