Isode - Military Messaging and Directory Server Software

Isode's server software products are central to military messaging and military directory solutions. Isode partners with systems integrators to deliver successful, competitive, secure and scalable messaging and directory solutions to militaries, intelligence services, aviation authorities and governments worldwide.

MILITARY MESSAGING SERVERS

Our messaging servers have full compliance to the STANAG 4406 standards and architecture, and provide support for strategic and tactical networks (including STANAG 4406 Annex E, providing optimized support for satellite and HF radio). They have high message throughput and low switching latency, message precedence capabilities, audit logging and audit database.

MILITARY DIRECTORY SERVERS

Comprehensive security (including strong authentication for all directory protocols and signed operations), full ACP 133 support and conformance, comprehensive management and operational tools, flexible replication and replication management are provided by Isode's military directory servers.

MILITARY MESSAGING (STANAG 4406)

Isode provides the products needed to establish and manage the core of a secure STANAG 4406 military messaging infrastructure (as in diagram one).

STANAG 4406 is the NATO standard for military messaging based on X.400. Used for both strategic and tactical messaging, it includes protocols to support tactical messaging, in particular to support very low bandwidth links such as HF radio (STANAG 4406 Annex E) and for support of receivers in emission control (EMCON) mode:

MILITARY MESSAGE TRANSFER AGENT

A high performance X.400 military message transfer agent (MMTA), suitable for high-volume backbone operation. M-Switch X.400 is a flexible, secure and STANAG 4406 message switch that is the core infrastructure component. STANAG 4406 Annex E for HF radio and other constrained bandwidth networks is supported by the M-Switch X.400.

MILITARY MESSAGING MESSAGE STORE

M-Store X.400 is a military messaging message store (MM-MS) that stores delivered messages and enables military client access using the X.400 P7 protocol.

HF RADIO AND SATELLITE MILITARY MESSAGING

Military messaging is often required over slow networks and in particular over HF radio. STANAG 4406 Annex E and associated standards provide optimized support for HF radio and satellite communication.

Diagram two shows the top level STANAG 4406 Annex E architecture for communication over HF radio, satellite and other constrained bandwidth networks. In such a scenario, Isode's M-Switch X.400 can be configured to be a lightweight message transfer agent (LMTA) or tactical interface agent (TIA).

LIGHTWEIGHT MESSAGE TRANSFER AGENT AND TACTICAL INTERFACE AGENTS

An MTA is an X.400 message transfer agent, which is the basic store and forward message switching component of a STANAG 4406 military messaging system. An LMTA is an MTA that supports P1/Annex E (but not 'Full Stack' P1). This is an MTA that works with other MTAs only in a constrained bandwidth environment.

A TIA is an MTA that supports P1/Annex E and 'Full Stack' P1, and is intended to switch between them.

(ACP133) CONFORMANCE DIRECTORY SERVER

Military directory conformance is specified by Allied Communication Publication (ACP) 133 "Common Directory Services and Procedures". ACP 133 is based on the ISO/ITU X.500 directory standard, and makes use of X.500 protocols for replication and directory management.

Isode's M-Vault, an ACP 133 conformant directory server, is used to provide information services. These include supporting infrastructure for applications such as public key infrastructure (PKI), and supporting military message handling systems (MMHS).

An ACP 133 directory may be used in conjunction with an MMHS solution in three ways:

• To provide a service to military messaging user agents (MM-UAs) to enable lookup of email recipients
• To provide a distribution list service: MM-UAs and MMTAs may interact with this service
• To provide a basis for configuration and managing the MMTAs and MM-MSs

Isode's ACP 133 solution based on M-Vault X.500 can be used for all three of these functions. The first two functions are standard ACP 123 specified capabilities. The third, optional, use is an important feature of the Isode solution.

TECHNICAL WHITE PAPERS AND EVALUATION SOFTWARE

Isode's technical military white papers are available free of charge from this site. Evaluation software is available from the main Isode website.