Year
1988
Abstract
Advanced concepts in materials control and accounting include distributed databases in a distributed processing environment and on-line instrumentation. To test various ideas in this area, we developed a testbed consisting of three personal computers (PCs) with several input devices and suitable software. The principal design aspects being tested include database structure, communication between various network nodes, database update on the host, speed of transaction processing, data input from on-line instrumentation, and a user-friendly interface with the operator. An IBM PC/XT at the local level is used to collect data using a barcode reader and balance in a mockup glove box. These represent typical examples of simple on-line instrumentation in nuclear material facilities. Manual input to the PC/XT is through a keyboard, a mouse, and a voice microphone. This PC/XT communicates with a host PC/AT that serves to post transactions for a process area or wing of a facility. A second PC/AT represents the central computer that collects data from several distributed nodes and maintains the central database for analysis and report generation. Custom software is called PC/DYMAC, a materials accounting package developed by Robert Bearse in cooperation with Argonne National Laboratory-West under the direction and funding of the Los Alamos Safeguards research and development program. It was developed using dBaselll PLUS but was compiled with FoxBASE+ under the Santa Cruz Operations XENIX operating system.