We are delighted to announce that we will soon offer µD3TN as a fully commercially supported product, featuring comprehensive service level agreements for maintenance and consulting services tailored to meet your unique needs.
Context
Specializing in Delay- and Disruption-Tolerant Networking (DTN), our expertise lies in building solutions for networks in demanding environments such as underwater or in space. These environments pose unique challenges where standard TCP/IP protocols fall short due to high latency, error rates, and the absence of stable end-to-end connections.
µD3TN is our very own open-source implementation of the Bundle Protocol, the core protocol of the DTN Architecture, in both the experimental version 6 and the standards-track version 7. This implementation facilitates the sending, receiving, and routing of packets within challenging networks.
Observing a gap in the market, we noted the absence of a commercially supported protocol implementation of the Bundle Protocol. Existing implementations either remain at the research prototype stage or are confined to internal usage only by specialized institutions like NASA or ESA — lacking maintenance contracts, adaptation services, or problem-solving assistance. Fueled by this insight, we’ve taken the initiative to address these shortcomings.
Current Status and Roadmap
Beside supporting both versions of the Bundle Protocol, our journey thus far includes achieving support for the “dtn” and “ipn” EID schemes, as well as several important CLAs (MTCP, TCPCLv3, SMTCP, SPP) in our µD3TN implementation. Additionally, we introduced the Application Agent Protocol (AAP) interface for sending and receiving messages to and from DTN nodes. During the REDMARS2 project, we developed an enhanced version of µD3TN known as µD3TN-NG (µD3TN Next Generation). This early research prototype features a flexibly expandable storage module, a novel routing interface allowing external dispatcher modules for routing or contact management, and a forwarding information base facilitating operation without a dispatcher in simpler scenarios. A standout achievement of REDMARS2 was the introduction of BIBE (Bundle-in-Bundle Encapsulation), a useful feature preventing routing information from traversing unintended scopes, thereby significantly reducing exchanged routing information. For more information regarding REDMARS2, please watch this video.
Based on our findings from developing µD3TN-NG in REDMARS2, we set the roadmap for establishing a commercially viable product out of µD3TN. Core focus areas in this regard are:
- A new, flexible application and routing interface combined with persistent storage,
- the extension of µD3TN’s interoperability along with more CLA options and enhanced interoperability testing,
- pushing forward functional validation,
- establishing a solid, comprehensive end-user documentation,
- conducting extensive performance testing, comparison, and optimization, and
- defining our core offerings around the stack and develop solid marketing, licensing, and sales strategies.
All of that should be achieved while keeping our code base small, comprehensible, compatible, and portable to low-power systems like microcontrollers – in summary, a quite major undertaking that we are ready and eager to realize!
The D3TN-ES Project
To execute the transition, we have initiated the “D3TN-ES” (D3TN Enterprise Stack) project, co-funded by the European Union and the SAB (Sächsische Aufbaubank – Förderbank). Kickstarted on October 1st, 2023, this endeavor aims to refine, extend, and validate µD3TN for optimal stability, performance, interoperability, and long-term maintainability across diverse application contexts.
We look forward to the potential outcomes of the “D3TN-ES” project and anticipate delivering an enterprise-grade DTN protocol implementation upon its completion. Stay tuned for updates, and please do not hesitate to contact us in case of any questions!
