SuperVision 3's LAN Does It All

Tulsa, Oklahoma
Coverage programmer Libbye Sloan-Brooks knows that in a traditional TPF environment, responding to a system emergency can mean wondering whether it's your terminal that's locked up or if the whole system has crashed. Try to get through to operations, she said, and you might encounter jammed telephone lines -- which then requires running down the hall to the operations room to find out what happened so you can try to help solve the problem.

With the SuperVision 3's LAN, a console management system developed by Interface Design Group of Tulsa, systems engineers have enhanced prime cras capabilities at their fingertips. From color-coding the importance of messages using REXX Execs to eliminating paper console logs and sending vital messages to operators, this fully automated console system has unbeatable features, Sloan-Brooks said.

Operators like the IDG console management system, too. Patty Foster said that in her 12 years as an operator, "I've been through a lot of different prime cras consoles. This is the best by far."

Sloan-Brooks' console sits by her desk in the coverage area of SAAS, a major TPF reservations system based in Tulsa. "The very first day they brought it in," she said, "it immediately solved one problem by allowing me to see the prime cras for two systems simultaneously." Because of the LAN capability, this systems engineer can be working at her desk and keep an eye on the system at the same time.

But one of the biggest advantages is that REXX Execs do a lot of the watching and monitoring for her. And when REXX determines she needs to know about a problem, REXX sends a user-defined, color-coded message indicating a possible problem.

"The colors will catch my eye and I can turn and see what's going on," she said. The management system also allows her to monitor the work of operators: "So if an operator has made the same entry three times with the wrong format, I can send a message with the right format."

Foster, who also works at SAAS, said she likes being able to use REXX Execs to monitor critical tape switches. And with the wide-ranging visibility, open communication and automated features, "It makes the operator's job so much easier, " Foster said.

The REXX advantage shows in other ways, too. REXX Execs monitor the status of communications lines, for example, and display headers to eliminate confusion over which system is being used.

The SuperVision 3 LAN really comes through when the system is in trouble. Instead of relying on access to the operations room, Sloan-Brooks uses her own console to find out what happened to the SAAS system. "You eliminate that big gap in visibility," she said. And if the system is in a 1052 state, you can still communicate and send messages to operators," she said.

"Overall," she said, "you get incredibly quick response time on the LAN."

SuperVision 3 has one unusual benefit: it helps save trees. Because the console log is kept on hard disk instead of being printed out, the need for hard copies is eliminated.

That also means being able to search and edit computer files instead of scanning through reams of print-outs. And these functions require no resources from the system itself, she noted.

With the quickened response time, monitoring ease and other improved processes, Sloan-Brooks added, "you can see why I love it!"