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NSTX Computing and ControlsPaul SichtaPrinceton Plasma Physics
LaboratoryPrinceton University
EPICS Collaboration MeetingJune 2-4, 2010 Aix-en-Provence,
FranceCulham Sci CtrU St. AndrewsYork UChubu UFukui UHiroshima
UHyogo UKyoto UKyushu UKyushu Tokai UNIFSNiigata UU
TokyoJAERIHebrew UIoffe InstRRC Kurchatov InstTRINITIKBSIKAISTENEA,
FrascatiCEA, CadaracheIPP, JlichIPP, GarchingASCR, Czech RepU
QuebecCollege W&MColorado Sch MinesColumbia UComp-XGeneral
AtomicsINELJohns Hopkins ULANLLLNLLodestarMITNova PhotonicsNew York
UOld Dominion UORNLPPPLPSIPrinceton USNLThink Tank, Inc.UC DavisUC
IrvineUCLAUCSDU ColoradoU MarylandU RochesterU WashingtonU
Wisconsin
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AgendaPPPL - NSTXComputing and Controls 10+ years of Operations:
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
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ITERNSTX
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Princeton Plasma Physics LaboratoryMotor GeneratorNeutral Beam
PowerRF GeneratorsNSTX Test CellControl RoomField Coil Power
ConversionWater CoolingHe Refrig
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FY12-13-14NSTX-Upgrade Project *
Pulse Length: 1.8 6.5 sec
Ip: 1 2 MA
2nd NBI :6 12 MW
BTF: 1 2 Tesla* Project is in the design stages
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NSTX Control RoomNSTX ComputerCenter
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EPICSMDSplusPlasma Control Software from General
AtomicsSharedAppVNCSystem Imager
Commercial software:Red Hat Enterprise Linux; Windows;
vxWorksLabVIEWVisualization:IDL lots of inertiaMatlab use
growingNSTXEPICS Spring 2010NSTX uses open-source andcollaborative
software
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NSTX Computing & Controls
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(6) IOC's(4) vxWorks, (1) Linux, (1) WindowsDevice Support:
CAMAC, OPC, MODBUS500 transient digitizer channels2000 discrete I/O
points11 EPICS Application Areas250 databases, 10,000 records400
MEDM displays15 Sequencer Programs600 PV's to Channel
Archiver/ArchiveViewerGateway, StripTool, SaveSet &
RestoreNSTXEPICS Spring 2010
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MDSplusPulse-based Data Repository2 MDSplus servers: 1 uses
CAMAC30 trees, 4000 signals, > 60000 nodes (I havent checked how
many used) 75 diagnostics and engineering systems4 GB/shot0.5 GB
from EPICS5 GB from cameras - not kept in MDSplusEPICS trend data
(daily 'shot') .... more on MDSplus from Manduchi's talk
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Real-time Plasma ControlControls plasma shape, position, and
other properties via real-time control of magnet power supplies,
gas injection, neutral beam injection 420 inputs @ 5 KHz, 50
outputs ~12 real-time control algorithms with a range of
complexity, cycle time, and phasesReal-time code runs on an 8-core
Linux system I/O is hybrid of PPPL-designed and COTS FPDP
transport, FPGA, VME-format, CAMACSoftware framework developed at
General Atomics, used at numerous facilities.NSTXEPICS Spring
2010
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The Good Control systems supports the research - over 95%
reliability for NSTX machine.EPICS : reliable and low
maintenanceMDSplus : generally good. NSTX experienced problems with
CAMAC and with the event system.NSTXEPICS Spring 2010
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the Bad NSTXEPICS Spring 2010
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and the UglyCyber SecurityA top-level metric for PPPL's contract
performance evaluationCurrent implementation affects RAM
(Reliability-Availability-Maintainability): configuration control
-- simplicity -- operating envelopemoving target - escalating
cost
Test Cell computer hardware failures Adnaco PCI fiber optic
extenderall fiber network
NSTXEPICS Spring 2010
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Final Thoughts ... NSTX computing and controls have performed
wellOpen source software provides longevity and can be tailored for
experimental needsActive collaborations have provided excellent
technical support EPICS gets an A grade for its primary role at
NSTX Integrated ControlStaffing, and not the EPICS architecture or
performance capabilities, have limited EPICSs wider role in NSTX
control systemsNSTXEPICS Spring 2010
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