published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 26-29, 1998 / Town & Country Resort Hotel and Convention Center, San Diego, California / The necessity to acquire and analyze data dates back to the beginning of science itself. Long ago, a scientist may have run experiments and noted the results on a piece of paper. These notes became the data. The method was crude, but effective. As experiments got more complex, the need for better methodologies arose. Scientists began using computers to gather, analyze, and store the data. This method worked well for most types of data acquisition. As the amount of data being collected increased, larger computers, faster processors, and faster storage devices were used in order to keep up with the demand. This method was more refined, but still did not meet the needs of the scientific community. Requirements began to change in the data acquisition arena. More people wanted access to the data in real time. Companies producing large data acquisition systems began to move toward a network-based solution. This architecture featured a specialized computer called the server, which contained all of the data acquisition hardware. The server handled requests from multiple clients and handled the data flow to the network, data displays, and the archive medium. While this solution worked well to satisfy most requirements, it fell short in meeting others. The ability to have multiple computers working together across a local or wide area network (LAN or WAN) was not addressed. In addition, this architecture inherently had a single point of failure. If the server machine went down, all data from all sources was lost. Today, we see that the requirements for data acquisition systems include features only dreamed of five years ago. These new systems are linked around the world by wide area networks. They may include code to command satellites or handle 250 Mbps download rates. They must produce data for dozens of users at once, be customizable by the end user, and they must run on personal computers (PCs)! Systems like these cannot work using the traditional client/server model of the past. The data acquisition industry demands systems with far more features than were traditionally available. These systems must provide more reliability and interoperability, and be available at a fraction of the cost. To this end, we must use commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) computers that operate faster than the mainframe computers of only a decade ago. These computers must run software that is smart, reliable, scalable, and easy to use. All of these requirements can be met by a network of PCs running the Windows NT operating system.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1993 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / As technology progresses we are faced with ever increasing volumes and rates of raw and processed telemetry data along with digitized high resolution video and the less demanding areas of video conferencing, voice communications and general LAN-based data communications. The distribution of all this data has traditionally been accomplished by solutions designed to each particular data type. With the advent of Asynchronous Transfer Modes or ATM, a single technology now exists for providing an integrated solution to distributing these diverse data types. This allows an integrated set of switches, transmission equipment and fiber optics to provide multi-session connection speeds of 622 Megabits per second. ATM allows for the integration of many of the most widely used and emerging low, medium and high speed communications standards. These include SONET, FDDI, Broadband ISDN, Cell Relay, DS-3, Token Ring and Ethernet LANs. However, ATM is also very well suited to handle unique data formats and speeds, as is often the case with telemetry data. Additionally, ATM is the only data communications technology in recent times to be embraced by both the computer and telecommunications industries. Thus, ATM is a single solution for connectivity within a test center, across a test range, or between ranges. ATM can be implemented in an evolutionary manner as the needs develop. This means the rate of capital investment can be gradual and older technologies can be replaced slowly as they become the communications bottlenecks. However, success of this evolution requires some planning now. This paper provides an overview of ATM, its application to test ranges and telemetry distribution. A road map is laid out which can guide the evolutionary changeover from today's technologies to a full ATM communications infrastructure. Special applications such as the support of high performance multimedia workstations are presented.

The maturity level of Internet Protocol (IP) and the emergence of standard Ethernet interfaces of Hydrocarbon Process Automation Application (HPAA) present a real opportunity to combine independent industrial applications onto an integrated IP based network platform. Quality of Service (QoS) for IP over Ethernet has the strength to regulate traffic mix and support timely delivery. The combinations of these technologies lend themselves to provide a platform to support HPAA applications across Local Area Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN) networks. HPAA systems are composed of sensors, actuators, and logic solvers networked together to form independent control system network platforms. They support hydrocarbon plants operating under critical conditions that — if not controlled — could become dangerous to people, assets and the environment. This demands high speed networking which is triggered by the need to capture data with higher frequency rate at a finer granularity. Nevertheless, existing HPAA network infrastructure is based on unique autonomous systems, which has resulted in multiple, parallel and separate networks with limited interconnectivity supporting different functions. This created increased complexity in integrating various applications and resulted higher costs in the technology life cycle total ownership. To date, the concept of consolidating HPAA into a converged IP network over standard Ethernet has not yet been explored. This research aims to explore and develop the HPAA Process Control Systems (PCS) in a Converged Internet Protocol (CIP) using experimental and simulated networks case studies. Results from experimental and simulation work showed encouraging outcomes and provided a good argument for supporting the co-existence of HPAA and non-HPAA applications taking into consideration timeliness and reliability requirements. This was achieved by invoking priority based scheduling with the highest priority being awarded to PCS among other supported services such as voice, multimedia streams and other applications. HPAA can benefit from utilizing CIP over Ethernet by reducing the number of interdependent HPAA PCS networks to a single uniform and standard network. In addition, this integrated infrastructure offers a platform for additional support services such as multimedia streaming, voice, and data. This network‐based model manifests itself to be integrated with remote control system platform capabilities at the end user's desktop independent of space and time resulting in the concept of plant virtualization.

Societies in Hong Kong and Taiwan (Formosa) are not familiar with each as they are separate colonies taken by Britain and Japan respectively. This study explores a rare string linking the two communities through Wan-chu Lee and his son Nan-shong. Their evolving views on China reflect larger historical and social background on one hand and yet demonstrate agencies in choosing and forming individual choices regarding both political identities and postcolonial possibilities on other hand. In particular, their multiple views on China are full of individual judgments mediating among China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong as well as between global and regional forces.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1986.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1986. / Also availalbe in microfilm.

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration