The initial design of the system architecture will address the needs of the CATS program in a way that is extensible to the needs of the NPSS program. The educational background and experience base of target users of a computational environment can be of significant importance in defining system requirements. Engineering background specializing in fluid, structural, or thermal mechanics. Use of analysis applications is limited to their domain of expertise, i.e. fluids, structures, thermal. While understanding the basic theory employed in the programs they use, CATS users may not be intimately familiar with the program's input syntax and all analysis options available.
Users are familiar with a workstation computing environment.
Minimally, users have an understanding of the basic UNIX commands and X Windows functionality. A wide variety of aeroanalysis programs, visualization and mapping tools, and translators are used in the analysis and design of aeropropulsion systems. The nature of these application programs must be taken into account in designing a system architecture for the CATS initiative. Programs are distributed across a wide range of machines including workstations, supercomputers, and massively parallel machines. Run-time ranges from seconds to hours depending upon the analysis domain and problem size.