ICALEPCS 2007

The 2007 ICALEPCS conference will be held in Knoxville, Tennesse USA between the 15 and the 19 of October. All the details can be found in ICALEPCS '07 home page.

ICALEPCS is a good place to talk about Tango (and other topics as well) with specialists from all over the world.

Workshop

A Tango workshop will be held on Sunday the 14th October 2007. The workshop is intended for beginners and experienced Tango users. Here is the tentative program for the workshop :

• 9:00 - Welcome (A. Götz, ESRF)
  

• 9:15 - Tango in a nutshell (J. Meyer, ESRF)
  

               The Tango concepts and a basic overview

• 9:45 - The first steps to dance the Tango (J. Meyer, ESRF)

               Installation and running of a Tango control system
               Writing a Tango server and client with demo
               Abstract classes and reuse of classes

• 10:45 - Coffee Break

• 11:00 - The choreography of the Tango ballet (P. Verdier, ESRF)

                Configuration and administration of a Tango control system
                Diagnostic tools
                Demonstration

• 11:30 -Control System Studio (M. Klausen, Desy)
                  A common studio for EPICS and TANGO

                     EPICS/TANGO common session

• 12:30 - Lunch

• 14:00 - Build High level java applications with the ATK toolkit (K.Saintain, SOLEIL)

                Goals and architecture of the ATK library
                A quick tour on the ATK graphical components
                ATK components at work within TANGO off the shelf applications (ATKPanel,DeviceTree,etc..)

• 14:30 - World Wide Tango (V.Hardion SOLEIL)
  

                 Accessing TANGO Java applications through the WEB

• 15:00 - Witness of a new dancer (D. Fernandez, ALBA)
  

                 How a new institute (ALBA) has started with TANGO

• 15:30 - coffee break

• 16:00 The different Tango dance styles (JM Chaize, ESRF) 
  
• Hardware platforms
  Programming languages
  Client choices

• 16:30 - Questions and discussion

• 17:00 - Final last words

Papers

The following papers on Tango have been submitted to ICALEPCS 2007 :

1. Ubiquitous Tango
   
   

   Authors		Andrew Gotz (ESRF, Grenoble), Claudio Scafuri (ELETTRA, Basovizza, Trieste)

   
   
   

   Abstract		Tango is a control system based on the device server concept. It is currently being actively developed by 4 (soon 5) institutes, 3 of which are new institutes. This alone is a good reason that Tango integrates the latest developments in control systems evolution. One of the evolutions in computing is ubiquitous computing. Ubiquitous computing in control systems means integrating computers and intelligence into every aspect of the control system. This paper will present how Tango has been integrated into a wide variety of embedded systems from FPGAs, Gumstix, Liberas, and even PS3s (if my boss would buy me one).

   
   
   
2. EPICS to TANGO Translator
   
   

   Authors		Rok Stefanic (Cosylab, Ljubljana), Laurent Geoffroy (Maatel, Voreppe)

   
   

   Abstract		We were faced with a problem of integrating an XY diffractometer device into an EPICS control system, where the integration into the Tango control system (TANGO Device Server) already existed. We have developed a generic TANGO-to-EPICS translator, which provides the EPICS control system with an interface to an existing TANGO Device Server. An EPICS Asyn driver is used for handling the communication trough library, which is based on the CORBA protocol. The interface provides a generic way for executing commands with different data types as arguments. Attribute manipulation for all major TANGO data types is supported.

   
   
3. The Future of Tango
   
   

   Authors		Andrew Gotz, Jean-Michel Chaize, Jens Meyer (ESRF, Grenoble), David Fernandez-Carreiras, Jorg Klora (ALBA, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès)), Marco Lonza, Claudio Scafuri (ELETTRA, Basovizza, Trieste), Alain Buteau, Majid Ounsy (SOLEIL, Gif-sur-Yvette)

   
   

   Abstract		Tango is a control system based on the device server concept. It is currently being actively developed by 4 (soon 5) institutes, 3 of which are new institutes. In October 2006 the Tango community met in the French Alps to discuss the future evolution of Tango. This paper summarizes the fruits of this meeting. It presents the different areas Tango will concentrate on for the next 5 years. Some of the main topics concern services, beamline control, embedded systems on FPGA, 64-bit support, scalability for large systems, faster boot performance, enhanced Python and Java support for servers, more model-driven development, and integrated workbench-like applications. The aim is to keep on adding batteries to Tango so that it remains a modern, powerful control system that satisfies not only the needs of light-source facilities but other communities too.

   
   
4. The Evolution of the ELETTRA Control System
   
   

   Authors		Claudio Scafuri, Lorenzo Pivetta (ELETTRA, Basovizza, Trieste)

   
   

   Abstract		The evolution of the ELETTRA control system is presented by focusing on the major technical upgrades. The ElETTRA control system has been in operation since 1993. The orginal control system architecture was based on a three layer design. A field bus connected the low level computers used to interface the accelerator devices whilst a ten megabit shared Ethernet network linked the middle layer computers to the servers and operator workstations. A first control system upgrade started in 1998 in order to dismiss the field bus and to provide more computing power. A couple of years later a major rework of the network infrastructure was carried out with the introduction of a switched Ethernet architecture. Starting from 2003, in view of the construction of a new booster injector for the storage ring and of the FERMI@elettra free electron laser, new control system hardware and software platforms have been selected. Driven by the additional necessity of cutting development and maintenance costs, the Tango control system has been adopted. The tools developed in order to effectively manage the integration and coexistence of the legacy and new control system are described.

   
   
5. Status of the TANGO Archiving System
   
   

   Authors		Sandra PIERRE-JOSEPH ZEPHIR, Alain Buteau, Majid Ounsy (SOLEIL, Gif-sur-Yvette)

   
   
   

   Abstract		This poster will give a detailed status of the major functionality delivered as a Tango service: the archiving service. The goal of this service is to maintain the archive history of thousands of accelerators or beamline control parameters in order to be able to correlate signals or to get snapshots of the system at different times and to compare them. For this aim, three database services have been developed and fully integrated in Tango: an historical database with an archiving frequency up to 0.1 Hz, a short-term database providing a few hours retention but with higher archiving frequency (up to 10 HZ), and finally a snapshotting database. These services are available to end users through two graphical user interfaces: Mambo (for data extraction/visualization from historical and temporary databases) and Bensikin (for snapshots management). The software architecture and design of the whole system will be presented, as well as the current status of the deployment at SOLEIL.

   
   
6. How to Use a SCADA for High-Level Application Development on a Large-Scale Basis in a Scientific Environment
   
   

   Authors		Katy Saintin, Alain Buteau, Vincent Hardion, Majid Ounsy (SOLEIL, Gif-sur-Yvette)

   
   

   Abstract		For high-level applications development, SOLEIL adopted GlobalSCREEN, a professional Java SCADA, developed by the ORDINAL company*. This environment enables end users to quickly build user-friendly GUIs without writing any Java code and by drag-dropping reusable graphical components developed by the software control team. These components are made up on top of the ATK** library, which provides a rich set of graphical widgets, including scientific data visualization tools, and already encapsulating communication with the Tango software bus. This way, SOLEIL can allow its users to lay out their supervisory applications with a homogenous look and feel and benefit (as they are natively provided by GlobalSCREEN) from functionalities such as access right management, web access, and remote administration at a minimal development cost. An original organization has been set up to deal with this collaborative work between “pure software developers” and “occasional” supervision applications developers. The work organization, the software architecture, and the design of the whole system will be presented, as well as the current status of deployment at SOLEIL for accelerators and for beamlines.

   
   
7. ESRF Vacuum Control with TANGO
   
   

   Authors		Pascal Verdier (ESRF, Grenoble)

   
   

   Abstract		Tango is an object-oriented control system toolkit based on CORBA initially developed at the ESRF. It is now also developed and used by Soleil, Elettra, Alba and some labs. This poster explains how the vacuum system (pressures and temperatures), composed by more than one thousand devices, is controlled. It shows how to display the device measurements, how diagnostics on measurement evolutions are done and displayed, how it tries to foresee possible problems, and how these measurements are stored with sophisticated criteria

   
   
8. A Graphical Sequencer for SOLEIL Beamlines Acquisitions
   
   

   Authors		Gwenaelle Abeille, Alain Buteau, Majid Ounsy (SOLEIL, Gif-sur-Yvette)

   
   

   Abstract		Addressing batch processing and sequencing needs are fundamentals for daily beamlines operation. The SOLEIL control software group offers two solutions. Firstly, the Python scripting environment, for which a dedicated Tango binding is available, has been proved to be powerful, but is limited to scientists with good programming skills. Secondly, we provide the PASSERELLE software, developed by the ISENCIA* company and based on the PTOLEMY** framework. In this environment, sequences can be designed graphically by drag and drop components called actors (representing elementary tasks). The process execution can be easily “programmed” by defining graphically the data flow between actors. Upon this framework, an existing generic GUI application allows users to configure and execute the sequences. A dedicated GUI application can also be provided on demand to give the beam line’s end user an easy-to-use acquisition application. The work organization, the software architecture and design of the whole system will be presented, as well as the current status of deployment on SOLEIL beamlines.

   
   
9. A Fast Global Orbit Feedback for the ELETTRA Storage Ring
   
   

   Authors		Marco Lonza, Daniele Bulfone, Vincenzo Forchi', Giulio Gaio, Lorenzo Pivetta (ELETTRA, Basovizza, Trieste)

   
   

   Abstract		A fast global orbit feedback using digital Beam Position Monitor (BPM) detectors has been installed and commissioned at Elettra. The system uses 96 BPMs and 82 steerer magnets to correct closed orbit errors at a 10-kHz repetition rate. The feedback processing is performed by twelve VME stations equipped with commercial CPU boards running the Linux operating system with real-time extension and connected to each other by a low-latency fiber optic network. The system is fully controlled by a Tango based control system. A number of diagnostic and visualization software tools have been developed to easily operate the feedback and detect anomalous sources of orbit distortion. The operational experience and the achieved results are presented. Plans for further improvements of orbit stability are also discussed.

   
   
10. QTango: A Library for Easy Tango-Based GUIs Development
    
    

    Authors		Vincenzo Forchi' (ELETTRA, Basovizza, Trieste)

    
    

    Abstract		Qt (by Trolltech) is the framework adopted for the development of graphical applications at Elettra. A new library, named QTango, has been developed to ease the integration of Qt and the Tango control system. QTango provides a set of custom widgets and a multithreaded infrastructure that manages the communication of the graphical clients with the device servers. This paper describes the structure of the library, the developed widgets, and the tools provided to both the experienced and the novice software writers.

    
    
11. Canone – A Highly-Interactive Web-Based Control System Interface
    
    

    Authors		Miha Pelko, Klemen Zagar (Cosylab, Ljubljana), Lucio Zambon (ELETTRA, Basovizza, Trieste), Anthony Green (University of Cambridge, Cambridge)

    
    

    Abstract		In the recent years, usability of web applications has significantly improved, approaching that of rich desktop applications. Example applications are numerous, e.g., many different web applications from Google. The enabling driver for these developments is the AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) architecture. Canone, originally a PHP web interface for Tango control system developed at Elettra, is one of the first attempts of long-distance interaction with the control system via Web. Users with suitable privileges can create panels consisting of various graphical widgets for monitoring and control of the process variables of the control system online. Recently, Canone was extended to interact with a control system through an abstract DAL (Data Access Layer) interface, making it applicable to EPICS and TINE as well. Also, the latest release of Canone comes with drag'n'drop functionality for creating the panels, making the framework even easier to use. This article discusses the general issues of the web-based interaction with the control system such as security, usability, network traffic and scalability, and presents the approach taken by Canone.

    
    
    
12. Status of the ALBA Control System
    
    

    Authors		David Fernandez-Carreiras (ALBA, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès))

    
    

    Abstract		This paper describes the progress in the design of the control system for the machine and beamlines. Solutions for interfacing devices, networking, interlocks, diagnostics, etc., are presented. Most call for tenders for the machine are placed, and hardware and software choices have been adopted. Alba uses Tango as the toolkit for building the control system. Device servers are mostly written in C++ and Python. Clients are mostly Java (ATK) and Python (+Qt). Different technologies have been chosen for the different subsystems, i.e., PLCs and distributed I/O for the Equipment Protection System, safety PLCs for the Personnel Safety System, event-driven timing system, Ethernet for the power supplies, etc. The actual status of both hardware and software is given, and the plans for the future are presented.

    
    
13. Status of the SOLEIL Software Control System
    
    

    Authors		Alain Buteau, Brigitte Gagey, Nicolas Leclercq, Majid Ounsy (SOLEIL, Gif-sur-Yvette)

    
    

    Abstract		The SOLEIL synchrotron light source is based on a 2.75 GeV electron storage ring that was commissioned in 2006 at Saint Aubin, France. The first 10 beamlines are currently commissioned, and regular user operation is planned for summer 2007. SOLEIL is also the first 100% TANGO-controlled facility. Originally developed at the ESRF, the object-oriented TANGO Control Framework is now the core component of a close collaboration between four synchrotron facilities: ESRF, SOLEIL, ELETTRA, and ALBA. The SOLEIL control system is an example of the TANGO capability of federating heterogeneous off-the-shelf technologies into a coherent whole on the basis of a single concept: the device. The aim of the presentation is to provide an overview of the “Service-Oriented Architecture,” which is now routinely used for the control of both the SOLEIL accelerators and beamlines. The ubiquity of the TANGO services will be illustrated on both server and client sides of the control system architecture. The main software subsystems will be presented. We will conclude with a feedback report by presenting some figures and statistics about the control system's stability after its first year of operation.