Instrumentation Controls Workgroup Presentation ACNET and LABView Eugene

Instrumentation Controls Workgroup Presentation ACNET and LABView Eugene Lorman 12/13/2021 1

Overview • What exactly is LABView, and why we use it • How does LABView interact with other Controls systems • What front end functionality is not present in LABView • Non PC Hardware 12/13/2021 2

What is LABView • Graphical Programming Language – Icons represent functions, lines represent data – Ability to do similar tasks as in C/C++ such as multithreading, reentrant code… – Does not easily allow for recursion, although possible – There is RT LABView, not in use at Fermi. Lab. 12/13/2021 3

Why we use LABView • National Instruments (NI) provides easy off the shelf ways of communicating with all instrument types – GPIB, VME, VXI, PCI, Compact PCI, PXI, Ethernet • Comes with a long list of built in analysis tools from Mathematical functions to specific signal processing routines • Many companies provide drivers for Lab. VIEW • Easy for someone without a Computer Science background to use for quick device creation • Does not require embedded programmers to create front ends (this was the reason for introducing Lab. VIEW) • Comes with a Web Server that lets remote users take full control of a program using a browser 12/13/2021 4

Systems that are Lab. VIEW • • • Flying Wires (TEV, MI, RR, PBar) Sampled Bunch Display (TEV, MI) Ionization Profile Monitors (MI, Booster) Synchrotron Light Monitor (TEV) Beam Line Tuner (TEV, MI) INSTSCOPE (studies use, may become a complete system) 12/13/2021 5

LABView and ACNET • ACNET views LABView devices as limited front end devices – Supports reading and setting of it’s own, as well as other front end devices • TCPORT is used to accomplish this – Interface developed by Wim Blokland uses UDP/IP to properly format and send/receive messages from the system – Does not support FTP – Does not support Multicast State Receiving, is able to set states through the States FE (future project) 12/13/2021 6

Non standard PC hardware • Scopes Tektronix and Le. Croy have PC’s built into their upper line scopes – in use right now as TEV TBT • Doesn’t talk ACNET. Uses the scope Reference memory and get data through GPIB – in test as a Chromaticity Measurement System using Lab. VIEW to talk to ACNET – Working to have an out of the box solution to get data to ACNET quickly • Other Scopes now come with Internet Control/Read back capabilities from manufacturer – Getting data from these systems into a publicly accessible environment still requires quite a bit of work 12/13/2021 7

Non Standard Continued • Compact PCI/PXI – The amount of hardware available is growing quickly • Signal Analyzers/Generators – VME/PCI/VXI or standalone systems – Many types and flavors – Need communications with outside world 12/13/2021 8

What I would like to see Future Improvements • Lab. VIEW integrated closely to Controls System – Lab. VIEW OACs running on remote servers • Lab. VIEW based Offline Analysis Packages residing on remote servers, as well as the data they use – Controls group providing support for Lab. VIEW-ACNET if/when changes need to be done – Keeping services such as TCPort running (has to happen) – Lab. VIEW runtime a standard in Fermi Windows Rollup (freebie) • Building up support for other hardware – Recompiling drivers provided by Manufacturer to work under our Controls System – Developing standard communication (other than GPIB) to specific widely used instruments (Scopes) – Recommending Instruments to use by others to minimize variations on the same theme (This is already happening with Oscilloscopes) 12/13/2021 9