Clouds in Real-Time
Company Size
1,000+
Region
- America
Country
- United States
Product
- Cloud Depiction and Forecast System II (CDFS II)
- Versant Object Database
Tech Stack
- Object-oriented programming
- C++
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Digital Expertise
- Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Database Management & Storage
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms
Applicable Industries
- Aerospace
- National Security & Defense
Applicable Functions
- Discrete Manufacturing
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Predictive Maintenance
- Real-Time Location System (RTLS)
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company with 120,000 employees. The company provides innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding, and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide. One of their projects was the development of the Cloud Depiction and Forecast System II (CDFS II) for the U.S. Air Force. This system provides near real-time global cloud analysis and forecasting, which is crucial for military operations. The system is operated by the Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) and uses advanced algorithms and operational infrastructure to collect and analyze sensor data from three classes of military and civilian meteorological satellites.
The Challenge
Northrop Grumman was tasked with developing a next-generation simulation application, the Cloud Depiction and Forecast System II (CDFS II), for the U.S. Air Force. The application needed to deliver results six times faster and with four times higher resolution than the previous system. The challenge was to program complex algorithms using object-oriented programming techniques. The previous system could only create a 48-hour forecast every six hours and a nine-hour forecast on request. The new system needed to improve on these capabilities.
The Solution
Northrop Grumman implemented the Versant Object Database for the CDFS II. This eliminated the overabundance of index structures and the mapping layer, resulting in much higher data ingestion rates. The Versant Object Database allowed CDFS II to perform data ingestion and analysis an order of magnitude faster compared to the old CDFS system. The in-memory object model represents the Versant database model one to one without any intermediate data definition language or runtime translation layer. As a result, CDFS II needed significantly fewer queries and correspondingly the number of database indexes required were substantially reduced.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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