COMPASS Collaboration Meeting; CERN, November 2011

1. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
Software for the new COMPASS
data acquisition system
Martin Bodlák Vladimír Jarý Josef Nový
Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering
Czech Technical University in Prague
COMPASS collaboration meeting
November 18, 2011
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

2. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
Towards the new DAQ software
1 Evaluation of the current DAQ software
2 Definition of requirements on the new software
3 Evaluation of programming languages and communication
libraries
4 Definition of the minimal functionality required by the
control application
5 Implementation of the minimal control system
6 Performance and stability testing
7 Implementation of the simulation tools
8 Extending the functionality of the control system
9 Deployment on the custom hardware
10 Testing under the real conditions
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

3. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
Key features of the DATE package
DATE (Data Acquisition and Test Environment)[1]
developed for the ALICE experiment – two modes:
1 heavy ion collisions (PbPb):
low interaction rates (10 kHz), big events
trigger: low selectivity, high complexity
2 proton beams (pp):
high interaction rates (200 kHz), small events
trigger: high selectivity, low complexity
fixed–target mode, collider mode
focus on scalability (can run on a single processor as well
as on hundreds processors)
performance:
40 GB/s readout
2.5 GB/s event building
1.25 GB/s storage
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

4. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
Functionality
DATE provides:
1 data flow
2 run control
3 interactive configuration
4 load balancing (EDM)
5 information reporting (infoLogger, infoBrowser )
6 event sampling (MOOD/COOOL)
7 log book
8 ...
Requirements:
1 all processors must be x86 compatible
2 all processors must be running GNU/Linux OS
3 all processors must be connected to the network
supporting the TCP/IP stack
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

5. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
Decision
Results of the DATE evaluation
It has been decided not to use DATE as a base for the new
DAQ system for the following reasons [3]:
it is too complex for our needs, simpler system is preferred
x86 compatible hardware is required
existing setup requires heavy cleanup anyway (i.e. lot of
undocumented scripts in various languages)
On the other hand, we should:
keep the DATE data format
use DIM library [2] (DCS integration)
reuse some DATE components (MurphyTV, COOOL, log
book system, ...)
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

6. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
DIM library [2]
Distributed Information Management
developed for the DELPHI experiment
provides asynchronous one-to-many communication in a
heterogeneous network environment
extends the client–server paradigm by a concept of a
name server (DNS)
based on the TCP/IP standard
C++, Java, Python interfaces available
used by the DATE package, communication with DCS
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

7. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
DIM Name server
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

8. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
Comparison of C++ and Java DIM performance
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

9. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
Definition of the minimal run control software
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

10. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
Overview of the system
1 Master node
wakes up slave nodes
sends commands to the slaves
collects health status from the slaves
receives commands from the user interface application
2 Slave nodes
receives commands from the master
publishes health status of the slaves
3 Graphical user interface
sends commands to the master node
receives health status of the slaves published by the master
4 Message logger
collects messages generated by the master and the slaves
stores these messages into a database
5 Message browser
queries the messages database
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

11. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
Details of the system
implemented in the Qt framework
configuration and messages stored in a MySQL database
communication between nodes based on the DIM library
only master requires DB access, it distributes the
configuration to the slaves through the DIM service
custom communication protocols defined
some parts (waking up the slaves) implemented in the
Python
test runs at a “new control room” in the building 892
Gigabit Ethernet
tests on 2-16 slaves (tested on current event builders)
various message size (100 B-500 kB)
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

12. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
Results: Number of exchanged messages
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

13. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
Results: Transfer speed
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

14. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
Results: System stability
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

15. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
Graphical User Interface: Run control (1/2)
stand alone application implemented in the QT framework
DIM connection to the master node
remote control
multiple operators, multiple modes
Run control user interface: user mode
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

16. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
Graphical User Interface: Run control (2/2)
Run control user interface: expert mode
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

17. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
Graphical User Interface: Message browser
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

18. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
Conclusion and outlook
1 What has been done:
DATE evaluation
basic run control application:
master node
slave nodes
graphical user interface
MessageLogger, MessageBrowser
2 Next steps:
implement reporting of errors in data
finalize the description of the behaviour of the system
implement the software that simulates the behaviour of the
TCS controller and AMC cards
documentation (!)
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system

19. DATE evaluation
DIM evaluation
First results
The bibliography
T. Anticic et al. (ALICE DAQ Project): ALICE DAQ and ECS
User’s Guide, CERN EDMS 616039, January 2006
C. Gaspar: Distributed Information Management System
[online]. 2011.
Available at: http://dim.web.cern.ch/dim/
V. Jarý: DATE evaluation. In: COMPASS DAQ meeting,
Geneva, Switzerland, 29 March 2011
V. Jarý, T. Liška, M. Virius: Developing a New DAQ
Software For the COMPASS Experiment. In: 37th Software
Development, Ostrava: VŠB – Technická univerzita
Ostrava, 2011, ISBN 978-80-248-2425-3. pp. 35–41.
M. Bodlák, V. Jarý, J. Nový Software for the new COMPASS data acquisition system