Slow Controls

Old Slow Controls Machines (Pre-2017)

Auxiliary DAQ Modules

The auxiliary DAQ system uses the Acromag XT series DIN-rail mounted ADC, DAC and BIO modules. The model numbers are in the format XTYYY1, where "XT" is a static prefix, "YYY" determines the function, and the "1" as the last digit denotes the ModBus/TCP version of the model. The 1 at the end is important, as the other variations will not be able to interface with CDS through EPICS.

HowTo

Configure Acromag XT modules

Initial configuration via USB is required before the units can be used on the network. This requires:

• USB-to-miniUSB cable
• Microsoft Windows (virtual) machine

• Configuration Utilities: 9500465D.zip

The above zip file contains the setup executable to install the configuration software for all different modules. Depending on the module, a different version of the utility needs to be launched after install. As during operation, the to-be-configured device needs to be powered by a 12-32V DC voltage source, either through the designated blue plug-in terminal on the bottom, or the clip-on dock on the rail.

On a virtual machine it may be necessary to open some ports to allow the guest OS to access the physical USB device

Network Configuration

The primary screen looks identical for all models:

Once the device is connected to the host via USB and the correct application has been launched, it will appear in the drop down menu.

Configure slow controls server machine

The following has proven to work with Debian Jessie running on a Supermicro SYS-5015A-H (Intel Atom processor without 64-bit support). This guide was written after-the-fact, so some steps may be missing. When configuring the next machine the gaps will be filled.

• Fresh install of Debian Jessie

  • username: controls

  • optional: lightweight desktop environment LXDE

• Give sudo privileges to controls

  • su
  • usermod -aG sudo controls
• Set up SSH access
  • sudo apt-get install openssh-client
• Set up martian and local ethernet adapters
  • Edit /etc/network/interfaces

allow-hotplug eth0 iface eth0 inet static

• address 192.168.113.XX netmask 255.255.255.0 gateway 192.168.113.2 dns-nameservers 192.168.113.104 131.215.125.1 131.215.139.100 dns-search martian

allow-hotplug eth1 iface eth1 inet static

• address 192.168.11Y.1 netmask 255.255.255.0 network 192.168.11Y.0 broadcast 192.168.11Y.255

• Set up remote file system access
  • sudo apt-get install nfs-common
• Set up systemd service for automatic start of the Modbus IOC
• sudo apt-get install procserv

Configure XT unit Modbus driver

# Use the following commands for TCP/IP 
# drvAsynIPPortConfigure(const char *portName,  # user-defined: used for subsequent referencing, 
#                        const char *hostInfo,  # format: "IP-Address:Port". Standard port for Modbus is 502
#                        unsigned int priority, # 
#                        int noAutoConnect,     # 
#                        int noProcessEos);     # 
#
# Examples:
# drvAsynIPPortConfigure("<TCP_PORT_NAME>","<UNIT_IP_ADDRESS>:502",0,0,1)
# drvAsynIPPortConfigure("c1auxex_xt1221a","192.168.114.11:502",0,0,1)

# modbusInterposeConfig(const char *portName,    # reference to portName created with drvAsynIPPortConfigure command
#                       modbusLinkType linkType, # 
#                       int timeoutMsec,         # define timeout for waiting for response from unit
#                       int writeDelayMsec)      #
#
# Example:
# modbusInterposeConfig("<TCP_PORT_NAME>",0,5000,0)
# modbusInterposeConfig("c1auxex_xt1221a",0,5000,0)

#drvModbusAsynConfigure(portName,                # used by channel definitions in .db file to reference this unit)
#                       tcpPortName,             # reference to portName created with drvAsynIPPortConfigure command
#                       slaveAddress,            # 
#                       modbusFunction,          # defines driver function for the unit (read register = 4, write register = 6, write single coil = 5) - see examples in next section
#                       modbusStartAddress,      # ADC and binary channel numbering starts with 0, DAC channel numbering with 1
#                       modbusLength,            # length in dataType units - see examples in next section
#                       dataType,                # 4 = 16-bit signed integers (for A/D and D/A), 0 = binary (for BIO, duh)
#                       pollMsec,                # how frequently to request a value in [ms]
#                       plcType);                #
#
# Example:
# drvModbusAsynConfigure("<PORT_NAME>","<TCP_PORT_NAME>",0,<modbusFunction>,<modbusStartAddress>,<modbusLength>,<dataType>,<pollMsec>,"Acromag")

XT1221

drvModbusAsynConfigure("C1AUXEX_XT1221A_ADC","c1auxex_xt1221a",0,4,0,8,4,32,"Acromag")

XT1541

drvModbusAsynConfigure("C1AUXEX_XT1541A_DAC","c1auxex_xt1541a",0,6,1,8,4,32,"Acromag")
drvModbusAsynConfigure("C1AUXEX_XT1541A_BIO","c1auxex_xt1541a",0,5,0,4,0,32,"Acromag")

XT1111 & 1121

drvModbusAsynConfigure("C1AUXEX_XT1111A_BIO","c1auxex_xt1111a",0,6,0,4,0,32,"Acromag")

Define EPICS channels

Note: Modbus/TCP is simply a protocol for sending commands via TCP that the XT units can interpret, as in read/write the correct register values to/from the channels. There may be multiple ways to define the channels have the same effect. The settings reported here have been found to work as intended.

Many of the fields in the EPICS records are somewhat supplemental and not required for the channel definitions, but some have real effect in MEDM screens, such as upper limits on slider bars and the such.

XT1221

field(INP,"@asynMask(<ADC_UNIT_PORT_NAME> 0 -16)MODBUS_DATA")

XT1541

record(ao, "<AO_CHANNEL_NAME>")
{
        field(DTYP,"asynInt32")
        field(OUT,"@asynMask(<DAC_UNIT_PORT_NAME>, 0, -16)MODBUS_DATA")
}

record(bo, "<BO_CHANNEL_NAME>")
{
        field(DTYP,"asynUInt32Digital")
        field(OUT,"@asynMask(<DAC_UNIT_PORT_NAME>, 3, 0x1)")
}

XT1111 & 1121

record( bo, "CHANNEL_NAME")
{
        field(DTYP,"asynUInt32Digital")
        field(OUT,"@asynMask(BIO0_Reg, 0, 0x1)")
}