Speaker
F. Carena
(CERN)
Description
The Experiment Control System (ECS) is the top level of control of the ALICE
experiment.
Running an experiment implies performing a set of activities on the online systems
that control the operation of the detectors. In ALICE, online systems are the
Trigger, the Detector Control Systems (DCS), the Data-Acquisition System (DAQ) and
the High-Level Trigger (HLT).
The ECS provides a framework in which the operator can have a unified view of all
the online systems and perform operations on the experiment seen as a set of
detectors.
ALICE has adopted a hierarchical -yet loose- architecture, in which the ECS is a
layer sitting above the online systems, still preserving their autonomy to operate
independently. The interface between the ECS and the online systems applies a
powerful paradigm based on inter-communicating objects. The behavioural aspects of
the ECS are described using a finite-state machine model.
The ALICE experiment must be able to run either as a whole (during the physics
production) or as a set of independent detectors (for installation and
commissioning). The ECS provides all the features necessary to split the experiment
into partitions, containing one or more detectors, which can be operated
independently and concurrently.
This paper will present the architecture of the ALICE ECS, its current status and
the practical experience acquired at the test beams.
Authors
A. VASCOTTO
(CERN, Geneva, Switzerland)
C. SOOS
(CERN, Geneva, Switzerland)
F. Carena
(CERN)
J-C. MARIN
(CERN, Geneva, Switzerland)
K. SCHOSSMAIER
(CERN, Geneva, Switzerland)
P. VANDE VYVRE
(CERN, Geneva, Switzerland)
R. DIVIA
(CERN, Geneva, Switzerland)
S. CHAPELAND
(CERN, Geneva, Switzerland)
W. CARENA
(CERN, Geneva, Switzerland)
