HADES DAQ Monitor

Introduction

The HADES data acquisition system is based on the trbnet architecture. Its status and controls are accessed via the command (shell,library) trbnet. Up to now its (ASCII) output is efficiently parsed by perl routines and displayed in an ASCII view or forwarded to gnu-plot. Those plots are dynamically created depending on the data return of trbnet and its dynamic configuration.
In view of an integration of at least the monitoring features into the already used EPICS system at HADES this data flow should be extended/replaced.
Possible problems might occur due to missing features for dynamic behavior of the gui (maybe solved by JavaScript scripts, using BOY GUIs of CSS (SNS)), insufficient performance, and/or complex data structures to transport.

People

• Sergey Yurevich, HADES, GSI (SY)
• Peter Zumbruch, EE, GSI (PZ)
• Michael Traxler, EE, GSI (MT)
• Burkhard Kolb, HADES/CBM, GSI (BK)
• Jan Michel, HADES, IKP Frankfurt (JM)

Time scale

• (nice) to have, tested, debugged version for late spring beamtime of HADES

Documents & Resources

• trbnet
  • http://jspc22.x-matter.uni-frankfurt.de/pub/trbnetdocumentation.pdf
  • libtrbnet:
    • CVS Root: :ext:hadaq@lxi001:/misc/hadesprojects/daq/cvsroot
    • CVS Module: trbsoft/libtrbnet

Situation before

• trbnet ... ⇒ perl script ⇒ "ASCII GUI"
  • status monitor
  • scripts: (SY/JM)
• trbnet ... ⇒ perl script ⇒ GNUplot
  • data rate
    
  • data rate history
    
  • busy time
    
  • busy time history
    

Objective / Ideas

Monitoring using PERL

The process is split up into separate parts: a continuously providing server part and the independent EPICS Client.

• Server (host A)
  • trbnet ... ⇒ perl script ( ⇒ perl to channel access module ) ⇒ EPICS IOC defining all possible data records in its database
    • perl to channel access module,
      several different are on the market
      • PEZCA ( Perl "easy" Channel Access ),
      • alternatively CAP5 included in EPICS base since 3.14.10
      • array and waveform handling ?
• EPICS Client (host B) (retrieves via standard channel access data from EPICS IOC)
  • CSS BOY GUI
  • any (simplier) EPICS Client

Monitoring/Controls via direct trbnet access

• Server
  • EPICS IOC accessing trbnet via a
    • (a)sub routine record call mechanism
    • or dedicated trbnet driver
  • Already implemented by BK
    • aSub routine ⇒ trbnet 2 EPICS
• Client
  • any EPICS client accessing the records of the IOC

Open questions

• How to disassemble rate history data arrays?
• ...

Solutions

Monitoring

The process is split up into separate parts: a continuously providing server part and the independent EPICS Client.

• Server (host A)
  • trbnet ... ⇒ perl script ( ⇒ perl to channel access module ) ⇒ EPICS IOC defining all possible data records in its database
    • perl to channel access module,
      several different are on the market
  • SY: please add documentation

Question and Answers

1. How to display bar graph histograms in CSS?
   • → "How to display waveforms in CSS"
2. How to display waveforms in CSS?
   • css base oep waveform plot:
     
   • oep_temp.opi: CSS BOY OPI File for oep temperatures
   • CVS CSS project:
     • Root :ext:hadaq@lxlenny32:/misc/hadesprojects/daq/cvsroot
     • Repository: css/daqMonitor

Status

• feasibility
• first implementation of perl module into existing data flow (SY)
• display questions solved → "Question and Answers"

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-- PeterZumbruch - 14 Apr 2011