Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Systems Marietta CATIA Support Hotline
By B.J. Fries, Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Systems group CATIA Support Hotline, in Marietta, Georgia, supports approximately six hundred IBM AIX workstations and 1348 user accounts in two different NIS domains. These workstations are nearly all composed of IBM RS/6000 model 7044-170s, and they are primarily used as desktops. All these workstations are being served applications, licenses, some data, and Network Information Services (NIS) by three IBM AIX servers. Two of the servers are IBM RS/6000 model 7026-M80 and one is an IBM RS/6000 model 7026-6M1. Each of the IBM servers has four central processing units (CPU) and eight Gigabytes of random access memory (RAM). The primary data repositories consist of two Sun Enterprise E3500s, running Solaris 8, serving the data files via NFS. Both of the SUN servers have four CPUs each has two Gigabytes of RAM. All of these servers have local mirrored hard drives for running their specific Operating Systems (OS), but all are Storage Area Network (SAN) attached as well for data and applications. The SAN services are provided by an EMC Clariion model CX600 and a model FC4700 and provide failover high-availability for the disk storage being made available to these servers. There are some additional servers which perform other functions for CATIA data transfers between the two different NIS domains or different sites.

Anywhere from 200 to 500 user accounts could be in use on the client workstations at any one time. There are two different NIS domains serving passwords and account information, as well as other NIS maps. There is one NIS domain for the F/A22 program and another for all other active programs which include C130, C5, P3, and S3. Though the provision is called the "CATIA Support Hotline", there are many other applications that are used by customers of this service. The list that follows may not be all inclusive but comes pretty close with the major COTS. Available applications include CATIA V4 and V5, CADAM CATIA Drafting (a.k.a. CCD), CADAM (yes, there is still a mainframe and terminals available), Helix Drafting (nearly sunset), ENOVIA Portal, DELMIA Safeworks & DENEB, DADS, Easy5, Pro/Mechanica,NASTRAN, MSC.Nastran, MSC.Patran, MSC.MVision, MSC.Marc, FiberSIM, Vericut, Citrix ICA Client, Product Manager, and DIMS/ECRS. That is not to mention dozens of supporting commercial of the shelf software (a.k.a.COTS) such as ZEH, plotting and printing software, Netscape browser, Adobe Acrobat reader, X3270, and Adobe Frameveiwer. Then there is in-house developed software such as LAWS (Lockheed-Martin Automated Wiring System), and COMOK (Computer Mockup), Partsnotes (drawing documentation and bill of material), and Release (CATIA model vaulting).

The CATIA Support Hotline has a direct in-plant phone number which allows it’s customers to reach any one of seven different LM Aero employees depending on who has the duty for that day. All of these folks have at least some knowledge of the applications listed previously, but each is considered an expert, to a lesser or greater degree in one or more of the applications. Each of support individuals can also diagnose some operating system, hardware, or network issues. However, if there are some applications, hardware, or operating system issues that the person on duty cannot deal with, then they seek help elsewhere. The help could be from someone in his or her own LM Aero group, or from someone in the Lockheed Martin Enterprise Information Systems group (LM EIS). LM EIS is a contractor to LM Aero providing software and hardware services such as installation and support of the previously mentioned servers and desktop systems. LM EIS provides a Lockheed Martin corporate-wide support facility called the Enterprise Service Desk (ESD). The ESD is geographically located in either Denver, CO, or Orlando, FL (home office for LM EIS).

While the "on duty" person (a.k.a. in the Hot Box) is making decisions on how to deal with the problem or issue his/her customer is experiencing, he or she is also logging the call in a LM Aero, Fort Worth developed software which is used to track all calls and emails. The software is called "HotLine" and is deployed in Marietta and similarly in Fort Worth, TX and Palmdale, CA, the two other major LM Aero locations. The person in the "HotBox" can transfer the issue within the "HotLine" software to someone else in his or her group. If he has to go outside the group to LM EIS, he or she can call someone locally in LM EIS or the ESD. In both cases the problem or issue is logged in the Remedy MARS software. At that point it is assigned to a specific EIS group such as the UNIX server group, the UNIX desktop group, or the applications group (also develop some in-house applications). And since both CATIA V5 and CCD are deployed on Windows desktops, the call could even go the Windows desktop group. Additionally, the Citrix session that runs on the AIX desktop is merely a window to a session that is actually running on a Windows server platform. As a result, a trouble call could get routed to the Windows server group as well. It was intended to link the "HotLine" software and the Remedy MARS software, but that has not happened to date.

Customers using CAD/CAM applications have the option of calling the ESD themselves and in some cases that does happen, especially if the issue occurs during times that are outside the normal operating hours of the CATIA Support Line. The ESD is manned 24 hours a day. However, the issue may be concluded quicker by calling the CATIA Support Line first, if possible, as chances are the experts available there are more familiar with the specialized problems of the CAD/CAM user then the ESD which must support many more locations, applications, and types of hardware.