System Integration

Dedicated to the dissemination of System Integration information

If the new system needs to be installed as part of a system that contains legacy equipment the interfaces to the legacy equipment will already have been defined.  This means that, seeing as System Integration (S.I.) is driven to a large extent, by interfaces, a lot of the S.I. tasks will have been set by the legacy equipment.

 

For instance test equipment, engineer’s skill sets, lab infrastructure etc. will be defined, to some extent, in terms of the legacy equipment.

 

It is also the case that the experience of the supplier is based on the legacy equipment, i.e. any new system will just be a modification, or an upgrade, of an old system.  Very few totally new systems are created; in some means or manner they are just an upgrade or a redesign of an old system.  My current TV is, basically, the same as my last TV, a bit bigger, a few more functions, a few more controls, but, basically the same.

 

It is also easier to base the new system on old, i.e. proven, technologies and components.

 

If a company has produced a system in the past you can bet that the new system will be very similar to the old system, the new system will be an evolution of the old system.

 

Although not what most people would define as legacy equipment, the software in a system, i.e. the legacy software, can affect the efficiency of S.I.  There are various pros and cons about using legacy code but, in my opinion, the more legacy code that is utilized the more efficient S.I. will be.

 

Legacy Eqpt. and System Integration