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cots: Definition and Recommended Links

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Commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) is a term for software or hardware, generally technology or computer products, that are ready-made and available for sale, lease, or license to the general public. They are often used as alternatives to in-house developments or one-off government-funded developments. The use of COTS is being mandated across many government and business programs, as they may offer significant savings in procurement and maintenance. However, since COTS software specifications are written by external sources, government agencies are sometimes wary of these products because they fear that future changes to the product will not be under their control.

Note that most existing open source software is COTS, as it is licensed to the public. Some claim that fact invalidates the loss-of-control argument since the source code is available. The other school of thought insists on broader meaning of the loss-of-control argument, equating it with loss-of-functional-control where control is not defined as 'access to code', but 'realistic ability to manipulate the code.'

Source: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_off-the-shelf)

other great electronics sites:ee toolbox site

• • cots
    • Commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) is a term for software or hardware, generally technology or computer products, that are ready-made and available for sale, lease, or license to the general public. They are often used as alternatives to in-house developments or one-off government-funded developments. The use of COTS is being mandated across many government and business programs, as they may offer significant savings in procurement and maintenance. However, since COTS software specifications are written by external sources, government agencies are sometimes wary of these products because they fear that future changes to the product will not be under their control.

      Note that most existing open source software is COTS, as it is licensed to the public. Some claim that fact invalidates the loss-of-control argument since the source code is available. The other school of thought insists on broader meaning of the loss-of-control argument, equating it with loss-of-functional-control where control is not defined as 'access to code', but 'realistic ability to manipulate the code.'

      Source: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_off-the-shelf)

      (Note: The Electronic Engineers Toolbox provides an alternative set of featured links for this word at http://www.cera2.com/cots.htm)

      Featured Links:

      COTS life-cycle management matures in changing market

      Working hand in hand with integrators and end users, rugged COTS vendors have adopted various strategies to combat component obsolescence over the lifetime of a piece of equipment. However, rapid changes are taking place as a result of operational experience, reductions in the maintenance infrastructure, and changing market expectations of equipment life; these point to a renewed emphasis on rigorous management at the component level.
      http://www.mil-embedded.com

      Criteria for Selection of COTS Equipment in a Military System

      As the defense industry shifts to bringing commercial products into the DoD inventory, a robust review process that analyzes the COTS item’s expected performance in a military application is imperative to successful fielding of a weapon system. The review process discussed in this paper is based on the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) COTS Review Board (CRB) process.
      http://smaplab.ri.uah.edu/dmsms02/papers/birdsong.pdf

      Identifying Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Product Risks: The COTS Usage Risk Evaluation

      The expansion in use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products has been accompanied by an increase in program failures. Many of these failures have been due to a lack of familiarity with the changed approach that COTS products demand. This report describes the development of an approach to reduce the number of program failures attributable to COTS software: the COTS Usage Risk Evaluation (CURE).
      http://www.sei.cmu.edu/publications/documents/03.reports/03tr023.html

      VXS SIGINT Digital Receiver/Processor Application Note

      This application note describes an integrated solution combining a high-performance digital receiver from DRS Signal Solutions and a high-performance data processing solution from VMETRO. This combination of Digital Tuner and VXS DSP engine demonstrates a low-risk approach to the development of Signals Intelligence and Electronic Warfare systems that are deployed in air and rugged conduction-cooled environments.
      http://www.vmetro.com

      Embedded Computing Products from Emerson Network Power

      Emerson Network Power is a recognized leading provider of Embedded Computing products and services based on open standards such as ATCA®, MicroTCA™, AdvancedMC™, CompactPCI®, Processor PMC, VMEbus and OpenSAF™. Our broad product portfolio, ranging from application-ready platforms, blades and modules to enabling software and professional services, enables OEMs to focus on staying ahead of the competition.
      http://www.emersonembeddedcomputing.com/

      COTS Journal (Digital Edition)

      Taking you into the world of the military acquisition machine, COTS Journal provides in-depth coverage of commercially available embedded technology and its specific uses in military electronics and equipment. The COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) initiative is a revolution in military electronics development, and COTS Journal has helped lead the way. Free to engineers worldwide!
      http://www.cotsjournalonline.com/home/subdig.php

      COTS databases for embedded systems

      Many embedded computer systems are excellent candidates for embedded databases. Steve defines what an embedded database is and what features developers can expect to be or not to be in them, and discusses which of those features, whether present or not, make embedded databases appropriate for embedded systems.
      http://www.embedded-computing.com

      COTS Journal (USA / Canada)

      If you want to understand what COTS really stands for, this journal is the only publication focused exclusively on the COTS marketplace. New from the Real-Time Group, and available FREE to qualified EE's with a specific focus on embedded military issues. FREE in the USA / Canada only.
      http://www.cotsjournalonline.com/

      Calling all COTS: Everyone wants COTS in the military, but with upside comes risks

      In this magazine we focus on “COTS and technology for the entire military life cycle,” and it says so right on the cover. While I prefer to emphasize the “life cycle” part of our mission statement with stories such as our new guest column series Legacy Software Migration, Commercial Off-The-Shelf plays a huge part of what we write about. If recent conferences and trade shows are any indication, more companies than ever ...
      http://www.mil-embedded.com

      Lessons Learned in Developing Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Intensive Software Systems

      This paper addresses the recent trend of increased COTS use in the National Airspace System (NAS). While the term COTS refers to both hardware and software, the lessons learned reported in this paper are primarily focused on software. It should be noted that this paper is intended to be the first of several papers on the subject and that future publications will include the entire genre of COTS usage.
      http://www.cebase.org/www/researchActivities/COTS/LessonsLearned.pdf

      Explanation: these links are provided as part of our EE glossary project, which seeks to identify the most prominent keywords in embedded systems, embedded software, realtime and rtos, dsp (digital signal processing), system-on-a-chip, microprocessors and microcontrollers, and other constituent elements for embedded systems. While we seek to keep most of the links up-to-date, the user is refered to other primary electronic-based search sites such as: cera2.com, embedded.com, or EDN Magazine. If you have any suggestions of links or definitions, please email!

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