Integrator's Guide
8
© 2017 Nortek AS
3
Interfaces
In addition to the traditional serial port interface for real time data output there are several
options for communication over Ethernet. The Ethernet communication is handled by a dedicated
processor in the instrument. This network processor runs a Linux operating system, which makes
it possible to connect to the instrument via telnet, raw connections and FTP. The network
processor mainly provides Ethernet connectivity. The other processor in the instrument, called
the Doppler processor, is where the commands end up and where they are used to perform the
measurements as specified.
The concept of a telemetry file has also been introduced which can be utilized in several ways
depending on the chosen interface. Below are some details:
3.1
Command interface
The command interface makes it possible to communicate with a Signature instrument using
terminal software, the serial port and a set of commands. The interface is also available over
Telnet. Some highlights:
ASCII based and line oriented. Commands are terminated with CR/LF
Optional capsulation of commands using NMEA style prefix and checksum to ensure data
integrity
NMEA style commands will return argument names in their response
Argument limits can be retrieved through commands
Comprehensive validation and error handling is implemented.
Invalid configurations return the erroneous argument with limits directly, so that each
subsequent error can be handled until a valid configuration is achieved
A single command can be used to retrieve the complete configuration of the instrument with
optional output to file
Commands to set default parameters
External controllers can use commands to store data in the raw data file (e.g. GPS position)
3.2
Telemetry
Our use of the telemetry term implies a "subset transfer system", that is, storing a subset of data
for transfer over low-bandwidth links (for example over iridium links, acoustic modems, etc). The
telemetry file is typically used in cases where the integrator either does not have the processing
power or bandwidth (if only a low data rate serial port is available) to do the processing
themselves.
For online data transmission a versatile scheme for telemetry options is available. The telemetry
file can be read out over the serial interface either in chunks or as a complete file while checksum
or CRC on the downloaded data can be applied in a configurable manner. This enables external
controllers to configure separate handling of all, or a subset, of the measured data. That means
the file can be output directly as they are ready, or the data can be stored to a telemetry file for
later retrieval. The data format can be selected from a number of formats, including both binary
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