Keyboard

The Keyboard program provides an interactive keyboard interface to the command server. Command syntax and prompts are defined using the CMDGEN language in .cmd files.

Command Server

The Command Server interprets commands sent via the keyboard interface or from the programmed algorithm. It provides a variety of interfaces for delivering commands to the other programs in the architecture.

As with the keyboard clients, the command syntax, interfaces and operations are defined using the CMDGEN language in .cmd files.

Collection

Collection is a data generator, meaning it is responsible for assembling the telemetry frame and transmitting it to the TM buffer. The telemetry frame is defined using TMC. Collection provides a number of interfaces for receiving data from drivers and commands from the command server.

Flight Algorithm

Flight algorithms are the only programs that can see the complete data stream and also issue commands. Experimenters use the TMCALGO language, which uses a state machine model to organize instrument operations.

TM Buffer

TMbfr manages the distribution of telemetry data to a number of “data client” programs. It can be optimized for either fast realtime response (for data display) or maximum throughput (for data extraction.)

Extraction

Extraction programs operate on the data stream to produce output compatible with other programs. Conversion to standard units and various types of averaging are possible. Extractions are generally written using TMC, but may also use CDF, EDF or Cycle definitions, which generate TMC code.

Data Display

The display programs provide text-based display of the telemetry data. Data screens are laid out using the Table language.

Data Realtime Graphing

Realtime Graphing displays realtime data as trend graphs. It can also perform simple analysis tasks such as detrending the data or calculating a fast fourier transform.

Drivers

Drivers are the glue between the data acquisition software and the hardware. Some hardware is simple enough to be accessed directly from other programs, but hardware that requires significant configuration or complicated state data will generally require a separate driver.

Hardware

This hardware block represents whatever interface electronics are connected to the data acquisition system.

Data Logger

lgr is a data client program which formats the write the telemetry data to disk in a robust format suitable for archiving. The data stream is broken up into many small files in order to guarantee that if any file is lost or corrupted, the data loss should be limited to a small time span.

Disk Storage

This is the system hard or flash disk to which data is logged and from which it is later retrieved.

Network

With the appropriate drivers and network rules, telemetry data can be received from anywhere on the internet.

Disk Reader

rdr is the program that reads telemetry data from previously logged disk files. Like collection and inetin, rdr is a “data generator,” which is to say that it assembles a telemetry stream which it writes to TMbfr for processing by any of the data client programs.

Inetin

Like rdr, Inetin is a “data generator,” that assembles a telemetry stream and writes it to TMbfr. Instead of reading the telemetry data from the disk, Inetin reads it over TCP/IP, allowing realtime monitoring of remote systems.

Stock Items

Blocks with the “Stock” color represent programs or hardware that are common to multiple instruments.

Custom Items

Blocks with the “Custom” color represent programs that are instrument-specific, compiled using the tools described here.