EPA
Vol. 1
March 1978
No. 1
Jhe first of several changes in the Management
Information and Data Systems Division is the way
Mr. Willis Greenstreet describes the "New Look" of
EPA Data Talk (formerly EPA Systems News). The
reorientation of the format is only the cosmetics
of the "New Look"; more important is the formali-
zation of its purpose. EPA Data Talk will be pub-
lished monthly by the National Computer Center,
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, for the
purpose of providing a report on the automatic
data processing activities of the Environmental
Protection Agency and other personnel involved in
the protection of the environment.
Information provided is intended to be news arti-
cles of general interest in specific areas of
automatic data processing in EPA. It is not in-
tended to report detailed technical information.
Highly technical articles and information, such as
"people to contact" by subject area, which you
have been used to in the past, will be periodi-
cally published as a supplement to EPA Data Talk.
Views expressed by authors will not necessarily
reflect EPA policy.
Jhe following people have agreed to serve as
"Coordinating Editors" for the subject areas in-
dicated:
Subject Area
Director's Corner
Lead Article
Management Information
Data Systems Division
Washington Computer Center
National Computer Center
Minicomputers
Training
Telecommunications
Regional Offices
Coordinating Editor
Willis Greenstreet
Rotated Among Editors
Ken Byram
Ken Byram
Sam Brown
Ed Nime
Maureen Johnson
Fred Kastner
Ted Standish
Jhe above contributors may author articles them-
selves or request other personnel to write them.
All areas may not be reported on this month since
this is reorientation time, but, hopefully, all
(Cont. Pg. 2)
THE
NEW
LOOK
by Sam Brown
DIRECTOR
NATIONAL COMPUTER CENTER
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DIRECTOR'S
CORNER
Wills Grecnstrm
I hope that the title of this column is
not a Freudian slip, but it does seem
familiar. I think that the revamping of
the format of this newsletter is the
first of many changes in MIDSD. I have
said that my job is to manage change
and, as you can easily tell, it is a
difficult task.
I have selected Sam Brown to be the Pro-
ject Manager for the A-109 procurement
for the 1980's data center and he is in
the process of organizing and finding
out what he has to do. I will leave it
to him to describe how he plans to han-
dle his dual role and everyone's inter-
est in this extremely important activity.
Among the many attributes that Sam Brown
brings to this job is one which was al-
most overwhelming in my judgment. What-
ever he buys, he has to make work.
AS many of you know, I have sponsored
two seminars for managers without an ADP
background on Data Base Management Sys-
tems in recent months. These seminars
were an attempt to place DBMS in per-
spective and give the managers some idea
of how to ask the right questions. I
was pleased with the level of attendees,
the number who took time to attend, and
the reception the seminars received. We
had a heavily technical course in Decem-
ber in which many of you were offered
spaces and, from all reports, this was
an excellent course. Unfortunately,
some of the slots were not utilized. I
strongly encourage everyone in EPA to
prepare themselves to participate in de-
sign, programming, and operation of
DBMS. I hasten to add that DBMS will
not totally replace conventional methods
of access, but it will be used more as
we become better able to manage this
technology.
I have transferred the ADP training
function to NCC under the direction of
Sam Brown. Vic Cohen is in the process
of being reassigned at this time and
will relocate in early summer. I be-
lieve that the consolidation of the tal-
ents and interests will be beneficial to
you and the rest of the user community.
THE NEW LOOK (Cont. fm Pg. 1)
Coordinating Editors will have their
articles submitted in a timely manner
beginning with the April issue. Arti-
cles in other categories will be con-
sidered for publication. Contributions
and inquiries should be addressed to:
Editor, EPA Data Talk
National Computer Center
Research Triangle Park
North Carolina 27711
Jhe publication staff at NCC has devel-
oped the publishing policy. The policy
specifies that the publication staff re-
serves the right to edit articles for
readability or to fit available layout
space. Authors are requested to mini-
mize use of acronyms and concentrate on
preparing articles for a general audi-
ence, not "ADP Techs". No permission
will be necessary to reproduce the con-
tents except copyright photos and mate-
rials so indicated. Information pre-
sented should be as current as possible.
We in the ADP Community have reason to
be proud of the important part we have
played in assuring that the nation ob-
tains and maintains a compatible balance
between human activities and the ability
of natural systems to support and nur-
ture life. These efforts need to be
published via EPA Data Talk. As impor-
tant as our role has been in the past,
it will be even more important in the
future. A series of events over the
past couple of years, initiated by new
legislation, is revising the EPA process
to the point where "health effects" will
play an even more critical part of the
overall effort.
Jhe FY1979 budget assures that the EPA
mission will emphasize heavily the
health effects area. This mandatory im-
pact of health effects on the overall
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EPA process will place a heavy empha-
sis on the expertise and capabilities
of the ADP community. There is no
doubt that we can meet this challenge,
but the results that go into it should
be publicized. Your contribution to
the appropriate Coordinating Editor is
appreciated. The NCC publication
staff will dedicate itself to the
accurate, objective, and timely pub-
lication of the "New Look" of EPA Data
Talk.
IMPROVEMENTS FORESEEN
IN NATIONAL NETWORK
F. Kastner
Computer Specialist
Jhe National Network is a series of
communications lines over which compu-
ter-related data is exchanged. The
data exchanges take place between EPA
user sites and central site computers
located at the National Computer Cen-
ter (NCC) in Research Triangle Park
and the Washington Computer Center
(WCC) in Washington, D.C.
Over the past several months, in-
creased emphasis has been placed on
improving overall network stability
and reliability. The telecommunica-
tions segment of the COMNET contract
received a very low grade during the
last contract monitoring period re-
flecting the instability and general
user dissatisfaction with accessing
WCC and NCC. As a result of this low
grade, and as a result of increased
pressure from the users and MIDSD,
COMNET is taking steps to remedy the
situation. Recent meetings between
COMNET and AT&T have identified sev-
eral actions to be taken as follows:
• Some chronic circuit problems
have been resolved.
• Wideband (High-volume) circuits
connecting WCC to NCC and Denver
to NCC should be operational
during February 1978 and provide
improved data transmission
reliability.
• To improve hardware reliability,
COMNET has negotiated a mainte-
nance contract with the multi-
plexer supplier (TIMEPLEX).
Motivation for the new mainte-
nance contract is improved
response to requests for re-
pair service and for supply of
backup components until repair
is effected.
• Trouble reports received from
remote sites, such as Grosse
lie, Michigan, Florida, and
Boston, have initiated action
to reconfigure network data
transmission paths for more
direct routing and efficient
problem diagnosis.
COMNET is continuing to test software to
allow Univac 1004 remote equipment and
other NTR emulator equipment to access
the NCC over the National Network.
COMNET continues to strive for excel-
lence in development of the very complex
National Network. Improvements have
been in evidence and efforts to provide
EPA users with the support they deserve
will continue. The EPA Data Talk will
attempt to keep you informed on develop-
ments of this vital resource.
PRODUCTION CONTROL SERVICES
NOW AVAILABLE AT NCC
E. Watson
Computer Specialist
Jhe NCC Mission Contractor is happy to
announce that a Production Control func-
tion has been established within the NCC
User Services Support Department. The
role of the Production Control function
is to submit, monitor, and ensure suc-
cessful completion of computer runs.
These computer runs are those required
by a user on a periodic, timely basis
such as data base updates or reports
which are required as a result of a data
base update.
Jhe Production Control function will
process requests for service that are
required on a fixed schedule, e.g., the
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third working Wednesday of every month,
the last day of every month, or every
other Friday. Recurring tasks that can-
not be scheduled on fixed days or dates
are acceptable, however, the timeliness
of the output cannot be guaranteed.
V/hether or not a job stands alone or is
one of a series of runs within a system,
it will be well-documented with step-by-
step procedures at the time the run is
assumed by the Production Control func-
tion.
Presently, there are three activities
conducted by Production Control: the
monthly update of the Personal Property
System, updating and report generation
for the Gas Cylinder System, and Region-
al Office assistance.
Production Control services are offered
to free the user from the aggravation of
job monitoring and run resubmission.
Production Control will maintain a
stable staff of knowledgeable employees
who will provide timely, expeditious
processing services. We believe that
the Production Control staff operating
under established standards and pro-
cedures will provide a highly cost-
effective service. Anyone interested in
further information on these services
should contact Ernie Watson of EPA/NCC
(919-541-2143/FTS 629-2143) or Jim Smith
of SDC ISI (919-541-3619/FTS 629-3619).
AGENCY ADP TRAINING MOVES TO RTF
Maureen Johnson
Computer Specialist
Administration of the EPA National
Training Program has been transferred to
Research Triangle Park. The objective
of this newly constituted program will
be to identify agency-wide ADP training
requirements and provide for excellence
in instruction and course content. In
addition to administering a continuing
program of currently available courses,
new courses will be developed with the
objective of individual career develop-
ment .
Qelores Moorman and John Hart of CCSD/-
Cincinnati met with Gene Lowrimore, Vic
Cohen, and Maureen Johnson of NCC/RTP in
early February to identify courses to
be developed and presented during FY1978
and FY1979. The course selections were
consistent with recommendations con-
tained in the "Coordinated ADP Training
Plan" completed by HUMRRO in September
1976.
During the remainder of FY1978, course
offerings will include an introduction
to ADP Concepts, Project Management and
an Executive Management Seminar. Course
location sites will include the western
and mid-western areas. Specific course
descriptions and registration informa-
tion will be forthcoming, so watch for
details in the EPA Data Talk.
NEW MINICOMPUTER SYSTEMS
SOFTWARE PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED
Ed Nime, Director
Computer Services & Systems Division
TWO PDP11/70 systems software projects -
an Automatic Telecommunications Proces-
sing System and a Generalized Tape Util-
ity - were implemented recently. The
design of the projects involved input
from all five EPA PDP11/70 sites. The
software was developed and is currently
being tested at Cincinnati. Installa-
tion at other sites is scheduled for
March 1978.
The Automatic Telecommunications Proces-
sing System was designed to:
• Relieve PDP11/70 operators from
as much RJE-related work as
possible.
• Maximize telecommunications
throughput, minimize costs, and
maximize reliability.
• Provide automatic dial-out and
answer.
• Provide automatic PDP11 to PDP11
communications.
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• Provide automatic PDF 11 to Univac
1110 communication via the NTR
emulator developed for EPA.
• Provide automatic PDP11 to Data
General Nova Laboratory mini-
computer communications.
• Perform accounting and provide
daily user job status access.
• Provide optional concurrent
manual operation of all emu-
lators by the operator.
Accounting and job status access in-
cludes date/time files sent and received
by each emulator, blocks sent and re-
ceived for each file, error count during
transmission/reception of each file, and
host job name/number and job card
accounting information.
All of the program objectives have been
achieved with the exception of PDP11 to
PDP11 communications, which is awaiting
a module from DEC; NTR - Univac communi-
cations, which is awaiting a patched NTR
availability on NCC; and DG Nova Commu-
nications, which is awaiting local com-
pletion of Nova code.
Jhe General Tape Utility, which has been
titled OBI for On-Line Block I/O, was
originally designed to allow tapes pro-
duced on IBM 370's to be read on PDP11/-
70's and vice versa. A number of other
services have been added during develop-
ment. The utility will read or write
IBM standard-label or no-label tapes
containing fixed length records, blocked
or unblocked. It also provides a tape
map facility for which the user only
needs to supply the correct density.
The tape map furnishes information on
block size and block count for each
file, as well as hexadecimal dump of the
first three blocks. From this, the user
can supply information needed to copy
files from the tape. Print, translate,
and dump capabilities are available as a
part of the copy option. The utility
may be run online or in batch.
A test version of OBI was distributed to
three EPA sites in October 1977. The
full version is nearing completion of
the test phase and will be distributed
as soon as documentation is completed.
A significant objective of the Air and
Waste Management Office is the monitor-
ing and control of stationary air emis-
sions, particularly industrial plants.
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM WCC
Ken Byram
Technical Operations Branch
publishes its own newsletter,
SIGNON, which is mailed to all regis-
tered users of the WCC. This monthly
column is an attempt to highlight activ-
ities at WCC which might be of interest
to the wider ADP community.
V A security audit, conducted by Com-
puter Resource Control includes a risk
analysis of vulnerabilities to EPA's
considerable investment in data and data
processing equipment. A draft report
was delivered to EPA on February 3 and
is undergoing EPA and COMNET review.
V Progress on meeting objectives set
by the Performance Evaluation (Award
Fee) Board has improved. Machine stabil-
ity, highlighted by the board, went
over 95 percent for the first entire
month of January. Telecommunications
network reliability seems more attain-
able based on a central AT&T contact for
telephone line problems.
V User support training visits are
scheduled for regions/labs in March or
April. The format for the sessions will
be selected by local ADP contacts.
V Documentation libraries are being
established in major labs and regions.
The intent is to maintain central sites
where IBM and WCC documentation will be
kept up-to-date.
\/WCC User's Guides were distributed
to registered users on February 1.
V Input ability to twin systems for
Change Control and Problem Resolution
was released to the user community in
The February issue of SIGNON. Both sys-
tems provide tracking, work estimates,
and originator reporting as problems or
enhancements are suggested.
Systems Review Council met in
February to review COMNET1s schedule for
implementing changes to the Operating
System, the remote job entry system, and
the low speed interface languages (OS,
HASP, and ALPHA).
RATE CHANGES ANNOUNCED
AT NCC AND WCC
Ken Byram
/\ rate increase for ADP users at the
National Computer Center and the Wash-
ington Computer Center has been an-
nounced by Willis Greenstreet, Director
of the Management Information and Data
Systems Division. The rate change re-
flects a 12 percent increase (from $160/
SRU to $180/SRU) for users of the NCC
and a 23 percent increase for those of
the WCC.
In his announcement of the increase, Mr.
Greenstreet stated that there are cur-
rently sufficient funds available to pay
the expenses for both centers. However,
a study of current expenses and utiliza-
tion of computer facilities have re-
sulted in an overall cost increase at
both sites.
Expenses of operating the centers con-
sist of reimbursements to the WCC con-
tractor, COMNET, for equipment rental,
personnel, etc., and reimbursements to
the NCC contractors, SDC ISI and Univac,
for technical personnel and equipment.
Jhe ADP fund is established by a zero-
based budgeting exercise and the compo-
nents which make up the total come from
the user's decision packages. After
total costs are determined, each user
receives a suballowance in proportion to
their packages. To charge against that
suballowance, WCC and NCC have deter-
mined and published a "billing algo-
rithm" or rate structure, which assigns
a cost to each unit of use. At the end
of the year, total costs are apportioned
among the various users.
/\n accurate determination of unit costs
is extremely difficult. For that rea-
son, cost distribution determinations
are made periodically and rates are set
based upon current utilization figures.
The most recent study has resulted in
the present rate increases.
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At NCC, the only charge the data center
made was for processing resources, the
cost of a system's resource unit. At
the WCC, however, the center has stabi-
lized and experience has been acquired
in determining utilization and expenses.
While charges for some units will de-
cline, others will increase proportion-
ally. More details are contained in the
WCC Newsletter SIGNON.
All funding is for a one-year period.
Estimates of charges for the first quar-
ter will be refined and adjusted to ade-
quately cover the full year's expenses.
Fourth quarter charges will be available
on or about July 15.
THIRD ORD WORKSHOP
SCHEDULED FOR MARCH
John Hart
Acting ORD ADP Coordinator
Jhe Office of Research and Development
has announced the 3rd ORD ADP Workshop
to be held on May 10, 11, and 12 at the
Environmental Research Laboratory in
Athens, Georgia.
Jhe workshop is aimed at the technical
and scientific ADP user community
throughout EPA. It is a forum for pre-
senting formal papers on current pro-
jects related to ADP or projects for
future implementation.
Additional details and registration
forms can be obtained by contacting Ron
Cullember (FTS 426-2317). Written re-
quests should be addressed to:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
Ron Cullember, OFAS (RD-674)
401 M Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20460
REGIONAL ADP BRANCH CHIEFS MEETING
Ted Standish
Region III ADP Branch Chief
A recent meeting of EPA Regional ADP
Branch Chiefs revealed several concerns
common to all regions. One item of con-
cern was the number of Headquarter re-
quests for computer, system feasibility
studies. Advanced knowledge of require-
ments for regional participation in
studies and the need for coverage of
proposed or revised systems in existing
zero-based budgeting is of paramount
concern. The regions have divided them-
selves into three groups as follows:
Regions I, II, IX, and X
III, IV, and V
VI, VII, and VIII
At least one Region from each group will
take the lead to respond to study re-
quests with the others in the group par-
ticipating as required.
In preparation for the procurement of
DP services during the 1981 to 1990
period, MIDSD is developing standards
for Regions to use in documenting their
systems. Region III has been designated
as a focal point to report on regional
attitudes related to the feasibility of
data standardization between systems.
Joel Brandon has left as the ADP Chief
of Region V to undertake a position with
the Computer Sciences Corporation. The
position is currently being filled. Dave
White, ADP Chief of Region VI, moved to
the Surveillance and Analysis Division
and Jim Sims from the Naval Air Test
Center, Patuxent River, Md., has been
selected as his replacement beginning
March 1, 1978.
EPA Data Talk is published monthly by
the National Computer Center, Manage-
ment Information and Data Systems
Division for EPA personnel and con-
tractors interested in general ADP
topics.
Comments and suggestions are solic-
ited and should be addressed to:
Editor, EPA Data Talk
National Computer Center
Research Triangle Park
North Carolina 27711
To ensure that our distribution list
is up-to-date, please indicate any
required changes on the mailing label
attached to this issue and mail it to
the above address.
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The National Computer Center is located within the facilities of the
Environmental Research Center, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
UNITED STATES
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
National Computer Center
Research Triangle Park
North Carolina 27711
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
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AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
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