On Jul 9, 2009, at 7:38 PM, Rceeberger wrote:
On 7/9/2009 11:15:40 AM, Bruce Bostwick ([email protected])
wrote:
"At the risk of being flamed, I might also point out that NASA has
long
since forbidden any primary functionality on ISS from running on
Windows platforms because of stability concerns -- if it's onboard
and
actually has to do with life support, maneuvering, or station
operations, it's running on Linux. They only allow Windows for non-
mission personal use and, in some cases, non-mission-critical
experiment support. That says a lot, to me."
I have to respond to this. I've worked at Mission Control at Johnson
and have been in every single room in the building. Not kidding an
iota.
What you say here is basically true, but misleading. There are
Windows machines all over NASA and they are being used for your
typical business applications. Nasa is extremely vested in UNIX
because they are running "Science" applications on computers that
predate the PC. (As you might guess there is some kludge around some
of the older units) The ground floor of MSC is pretty much a giant
room with hundreds of mainframes and those are the computers that
are actually "mission critical". The Linux machines are mostly
special purpose machines designed to perform specific tasks and
Linux is used because for "nix interoperability and hardly any of
this equipment approaches what you would call "general purpose". It
is quite similar to the 'nix cores being used in building management
systems, used because it is easy to strip down to the needed
essentials with no extra frills involved. It is these stripped down
cores that actually do all the work for NASA because the simpler the
design the greater it's reliability.
xponent
Lives One Mile From NASA-JSC Maru
rob
Sounds like you might know the right people to ask for a tour*. ;)
(*one not involvng "Space Center Houston"..)
"I believe ... that if life gives you lemons, you should make
lemonade. And try to find somebody who's life gives them vodka, and
have a party." -- Ron White
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