The Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station is the largest nuclear power facility in the United States dedicated for the peaceful use of nuclear power. Palo Verde is Arizona's primary source of electricity. At the facility, three pressurized water reactors drive turbine generators each capable of producing 1, 270, 000 kilowatts of electricity, a combined total of 3, 810,000 kilowatts, enough to serve approximately 4 million people.

The documentation and procedures required to safely and efficiently run a nuclear power facility are immense. Providing reliable and efficient access to mission critical information presents an even more daunting task, and requires careful evaluation of the robustness and stability of technologies employed. To solve this problem the Palo Verde Computing Group developed a state of the art internetwork of computer systems facilitating enterprise-wide access to mission critical applications and on-line documentation. More than 2000 personal computers and hundreds of UNIX workstations are networked together with open standard TCP/IP and X Windows network software, enabling interoperable information and resource sharing, and enterprise-wide distribution of mission critical applications.

Mission Critical information and procedural documentation has been developed with Framemaker, a UNIX/X Windows electronic publishing software product on Sun Microsystems workstations. On-line information is maintained with Framemaker on the UNIX workstations, and includes plant drawings, and a wide range of procedural documentation such as security, maintenance and operations, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission documentation. As a UNIX/X Windows application, information developed with Framemaker including graphics and drawings, can be distributed to X Windows capable desktops connected to Palo Verde's internetwork.

The Exceed Connection

Although workstation users had easy access to mission critical information, maintenance, licensing, operations, and security technicians and engineers with personal computers also required access to information residing UNIX computers.

Charles Stevens, Palo Verde Computing Group's Information Technology Leader, "We needed a cost effective and reliable solution to integrate MS-Windows based personal computers with UNIX workstations, that had the capability of distributing graphical applications and drawings. After an extensive evaluation of PC X server software, we found Hummingbird's Exceed 4 for Windows to be the most stable, reliable and high performance X Windows implementation for the PC. Exceed has become an integral technology at Palo Verde, and has increased the efficiency of our operations, along with the productivity of engineers and technicians".

Exceed enables hundreds of personal computer users to access plant drawings and documentation residing on UNIX workstations. Engineers and technicians can view, use and develop engineering drawings and procedural documentation from the PC desktop. Exceed also provides the powerful functionality of interchangeable cutting and pasting text, graphics and data between MS-Windows and UNIX systems by supporting the X Window System Inter Client Communications Conventions Manual standard.

Palo Verde Network

Benefits of Exceed

By implementing Exceed, the Palo Verde Computing Group was able leverage their investment in legacy technology, while at the same time facilitating a cross platform integration solution within the familiar MS-Windows environment.

• Leverage investment in PC technology
• Preserve the rich suite of personal productivity applications which PC users are accustomed to
• Enable PC users to access and use powerful workstation based UNIX applications.
• Enable PC users to access on-line mission critical information
• Reduce overall workstation expenditure