Data extraction in a real-time environment using COTS equipment

The evaluation and certification of tactical radar systems is a complex undertaking, which requires extensive data collection, analysis, and testing. In the past, the radar community has been limited in its ability to extract data for offline evaluation by relatively low peripheral device speeds, storage capacity, and limited computing resources. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) has been investigating distributed computing techniques using commercial components for an advanced radar control computer system. A portion of this project is dedicated to enhancing the tools and methodologies required to debug, evaluate, and certify tactical radar control systems. The paper describes the evaluation system and the performance levels that were achieved using widely available, commercial-off-the-shelf components (COTS). The final product provides more than adequate data extraction capacity while minimizing impact on the radar application, and consuming less than 30% of computer processing time. Achieving this level of performance allows analysts to gather data from all possible data collection points simultaneously throughout an evaluation run, thus providing unconstrained analysis capability. Data compression is employed to produce extended recording times and enhance the performance of slower data peripherals such as those using magneto-optical media.