Artefact
"The Pervasive.SQL™ engine is renowned for the fact that it is both a relational and transactional database. The latter feature makes Pervasive perfectly suited for fast, efficient saving and querying of objects in a binary format."
--Bas Van den Berg, Director, Artefact
About Artefact
Delft-based software developer Artefact has been a Pervasive Software® partner since 1994. A devoted Pervasive user from the very beginning, and initially developing applications based on Pervasive.SQL's predecessor, Btrieve™, Artefact has helped shape the development of Pervasive products into the market-leading range of application tools available today. Artefact was the first developer to test Pervasive.SQL 2000i under Linux even prior to its commercial launch. Artefact's flagship application is a highly advanced and mission-critical traffic management application.
Business Challenge
At the dawn of the '90s, the Adviesgroep Verkeer en Vervoer van Rijkswaterstaat (Dutch advisory body for traffic and transport) conceived the idea that automated information technology systems could help improve traffic congestion problems up and down the country's motorways. Specifically, they wanted to ensure that traffic coming onto motorways from slip roads could do so in a well-balanced and steady manner.
The so-called Central Traffic Management System (CTMS) was born. Rijkswaterstaat Noord-Holland initially approached Siemens to develop the equipment and software required for the ring road A10 around Amsterdam. Siemens, in turn, engaged Artefact Network Support to develop a large portion of the necessary server-management software as well as the applications required on fixed network and mobile workstations.
Business Solution
Pervasive solutions had always proved an excellent foundation for developing complex applications, so the decision to use Pervasive for the underpinning data-management system was obvious for Artefact.
The CTMS gives operators complete control over all on-ramp metering devices in their area. As well as being a traffic-management system, the CTMS is also used to set coordination parameters, collect traffic measurement data and coordinate all on-ramp metering devices in a given direction.
A robust and secure database system like Pervasive.SQL was fundamental to the smoothrunning of such a complex solution. In addition, the entire system needed to be compact enough to run effectively on a laptop during local management.
Waiting for amber
For the average motorway user, the on-ramp metering devices operating around the Amsterdam ring road are nothing more than big amber traffic lights marking the beginning of a slip road and allowing drivers onto the motorway in stages.
Measuring devices, installed on the road surface just before and after a slip road, capture the speed and intensity of traffic in various lanes every minute. The data obtained is primarily used to fine-tune the on-ramp metering devices, but kept on file by the CTMS for further traffic analysis and system optimizations.
Architecture
The CTMS is organized in a client/server architecture, with all systems connected to a central server controlling the registration of all activities, measurement values and changes.
All data collected by the CTMS is kept in a Pervasive database, which has formed the hub of the system since day one. In order to future-proof its traffic-management system, Artefact made the decision to redevelop CTMS to run on both Windows NT and Linux.
Bottom Line
The remodelled CTMS system is currently live in the provinces of Noord-Holland, Zuid- Holland, Utrecht and Gelderland. In total, 28 on-ramp metering devices are linked to the central CTMS database, and it is expected that this figure will grow in future months.
Version 3.0 of the CTMS has just been completed and now supports a new generation of on-ramp metering devices based on completely different traffic parameters. The system, developed using Pervasive technology is proving to be future proof, scaleable and highly reliable.
For More Information
For more information about Pervasive Software, visit www.pervasive.com. To reach the North American sales office, call +800.287.4383, extension 2. In Europe, for Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, call +800.12.12.34.34. For any other European, Middle Eastern, African or Asian countries (excluding Japan), call +32.70.23.37.61. For more information about Artefact, visit www.arefact.nl.
