Keep Your “DUCS” In A Row
By David Smith
In 1990, a new system called DUCS (Dial-up Crypto System) was DFAIT’s
first communications/ crypto system to take advantage of the then rapidly
expanding use of Personal computers. It was also a “made-in-house”
system with the planning and development of DUCS done by technical employee
expertise from within DFAIT. First begun as a system produced by
two technicians, the DUCS program expanded quickly and with advances in
computer technology, software development (also in-house) and improvement
in world-wide communications mediums, it became a quick and efficient means
of providing communications to the majority of consulates and embassies
world-wide. Advances in tempest-compliant PC’s and printers made
this a very viable form of communicating with a minimum of training.
The premise of DUCS was to connect a Tempest-compliant Datawatch
X86 PC, a Tempest-compliant 3184 printer , a V.32 modem (maximum
speed of 9600 baud) and a KG84C crypto unit to existing MITNET [1] lines.
The minimum (and normal speed of transmission at many missions) was 1200
baud. Because the traffic consisted of text only, the speed
was sufficient to meet most needs. MITNET lines would normally
use local phone lines from Embassies to local telecom companies within
the various countries and from there; MITNET would use reasonably high-quality
lines direct to DFAIT headquarters in Ottawa. All communications
were fed into NOCAMS, the computerized message switch of the day. The process
was quite simple. Embassy communications personnel would activate the software
which would place a call to NOCAMS. Upon connection, NOCAMS would deliver
any messages being held in queue and then incoming messages from our missions
would be transmitted. It was really quite fast since it was pure
text and the printers used could pretty well keep up with the incoming
traffic. It was a simple as starting the process using software
driven programs and then enjoying a coffee while all traffic was cleared
in both directions.
The Datawatch X86 computers were fitted with two removable hard disks
with the “C” drive containing program files and the “D” drive holding
the incoming/outgoing messages. In the early days, the drives had
a capacity of 40 Mbytes but as larger hard drives became available, some
missions with heavier workloads received upgrades.
As a backup in case of any malfunctions, there was a second PC on
standby and operators were trained to “exercise” the backup units at least
once a month to ensure they remained operational. The KG84C crypto units
were filled monthly using a KOI-18 fill reader – a two foot long cable
attached to the KG with the reader fixed to the other end of the cable.
Jeffrey Hargiss provides some generic information on the Datawatch
PC. "The Datawatch PC was a regular-spec XT that was housed in a
plate steel case with copper mesh or copper "fingers" around the openings.
Each I/O connector on the back of the unit (ie RS-232, Parallel,
Centronics, video, keyboard, AUI, and Ethernet) went through a special
filter board [one per port] to choke any radiated signals. (I am not aware
of token-ring or RJ45 interfacing, but we didn't use that).
Video output was anything from EGA to VGA. Incidently, the mouse
system [optical on a grid pad] was a pain to use [2] . The keyboard was
painted on the inside with a copper colored paint, and a heavy shielded
cable was used for connection to the PC. Default configurations were usually
one floppy and one hard drive [3]. Datawatch also made an 80386 system,
I do not know if they ever made a 486.
The users who were not running 24 hours really loved the Datawatch
PC. Pulling the hard drive out of the PC was very easy as it was locked
in the safe when they left for home.
Techs thought the PCs were OK, but there were lots of screws that
had to be removed if servicing the unit. Tempest compliant equipment is
generally "overscrewed". There were specific inch-pound settings for these
fasteners and you were given a calibrated inch-pound screw driver when
you went to the factory for certification. Apple also made Tempest-compliant
systems, as did AT&T, IBM".
What began as a small project quickly morphed into a very large system
with more than 60 missions retiring their former communications/encryption
equipment in exchange for DUCS. Missions which were still using
BID770 off-line systems were some of the first to receive DUCS. A schedule
was developed to install DUCS around the world but DUCS began in the Far
East with Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia possibly being the first mission to use
DUCS.
The installation project was quite a process. For the most part,
it was a challenge to install DUCS while maintaining operation of the existing
Alvis or Tenec equipment that DUCS was replacing. The Communications Centres
at most embassies were tight on space but once DUCS was installed and former
equipment decommissioned, the additional space was greatly appreciated.
When the introduction of DUCS began, most communications personnel
had very little background or familiarity with computers with a few exceptions.
To address the training requirements, two trainers and a technician (who
had developed the software) flew to Amsterdam for 3 weeks. In the Hilton
Hotel, the team set up three or four PC’s in each of two connecting rooms
and ran a training program in those rooms. Six communicators at a
time were flown in to Amsterdam from various parts of the world for three
days and during that time, they would be brought up to date on the software
required to use the program and be given a crash course in Computers 101.
When they returned to their respective missions, another six would arrive
until gradually, all communicators could operate DUCS.
Although DUCS was first implemented in 1990, it is in fact still
going strong, now highly refined and under the name of SIGNET. Our
former DUCS simply became significantly geared to the demands of the day
and with every new release of software (produced and released by DFAIT
employees), it transformed the entire world of Departmental communications
into a high-speed secure (and easy) means of communicating between DFAIT’s
missions abroad and Headquarters in Ottawa. The days of Communicators
were over and a new breed of worker, the Computer System specialists now
keep the electronic traffic flowing around the world.
 |
| Above and Below: The DUCS installation in the Beijing embassy. The
system consisted of two Tempest-compliant Datawatch Personal Computers,
two Penril modems and DFAIT developed custom software based on the Crosstalk
application. Included were two Model 3184 printers (Tally/Genicom?) and
two KG84C encryptors. |
 |
|
 |
| Mounting details of the KG-84C's. |
| All photos in this table are from the Foreign Service
Telecommunications photo pool. |
 |
| The modular PC used with DUCS was the Datawatch X86. It came in
both tower and desktop configurations and it appears that two floppy drives
and two hard drives were standard peripherals. |
 |
| X86 rear connections for tower type configuration. |
| All photos in this table are from the Foreign
Service Telecommunications photo pool. |
As of April 2011, DFAIT provides communications support for the Local
Area Networks (LANs) at Canada's 160 missions in 111 countries, and directly
serves more than 10,000 people. More than 6,000 of these work outside Canada.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] MITNET provides a single departmental network infrastructure
to support data and voice applications. It incorporates low-level
network connectivity protocols and the physical infrastructure.
[2] DFAIT did not use the optical mouse with their system.
[3] The usual configuration for DFAIT machines was two floppies and
two hard drives.
Credits and References:
1) Robert Stewart <rmstewart(at)rogers.com>
2) David Smith <drdee(at)sympatico.ca
3) Jacques Larose <Jacques.larose (at) bell.net>
4) http://www.international.gc.ca/about-a_propos/atip-aiprp/infrastructure.aspx?lang=eng
5) Jeffrey Hargiss <kc9fat(at)aol.com>