Better bus licenses

Product

May 24, 2011

Even the newest, freshest military platform retains legacy interfaces such as MIL-STD-1553 or ARINC 429.

Even the newest, freshest military platform retains legacy interfaces such as MIL-STD-1553 or ARINC 429. That’s because these tried-and-true communications links are rock solid and still used in familiar older equipment installed in new aircraft, ships, or ground vehicles. One of the leaders in 1553 and 429 hardware is Data Device Corporation (DDC), whose board- and chip-level hardware is arguably chosen more often than any other vendor. Yet DoD systems do not operate on hardware alone. That’s why DDC offers a number of software packages for their hardware, including dataSIMS, BusTrACEr, Commercial Avionics Utilities, and a LabVIEW Support Package.

Still, software requires licenses, and DDC has just simplified theirs while making software available on more host platforms than ever before, including 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7. License choices now comprise: a USB dongle license for host computers that move around (such as laptops or Tablet PCs). For dedicated host platforms that don’t move, there’s now a Node-Locked license. And finally, for network-based development sites, DDC offers a Network License version. The company has also extended the support contracts to 12- or 24-month periods. We’re aware that a new license structure might not rock your world, but your program manager might thank you for bringing this to their attention.