Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Handling massive amunts of data I wrote last week about an article in Technology Review about the "quants" on Wall Street and the number crunching that they can do. As fate would have it, I chatted last Friday with Logical Information Machines about its Historis 64-bit time-series database. This database product is actually used by some of those quants. In a manufacturing setting, Historis enables the management and analysis of the massive amounts of numerical data that organizations relying on heavy machinery need to perform predictive diagnostics and schedule preventive maintenance in order to safely sustain operations at minimal cost.  The company began in the financial services industry, but it also found a home in equipment monitoring-especially large turbines in the power industry. It developed its own English-like query language finding that SQL does not lend itself well to time series databases. When you analyze these large databases what you look for are recurring patterns. Key features of Historis include: * 64-bit executable binaries and petabyte capacity for virtually unlimited file sizes * Insertion rate of more than 250,000 records per second. * Extraction rate of more than 220,000 records per second * Millisecond support, allowing data to be time stamped up to one thousandth of a second * English-like query language enabling the user to ask questions concerning data without computer programming that would be extremely difficult with SQL, if not impossible * Query language support enabling queries on the millisecond level * Data compression orders of magnitude above standard database solutions, reducing required disk space for storage * Native analysis tools as well as links to popular tools S-PLUS and MATLAB 5:19:09 PM    comment []

Schneider Electric Launches Innovation and Solution Centers When I was in Raleigh almost two weeks ago, I toured the new Schneider facility and saw the demo boards. Interesting in that two companies in one week told me that they were moving beyond just selling components to thinking integrated solutions. Here's my "official" news piece. Moving beyond supplying components to solutions-based marketing, the new Schneider Electric Centers bring engineers and demos to Raleigh in order to give customers one place to go to find automation solutions. The Schneider Electric North American Operating Division has opened its Automation and Control Innovation Center in Raleigh, N.C. The new hands-on demonstration center will showcase Schneider Electric's automation and control solutions for OEM and end-user customers. "The Automation and Control Innovation Center is the first of three Schneider Electric Innovation Centers that will open throughout the country," said Andy Gravitt, vice president, industrial automation and control, Schneider Electric North American Operating Division. "The center in Raleigh is unique in that it will be the only one focused entirely on automation and control solutions. It will showcase the innovation, knowledge and industry-leading technology that defines Schneider Electric." Using state-of-the-art technology, Schneider Electric product and services experts will customize the entire Innovation Center to showcase specific solutions appropriate to a customer's needs and challenges in eight industries: HVAC, pump, semiconductor, transportation wash, packaging, conveyance, automotive, and crane and hoist. Customers who visit the Innovation Center will experience individually tailored, live demonstrations to show how Schneider Electric's technology, knowledge and products can solve their specific problems. The Automation and Control Innovation Center will be located in the same facility as the engineers and experts who work on customer projects. Having the Innovation Center and an engineering lab in the same building will provide a collaborative environment for Schneider Electric experts to work with customers. The process of project management, from inception to implementation, will be all under one roof. Within the Innovation Center are included the OEM Technology and Solutions Center and the Industrial Solutions Center. Each of these includes dedicated teams of engineers and experts who can serve as a single reference source for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or end user customers. The OEM Technology and Solutions Center will support system integrators and control panel builders who have customers in material handling, HVAC, pump, crane and hoist, packaging, elevator/escalator and transportation wash industries. On the industry side, the Center's 50 engineers, industry specialists and project managers have experience in the food and beverage, oil and gas, automotive, logistics, water/wastewater, power, mining, metal and mineral industries. 4:25:30 PM    comment []