Virtualization of AEGIS: A Study of the Feasibility of Applying Open Architecture Technology to the Surface Navy's Most Complex Automated Weapon System

摘要

Rising costs of proprietary equipment in legacy electronic applications are increasingly drawing resources from vital programs. Growing interest in evaluating Open Architecture technology to replace closed systems is evidenced by the number of recent publications on the subject. Researchers have approached this topic from various angles, including lifecycle management, risk simulation, total cost of ownership, and knowledge-value added measures. This exploratory study uses open architecture hardware employing virtualization technology to test the feasibility of replacing legacy components of military systems. Virtualization has the potential to provide significant cost savings in terms of procurement, daily operation, and maintenance. Additionally, virtualization provides functional benefits such as load-balancing, greater processor utilization and storage flexibility, streamlined scalability, and simplified disaster recovery strategies. This thesis is original research in the form of a proof-of-concept study. It details performance results of a locally-constructed test platform, designed to simulate a portion of the U.S. Navy's AEGIS Weapon System. The scope of this work is to test the viability of using commodity-based hardware to achieve performance levels equal to, or greater than, current proprietary systems. Value-Added metrics are applied through cost comparisons between the test platform and typical AEGIS systems. While this study specifically targets AEGIS, the results can be generalized to non-military applications.