The central components of Ronald H. Brown's computer system are three Dell PowerEdge 2650 P4 Windows 2000 active directory Servers. The system operates in a Microsoft Windows 2000 environment. The primary node is used for data acquistion from Ronald H. Brown's suite of nearly one-hundred real time and derived scientific sensors. Each Windows 2000 Dell server has 4 internal 36 GByte drives operating in RAID 5, CD-ROM, dvd/CD-RW drive, a 30 gig tape 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 C++ 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 SOFTWARE section.
In addition to the Dell servers, 33 DELL Windows 2000 workstations are located throughout the ship: including the bridge, main lab, hydro and wet Lab, and three in the computer room. If needed, the DELL Windows 2000 workstations can be relocated to better meet scientific requirements. The Dell servers are connected to all other nodes using a combined fiber optic and thin wire ethernet network throughout the vessel. The nodes include the three Dell PowerEdge 2650 P4's, 33 DELL Windows 2000 workstations, two NT 4.0 dell servers, network Postscript (Laser and Deskjet) printers, a total of four Model Digi accelports 16em, and Ronald H. Brown's numerous node Windows 2000 workstation and WindowsXP pro Personal Computer network. This networking makes data transfer throughout the vessel simple and efficient. TCP/IP and Microsoft NetBEUI are the preferred protocols for the PC's.
The primary function of Ronald H. Brown's computer systems is 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.