Separate networks makes it possible for the crew to watch a game, while the captain is having a Teams meeting with the office ashore and a supplier is doing maintenance on the equipment.
Life on board can be tough on the crew. Especially when the service time gets extraordinary long due to pandemics. Naturally you want to be able to keep in touch with family and friends, access your bank or follow your favorite sports team. So, a reliable internet connection is a necessity for quality of life. The problem is that networks can interfere with each other and slow data traffic down.
One network for each action
Our solution is to create separate virtual networks for different actions on board. That way it doesn’t matter if the crew is surfing the internet – it still won’t get in the way of business systems like sending or receiving important data about the ship, cargo or control systems.
Ensures a usable level
You decide how to divide the bandwidth between the groups. For example, if business is ensured 60 percent of the bandwidth and the crew 40 percent, everyone always have enough to make calls and stay updated on what’s happening in the world. If one group doesn’t use all of its bandwidth, it is dynamically allocated for the other group.
It is also flexible. This comes in handy when you have, for example a lot of remote installations to do in the business network. Or if the whole crew wants to watch a live stream event.
Separate network for suppliers
In addition to increased social sustainability, it is also a big advantage to use separate networks from a safety point of view. The supplier can do an update without affecting the other networks and with minimal risk of spreading potentially dangerous software.