Extremely Low Staffing & Administrative Overhead
Since Pegasus captures and stores all data for each EMS SCADA Database Field it is configured to capture, there is very little to configure when deploying the Pegasus Data Collector (PDC). The PDC’s entire configuration is contained in a simple 1 page Text File, which can contain the configuration for all Sites. Also, on initial installation, the PDC captures SCADA Metadata (the set of data that describes other data; in this case SCADA Object Identifiers & Qualitative Descriptions) for all SCADA Objects contained in all EMS Database Field Arrays being scanned. This fully defines all SCADA Objects on the Pegasus Data Servers without any human intervention (Poof…Instant RDS Database Schema!!).
The PDC for Areva EMS Systems consists of 4 Standard Areva EMS Applications, written in C++, which execute on the EMS Hosts. 3 PDC Apps execute in real-time and are controlled by CFGMAN (Areva’s EMS Configuration Manager). The remaining Standard EMS Application is executed by an Analyst when SCADA database changes are made to capture Metadata for changed SCADA Objects.
Once installed, the PDC is self-maintaining. The PDC detects all EMS SCADA database(s) changes and propagates the full Change History to the Pegasus Data Servers for permanent storage.
Pegasus 2006 Data Servers consist of Windows 2003 Server Standard Edition (Pegasus 2008 uses Windows Vista), a high-performance RAID array(s), SQLServer Databases, and a set of 11 Pegasus Server Production Applications, each of which can be deployed as single or multiple Instances (for load balancing and scalability). There are also several Pegasus Server Analyst Tools & Utilities. All Pegasus Server Applications, Analyst Tools, and Utilities are Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Applications (100% “managed” code).
Once configured and installed, Pegasus requires virtually no manual intervention, maintenance, or tuning. Retrieving stored data using the Smart Client is simply a matter of dragging-and-dropping or double-clicking named sets of SCADA Objects, called Profiles (no typing is required). Pegasus Data Servers automatically age all online data (typically 5 – 10 years of data) across multiple, high-performance RAID Arrays to insure the RDS operates with Optimal Performance at all times. Pegasus Data Servers do not need to be taken offline for any RDS maintenance (they operate 7x24 for months or years at a time, between reboots).
It’s not unusual for Electric Utilities to have a dozen or more staff devoted to maintaining their EMS Real-time Data Storage system, which often requires the Utility to re-enter the names of SCADA Objects (e.g. Devices in the Electrical Grid), as well as other key information, like Analog Limits and dead-bands. In Pegasus’ current deployment at Entergy Services, Inc., less than 1 Entergy FTE (Full-time Equivalent employee) is devoted to Pegasus Operational Maintenance. Pegasus Maintenance is routinely performed remotely over a Secure VPN (Virtual Private Network).