# Optical Wireless Fronthaul-Enhanced High-Throughput FC-AE-1553 Space Networks
## 2 State-of-The-Art FC-AE-1553 Space Network  
### Overview of Fiber Channel  
Fiber Channel (FC) is a standardized serial data communication technology that supports bi-directional, point-to-point connections [28]. It was officially standardized by ANSI (American National Standards Institute) in 1994 [29]. Fiber Channel has been consistently doubling its speed every few years. Presently, there are commercially available products capable of achieving a speed of 64 GFC [30]. Moreover, it is expected that by 2033, Fiber Channel will be able to reach an impressive speed of 1 TFC [31]. FC-AE-1553 [32], FC-AE-ASM [33], and FC-AE-RDMA [34] are communication protocols belonging to the Fiber Channel Avionics Environment (FC-AE), which are specifically tailored for commercial and military aerospace industries. The space laboratory in the International Space Station employs FDDI as its data bus technology [35]. FDDI, a fiber data bus technology operating at a speed of 100 Mbps [36], has a relatively lower transmission rate compared to the subsequently introduced Fiber Channel technology. In 2006, the authors of [3] conducted an early analysis, highlighting the advantages of implementing the Fiber Channel protocol FC-AE-1553 in future aerospace avionics systems. The energy particle detection devices, which are installed outside the Wentian laboratory cabin module in the Tiangong space station, transfer space experiment data to the ground system using the FC-AE-1553 bus and the MIL-STD-1553B bus [37]. Moreover, the integrated information system in the China space station can achieve a speed of 4 Gbps for every access channel based on FC-AE-1553, enabling large-scale data transmission, storage, and processing of payloads [1]. There are several key aspects regarding FC-AE-1553 technology. Early research primarily emphasized the FC-AE-1553 network topology [7; 38; 39], architecture [6; 12], and performance [4; 20]. This research subsequently fostered the development of a range of products based on FC-AE-1553, including FC-AE-1553 chips [40; 41; 42], as well as software [19] and hardware [43; 44] products, for embedded and desktop applications. FC-AE-1553 network scheduling technology is also one of the main research directions of FC-AE-1553, encompassing dynamic bandwidth allocation [9; 10; 13], credit mechanisms [11], task scheduling [12], and quality of service (QoS) [8] considerations. Fiber Channel (FC) technology has undergone continuous developments and integration with other technologies, resulting in the enhanced comprehensive capability of FC networks. Specifically, the integration of IP technology [45; 46; 47; 48] at the transport layer has significantly improved the compatibility of FC networks with traditional networks, enabling dynamic adaptation of transmissions. Simultaneously, the combination of FC technology with mass storage technology [49; 50; 51; 52; 53; 54; 55] at the application layer has provided support for the seamless integration of high-speed sensing, transmission, storage, and computing, facilitating a unified fusion of these functions. This paper will delve into an innovative approach toward the fusion of multiple heterogeneous technologies, aiming to seamlessly integrate the space FC-AE-1553 network with optical wireless networks. Furthermore, we will deeply investigate the scheduling mechanisms and performance attributes under this novel network architecture.