DISCOVERER is one of the premier research vessels in the Pacific Ocean because it is a stable platform which supports a large suite of sensors for data acquisition. This sensor suite is supported by high power computer workstations and a well developed computer network, which integrates nearly all of the computers on board.
Nearly all of the scientific instrumentation is integrated into the same computer system. This ship wide networking allows centralization of data. Therefore, one central data set is logged and maintained instead of numerous independent data sets. This allows for easy collation of data from numerous sensors with different sampling rates. All data is time stamped and GPS position can be easily added to any data set. Data gathered covers the spectrum from air temperature and relative humidity, to water depth and bathymetric charting, to seawater temperature. These sensors are better described on the scientific instrumentation page.
One of the greatest assets that DISCOVERER has is the computer systems aboard. The recently upgraded computers are used for everything from sensor acquisition and data analysis to administration and payroll. The computers aboard are broken into two categories: Open VMS Workstations and Personal Computer Network.
The central components of DISCOVERER's computer system are two Digital Equipment Company (DEC) 3000 Alpha Workstations Model 600. The system operates in an OpenVMS X-windows environment. The primary node is used for data acquistion from DISCOVERER's suite of nearly one-hundred real time and derived scientific sensors. Each workstation has an internal 1 GByte drive, CD-ROM drive, dual external 4 GByte disk drives, an 8 mm tape drive, and a Quarter Inch Cartridge (QIC) drive. The systems are designed identically, so that, in the event of a failure of the primary system, the backup workstation can resume scientific data acquisition with minimal data loss.
The primary function of this system is to run the Scientific Computer System (SCS) software. This FORTRAN based software package was developed at NOAA Headquarters specifically for the NOAA fleet to acquire scientific data from a wide array of sensors. The SCS software is described in the following section.
In addition to the two workstations, three X-windows terminals are located throughout the ship: the bridge, the seismic lab, and one in the computer room. If needed, two of the X-terms can be relocated to better meet scientific requirements. We also have eXceed terminal emulation software installed on one PC. The DEC Alpha Workstations are connected to all other nodes using a combined thick net backbone and thin wire ethernet network throughout the vessel. The nodes include the two Alpha Workstations, three X-terminals, two older DEC Microvax systems, network Postscript printers, a total of six Model 200/MC DEC Servers, and a link to DISCOVERER's 16 node Personal Computer network. This networking makes data transfer throughout the vessel simple and efficient. The TCP/IP protocol is used for the X-terminals, DEC Pathworks and Microsoft NetBEUI are preferred protocols for the PC's.
The primary function of DISCOVERER's computer systems are to fulfill the data requirements as outlined in the project instructions; however, limited access is available to personnel for projects not directly related to the mission.
NOAA Developed Software:
Commercial Software Packages:
System Utilities:
The Scientific Computer System (SCS) software was developed at NOAA Headquarters specifically for the NOAA fleet. SCS is a data acquisition and processing system designed for oceanographic and fisheries applications. It functions to acquire sensor data from shipboard, oceanographic, and fisheries.
This FORTRAN based software package is run through point and click menu bars. The SCS package utilizes Graphical User Interface (GUI) technology in the form of X-Window time series graphs and directly calls Matlab graphing capabilities. The new system was completed and debugged in January 1995 and greatly improved DISCOVERER's scientific capabilities.
SCS is capable of sending remote displays (run on VT 220 terminals) to nearly any location on the ship. In addition, ASCII data strings can be sent via RS-232 cable to nearly all spaces in the ship. Data from and any sensor in the sensor list can be sent to any available port on the network. The SCS workstations can provide time series graphs of all acquired data to monitor any changes. Several variables can be plotted against each other in real time X-Y plots.
Data can be output in a wide variety of formats to best serve the user. Data output formats include: