TABLE OF CONTENTS In many if not most cases, the computing platform, operating system, and network protocols are already well established before a geotechnical DBMS is implemented. Unless the currently available hardware, platform, and operating system are totally unsuitable for use with geoscience database systems, it is probably best not to introduce major changes or upgrades at this point. The current hardware and operating system environment (as well as the current interpretive applications in use) have a direct influence on the platform used.
Geotechnical databases are often based on a suite of interpretive application software programs. In fact, most of the major petroleum industry application and interpretation software vendors (e.g., GeoQuest, Landmark) include data management as an integral part of their software. For some companies, especially those with limited resources, this type of database may be the perfect data management solution. Obviously, in these cases the computing platform and operating environment will be determined by the needs of the application suite and not the database.
The individual or workgroup environment, where small collective sets of geotechnical data are shared by several different disciplines, is ideal for focused workgroups. These groups can be multidisciplinary asset teams or individuals. The computing platform in this case is a single or at most a few UNIX-based workstations, generally connected by a LAN.
In most instances, the application-driven or project database runs on a single platform. The problems associated with sharing data across several different operating systems and running on...
