EPA
Vol. 1
July, 1978
No. 5
PROJECT OFFICERS SELECTED
FOR THE NCC AND WCC
Bill Allen, Computer Specialist
Don Fulford, Chief of the NCC's Data
Center Branch, is pleased to announce
the selection of Curt Lackey as Project
Officer for the Washington Computer Cen-
ter and Tom Rogers as Project Officer
for the National Computer Center. Curt,
coming to the Data Center Branch from
Atlanta where he was Region IV ADP
Branch Chief, is in the midst of relo-
cating and will be featured in EPA Data
Talk next month.
Tom Rogers is a long-time NCC'er and has
been working at the Research Triangle
Park (RTF) facility since 1969. Tom was
born in 1942 about 90 miles southeast of
RTF, in Kinston, N.C. He grew up in
Wilson, N.C. and received a Bachelor of
Science degree in applied mathematics
from North Carolina State University in
1964. Following graduation until 1969,
Tom worked for Pratt & Whitney in East
Hartford, Connecticut. While with them,
he earned a Master of Science degree
from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in
Ton Rogers
1968. In June of 1969, Tom moved back
to North Carolina where he was employed
by the National Air Pollution Control
Administration which later merged with
other federal agencies to form EPA.
Tom's responsibilities within the Data
Center Branch have been numerous and
broad-based, but his specialties have
become computer hardware, facility plan-
ning and development, telecommunica-
tions, operations, and system stability.
The NCC has been and will continue to be
well-served by Tom's skills, talents,
and experience. He will report directly
to Don Fulford, just as he did before
this new position.
Outside his EPA activities, Tom and his
wife, Ann, have a wide range of inter-
ests. They are currently finishing
their lake home, which they have worked
on for the last several years. In addi-
tion, Tom enjoys restoring antique cars,
cabinetmaking, and water skiing.
NADPI OFFERS SUMMER COURSES
Vic Cohen, Computer Specialist
EPA's National Automatic Data Processing
Institute (NADPI) is moving ahead to de-
velop a full curriculum of courses
geared to the 1980's ADP System Acquisi-
tion Project. To date, three brochures
describing the summer courses have been
printed and distributed. NADPI has de-
veloped, with the assistance of half a
dozen North Carolina State University
faculty members, three courses for de-
livery this fiscal year. Several spe-
cialized seminars for next year are in
the early planning stages.
Although course announcements were only
mailed to selected Agency managers and
other EPA staffers with registered user-
(continued on page. 6, column 7)
-------
DIRECTOR'S
CORNER
Willis Grccnstrcct
May and early June were difficult times
for the users of both the WCC and the
NCC. Both computer centers have encoun-
tered operating system software problems
and an abnormal number of hardware prob-
lems. As users, your primary interest
is in a dependable computer utility and
we at MIDSD are committed to providing
stability. The main reason we find it
difficult to achieve the desired stabil-
ity can be expressed in one simple word:
change. Change at the data centers is
caused by many things but two reasons
dominate. The first is the growth of
your processing requirements in terms of
volume and features. I frankly can't
think of a single computing feature in
either center that is not growing except
perhaps punched cards. The second is
the rapid growth of computer technology.
This is particularly evident in opera-
ting systems software as manufacturers
drop support of an old level to begin
full support of a new one. When the
manufacturer (in our case, IBM and Uni-
vac) drops support of an operating sys-
tem, they no longer supply fixes to
problems. They do provide good alterna-
tives and drop support for good reason,
but nonetheless such events can cause
you and me a certain amount of diffi-
culty. At this time, these two kinds of
change are causing problems at both data
centers.
At the NCC in 1975 and 1976, I found
that a good part of the stability prob-
lems stemmed from insufficient computer
horsepower to handle the workload. It
took until October, 1976, to get ahead
of these problems. Now and for the next
six months, we have plans and orders
covering every component type except
CAU's and card equipment. We have re-
cently completed a difficult upgrade to
EXEC Level 33 and expect to remain at
that level for some time.
At the WCC, the burgeoning workload is
straining every component including the
operating system, OS/MVT. There are
long-term plans underway to alleviate
this problem, as well as temporary mea-
sures to keep us in business until such
plans can be implemented.
COMNET will take delivery of an IBM 370/
32 processor in mid-July and we expect
to have it on-line with the existing WCC
IBM 370/168 in early August. We contin-
ue to add more disk spindles as neces-
sary, and we have mounted an extensive
evaluation and planning effort to up-
grade from OS/MVT to OS/MVS. We cannot
remain much longer on OS/MVT. The ques-
tion is when and how to upgrade. The
overriding reasons to move to OS/MVS
seem to be these:
(1) IBM has dropped support of OS/
MVT.
(2) The number of jobs we are pro-
cessing on OS/MVT is ap-
proaching the design limit and
causing us many problems.
(3) OS/MVS affords vastly in-
creased security. (IBM claims
that there are no known holes
in MVS.)
(4) Transition will improve the
use of application design and
programmer skills.
(5) Transition will provide more
tools for Operations to better
adjust the equipment to the
workload at any given time.
We do not now have a firm plan con-
cerning timing, etc., but I expect it to
be available in July.
Please drop the COMNET Project Officer a
note if you are interested in becoming
involved in the development of OS/MVS.
Of course, during the coming months, we
will keep all users aware of the general
transition plans and schedules through a
variety of means.
-------
In August, COMNET plans to start opera-
ting a separate secure data center for
the confidential data of the Office of
Toxic Substances. This center will be
located in a separate building from the
WCC and is configured ITEL AS/4 with two
megabits of memory. The ITEL series is
compatible with IBM. Present plans call
for all data to be inscripted for trans-
mission on a restricted delineated net-
work.
GOVERNMENT POUCY EXECUTIVES VISIT
1980's PROGRAM MANAGEMENT OFFICE
Sam Brown, NCC Director
Mr. Douglas M. Costle, EPA Administra-
tor, officially launched the ADP Major
Systems Acquisition and Implementation
Program (SAIP) on April 17, 1978. The
SAIP will adhere to the Office of Man-
agement and Budget Circular No. A-109,
which established the policies to be
followed by the executive branch agen-
cies in the acquisition of major sys-
tems. The purpose of the SAIP is to
procure and implement the ADP resources
required by EPA for the 1980's, and to
convert from the existing resources to
the new ones. EPA will spend several
hundred million dollars on ADP resources
in the 1980's; thus the SAIP must be ef-
fectively and professionally prosecuted.
During the past few weeks, government
policy executives have visited the Pro-
gram Management Office at Research Tri-
angle Park, N.C. The visitors have re-
ceived briefings on EPA requirements and
are helping tailor an approach to this
major acquisition based not only on OMB
Circular No. A-109, but also on EPA re-
quirements, experience, resources, or-
ganization, and objectives. The visi-
tors have included:
o George Dodson,
Assistant Commissioner for Auto-
matic Data Management Services,
GSA
o Donald Page,
Director, Agency Services, GSA
o Gale Parts,
Chief, Equipment Control Branch,
GSA
o Roy Chisholm,
Procurement Analyst, GSA
o Fred Dietrich,
Associate Administrator for
Systems and Technology, OMB
o Herman Shipley,
Office of Federal Procurement
Policies, OMB
o Ed Springer,
ADP Policy, OMB
o James Lounsbury,
ADP Budget Examiner, OMB
o Fred Virtue,
Directorate of Applications,
FEDSIM
o Dr. Paul Oliver,
Director, Federal Conversion
Center.
Others helping to coordinate the SAIP
are:
o Jim Lewin,
Staff Member, U.S. House of
Representatives
o Ken Blythe,
Staff Member, U.S. House of
Representatives
o Col. Robert Lattina,
Director, Computer Acquisition
Office, USAF
o Ray Lannon,
Director, Advanced Systems, SSA
o Dan Soranno,
Director, Community and Economic
Development Division, GAO
o William Hunter,
Deputy Assistant Administrator,
OFPP
on page. 4, column ?)
-------
Executives Visit (Con/ttwued fanjom page. 3)
Also, a Senior Management Advisory Com-
mittee has been established within EPA
to advise the Program Management Office
on various topics concerning the SAIP.
A complete Program Acquisition Plan is
expected by the fall of this year. An
announcement has already been made in
the Commerce Business Daily concerning
the program. An industry briefing will
probably be held in late fall, 1978,
with the release of some draft material
for industry comments. The formal pro-
curement process is expected to begin in
the spring of 1979.
A briefing is being prepared for EPA
executives on the scope of the SAIP and
their involvement in the program, and
will be given at several locations this
summer as part of a 1-1/2 day executive
ADP course. This and two other courses
will introduce the National ADP Insti-
tute.
The SAIP is the largest acquisition ever
conducted by EPA and will provide it
with ADP services for quite some time.
The new acquisition policy under OMB
Circular A-109 allows for more emphasis
on subjective technical criteria than
the traditional ADP procurement ap-
proach. The Program Management Office
is becoming more fully staffed and the
program plan is being finalized with the
oversight agencies and Congress. The
normal drudgery of ADP procurement is
turning into excitement as the scope of
the program is realized and significant
achievement anticipated. The EPA Sys-
tem Managers and many ADP technical per-
sonnel from the program areas will be
required to assist on the evaluation
panels, etc., as the program proceeds.
MODEL STATE INFORMATION SYSTEM
Ted Standsh, Region III ADP Branch Chief
In the May issue of EPA Data Talk, I re-
ported that the Water Supply Model State
Information System (MSIS) was indeed
(continued, on page. 5, c.o£wnn /)
NEW USER SEMINAR ANNOUNCED
Ernie Watson, NCC User Services
Each week, there are more and more new
users of the Agency's computing re-
sources. The orientation of these new
users to the facilities of the National
Computer Center and the Washington Com-
puter Center is of major concern to
MIDSD.
The newly centralized management of both
computer centers under the Chief of the
Data Center Branch at RTF, coupled with
this concern for new user orientation,
has led to the development of a New User
Orientation Seminar. Seminar attendees
will receive the New User Orientation
Package, containing pertinent informa-
tion about both centers. A representa-
tive will augment this package with live
terminal sessions, additional comments
about both centers, and answers to any
questions new users may have.
Current plans are to hold these seminars
monthly, beginning in mid-July, at Wash-
ington EPA Headquarters, Research Tri-
angle Park, N.C., and Cincinnati. Spe-
cific dates for these seminars will soon
be set. For more information call John
Staley, (919) 541-3648 (FTS 629-3648),
or Dave Taylor, (202) 488-5900.
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:
William G. Allen
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.
-------
MS IS (Continued ({torn page. 4}
working. That statement was written a-
round April 20th after a meeting of peo-
ple from Region III, the Office of
Drinking Water, the Management Informa-
tion and Data Systems Division, and the
South Western Ohio Regional Computing
Center to discuss the status of Region
Ill's efforts to make MSIS operational
for Pennsylvania. Based on comments
made in response to my statement and on
events occurring subsequent to my
writing it, I find it necessary to
clarify that statement.
As you are probably aware, the Office of
Drinking Water directed two special ef-
forts during the past several months.
The first dealt with discrepancies be-
tween the current interpretation of the
Drinking Water Regulations and the man-
ner in which the requirements of those
regulations are handled by MSIS. The
second dealt with establishment of a
working baseline version of MSIS from
which all changes required by the regu-
lation interpretative issues could be
implemented. Region III served as the
site for the verification of the base-
line version and, as of June 21st, that
effort was essentially complete.
During the months since my April state-
ment, several problems have been discov-
ered in the MSIS software, particularly
in the compliance subsystem. Based on
tests conducted with our data, we be-
lieve that these problems have been cor-
rected.
As a result, the Agency has a "working"
baseline version which Water Supply can
use to implement its program while modi-
fications are made to correct regulation
interpretive problems.
When I say "working," I am primarily
speaking from a data processing stand-
point in that MSIS now seems to operate
as it was originally designed. However,
MSIS may not completely satisfy Water
Supply needs because of the unresolved
interpretive issues. In addition, as
with any system, other software bugs are
bound to be found, but I am confident
that, when problems are encountered, the
Office of Drinking Water will see that
they are resolved in a timely fashion.
During the effort here, I came to sever-
al conclusions regarding the data pro-
cessing aspects of MSIS which I feel are
important:
(1) MSIS is not a simple system
that can be safely operated
without professional data pro-
cessing guidance and support;
(2) Some of the Job Control Lan-
guage options used by the Sys-
tem were not those we had
previously encountered and
therefore the JCL experience
required by the System ex-
ceeded what we had in the Re-
gion;
(3) Because the System was built
to run on different computer
systems, condition codes were
not incorporated in the run-
streams, thereby increasing
the complexity of verifying
that a job executed properly;
and
(4) "Run Book" documentation for
Operations personnel needed to
be expanded to include expla-
nations of abnormal job termi-
nation indicators and the ap-
propriate corrective actions
to be taken.
Both the data processing and programma-
tic experiences and findings resulting
from establishing the baseline version
should be addressed at the MSIS User
Support Group meeting in Denver. If
you have any questions or comments re-
garding my view of MSIS, please let me
know.
DEVELOPMENT, MAINTENANCE, AND OPERATIONS CONTRACT
Frank Bullock
Task assignments under the DM&O contract
with Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)
are approaching $2 million and span a
wide range of ADP services that include
(continued, on page. &, column 1)
-------
NADPI Courses (Con£Lnu.e.d jjtom page 1}
ID's, the Basic ADP Concepts course is
open to all EPA employees.
The schedule below will serve as a re-
minder for the course offerings in July,
August, and September.
BASIC ADP CONCEPTS
July 11 & 12
Royal Villa
Raleigh, N.C.
July 31 & August 1 The Washingtonian*
Gaithersburg, Md.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
July 19 - 21
August 2-4
Royal Villa
Raleigh, N.C.
The Washingtonian*
Gaithersburg, Md.
September 11 - 13 Environmental
Research Center
Cincinnati, Ohio
EXECUTIVE SEMINAR
July 17 & 18 The Velvet Cloak
Raleigh, N.C.
August 10 & 11 Las Vegas, Nevada
August 21 & 22 The Washingtonian*
Gaithersburg, Md.
September 14 & 15 Environmental
Research Center
Cincinnati, Ohio
(*Room reservations must be made at
least two weeks prior to the course)
For registration or other information,
please call the NADPI Registrar at (919)
541-3536 (FTS 8-629-3536).
Remember, you have an obligation to
yourself and your office to be ready for
the most advanced computer equipment
available when it arrives.
THE CIS IS MOVING
Charles Sullivan, Computer Systems Development and Evaluation Branch
In order to better serve the users of
the NIH-EPA Chemical Information System
(CIS), Brookhaven National Laboratory is
moving the System onto a new computer.
Starting the first of July, 1978, the
following components of CIS will be
available on the facilities of Inter-
active Sciences Corporation (ICS):
o The Mass Spectra Serarch System
(MSSS)
o The X-ray Crystallographic
Search System (CRYST)
o The Carbon-13 NMR Search System
(CNMR)
o The Structure and Nomenclature
Search System (SANSS—formerly
SSS)
o The Powder Diffraction Analysis
System (PDAS—to be available
later this year)
o The Registry of Toxic Effects
of Chemical Substances (RTECS)
o The On-Line Modeling Laboratory
(MLAB)
o The Conformations Analysis of
Molecules in Solution by
Empirical and Quantum-
Mechanical Techniques System
(CAMSEQ)
By pulling together the CIS components
now distributed among three different
computer systems, the CIS will provide
better service at lower cost.
A single $300 subscription fee will take
the place of the component-by-component
fees charged in the past. And, with the
exception of some non-US users of CRYST,
there will not be an extra fee for ac-
cessing more than one component.
A fee schedule has been established
which allows for credits to existing
on page. B, column 2)
-------
PDP-11/70 MINICOMPUTER: VERSATILITY
Dennis Schur, Region X
As we at Region X gain experience with
our PDP-11/70 minicomputer, the amazing
versatility of the machine becomes in-
creasingly evident. Although initially
purchased as a replacement for the DATA
100 Remote Job Entry (RJE) System, the
PDP-11/70 provides much more than just
improved RJE capabilities.
As an RJE terminal, the PDP-11/70 can
communicate with several sites simulta-
neously. Region X currently maintains
concurrent communications with WCC, NCC,
and either Parklawn or the Department of
the Interior. Since our output is
spooled to disk, a simple program allows
us to retrieve jobs all night long, an
important consideration in our time
zone, and the operator has complete con-
trol over the order in which jobs are
printed. As an RJE system alone, the
PDP-11/70 is a great time saver. Beyond
that, more than 20 local terminals hard-
wired to the PDP-11/70 provide a variety
of users instant access to their data.
Although the PDP-11/70 occasionally goes
down, Digital Equipment Corporation's
hardware and software support is excel-
lent. After an initial stabilizing per-
iod, downtime during prime time has
practically vanished.
The PDP's FORTRAN IV+ is an advanced,
powerful language able to run IBM FOR-
TRAN programs with little alteration,
thus water quality models can be run
with few problems or delays. As a pro-
gram development tool, the PDP-11/70 is
so easy to use that our program develop-
ment at COMNET has ceased. This feature
of the PDP-11/70 alone saves many dol-
lars, improves productivity, and gener-
ates additional computer work by satis-
fied customers.
The PDP-11/70 also interfaces easily
with different terminal types. We have
a Tektronix 4014 hooked to ours at 1200
baud. Using the Tektronix 4014 Terminal
Control System graphics package, FORTRAN
programmers have written several gra-
phics programs. Hundreds of report-
ready graphs, normally an expensive pro-
position at COMNET, can be produced at
no computer cost.
For sophisticated users, there is a pow-
erful, well-tested MACRO language and
access to the innards of the system. For
non-sophisticated users, we have written
a program that can be activated at se-
lected terminals and leads even the most
inexperienced through a terminal ses-
sion. So, there is no compelling reason
to learn a complicated system of com-
mands. The beauty of the system is that
it is completely under our control; thus
if inexperienced users have trouble, we
can change our programs or HELP messages
to terms they can understand.
We are quite pleased with the PDP-11/ 70
minicomputer and applaud headquarters
and regional people who have made this
improved data processing tool available.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WCC
Maureen Johnson, Interim WCC Project Officer
As a result of a study recently
completed by COMNET, IDMS, a new data
base management system marketed by the
Cullinane Corporation, has been selected
for implementation at WCC. This new
system includes such features as an in-
tegrated data dictionary, on-line query,
and a file retrieval and report genera-
tor (CULPRIT). IDMS will operate on the
ITEL AS/4 dedicated to the Office of
Toxic Substances, PDP-ll/70's, as well
as the WCC IBM 370/168. IDMS closely
follows the CODASYL standards as a net-
work data base system.
V
Implementation plans are almost
complete for the installation of an ITEL
AS/4 to meet the Office of Toxic Sub-
stances special security processing re-
quirements.
An additional CPU (IBM 3032) is
being procured by COMNET with availabil-
ity at WCC projected for August 1. COM-
NET' s foresight and responsiveness in
acquiring this additional computing
power to meet an unforeseen workload in-
crease is commendable.
-------
8
DM&O Contract (Corttotued fitLOm page. 5)
systems development/enhancement, docu-
mentation, graphics, model conversions,
and data base technical assistance. Two
other services that you may not have as-
sociated with the DM&O contract are ADP
operations support and mathematical and
physical analyses.
CSC provides expertise in mathematical
statistics, Monte Carlo simulations,
differential equations, and theoretical
physics.
With the end of FY78 approaching, MIDSD
recommends that those with tasks for the
DM&O submit their statements of work by
August 15 to ensure that funds are pro-
perly committed. Notices have been dis-
tributed to ADP coordinators and project
officers concerning projected usage of
the DM&O for FY79. ADP users who are
not on the distribution list but are in-
terested in DM&O services are urged to
contact Charlie Jones of CSC at (703)
533-8877.
CIS Move (Cocufcotued (Jiom page. 6)
users based on their anniversary date
and the date they sign up for the new
Interactive Sciences service. And re-
duced subscription fees are also avail-
able to new users who sign up before the
end of July. The charges for actual use
have been simplified to two flat hourly
rates, and, in most cases, the costs
have been reduced.
Brookhaven National Laboratory is
pleased to offer these improvements in
service, and hopes CIS users will find
them satisfactory. Those wanting more
information about the new service, its
costs and enhancements, should call Dr.
Kathleen K. Taylor, (516) 345-4379 (FTS
664-4379), or write to her in care of:
The NIH-EPA Project
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Chemistry Department
Building 555A
Upton, L.I., New York 11973
UNITED STATES
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
National Computer Center
Research Triangle Park
North Carolina 27711
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE S3OO
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
POSTAGE AND FEES PAID
U S ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY
EPA-333
THIRD CLASS
BLK. RT.
------- |