The Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) is a National Weather Service modernization program, contracted from NOAA to PRC Inc. In true partnership spirit, the Government and PRC have completed a robust development process that has led to four major software builds and deployment of AWIPS throughout the conterminous 48 States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The performance and availability of each operational system will be monitored and controlled from the Network Control Facility (NCF) in Silver Spring, Maryland. The effectiveness of the NCF to resolve operational problems in a timely manner is critical to the success of AWIPS.
Much has been learned during the AWIPS Development and Limited Deployment Phases with regard to the types and level of support required from the NCF to support site operations. Feedback from the user community and independent analysis of the AWIPS NCF Operations led the Government and PRC to embark on a program to improve the tools and methods used by the NCF to diagnose and troubleshoot AWIPS problems.
This paper will provide an overview of the NCF troubleshooting process. The NCF Enterprise Management system will be described and some of the automated fault detection and management tools will be described. Detail will be provided on the tools and techniques used by NCF operators to isolate problems with AWIPS users. A demonstration of the NCF knowledge base will be provided including a look at the "bubble-up" search features available to NCF operators. A notional problem will be "called-in" and followed through the troubleshooting process to closure.
Those reading or hearing this paper will fully comprehend the techniques
available to the NCF to diagnose and correct problems. They will see
the tools that are available and under development to support the NCF
as we proceed towards full AWIPS deployment