This data- and event-driven persistent storage system leverages the use of commercial software provided by Oracle for portability, ease of maintenance, scalability, and ease of integration with embedded, client-server, and multi-tiered applications. In this role, the Service Management Database (SMDB) is a key component of the overall end-to-end process involved in the scheduling, preparation, and configuration of the Deep Space Network (DSN) equipment needed to perform the various telecommunication services the DSN provides to its customers worldwide.

SMDB makes efficient use of triggers, stored procedures, queuing functions, e-mail capabilities, data management, and Java integration features provided by the Oracle relational database management system. SMDB uses a third normal form schema design that allows for simple data maintenance procedures and thin layers of integration with client applications. The software provides an integrated event logging system with ability to publish events to a JMS messaging system for synchronous and asynchronous delivery to subscribed applications. It provides a structured classification of events and application-level messages stored in database tables that are accessible by monitoring applications for real-time monitoring or for troubleshooting and analysis over historical archives.

SMDB maintains a relatively small footprint of online data to maximize performance and minimize MTTR (mean time to repair) in case of failure. It also integrates Java, PL/SQL, and C codes to implement workflow rules, data processing, and data transformation functions invoked by data change events and timer events. Generic timer functions are implemented that are capable of delivering any type of message to a registered timer event processing function. SMDB exposes a set of APIs (application programming interfaces) for the retrieval, insert, and update of various types of structured data.

SMDB replaces an old file-based system driven by labor-intensive processes. It prompts for missing input and warns users and operators when this occurs. SMDB automatically generates the products needed to configure ground equipment and takes care of distributing the products to the DSN local and remote sites. It maintains a manageable size by automatically moving older data to an archiving subsystem and allows for controlled online software updates to reflect new processing rules or additional processing functions.

This work was done by Silvino Zendejas, Tung Bui, Bach Bui, Shantanu Malhotra, Fannie Chen, Paul Wolgast, Christopher Allen, Ivy Luong, George Chang, and Syed Sadaqathulla of Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

This software is available for commercial licensing. Please contact Karina Edmonds of the California Institute of Technology at (626) 395-2322. Refer to NPO-45013.