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Database management

Drawing on experience gained from the ROSAT pipeline steering system and from the EXOSAT BROWSE database operating system, the Astro-D GOF will use a Relational DBMS (RDBMS) to store and manage information related to processing, archiving and distribution. The Ingres RDBMS will be used for all database functions but in order to avoid dependance on a proprietary RDBMS, all database transactions will be performed by database calls which are embedded in C or FORTRAN modules. These modules could be replaced in the future with SQL database calls to other proprietary or public domain SQL-based DBMS. Interaction with the DBMS will through a graphical user interface written in the X-windows implementation of OSF/Motif.

The hardware configuration of the pipeline will be a distributed system of several workstations following the client/server networking model. The key pipeline processes of ingestion, reformatting, filtering, automatic analysis, archiving and distribution, will therefore be spread over several machines, with a master file manager keeping track of the files produced.

The pipeline is discussed in more detail in ``Astro-D: Processing, Archiving and Distribution Software Design Document" by N. D'Apice et al. (GSFC Code 930).



Keith Arnaud
1/5/1998