SKA Monitoring & Control: Challenges & approaches

While there are fundamental similarities to the Monitoring and Control (M&C) problem for any large distributed system, there are also unique needs and challenges resulting from the scale and nature of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) that need to be understood at the current requirements specification stage. An overarching philosophy for SKA software is to avoid bespoke solutions wherever possible. This requires the development of architectural strategies that address the unique needs by leveraging state-of-the-art approaches and available off-the-shelf solutions. In this paper, we present the current understanding of SKA M&C requirements and challenges, and some early thinking on strategies and philosophies to address them. A generic fully-specifications-driven architecture for M&C is discussed as an interesting possibility.