iNET MDL from a User Perspective

Abstract

During concept development of a new core analog acquisition system, Boeing Flight Test identified a need for a set of more efficient and cost effective Test System configuration and setup tools, preferably supported by an industry standard. Like most big test organizations we support years and years of legacy tools. Currently all new functions are required to be hosted within the legacy environment. Legacy environments tend to be big, slow, and expensive to update and maintain. In searching for a better way to do business, we evaluated iNET/MDL, IHAL, and XidML standards. For a variety of reasons which will be discussed in this paper, we have chosen to focus on the iNET MDL standard as the means for producing a new vendoragnostic, simpler and more cost-effective system interface. Our initial evaluation uncovered several gaps in the data structure and concept of operations. The iNET community acknowledged the gaps and encouraged us to work with them to enhance the standard. The iNET MDL concept of operations also represents a significant operational paradigm shift. Through an industry users group, we have been working to refine and enhance the data structures and concept of operations. This paper will describe the journey from a demonstration environment to an enterprise implementation of MDL as it relates to data acquisition setup and control.