Release Note 123.0
C1080 CAMAC Multibus Interface Module Download Utility
Release Note 123.0
C1080 CAMAC Multibus Interface Module Download Utility
Julia Kozlovsky
July 20, 1992
For the C1080 module to control a valve, it writes a value to an actuator channel to move the valve and reads an A/D channel to determine where the valve is positioned. A valve is therefore considered to be a logical device which consists of two physical devices, one being the channel of an actuator and the other being the channel of an A/D. Another logical device is compressor status, which consists of 10 digital status channels and 3 momentary relay channels. The third logical device maintained by the C1080 is an engine, which consists of 2 A/D channels, 1 D/A channels, 8 digital status channels, and 3 momentary relay channels. When a hardware failure occurs in a multibus crate, it may be necessary to make a change in the assignment of the various physical device channels to the various parts of the logical device channels. It is therefore desirable that these assignment parameters can be downloaded to the C1080 module from the VAX. The C1080 Downloader is the utility which an authorized individual uses to perform this task.
While it is desirable that all configuration information be defined in the Epicure Database, it is not possible for these cryogenic device types because of the bag-of-bits approach taken within the hardware itself. The user has to define each status at the level of device editor, which requires the knowledge of wiring details and is extremely slow and inconvenient. We are attempting to move away from this approach. As the underlying cryogenic hardware gets replaced, the configuration files supported by this application will become obsolete and the Epicure Database will be the source for all cryogenic configuration information.
At startup, the downloader utility reads the text file which specifies where all the C1080 modules are located; it also accesses user account information and makes database calls to determine whether the user is adequately authorized to perform certain operations.
Next, the user has two ways to choose a particular C1080 module, either by specifying its exact location, or by entering a name of any cryo device associated with that module. Once the module is chosen, the downloader utility accesses the text file associated with this particular module to get the information on how the various physical device channels are associated to the logical device channels for this C1080 module. The downloader utility then reads all the parameter information from the module and compares it with the associated information in the disk file. Any mismatch is flagged and the user is warned.
The user can choose to view any of the three devices to see what the exact differences were. One can then download the correct parameters from the disk file to the module. The user can also view the text file information for any device and edit it.
The location and identification of each C1080 module in the beamlines is maintained in a disk file. Each module has a record specifying its location in terms of area, crate, and slot and the number of the multibus to which it is attached. For example, the C1080 module located in the WH12 area, residing in crate 206 and slot 22 and connected to multibus number 1 is specified by "WH12,206,22,1".
Every C1080 module has a text file associated with it, which specifies the assignment of physical device channels to logical device channels. For example, the information associated with a C1080 module located in the WH12 area, residing in crate 206 and slot 22 and connected to multibus number 1, is contained in "WH12206221.TXT".
Every time a user makes a change to a disk file, a record is kept in a separate text file, containing user account name, date, changes made and an optional short comment explaining the changes.
The menu bar contains the following options (see Figure 1):
SELECT is used to identify the C1080 module with which to interact. This must be the first choice the user makes. Selecting any other menu option will cause a warning to appear. SELECT displays a menu of two items:
After a C1080 module has been selected, the choice is echoed to the bottom of the screen (see Figure 2). For example:
area WH12 MB 1 crate 206 slot 22
Next, the downloader utility reads the channel assignment information for this C1080 module from the associated disk file. It then reads all the parameters from the module itself and compares them with the text file information. Any mismatches are flagged and a warning message appears. For example:
WARNING: mismatched parameters in: ENGINE
If a problem is encountered during data acquisition, a system message appears on the screen. The user may then go on using options that do not depend on data acquisition.
The DEVICE TYPE item on the menu bar is used to identify which logical cryo device to view. Attention: it allows the user to see the disk file information, not module readback. Selecting DEVICE TYPE displays a menu of three items:
Clicking on one of these items displays a window showing all the assignment parameters for all defined channels of the selected logical device. The display consists of a line for each defined channel and a column for each associated multibus device channel. The rightmost column for each channel shows whether the channel is temporary.
At the bottom of the display window for a logical device is a menu bar (see Figure 3) containing three items:
To select an option, double-click the mouse on it or position the cursor within the highlighted area and hit CR.
Selecting EDIT displays a menu of three items:
The CHANGE and DELETE items appear only if the user has sufficient privilege (has the WRITE_C1080 access right defined).
Figure 4 is an example of an active editing screen.
When SAVE is selected, the downloader utility makes sure that all editing was valid. For each channel, all parameters must be defined. For a channel, no two parameters of the same kind (status, relay, etc.) should be the same. No two channels of the same device should be the same. If an error is found, the user is returned to editing. If all editing is valid, the downloader utility displays a query box into which a short explanation for changes made (one line of maximum 60 characters) may be typed. The downloader utility then saves the new parameter assignments to the text file corresponding to the current C1080 module and updates the history file with user's name, date, changes made and reason for changes. The screen is then cleared and the main menu items are once again functional.
Selecting QUIT item aborts any editing that was done, the screen is cleared and the main menu items are once again functional.
Selection of the DOWNLOAD item on the menu bar writes the information in the disk file to the C1080 module. If a problem is encountered during data setting, a system message appears. The user may then go on using options that do not depend on data setting.
Selecting COMPARE displays a menu of three items:
A COMPARE screen (see Figure 5) is very similar to a DEVICE TYPE screen, except that the module readback is displayed next to the disk file info. Choosing a device displays only the channels that have mismatching parameters. Disk file info is displayed in plain rendition. Module readback is displayed in BOLD if the parameter is the same as the corresponding disk file parameter or in BLINK if there is a mismatch.
The MAP item on the menu bar is used to query the Epicure Device Database System and display the channel configuration defined in it. Selecting MAP displays a menu of three items:
Selecting any one of these items collects and displays all the physical device channels defined for the current multibus selection. The logical device name along with property and channel information is displayed for each channel. Any bits that are defined more than once are highlighted in BLINK.
Selecting PRINT initiates the standard ESM print interactions, giving the user the ability to print out the contents of the screen to a specific printer.
Selecting EXIT causes the download program to exit.