System
Services and External Interfaces Concept Paper
This concept paper investigates the requirements for the system services and external interfaces system of the Radar Data Processing System (RDPS). The system services and external interfaces system ensures the smooth operation of the RDPS even under unexpected situations.
The main purpose of the system services and external interfaces system is to provide a stable software operating environment on which the RDPS can run. This part of the RDPS ensures that all other functions of the RDPS can be performed without problems. Whenever a problem that may hinder another system of the RDPS from performing its tasks occurs, the system services and external interfaces system will notify the alerts and warnings system, which will in turn notify the operator of the problem. In certain cases, the system services and external interfaces system will try to overcome the issues. The behavior of the system services and external interfaces system is based on the hardware resources and hardware conditions of the overall system.
The system services and external interfaces system should provide the following functionality:
3.1 Startup
At startup, the RDPS requires a terrain model to be loaded correctly for issuing Minimum Safe Altitude Warnings (MSAW). If the terrain model file is missing or different from last startup, the system services and external interfaces system shall communicate with the alerts and warnings system for the operator to be notified.
The hardware system will be composed of two separate processors, each with distinct roles in the system. The system services and external interfaces system shall perform self-checking at system startup. If the primary processor is down at startup, the system services and external interfaces system shall route all control to the secondary processor, and notify the operator of the situation via the alerts and warnings system.
3.2 Fault tolerance
The system services and external interfaces system shall make sure that the main processor is operating correctly. In the event of the main processor malfunctioning, the secondary processor shall begin accepting all inputs and perform all required tasks. The input and output interfaces of the RDPS shall be routed to the secondary processor. The operator shall have the option to switch operation to the secondary processor manually, in case of malfunctions that are undetectable by the RDPS.
In case of workstation malfunction, the system services and external interfaces system shall provide the option of routing RDPS outputs to a different workstation.
3. 3 System Warnings
If the system services and external interfaces system determines that the number of tracks exceeds the amount of tracks that can be processed by the CPU, a warning indicating “Too many tracks” shall be issued via the alerts and warnings system.
If the system services and external interfaces system determines that the available system resource is below 40%, a warning indicating “System Resources Low” shall be issued through the alerts and warnings system.
In all cases when the system services and external interfaces system detects hardware problems, the operator shall be notified by the alerts and warnings system.
3.4 External Interface Failures
If the system services and external interfaces system detects a radar system malfunction, it shall issue a warning indication “Radar malfunction” via the alerts and warnings system, and indicate which radar system malfunctioned.
3.5 Requirements for Adaptation Data
The system services and external interfaces system shall make sure that adaptation data is collected before the other systems start accepting radar reports.
3.6 Assumptions about External Interfaces
The system services and external interfaces system assumes that radar signals are one way, so it does not communicate with the radar systems.
The system services and external interfaces system provides a fault-tolerant environment for the RDPS to run on. It ensures that optimal running conditions are maintained.
The system services and
external interfaces system notifies the operator when hardware-related problems
occur. At critical situations, it tries to cope with issues to keep the system
running, thus ensuring that the RDPS remains operational.
http://www.ece.ubc.ca/~elec415
Discussions with Dr. Jeffrey Joyce, EECE 415 course instructor.
Question and Answer Session with Ken Wong, Domain Expert.