franchise-star-trek-tng-technical-manual1

4.0 COMPUTER SYSTEMS4.1 COMPUTER SYSTEM4.1 COMPUTER SYSTEMThe main computer system of the Enterprise is probablythe most important single operational element of the starshipnext to the crew. The computer is directly analogous to theautonomic nervous system of a living being, and is responsiblein some way for the operation of virtually every othersystem of the vehicle.Crew interface for the main computer is provided by theLibrary Computer Access and Retrieval System software,usually abbreviated as LCARS. LCARS provides both keyboardand verbal interface ability, incorporating highly sophisticatedartificial intelligence routines and graphic displayorganization for maximum crew ease-of-use (See: 3.3).COMPUTER CORESThe heart of the main computer system is a set of threeredundant main processing cores. Any of these three coresis able to handle the primary operational computing load of theentire vessel. Two of these cores are located near the centerof the Primary Hull between Decks 5 and 14, while the third islocated between Decks 30 and 37 in the Engineering Hull.Each main core incorporates a series of miniature subspacefield generators, which creates a symmetrical (nonpropulsive)field distortion of 3350 millicochranes within the faster-thanlight(FTL) core elements. This permits the transmission andprocessing of optical data within the core at rates significantlyexceeding lightspeed.The two main cores in the Primary Hull run in parallelclock-sync with each other, providing 100% redundancy. Inthe event of any failure in either core, the other core is able toinstantly assume the total primary computing load for the shipwith no interruption, although some secondary and recreationalfunctions (such as holodeck simulations) may be suspended.The third core, located in the Engineering Hull,serves as a backup to the first two, and also serves the BattleSection during separated flight operations.Core elements are based on FTL nanoprocessor unitsarranged into optical transtator clusters of 1,024 segments. Inturn, clusters are grouped into processing modules composedof 256 clusters controlled by a bank of sixteen isolinearchips. Each core comprises seven primary and three upperlevels, each level containing an average of four modules.CORE MEMORYMemory storage for main core usage is provided by 2,048dedicated modules of 144 isolinear optical storage chips.Under LCARS software control, these modules provide averagedynamic access to memory at 4,600 kiloquads/sec. Totalstorage capacity of each module is about 630,000 kiloquads,depending on software configuration.Port and starboard computer cores •Engineering Hull computer core •4.1.1 Location of main computer cores