Speaker
Description
The TRIUMF accelerator complex is home to various integrated machines, including a 520 MeV cyclotron, a superconducting E-Linac, and an Isotope Separation Online (ISOL) facility.
The long-term reliability of the laboratory is in part due to the complex control system in-use since the 1970s with CAMAC (Computer Automated Measurement and Control) instrumentation and interface systems, running OpenVMS, as well as custom programs written in Oracle, Fortran, C, C++, and Perl. This control system poses a critical risk to the operation of the facility due to aging hardware, obsolete infrastructure, reliance on a centralized control system, and a lack of knowledgeable personnel in today’s labour market.
To address this, TRIUMF has elected to modernize its control architecture from a centralized CAMAC hierarchy towards a distributed control system, running EPICS (Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System) IOCs (Input/Output Controllers) in the CAMAC crates. This provides a fully switchable, parallel environment, with hardware and software functionality retained behind the IOC, allowing for development and testing without impacting the reliability afforded by the CAMAC system.
Discussed will be the experiences and challenges with implementing parallel control systems, installed and maintained by different groups within TRIUMF, as well as the interface requirements to upgrade without impacting the reliability of TRIUMF’s beam delivery and experimental program.