Confessions of anExxxS Spy

Dave Gurd, SNS

Tango Collaboration Meeting

Grenoble, September 6, 2006

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORYU. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

2EPICS Collaboration Meeting, June 12-16, 2006

Tango and Asterix (le Gaulois) Imaginez le petit village Gaulois entouré des

Romains…

Tango is no longer like that…

M. Chaize even speculates on the Gauls infiltrating les Romains (“legacy systems…”)

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORYU. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

3EPICS Collaboration Meeting, June 12-16, 2006

Three Phases ofCollaboration Meetings

2-3 Institutes 4-6 people real work

More Institutes and People Many presentations Still time for discussion (eg “abstract classes…”) Harder to make decisions

Even more Institutes and People It becomes another conference Last EPICS had a registration fee, >120 people,

five days of talks, vendor displays, etc etc No way to make decisions – Go back to A

Tango

Vous êtes ici

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORYU. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

4EPICS Collaboration Meeting, June 12-16, 2006

What of the Future?

How do you decide where to go next??

EPICS (also?) has no consistent vision (and no mechanism for finding one)

EPICS (also?) has no “management board” Good news and bad news EPICS was successful by anarchy and Darwinism … but now it has no way to decide direction

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORYU. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

5EPICS Collaboration Meeting, June 12-16, 2006

The Future: Questions to Consider

How do you get funding after construction?? Will management fund developments for others?

How do you implement big changes in an operating environment? EPICS had no “buy-in” for “Version 4”

Could you use Tango “out-of-the box” for ITER? ILC? A pulsed proton machine? Why not? Do you care?

Might there be a reason to collaborate with “les Romains?” (ExxxS)

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORYU. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

6EPICS Collaboration Meeting, June 12-16, 2006

What’s the difference between…

Tango, ACS, DOOCS, NIF, RHIC, CDEV, ….and EPICS?

EPICS "IOC" Application Framework: Database, Sequencer. Channel Access: Generic, flat list of channels.

"The Rest" More DIY front-end coding, using C/C++/Java libs. Network protocol: OO Interfaces to "Device" Objects.

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORYU. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

7EPICS Collaboration Meeting, June 12-16, 2006

What EPICS V3 does very well…

EPICS Database handles scheduling, I/O, conversion, smoothing, limits, and network updates for simple devices (VME register, ADC/DAC channel):

Database configuration instead of C/C++/Java code creation avoids many pitfalls.

But it does many things less well (or badly, or not at all…) – eg intelligent devices

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORYU. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

8EPICS Collaboration Meeting, June 12-16, 2006

What is "The Rest" up to?

Object-Oriented "Device" interfaces instead of PVs MagnetPS:

current setpoint, current readback, on/off status, ‘on’ command, ‘off’ command.

CurrentLimitedRampingMagnetPS: MagnetPS + current limit, current ramp rate.

Advantages: OPIs can auto-configure based on the device type. Higher-level applications:

Command-completion, compile and run-time type safety. Physics Applications can search for

"all BPMs in sector 7"(A name server as well as device type issue).

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORYU. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

9EPICS Collaboration Meeting, June 12-16, 2006

Front-end Computer:* Time critical control loops, interlocks, … * Provide network access

Where do EPICS or "The Rest" excel?

Analog & Digital I/O

VME, PCI, Ethernet, USB, …

DSP, FPGA PLC, "Intelligent" Instrument

Mid-level Control:* Less time critical control loops* Informational summaries* Operator convenience sequences

Ethernet

High-level Control:* Physics Experiments

Operator Interface

Invitation toICALEPCS 2007

Dave Gurd, October 2005

in Knoxville, Tennessee

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORYU. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

11EPICS Collaboration Meeting, June 12-16, 2006

Knoxville is in East Tennessee

Memphis

NashvilleKnoxville

Chattanooga

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORYU. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

12EPICS Collaboration Meeting, June 12-16, 2006

Tennessee is all about…

Music Blues Country Rock and Roll Bluegrass

Whisky Jack Daniels

and

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORYU. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

13EPICS Collaboration Meeting, June 12-16, 2006

October in Tennessee

Site TourSmoky Mountain HikingRiverboat RideChattanooga – Civil War BattlefieldMuseum of AppalachiaDollywoodOutlet Shopping in Pigeon ForgeMuseum of Art, Historical MuseumWomen’s Basketball Hall of FameConcerts, Theater, Bluegrass MusicJack Daniels Distillery (long bus ride)Nashville – Opryland (long bus ride)

Companion Program

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORYU. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

14EPICS Collaboration Meeting, June 12-16, 2006

Real photo – (artist’s conception of sky?)

1.0 Gev p 1.4 MWatts $1.4 Billion

ANL BNLLANL LBNLORNL TJNAF

Six National LaboratoriesSpallation Neutron Source

OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORYU. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

15EPICS Collaboration Meeting, June 12-16, 2006

Project Complete, April 28, 2006(Two Months early!)