Since the systems containing key status and state information may reside on different hosts and systems within the CFHT network, this information must pass through the network to make it's way to the Status Server. At CFHT, this network consists of a number of hubs, switches, and routers which pass TCP/IP packets.
As a result, the underlying protocol used to transfer Status Server information must be based on TCP/IP.
C is the most common language used within most client systems and, as a result, a client API to access the Status Server must be available in C. This API must be available for each of the three major UNIX platforms at CFHT; Linux, Solaris, and HP.
It is probable that library support for additional languages will be created following the C API. Tcl/TK and Java have been mentioned as possible additions.
Shell utilities must be available on Linux, Solaris, and HP to access information within the Status Server.
Utilities must be available to enable the creation, update, retrieval, and removal of objects. Due to the limited state nature of a shell script, it may not be possible to access all the monitoring functionality. However, it may be useful to have the ability to specify an object with an initial value and have the shell return back a new value whenever it changes in the Status Server.