Notes on Radio Astron Control/Monitoring Software

Cass House Monitor and Control Interface MR

The following are thoughts/assertions inspired from Galen's MR:

  • The software can reside inside a manager, but no scan-coordination is needed.
  • Monitoring and logging can use the basic monitor substrate, with transporter, samplers, sampler2log'ers etc.
  • Control interfaces?
  • Status Screen
    • Curses (gbtstatus derivative) or web-based monitor
  • Variable logging rates
  • Messages/Alarms
    • Follow GBT conventions: When in 'off/standby', alarms are disabled. In standby logging is active. In all other states both alarms and monitoring are active.
  • Other control systems are accessed via Windows machines running vnc or rdesktop

With respect to the specific MR interface gadgetry:
  • Alarms trigger levels/ranges should be configurable
  • Monitor rates are variable
  • The gadget (a PIC) is accessed via a TCP socket
    • Need to identify detailed commands
  • The PIC communicates via a serial line. The TCP socket is a terminal server. Review info/docs on this.

PIC Command set: [From https://safe.nrao.edu/wiki/bin/view/GBT/CassHouseMnC]

  • To read an analog monitor channel an 'R' (for 'Read') followed by the channel number followed by a carriage return sent to the serial port will return a raw voltage in the format %4.3f followed by a carriage return.
  • Reading a digital channel, monitor or control, is similar to reading an analog channel, 'R' followed by the channel number followed by a carriage return, and will return a 0 or 1 followed by a carriage return.
  • To write to a digital control channel a 'W' (for 'Write') followed by the channel number, followed by the 0 or 1 value to be written followed by a carriage return is sent to the serial port. Nothing is returned by this command.

Examples:
  • For example, to write a '1' to the Ku Downconverter attenuator bit A3 (channel C4 of the shielded rack module), WC41(carriage return) is sent to the serial port. This command does not return anything.
  • For example, to read the NRAO +15 Volt supply voltage RA5(carriage return) would be sent to the serial port for the Shielded Rack module. '4.000(carriage return)' would be returned. multiplied by 3.75, the multiplier in the database, then displayed/logged as '15.000'.

Questions:
  • How does the system 'know' when a tracking pass is active vs. inactive?
  • Security is a non-trivial topic. Need to make sure this doesn't mean using a hardened secure web server etc.
  • How much time am I allocated towards this?
  • I need to get Galen et al. to attach referenced documents

-- JoeBrandt - 2013-02-19
Topic revision: r3 - 2013-02-27, JoeBrandt
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