document title / titre du document TRP W ORK PLAN ... - emits - ESA

TRP Work Plan 2005-2007
Description of Activities
TEC-SB/7935/dc
12/Feb/09
TRP Reference:
Title:
T605-09GI
N-Tier architectures applied to Ground Operations Systems
The current generation of Ground Operations Systems used at ESOC is based on client-server architecture, which is more
generically referred to as a '2-Tier' architecture. In particular in the telemetry processing subsystem, the current
implementation leads to severe requirements about the procurement and maintenance of all H/W workstations, including the
large number of users workstations. The purpose of this study is therefore to investigate the possible benefits that can be
achieved by adopting 'N-Tier' architectures to Mission Control Systems. In particular, the 3-Tier architecture should be looked
at for the most critical subsystems i.e. the telemetry processing, the commanding and the On-Board Software Maintenance
(OBSM). The 3-Tier architecture consists of a data server, implementing the management of the data; an application server,
implementing most of the data processing functionality and a client, supporting the visualisation of the processed data to the
end user. It attempts to overcome some of the limitations of the 2-Tier architecture by enabling a complete separation of the
data presentation, the data processing and the data management using distinct entities. The different tiers interact via
standard protocols such as CORBA, HTTP or standard database protocols. The middle-tier servers are typically coded in a
highly portable, non-proprietary language such as C++ or Java. Middle-tier functionality servers may be multithreaded and can
be accessed by multiple clients, not necessarily all under manual user control, thus enabling the automation of user actions.
The analysis phase of the study shall identify the most suitable technology to be used for N-Tier implementations of Ground
Operations Systems in general (e.g. code language of the application servers, data storage technology, interaction protocols).
The design phase shall cover the architectural design of 'new generation' monitoring and control subsystems heavily involving
data processing and visualisation (at least telemetry processing, commanding, OBSM and Station Monitoring and Control).
The prototyping phase shall migrate an existing subsystem to the 3-Tier architecture and the assessment phase shall evaluate
the benefits of the 3-Tier architecture at system level (including scalability, portability, flexibility, maintainability and
performance) and provide recommendations for the future generations of Ground Operations System infrastructure S/W.
Deliverables:
Under review ------------------ Technical doc. (outputs of the analysis activities). Architectural design document (3-Tier
architecture of the MCS most critical subsys). Model implementation of the 3-Tier architecture (selected MCS subsys). Final
report.
Current TRL: - Target TRL: TRL2 Application Need/Date: N/A
Application/Mission:
Contract Duration:
SW Clause : - Dossier0 Ref.: T-7842
Consistency with Harmonisation
Roadmap and Conclusions:
TRP Reference: T605-17GI
European Technology Harmonisation on Ground Systems Software - First Set of
Title:
Standard Interfaces
The European Technology Harmonisation on Ground Systems Software is supported through standardisation of functions and
interfaces. It has been agreed to broaden the scope of this harmonisation (initially Mission Control and EGSE) to include the
other ground system components (Flight Dynamics, simulators, Data archiving and mission planning);A three-phase approach
has been adopted (medium term strategy) with: phase 1(System level): define, with the user community, a common system
standard architecture and common requirement for identified modules to become ECSS standards; Phase 2: Define standard
interfaces between modules (to become ECSS standards); Phase 3: Contracts to re-engineer, as needed, solutions compliant
with requirements and standard interfaces, re-using as far as possible existing products. In this proposal, phase 2, it is
proposed to produce the definition of the standard interfaces between the modules of the Ground Systems Reference
architecture, which is key for the future work. Examples of standard interface definition are TM monitoring and Commanding,
Operational Database, On-Board Software management function, Mission Planning System, although the final list of
interfaces to be standardised and its priorities will be defined at the end of Phase 1 (March 2004). This proposal covers the
first set of interfaces (i.e. 5). A second proposal will cover the remaining interfaces (See Proposal T605-18GI /
TOS-GI-ETH-GSSW-002).
Deliverables:
A set of standard interface definition (to be detailed at the end of Phase 1) between the modules of the Ground Systems
reference Architecture.
Current TRL: Target TRL: TRL1-2 Application Need/Date:
Application/Mission:
Contract Duration:
SW Clause : - Dossier0 Ref.: T-7842
Consistency with Harmonisation
Roadmap and Conclusions:
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