Feasibility Study of Network Operations Center Collaboration to Improve Application Layer Performance

Network Centric Warfare seeks to improve the link between the shooter and sensor networks, enabling direct access to pertinent information and a shorter decision loop with improved operational capabilities. The sensor-shooter network is often conceptualized in two network models: centralized and decentralized. Centralized networks can provide robust management of network resources but potentially lengthens the decision process while information is routed through distant nodes or becomes delayed in lengthy queues. Comparably, decentralized networks can potentially speed up
the decision process by direct access to information. Decentralized networking does not promote efficient management of network resources since all users are able talk to each other and overload the network. To overcome the high utilization of resources network operations centers (NOCs) on decentralized networks can manage resources by collaborating with other NOCs. A NOC can be any device that monitors, reports and manages resources. NOC-to-NOC collaboration would allow for greater efficiency using
network resources by allowing for prioritization and protection of critical services determined by the operational user. To allow effective collaboration and management we must define what information needs to be monitored and how to manage this information. The information set and usage will be defined in this thesis.