Software VLBI correlator - Practical approach

In the paper authors present the general idea of software correlator in e-VLBI system. The e-VLBI idea is undoubtedly the future of radio astronomy which allows accelerate both measurement and post-processing procedures. Software correlation idea is a new approach to the space observation base on very long baseline interferometry method. It significantly reduces processing time of obtained data from 6 months up to few minutes so the scientists can almost immediately familiarize with results of their tests. That is why finding (sub)optimal solutions for designing and working of software correlator is essential for radio astronomy society. The paper touches many important and up-to-date aspects from e-VLBI domain including preparation phase to the correlation process. Moreover, experimental results are presented concerning different aspects of data availability which proof that quasi real time software correlation process is possible.