Software Communications Architecture

This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Software Communications Architecture (SCA) is an open architecture framework that defines a standard way for radios to instantiate, configure, and manage waveform applications running on their platform. The SCA separates waveform software from the underlying hardware platform, facilitating waveform software portability and re-use to avoid costs of redeveloping waveforms. The latest version is SCA 4.1.

The SCA is published by the Joint Tactical Networking Center (JTNC). This architecture was developed to assist in the development of Software Defined Radio (SDR) communication systems, capturing the benefits of recent technology advances which are expected to greatly enhance interoperability of communication systems and reduce development and deployment costs. The architecture is also applicable to other embedded, distributed-computing applications such as Communications Terminals or Electronic Warfare (EW). The SCA has been structured to:

1. Provide for portability of applications software between different SCA implementations,
2. Leverage commercial standards to reduce development cost,
3. Reduce software development time through the ability to reuse design modules, and
4. Build on evolving commercial frameworks and architectures.

The SCA is deliberately designed to meet commercial application requirements as well as those of military applications. Since the SCA is intended to become a self-sustaining standard, a wide cross-section of industry has been invited to participate in the development and validation of the SCA. The SCA is not a system specification but an implementation independent set of rules that constrain the design of systems to achieve the objectives listed above.

The Core Framework (CF) defines the essential "core" set of open software interfaces and profiles that provide for the deployment, management, interconnection, and intercommunication of software application components in an embedded, distributed-computing communication system. In this sense, all interfaces defined in the SCA are part of the CF.

The Standard Waveform APIs define the key software interfaces that allow the waveform application and radio platform to interact. SCA use the APIs to separate waveform software from the underlying hardware platform, facilitating waveform software portability and re-use to avoid costs of redeveloping waveforms.

• VIStology SCA-Pass - SCA 4.1 Waveform Conformance Verification IDE
• Reservoir Labs' R-Check - SCA Compliance Testing Archived 2020-04-29 at the Wayback Machine
• NordiaSoft eCo Suite - SCA 4.1 Integrated Development Environment and Core Framework
• ADLINK Spectra CX4 - SCA 4.1 Model Driven Tools

• Software Communications Architecture v4.1 entered into the Department of Defense (DoD) Information Technology (IT) Standards Registry (DISR) as a mandated standard

• Software Communications Architecture Homepage
• Introduction to SCA Part I (Video)
• Introduction to SCA Part II (Video)
• SCA 4.1 Release Webinar
• SCA 2.2.2 Migration to SCA 4.1 (Video)
• Cobham Development Platform Archived 2020-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
• SCA and FACE Alignment Archived 2017-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
• SCA 4.1 Required in Major U.S. Navy Acquisition Archived 2018-08-09 at the Wayback Machine
• Navy Requires Open Architecture
• Wireless Innovation Forum - International Consortium
• Adoption by Germany Archived 2017-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
• Adoption by India
• Increasing Flexibility in Wireless SDR Systems
• R&S SDTR Archived 2017-08-24 at the Wayback Machine