We propose to develop a set of software tools to assist shipboard network administrators. Our proposed approach leverages a Jini-based Plug-and-Play equipment Control and Management architecture that Jackpine Technologies and Lockheed Martin are building in conjunction with the Virginia Class Submarine (NSSN) Exterior Communication System (ECS). In this SBIR, we will examine ways of assisting the system administrator's decision making process, and raising the level of automation and functional abstraction that the system can support. We will establish technical requirements for a software toolset to support network administration. We will identify the modifications needed to the core Plug-and-Play architecture to support the toolset and we will develop a top-level Graphical User Interface to support the administration function. The system we propose, once implemented, will demonstrate a new approach to maintaining complex distributed systems. In addition to the Plug-and-Play aspects of our design, our Jini-based architecture will provide the means and mechanisms for non-intrusive monitoring and administration of a networked system. The first target for our technology is the NSSN, and then to the 688, Ohio, and Seawolf Class boats. Requirements for similar systems exist within the surface Navy and commercial market.
Keywords: Network Maintenance, Nssn, Software Reuse, Jini, Network Administration, Portability, Java
