Research Summaries

Back Building Expertise across the Live Virtual and Constructive Community through Practical Learning

Fiscal Year 2018
Division Research & Sponsored Programs
Department Modeling, Virtual Environments & Simulation Institute
Investigator(s) Balogh, Imre L.
Sponsor U.S. Marine Corps Training and Education Command (Marine Corps)
Summary In the 1960s, most companies used a single, large-scale computer for all of their data processing needs. Configured as a circuit-switched network, their terminals and line printers were connected to a central host via a single connection using proprietary communications protocols. This infrastructure was brittle and could not scale to meet increased demand. Consequently, businesses never considered buying hardware from another vendor to augment their existing system. Instead, they just replaced their hardware entirely. Cross-platform connectivity was unheard of at that time.
Seeking a more reasonable approach, the Department of Defense (DoD) began experimenting with a data packet switched network in 1968.3 The new project was called the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANet) and it would later go on to become the Internet. Today, it serves as a fault-tolerant, vendor-independent network that can tie any and all people together. Given this ability to connect to applications remotely and pass data, the DoD has been creating relevant tactical training environments for large force exercises (LFEs) by connecting live virtual constructive (LVC) simulations in real time. These robust environments enable supporting units to train and test tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) prior to deployment and during sustainment training. Unfortunately, they are underused in most current training programs due to the lack of qualified personnel available to set-up and manage these interconnected simulations. To better use these environments, the DoD needs to investigate various means to educate their personnel to build service-wide expertise in creating and deploying LVC simulations.
The Naval Postgraduate School educates Marines, Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen on the implementation of LVC simulations through two networking courses currently in the curriculum at the Modeling Virtual Environments and Simulation (MOVES) Institute. The first course introduces students to basic networking fundamentals to include the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model and the Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) model. In addition, the students complete labs programming the Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) protocol and learning about the High Level Architecture (HLA). The second course is more “hands on” as the students set up various network configurations using actual hardware and they also perform network analysis using industry tools. As a capstone, they build a networked constructive simulation to develop a wargame guided by the steps of the Distributed Simulation Engineering and Execution Process (DSEEP).
At present these courses are under development following a recent curriculum review led by the MOVES Academic Committee for the Institute’s operational sponsors. Given the shift towards using LVC simulations during LFEs, MOVES seeks to create a more comprehensive networking course sequence integrated with distance learning (DL) students to expand the existing M&S knowledge base in simulation interoperability. Through focused education in this area, the DoD will be able to conduct more realistic, integrated LVC training and certification events in the future.
Keywords Computer Networking Live Virtual Constructive Simulations
Publications Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal
Data Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal