System Management in Network-Based Telemetry Systems

Abstract

Network-based telemetry systems are increasingly being used to improve the flexibility and longevity of flight test systems. Modern network-based flight test systems utilize large numbers of devices including high-speed network switches, data acquisition devices, recorders, and telemetry interfaces, all of which must be managed in a coordinated fashion. The move to network-based testing provides the ability to build a standards-based System Management interface which can status and control a diverse set of devices. The benefits include the ability to easily tailor System Management tools to support many different styles of user interactions and to quickly integrate new types of devices. While the new capabilities presented by System Management are exciting, the very openness of the system presents challenges to ensure that future growth will be seamlessly supported. This paper will discuss issues encountered while implementing flight test System Management tools for a network-based telemetry system.