SNS RDB Requirements, wish list, status

1
SNS RDB Requirements, wish list, status

• A little history
• Oracle RDB used exclusively by accelerator
  physics group
• JERI tool developed, Mostly a table based browser
  and MPS configuration tool
• MPS uses RDB for all configuration, EPICS dbs,
  st.cmd, etc.
• Great visions at first but controls had a slow
  start.
• Strong reluctance in Controls group to use Oracle
• Excel spreadsheets
• Access
• Perl Scripts
• Cut and paste
• etc.
• Biggest complaint has been the user interface but
  never any useful feedback

2
Requirements

• Auto Discovery of IOC Configurations
• Quick access to data (lt 10 seconds?) Same as EDM,
  Archiver requirements.
• Web Based Reports
• Generation of standard configuration files (alh,
  arReq, etc.)
• RDB support of CVS or equivalent
• MPS Configuration Control
• Configuration tracking, notification,
  ltiocnamegt.mps, etc.
• Naming Convention (Sys_SSDev_InstSignal)
  configuration control, (jail reports)
• Archiver Report (What PVs are not being
  archived?) Operations
• PV clients, whos affected? deleting / renaming
  PVs
• CA updates to RDB and vice versa (Serial numbers,
  etc)

3
SNS Crawler Discovers PVs in running IOCs

• Crawler developed because it was impossible to
  get IOC engineers to import the data.
• Populate RDB with PVs running on IOCs
• Backwards from original plans to generate db
  files
• RDB -gt .substitutions -gt xx.db -gt crawler -gt RDB
  ?????????
• Associates PVs with Templates and substitutions
• Associates PVs with Db file name, location, etc.
• Problems
• Many standards used to load IOCs, painful to
  keep coding all standards!
• Naming convention (Good and bad, enforces rules
  but no data until they conform)
• Bad devices types, adding them for now, CF IOCs
  are operational

4
To-do list - Populates Hardware Software info

• Hardware information
• Interrupt vector, request level
• Base address
• Board
• Channel configuration
• Firmware bit files, versions
• Hardware IDs, now RDB can get Serial number
  through CA
• Software information
• Loaded libraries, versions, and dbds
• Save-restore paths, files
• Channel Access Security file loaded on boot up
• Sequence code in use, seq Macros
• PV over rides (or defaults), dbpf PV_NAME
  value
• IOC local variables (SPRINTFs)
• Task priorities
• Bottom line, Everything needed to configure an
  IOC should be in the RDB, a central data storage
  area.

5
Configuration Control - Reports

• MPS Mode Masking, Configuration files, Channel
  assignments
• During commissioning versions can (DO) change
  often.
• Driver Version Report (Incompatible software
  version report, SNS Utility Driver and some
  hardware, )
• Template Version Report
• Firmware Version Report
• Inventory Reports
• As a minimum, what IOCs are using XXX Hardware
• By Serial number if hardware provides
• Boot-up directories, Production verses Shadow

6
JERI - IOC Configuration - Present

• MPS (For EPICS versions 3.13.9 thru 3.14.7)
• Generates MPS Configuration Files
• MPS XXX.db and xxx.substitutions files using
  configurable templates
• Startup Script snippet
• Archive request files
• Power Supplies (test reports generated, not in
  production)
• Generate .substitutions file
• Alarm limits (B-Fields from Accelerator physics
  model, or Golden tune)
• Magnet mapping files. Cycling procedures (in use)
• Archive request files (in use)
• Power supply calibration data
• DRVH,L based on Operational parameters,
  Manufacturer specs. Magnet Specs, and magnet
  mapping data
• ADEL, MDEL based on manufacturer specs, Physics
  specs
• (The last hurdle is getting equipment IDs in
  Oracle so we added fake ones)

7
JERI BLM Configuration (Desired)

• BLM Configuration (MPS Configuration Control)
• BLM AFE Channel assignment (assigns the
  following)
• ADC channel Assignments
• DAC channel Assignments
• Digital IOC channels
• MPS Channel Assignment
• DAC Default trip point (MPS trip thresh hold)
• DAC trip point DRVH,L
• Ion Chamber Calibrations
• High Voltage set point

8
IOC View
Shows all cards in IOC
Common records Share SW versions Hardware driver
versions
Architecture Specific
9
PV by IOC view

• IOC
• db file
• PV List
• template file
• PV List
• Template info
• substitutions info

10
PS Controller View
Editable choice fields to select power supply,
reconfigure a PSI, or change operations limits
11
Magnet View
Magnet info Manufacturer Model Max I Magnetic
Length Magnet Mapping File Magnet Cycling File
12
General RDB Views

• Configuration views
• IOC
• Hardware
• Driver / Version
• Template
• Future versions would allow reconfiguration from
  these views
• PV (Irmis)
• Power Hierarchy

13
Wish List

• 1 - Generic EPICS IOC viewer (similar to PS view)
• IOC card type channel sensor
• 1 - Inventory Control. Update RDB with serial
  numbers of hardware after a reboot.
• 2 - Generic .substitutions file generator (I.e.
  spreadsheet)
• 2 - Alarm Limits (New facility, most limits are
  guessed or dont exist, use manufacturer
  specifications for defaults)
• 3 - CAS Configuration tool, viewer ? (data is
  already mined)
• 3 - Configuration Control (For global systems and
  common software)
• Change multiple cdCommands to change driver
  versions
• Changing RELEASE would change all iocs under that
  top area
• View all applications using XXX.template, change
  versions selectively
• RDB knows everything in st.cmd, why not generate
  st.cmds and populate EPICS data from RDB??