ICALEPCS2011 - List of Authors (Misiowiec, M.)

Paper

Title

Page

State Machine Framework and its Use for Driving LHC Operational States*

782

M. Misiowiec, V. Baggiolini, M. Solfaroli Camillocci
CERN, Geneva, Switzerland

The LHC follows a complex operational cycle with 12 major phases that include equipment tests, preparation, beam injection, ramping and squeezing, finally followed by the physics phase. This cycle is modeled and enforced with a state machine, whereby each operational phase is represented by a state. On each transition, before entering the next state, a series of conditions is verified to make sure the LHC is ready to move on. The State Machine framework was developed to cater for building independent or embedded state machines. They safely drive between the states executing tasks bound to transitions and broadcast related information to interested parties. The framework encourages users to program their own actions. Simple configuration management allows the operators to define and maintain complex models themselves. An emphasis was also put on easy interaction with the remote state machine instances through standard communication protocols. On top of its core functionality, the framework offers a transparent integration with other crucial tools used to operate LHC, such as the LHC Sequencer. LHC Operational States has been in production for half a year and was seamlessly adopted by the operators. Further extensions to the framework and its application in operations are under way.
* http://cern.ch/marekm/icalepcs.html

Poster WEPKS005 [0.717 MB]

WEPMU011

Automatic Injection Quality Checks for the LHC

1077

L.N. Drosdal, B. Goddard, R. Gorbonosov, S. Jackson, D. Jacquet, V. Kain, D. Khasbulatov, M. Misiowiec, J. Wenninger, C. Zamantzas
CERN, Geneva, Switzerland

Twelve injections per beam are required to fill the LHC with the nominal filling scheme. The injected beam needs to fulfill a number of requirements to provide useful physics for the experiments when they take data at collisions later on in the LHC cycle. These requirements are checked by a dedicated software system, called the LHC injection quality check. At each injection, this system receives data about beam characteristics from key equipment in the LHC and analyzes it online to determine the quality of the injected beam after each injection. If the quality is insufficient, the automatic injection process is stopped, and the operator has to take corrective measures. This paper will describe the software architecture of the LHC injection quality check and the interplay with other systems. A set of tools for self-monitoring of the injection quality checks to achieve optimum performance will be discussed as well. Results obtained during the LHC commissioning year 2010 and the LHC run 2011 will finally be presented.

Poster WEPMU011 [0.358 MB]

FRBHMUST02

Towards High Performance Processing in Modern Java Based Control Systems

1322

M. Misiowiec, W. Buczak, M. Buttner
CERN, Geneva, Switzerland

CERN controls software is often developed on Java foundation. Some systems carry out a combination of data, network and processor intensive tasks within strict time limits. Hence, there is a demand for high performing, quasi real time solutions. Extensive prototyping of the new CERN monitoring and alarm software required us to address such expectations. The system must handle dozens of thousands of data samples every second, along its three tiers, applying complex computations throughout. To accomplish the goal, a deep understanding of multithreading, memory management and interprocess communication was required. There are unexpected traps hidden behind an excessive use of 64 bit memory or severe impact on the processing flow of modern garbage collectors, including the state of the art Oracle GarbageFirst. Tuning JVM configuration significantly affects the execution of the code. Even more important is the amount of threads and the data structures used between them. Accurately dividing work into independent tasks might boost system performance. Thorough profiling with dedicated tools helped understand the bottlenecks and choose algorithmically optimal solutions. Different virtual machines were tested, in a variety of setups and garbage collection options. The overall work provided for discovering actual hard limits of the whole setup. We present this process of architecting a challenging system in view of the characteristics and limitations of the contemporary Java runtime environment.
http://cern.ch/marekm/icalepcs.html

Slides FRBHMUST02 [4.514 MB]

Paper	Title	Page
WEPKS005	State Machine Framework and its Use for Driving LHC Operational States*	782
	M. Misiowiec, V. Baggiolini, M. Solfaroli Camillocci CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
	The LHC follows a complex operational cycle with 12 major phases that include equipment tests, preparation, beam injection, ramping and squeezing, finally followed by the physics phase. This cycle is modeled and enforced with a state machine, whereby each operational phase is represented by a state. On each transition, before entering the next state, a series of conditions is verified to make sure the LHC is ready to move on. The State Machine framework was developed to cater for building independent or embedded state machines. They safely drive between the states executing tasks bound to transitions and broadcast related information to interested parties. The framework encourages users to program their own actions. Simple configuration management allows the operators to define and maintain complex models themselves. An emphasis was also put on easy interaction with the remote state machine instances through standard communication protocols. On top of its core functionality, the framework offers a transparent integration with other crucial tools used to operate LHC, such as the LHC Sequencer. LHC Operational States has been in production for half a year and was seamlessly adopted by the operators. Further extensions to the framework and its application in operations are under way. * http://cern.ch/marekm/icalepcs.html
	Poster WEPKS005 [0.717 MB]

WEPMU011	Automatic Injection Quality Checks for the LHC	1077
	L.N. Drosdal, B. Goddard, R. Gorbonosov, S. Jackson, D. Jacquet, V. Kain, D. Khasbulatov, M. Misiowiec, J. Wenninger, C. Zamantzas CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
	Twelve injections per beam are required to fill the LHC with the nominal filling scheme. The injected beam needs to fulfill a number of requirements to provide useful physics for the experiments when they take data at collisions later on in the LHC cycle. These requirements are checked by a dedicated software system, called the LHC injection quality check. At each injection, this system receives data about beam characteristics from key equipment in the LHC and analyzes it online to determine the quality of the injected beam after each injection. If the quality is insufficient, the automatic injection process is stopped, and the operator has to take corrective measures. This paper will describe the software architecture of the LHC injection quality check and the interplay with other systems. A set of tools for self-monitoring of the injection quality checks to achieve optimum performance will be discussed as well. Results obtained during the LHC commissioning year 2010 and the LHC run 2011 will finally be presented.
	Poster WEPMU011 [0.358 MB]

FRBHMUST02	Towards High Performance Processing in Modern Java Based Control Systems	1322
	M. Misiowiec, W. Buczak, M. Buttner CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
	CERN controls software is often developed on Java foundation. Some systems carry out a combination of data, network and processor intensive tasks within strict time limits. Hence, there is a demand for high performing, quasi real time solutions. Extensive prototyping of the new CERN monitoring and alarm software required us to address such expectations. The system must handle dozens of thousands of data samples every second, along its three tiers, applying complex computations throughout. To accomplish the goal, a deep understanding of multithreading, memory management and interprocess communication was required. There are unexpected traps hidden behind an excessive use of 64 bit memory or severe impact on the processing flow of modern garbage collectors, including the state of the art Oracle GarbageFirst. Tuning JVM configuration significantly affects the execution of the code. Even more important is the amount of threads and the data structures used between them. Accurately dividing work into independent tasks might boost system performance. Thorough profiling with dedicated tools helped understand the bottlenecks and choose algorithmically optimal solutions. Different virtual machines were tested, in a variety of setups and garbage collection options. The overall work provided for discovering actual hard limits of the whole setup. We present this process of architecting a challenging system in view of the characteristics and limitations of the contemporary Java runtime environment. http://cern.ch/marekm/icalepcs.html
	Slides FRBHMUST02 [4.514 MB]