Data Archiving
The InControl system provides archiving
capabilities which can be utilized for short or long-term storage and
analysis. The archiving functions within InControl are
designed to efficiently capture relative data in a format which can be
easily managed and which provides efficient access for later analysis
functions. Different archive processes are used to capture unique types
of data.
All archives store data in binary flat files and allow configuration
of the size of individual files as well as the duration that those files
are maintained in a current directory. This flexibility makes it easy
for a system administrator to maintain the archive data as dictated by
their own operations concept. The following sections describe details
regarding the individual archive processes.
AWE Archive
The AWE archive is utilized to capture all AWE messages generated by
the system. These include operator commands, telemetry alarms, and
various other system messages. For example. the AWE archive might be
configured to support one week of on-line archived AWE messages.
The AWE messages can be retrieved for later analysis through the Client
API interface or through the AWE historical display. This display is
identical to the real-time display with the addition of a selection for
the start and stop time of the historical request. This interface provides
the user with the same configurable filters including filtering on the
character string, message source, and message severity. These features
provide users with a very flexible analysis capability when looking for
a specific message or messages and allow hardcopy output for analysis
of retrieved data off-line.
Raw Telemetry Archive
The raw telemetry archive is utilized to capture all raw telemetry data
(frames or packets) acquired by the system. This data can then be assessed
through the Client API interface or reprocessed by the system for later
analysis. For example, the raw telemetry archive might be configured
to support 90 days of on-line archived data.
Processed Value Archive
The processed value archive is used to provide a short-term ring-buffer
of processed value data. Individual processed data samples include the
time-tag, raw and processed value as well as the status of the parameter
sample. The processed value archive can be configured to store all samples
of data on-change to extend the available duration. In addition, multiple
processed value archives can run simultaneously to support various functions.
For example, there might be two processed value archives configured
for normal operations. The first archive would collect all telemetry
values on-change and would typically be sized as a two week rolling buffer.
A second archive would archive all samples of a selected subset of data
(e.g. ranging data). This flexibility allows the core system to support
a wide range of customer needs and operations concepts.
Fast access to this data (no processing required) can be provided through
Retrieval or StormView-NG. In addition, this data can
be programmatically accessed through the client API telemetry interface
for external use. For example, the processed value archives might be
configured to support 14 days of on-line archived data
Statistical Archive
The statistical archive is used to provide long-term storage of statistical
data. Individual samples include the time-tag, raw and processed value
at the time of the sample, number of samples, average, min, max, mean
and standard deviation over the sample period. The sample period of
the statistical archive is configurable (typically 1/hr or 1/day) and
multiple statistical archives can be utilized provide medium and long-term
analysis. Fast access to this data (no processing required) can be
provided through Retrieval or StormView-NG. In addition,
this data can be programmatically accessed through the client API telemetry
interface. A statistical archive is typically configured to support
the mission lifetime as an on-line data archive.
Retrieval
Access to selected archived data is provided by the InContol-NG Retrieval
application. This application provides a simple user interface from
which users can define the selected vehicle, data type (e.g. statistical,
processed value), data components (e.g. min, max for statistical data),
selected parameters and time span of interest. The specific selection
of data can be saved as retrieval configuration files which can be
re-called for routine analysis operations.
