1.74 BISS-KeySelect-CDB

The BISS-KeySelect-CDB logical device lets you comfortably set BISS encryption keys from a central database. You may store the hexadecimal keys with a user defined description in the database and retrieve them by this descriptive text.

"CDB" in the driver name stands for "Central Data Base", underlining that all BISS-KeySelect-CDB instances use one central BISS key database located at the NMS server. The BISS-KeySelect-CDB device cannot be run in a plain M&C environment.

Device window pages

The following table shows which device window pages are available with this individual device type. Tool-bar functions not mentioned here are described at the general description of device windows .

• --- The main control (BISS key select) page for the device.
• --- The BISS key database editor page.
• --- The device info page.
• --- The maintenance page. The configuration parameters from this page are described below.

Operation (BISS key select)

The device simply provides a single entry field as an interface to the operator. From this entry field you can select any key stored in the database.

If you enter a 12 or 16 digit hexadecimal number to the field, the device treats this as a BISS key to be forwarded without using the database. This way you easily can use encryption keys which are not stored in the database.

Most IRD devices do not allow to read back the BISS encryption key. The BISS-KeySelect-CDB device defangs this restriction by leaving the last key applied in the entry field. You should be aware, that there may be situations where the displayed key is not that one actually active in the IRD.

Operation (database edit)

With the second page of the device window of the BISS-KeySelect-CDB device BISS key definitions are edited, copied or deleted. All BISS-KeySelect-CDB devices in a sat-nms NMS share one common BISS key database located at the NMS server. The VLC containing the BISS-KeySelect-CDB device requires an online connection to the NMS central database in order to make any changes to the database. Editing a BISS key definition does not change the encryption key in the associated device.

• Add/Change a key definition:
  1. Select the encryption key to modify
  2. Edit the key
  3. Click 'SAVE'Please note that if you change the textual description of the key, this will store a new key definition with the modified data, the old definition is kept unchanged in the database.The textual description of the key may consist of letters (a-z, A-Z), digits, space characters and some punctuation characters (,.-_). All other characters are turned to underscore characters when the key gets stored.
• Delete a key definition:
  1. Select the key definition to delete
  2. Click 'DELETE'

Local database copy

sat-nms VLCs may be operated locally by connecting an M&C client directly to the VLC. This may be used as a backup operation mode in cases where the NMS server is down or unreachable. To uphold the BISS-KeySelect-CDB functionality even in this backup case, the VLC maintains a local copy of the BISS key database. This copy is used if the CDB at the NMS is unreachable. You cannot edit the keys in this local backup copy, but you can apply the stored keys to a device.

There are two ways to update the local copy of the BISS key database at the VLC:

1. At the "Database" page of the device window of a BISS-KeySelect-CDB device click "VLC UPD". This requests the complete database contents from the NMS server and stores it locally.
2. Administrators may configure a VLC to update the local database copy in regular intervals. To make a VLC update it's local database copy automatically, add two lines cdb.bisskey12.syncInterval=#.# cdb.bisskey16.syncInterval=#.# to the file vlc.properties and restart the VLC. '#.#' is the time interval in hours.

Configuration parameters

At the maintenance page of the device window there are a couple of configuration parameters which must be set to interconnect the BISS-KeySelect-CDB device with the equipment.

Variables defined by this device driver