Here's my humble input on NT vs UNIX: I'm aware our Foxboro system is "peanuts" compared to what most of you out there have to deal with. Our system is small, but very important, because we supply up to 90% of the city's drinking water supply. I have two Es, one D, two Bs, one AW70 and one WP70, primarily using DM, with about 268 graphics, running on V6.1.2. I think UNIX is a better OS then NT/XP. However, from a business perspective, I need to be open to changing trends in technology use. I know some guys that still insist we go back to pneumatic devices, but those days are gone. Ethernet and TCP/IP and all of the other acronyms are becoming common language to us all. We have to adapt to change if we want to stay in this career field. There were individuals at the users group conference that didn't know what a "switch" or "router" was. I would find it very difficult to get our plant data to the bean counters if I wasn't knowledgeable (not an expert) about switches, routers and connectivity issues. We are a four service utility (water, wastewater, gas and electric). We have a little bit of everything from A to Z equipment and software scattered over two hundred square miles. I'm finding that my fellow process control engineers are using and getting into more of NT/XP based solutions like RSView32, Intellutions etc.... Ironically, we also used WonderWare in the past, and got rid of it for Foxboro. For those of you who don't know, WonderWare and Foxboro are now under the Invensys ArchestrA umbrella. For better or worse, we are slowly migrating to NT/XP based process control solutions. Why? The hardware is cheaper, can be purchased off-the-shelf, integrators/consultants use NT/XP, and the IT guys can understand a bit of what is going on at our end. Electric is far more affected by outages than water, so their solutions must work without going off line. I can store water for a few hours, but they can't store electricity. And I just hate to think about wastewater backups if they go off line. I don't make the final purchasing decisions here, and I see the writing on the wall. If I don't get on the train, it will leave me behind. So I better learn all I need to know if I want to stay in this career field and be around to give sound advice to the "young" IT whippersnappers. In my observation, the IT department will need to get smart on process control and know when to leave it to us process control guys. There will be a learning curve. Wait till the first virus or malicious code hits our process control system. In my experience, there are very few information technology AND process control individuals that understand and appreciate the necessary differences between business applications and process control applications. We have to try and educate them and us. The changes and blurring of the IT wall versus process control wall should keep system integrator consultants busy for years to come. This could be a calling for some of us. Wally Magda Instrumentation & Control Specialist Colorado Springs Utilities 660 W. Monument Creek Rd PO Box 214 USAF Academy, CO 80840 719-668-9502 wmagda@xxxxxxx _______________________________________________________________________ This mailing list is neither sponsored nor endorsed by Invensys Process Systems (formerly The Foxboro Company). Use the info you obtain here at your own risks. Read http://www.thecassandraproject.org/disclaimer.html foxboro mailing list: http://www.freelists.org/list/foxboro to subscribe: mailto:foxboro-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=join to unsubscribe: mailto:foxboro-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=leave