1. Introduction

1.1. What is FACE TSS?

FACE™ (Future Airborne Capability Environment) is an open software technical standard designed by the Open Group FACE Consortium to improve affordability, accelerate development time, and increase compatibility across different computing environments. This standard establishes a common operating environment, enabling software components to be reused across avionics systems that use the FACE Reference Architecture.

Within the FACE architecture, the TSS (Transport Services Segment) defines how data moves within a system to optimize component portability and streamline system development.

For detailed information, the FACE Technical Standard, Edition 3.2, is available for download from the FACE Open Group Library.

1.2. What is RTI Connext TSS?

RTI® Connext® TSS, part of the RTI Connext product suite, is a customizable TSS solution based upon the open Data Distribution Service (DDS™) standard. Conformant with FACE 3.2, Connext TSS provides the APIs and capabilities that FACE portable components use to share data. This data can be exchanged across multiple networks, safety levels, and components from different suppliers.

Connext TSS also provides a TPM (Transport Protocol Module) interface, allowing you to use different transports within the TSS. This feature lets you develop custom TPMs and integrate third-party TPMs with Connext TSS and the Connext Professional or Connext Micro TPM adapters.

For implementation guidance, see Integrating a Compatible Third-Party TPM.

This manual includes detailed information about installing, configuring, and using Connext TSS.

1.3. What are RTI Connext Professional and RTI Connext Micro?

RTI Connext Professional is a software framework for building connected and distributed applications with requirements for high performance and scalability. It implements the DDS standard in its software development kit (SDK) and a variety of tools and services. RTI Connext Micro provides a smaller, modular connectivity framework for resource-limited devices. Both Connext Professional and Connext Micro provide communications services for distributing time-critical data.

This manual may suggest reading sections of the Connext Professional or Connext Micro documentation. You can find these documents in your Connext Professional or Connext Micro installation directory, respectively.

Note

Connext TSS is compatible with both Connext Professional and Connext Micro. However, Connext TSS only supports the C API for Connext Professional. It supports both the C and C++ APIs for Connext Micro. For more information about compatibility, refer to the Release Notes in this manual.

1.4. About this Document

This manual is written for developers and engineers with a background in software development.

1.4.1. Paths Mentioned in Documentation

This documentation refers to:

  • <RTITSSHOME> refers to the installation directory for Connext TSS.

    You may also see $RTITSSHOME on Linux or %RTITSSHOME% on Windows, which refer to an environment variable set to the installation path.

  • <NDDSHOME> refers to the installation directory for Connext Professional.

    You may also see $NDDSHOME on Linux or %NDDSHOME% on Windows, which refer to an environment variable set to the installation path.

  • <RTIMEHOME> refers to the installation directory for Connext Micro.

    You may also see $RTIMEHOME on Linux or %RTIMEHOME% on Windows, which refer to an environment variable set to the installation path.

  • <path to examples> refers to the examples folder in the installation directory for Connext TSS.

Whenever you see <RTITSSHOME>, <NDDSHOME>, or <RTIMEHOME> used in a path, replace it with your installation path.

1.5. Support Resources

Besides this documentation, RTI provides additional resources for help with Connext TSS and related DDS products.

1.5.1. Community Forum

RTI has created a Connext TSS Special Interest Group (SIG) on our community site for advice, suggestions, or support. Note that anything you post to this forum is open to the public; please take precaution about any information you share.

1.5.2. RTI Connext Documentation

Documentation for Connext Professional and Connext Micro is available in the doc folder of your Connext Professional or Connext Micro installation directory.

Documentation for other RTI products is available on the RTI Community Portal.

1.5.3. Training and Professional Services

If you’re new to DDS, the following resources can help you learn about this middleware standard:

  • Connext Developer Guide. A series of short, independent, hands-on training modules introduce you to basic DDS concepts.

  • Connext AI Chatbot. Get real-time assistance and comprehensive information about Connext features and functionality. Get more information about the chatbot here.

You can also contact the RTI Professional Services team or your local RTI representative to learn from our experts.

1.5.4. Technical Support

Phone: (408) 990-7444
Email: support@rti.com
Website: https://support.rti.com/