Winlink snapshot




What is Winlink 2000

Worldwide system for sending e-mail via radio.
Provides e-mail from almost anywhere in the world.
Provides vital support for 10,000+ sailors
Adopted for contingency communication by many government agencies
Used by infrastructure-critical NGOs such as International & American Red Cross, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, DHS Tiered AT&T Disaster Response & Recovery, FedEx, Bridgestone Emergency Response Team, etc.

Winlink Operating Modes

For efficiency, reliability and flexibility, the Winlink system provides three modes for transferring messages:
  • Conventional system that stores messages on CMS “backbone” servers.
  • Hybrid MESH network that transfers messages over long distances using radio-only HF forwarding.
  • Peer-to-Peer direct connections between two client stations without any use of Internet or infrastructure.



Winlink 2000 Architecture (Conventional Mode)

Radio-Only Winlink Network (No Internet)






Winlink Peer-To-Peer Radio-Only Operation

• Peer-to-peer: direct radio connection between end-users.
• The Internet is not used, all communication by radio.
• Only the two client stations are involved.














Winlink Hybrid Network


























Key Points About the Winlink Hybrid Network

  • Wide-area, MESH network using HF forwarding.
  • Can provide nation-wide e-mail support for AREG.
  • Uses standard Winlink client e-mail programs.
  • Supports standard e-mail with file attachments.
  • Message routing is dynamic and fully automatic.
  • Radio Message Servers (RMSs) run in normal Winlink Internet mode and switch automatically to radio-only network mode to forward radio-only messages.
  • Users can connect using Pactor, Winmor,ardop,vara
  • Pactor is used for backbone links between RMSs

Message Pickup Stations

  • During radio-only (no Internet) operation, messages sent to you will be stored in databases on the RMSs you select as your Message Pickup Stations (MPS).
  • Each person can select up to 3 MPS, but to reduce network traffic, it is recommended that only 2 MPS be used.
  • A duplicate copy of each message is delivered to each MPS, and you can pick up your messages from either MPS.
  • Once a message has been downloaded from one MPS, RMS Express will not download the same message from another MPS.
  • You can register MPS with RMS Express using an Internet connection or a radio message





What Winlink 2000 Offers for EmComm

  • Flexibility
  • Internet-only (Telnet) direct connections to Winlink.
  • Radio link bridge to Internet e-mail
  • Radio-only store and forward messaging
  • Peer-to-peer connections between radio end-users
  • Various levels of security including message encryption
  • 100% accurate transmissions
  • Interoperability: Connect different types of systems
  • Bridge different radio capabilities (VHF/UHF/HF)
  • Bridge protocols: Pactor, Winmor, ardop,vara
  • Seamless integration with Internet e-mail
  • Geographical dispersion and redundancy for reliability
  • Standard e-mail format with many features
  • Binary file attachments (pictures, pdf, spreadsheets)
  • Automatic message compression/decompression
  • Time independence (except for peer-to-peer)
  • Good operation at most power levels
  • Not limited by station-to-station propagation
  • Message logging, and ICS report generation
  • Wide adoption by EmComm related agencies




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