The ALICE Experiment Control System

1. The ALICEExperiment Control System Scope of the project Architecture Time scale Progress so far Next steps ALICE Technical Forum

2. The ECS project • Launched by the ALICE Technical Board on 18 September 2002 • Project presented at TB on 22 October 2002 • Scope of the project: • Development of an ECS prototype • Coordination of the activities concerning the ECS DAQ group DCS group HMPID TPC Trigger ALICE Technical Forum

3. Purpose of ECS ECS • To coordinate the operation of various sub-systems active on detectors • Split the system in partitions that can be operated autonomously DCS Trigger DAQ HLT Pixel Muon TPC Pixel Muon TPC Pixel Muon TPC CTP HV Gas Pixel lTU Muon LTU TPC LTU LDC 1 LDC 2 LDC 216 ALICE Technical Forum

4. ECS architecture ECA Database Partition A Partition B PCA DCS Trigger control DAQ run control Experiment Control Agent Maintains resource and partition database. Allocates resources to partitions. Partition Control Agent Creates the partition environment. Handles partition configuration. Performs setting-up procedures. Supervises data-taking. Database Resources, partitions, modes, actions and relations. PCA DCS Trigger control DAQ run control ALICE Technical Forum

5. Main design principles • Minimal constraints imposed to sub-systems (DCS, DAQ, TRG, etc.). • They have their own standards, methods and tools. • They can be operated autonomously. • The interface between ECS and the sub-systems is based on the command/status paradigm of communicating objects. • Lucky circumstance: all the sub-system developers agreed to use SMI++ to model the system behaviour, where the “associated object” feature provides this mechanism. • DIM is used as communication infrastructure. • A partition is an environment inherited by each sub-system. The environment is set up by the PCA according to the database information. ALICE Technical Forum

6. Schedule presented on 22-10-02 End 2002 Setting-up development environment and tools, early prototypes January to March 2003 Development of TPC partition prototype (PCA) April 2003 (core team available 100%) Development of HMPID partition prototype (PCA) May - June 2003 Integration of trigger control June 2003 onward Develop partitioning (ECA) End 2003 Deliver full prototype ALICE Technical Forum

7. Two-phase development • Decided to tackle the sub-systems coordination in the first place, leaving the partitioning and database problem for later. • Decided to start from prototypes based on detectors ready to test them, and to concentrate on single-detector partition. PCA DCS Trigger control DAQ run control ALICE Technical Forum

8. Progress so far (1/2) • Established active links between DAQ, DCS, DDL, TRG, TPC, HMPID. Several brainstorming sessions. • Study of the FERO calibration as a peculiar DCS problem. • Agreement of all people involved to use the SMI-object paradigm. • TPC: currently concentrating on the DCS design. They have provided their ECS interface. • HMPID: fairly advanced with their HV and LV DCS. They have a top SMI model including gas and liquid circulator. They have provided their ECS interface. • TRG: starting to build the LTU SMI model. • DDL: preparing the tools to control and calibrate the FERO via the DDL. • DAQ: DATE adapted to the ECS-communication paradigm. They have provided their ECS interface. ALICE Technical Forum

9. People involved so far HMPID Paolo Martinengo Giacinto de Cataldo TPC Uli Frankenfeld Reiner Renfordt Trigger Anton Jusko Roman Lietava Orlando Villalobos Baillie DAQ & PCA Franco Carena Jean-Claude Marin Sandro Vascotto DCS André Augustinus Peter Chochula Lennart Jirden Sorina Popescu DDL Csaba Soos Ervin Denes ALICE Technical Forum

10. Progress so far (2/2) • A prototype of PCA for the HMPID partition has been developed, including: • The control of DAQ operations • The control of a DCS simulated on Linux • The execution of sequences of operations required to calibrate the FERO of the detector • The PCA (running on Linux) has been able to control the PVSS-based DCS (running on Windows). • We are currently implementing the HMPID calibration procedure. • Ready to tackle other detectors. ALICE Technical Forum

11. Control models SMI PCA DAQ associated object DCS associated object DIM SMI DCS SMI DAQ DAQ visible object DCS visible object ALICE Technical Forum

12. HMPID partition ALICE Technical Forum

13. Next steps • Use the prototype in the operations of the HMPID and TPC. • Expand the concept of partition environment. • Propagate the authorization scheme used by the DCS. • Study of database organization. • Merging partitions to work together, ECA. ALICE Technical Forum

14. Partition environment ECS HMPID TPC … Muon TRG DAQ DCS TRG DAQ DCS TRG DAQ DCS HV Gas HMPID LTU TPC LTU HV Gas Muon LTU HV Gas ALICE Technical Forum

15. Conclusions • The momentum is there. • Good progress in a small amount of time • There is an early prototype to demonstrate the feasibility. • The foundation is sound. • We are on schedule. • A lot of work ahead of us ALICE Technical Forum

16. THE ALICE ECS - HMPID DCS DEVICES LOCATION HMPID PLC T,P DAQ: DATE4 ECS prototype HV, SY2527 SSH session on ECS workstation Bld 581 HMPID DCS workstation ALICE Technical Forum