Vertex User Guide

Introduction

Vertex is the user interface used to configure and control the latest generation of Navtech Radar sensors. The interface is web-based and therefore does not require any client tools with the exception of a supported browser.

The following browsers are supported:

 

Browser

Notes

 

Browser

Notes

Google Chrome

Version 53 and later

Microsoft Edge

Windows 10, Version 38 and later

Microsoft Edge (Chromium)

Version 97 and later

Firefox is not supported. Although most features work, there are incompatibilities which prevent some critical functions from working including the saving of settings.

Contents



Accessing the Radar Interface

The PC and the radar must be on the same network subnet and they must be physically connected, either directly or via a network switch. The default IP address for the radar is 192.168.0.1 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 (/24). It may be necessary to change the IP address of the PC to work on the radar's subnet. If you are unsure on how to do this, please seek advice for the version of Windows your are using.

The radar uses SSL to secure the connection to the radar. The device uses a self-generated certificate which will normally generate a warning in the browser. You should consider the network interface as being safe and when prompted you should opt to continue. If you follow the default advice the browser will not allow you to load the interface. You can download and install a Navtech Radar root certificate on your PC. This will confirm the identity of the self-generated certificate and will prevent further warnings from the browser. See below for details on installing the certificate.

To access the interface:

  1. Open a supported browser and enter the IP address of the radar.

  2. Dismiss the warning and continue. The process can vary between browsers, the example illustrated here is using Chrome.

  3. Select the Advanced button:

     

  4. Click on the displayed link:

     

  5. The radar’s default status page will now load

Status Page

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The default status page is available to any user without logging into Vertex.

It displays basic static settings (i.e. Auto-Hostname, Radar serial number, IP address, etc.) plus dynamic graphs (arranged on two tabs in the lower portion of the page) that provide Temperature and Rotation details.

The following describes the information you will find on this page:

1. Interface Menu: Navigation menu for the Vertex interface..

2. Command Buttons: These are the primary control options.

3. Radar Details: Summary of radar details.

4. Uptimes: Uptimes of the system and firmware.

Software: The cumulative hours that the software has been running.

System: The cumulative hours that the system has been running.

Running: The cumulative hours that the radar motor has been running.

Total: The total uptime since the device was built.

Clients: The IP addresses and number of currently connected clients

5. Time Sync: This panel will show which of the two time synchronisation protocols is being used by the system, and it’s status. The Time Sync status is updated as part of the system health message, every 5 seconds.

PTP: The status of the current PTP master.

NTP: The status of the NTP remote server.

6. Health Status: Overview of key health metrics including temperatures, rotation speed and data packet rate.

  • Min / Max Values (Red): The min & max allowed values for each metric.

  • Expected Value (Green): Expected value based on the configuration of the radar.

  • Actual Value (Blue): Instantaneous value.

6. Status Footer: Includes the firmware version number and a link to download the Navtech root certificate.

Selecting the Rotation tab will show more health metrics:

Command Buttons
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Report: Display the Radar Configuration Report that details all of the key sensor settings, in a separate browser tab.

Login: Login to the radar with an account that offers more configuration options. Each account provides different levels of access:

Admin: Used to configure low-level operational settings - only used in the factory and by authorised partners. This provides access to all settings.

Engineer: Used to configure all user settings as well as some more advanced options, including changing to one or more supported operational modes. This is only used by authorised partners.

User: This is the standard login and provides access for features that users of the radar will require. This includes all network settings.

System Information

System
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This section covers detailed settings related to the radar hardware, firmware and network configuration. Click the System Information option to reveal the three sub-headings.

Hostname: The network hostname of the radar.

Model: The radar model.

IP Address: IP V4 address of the radar.

Subnet Mask: IP V4 subnet mask.

Gateway: IP V4 gateway.

NTP Address: IP V4 address of the NTP time source.

Syslog Address: IP V4 address of the target syslog server. Once configured the radar will send logging data to the syslog server over the network.

MAC Address: Physical address of the network interface.

Onboard MAC Address: Physical address of the onboard processing module.

OS Version: Version of the underlying embedded OS on the radar.

Vertex / Firmware Version: Version of the radar firmware and associated web user interface.

Radar FPGA: Firmware version running on the primary radar FPGA

Onboard OS: Version of the underlying embedded OS on the onboard processing module.

Onboard Firmware: Version of the embedded OS on onboard processing module.

Radar
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This page covers details related to the operational configuration of the radar.

Radar Mode: This indicates the current mode of the radar. This is the underlying sampling and signal processing configuration and is tied to the model of the radar.

Trigger Details: This indicates how each azimuth sample is triggered:

Timed: This means that each sample is taken based on clock driven trigger. This option ensures a very consistent sample rate that is not tied to the mechanical rotation.

Encoder: This means that each sample is taken based on a fixed number of steps on the encoder. This options ensures each sample is taken at the same angle on every rotation.

Staring Mode: Indicates if the radar is staring mode and is therefore not rotating. This mode is typically used for performance testing in the factory. We warn users that the system is in staring mode by displaying a yellow triangle icon and turning the fields from white to yellow. In normal operation the Starting Mode should be disabled.

Angle Start: This is the start angle, in degrees, when restricting the data processed by radar to a specified segment between two angles.

Angle End: This is the end angle, in degrees, when restricting the data processed by radar to a specified segment between two angles.

Range Resolution: This is the range resolution of the radar. Each azimuth sample contains a number of measurements (referred to as cells or bins) and each measurements represent this amount of distance.

Range in Bins: The total number of measurements taken for each azimuth sample. The calculated range of radar is Range Resolution x Range in Bins.

Azimuth Samples: This is the total number of azimuth samples taken by the radar in a single rotation. Typically the radar will take at least two samples per beam width.

Expected Rotation Speed: This is configured rotation speed of the radar, displayed in milli-Hertz. (Hz x 1000).

Expected Packet Rate: This is the total expected packet rate per second across the network from the radar. Typically each packet represents a single azimuth sample.

Contour Mode: This indicates the current contour mode configuration. A contour is a polygon shape used to define an area of interest within the total coverage area of the radar. When enabled, only radar data inside the defined contour area will be sent across the network. This can significantly reduced the network bandwidth.

Radar Health: Simple health indicator for the radar. If unhealthy, the health graphs on the Status Page will indicate which metric is outside operational limits.

Front End Serial No: Serial number of the front end transmitter / receiver.

Daughter Board: Serial number of the optional expansion board. This will not be present in all radar models.

Digital Board: Serial number of the main radar PCB.

Radar: Serial number of the radar.

Module: Serial number of the onboard processing module.

Advanced
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This page covers some advanced details including build and service dates.

Encoder Size: This indicates how many steps are on the encoder wheel.

Encoder Offset: This indicates the permanent offset of readings relative to the zero point on the encoder wheel. This ensures the operational zero point for all radars is identical.

Build Date: This is the date the radar was built.

Service Date: This is the date that the radar was last serviced. This date is updated on each service.

Log Viewer

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This page provides a full list of all sensor activities.

To view the current logs:

  1. Enter the number of recent lines you wish to view and select Go.

  2. The selected logs lines will be displayed in descending time / date order:

     

  3. Authorised users will have the option to download these logs. Please refer to User - Log Viewer | Download Logs for more information.

Radar Data

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This page displays a snapshot of the live radar data. It also provides the capability for authorised users to add and remove sectors when using Sector Blanking.

Select the Refresh button to reload the image with the latest radar data. This can take a few seconds to pull the data from the radar and render it in the browser.


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