Motor Vessel LAN - Design, Implementation, and Operation
Nobukazu Wakabayashi, Takayuki Watanabe, Misako Urakami, Yoshiii Yano · 2018
Resulting from the spread of computer usage, substantial advances in the development of network technologies, and the increasingly common ability to connect to the Internet, today's world is undergoing a significant evolvement in the methods of communication. Aboard motor vessels, the widespread dependence on computer technology by various forms of equipment has created a need to be organically connected via onboard LAN in order to exchange information. This paper, then, proposes a practical Shipboard LAN System configuration based on the practical application of information obtained from usage aboard the Training Ship (TS) FUKAE MARU - the Kobe University training / research ship. Though fitted with a basic Shipboard LAN System that was up to date when the vessel was constructed approximately three decades ago, over time, as network demands have increased, improvements - such as a duplicate system for backup and the installation of Wi-Fi Access Points enabling connection at anywhere inboard ship this vessel - were made. As a result, the efficient utilization of the Shipboard LAN, all data - gathered in a server PC - is able to be delivered via the LAN and thereby realize an advanced navigation system. In addition to a description of the process and its results, a proposal for the practical usage of the Shipboard LAN System applications is presented.