CHANNEL ACCESS - A SOFTWARE BUS FOR THE LAACS

The host processor for a code running within a distributed process control system is often predetermined by constraints built into the software architecture of the control system. Input/output (I/O) channels directly connected to the host processors are usually easier to access in software than channels on remote processors. It is often difficult to modernize selective parts of a control system's software while leaving the other parts unchanged. Likewise, software developed at one laboratory is often difficult to integrate into a control system developed at another laboratory. Software that runs in one machine or operating-system architecture is often unable to communicate with control-system software running on a different platform. For the Los Alamos Accelerator Control System (LAACS) we have attempted to address the above difficulties with a software communication facility which we call Channel Access. Channel Access provides a "software bus" that allows programs to be connected through a network to I/O channels on real-time processors in a manner similar to the way in which hardware modules are integrated within a standardized hardware bus such as CAMAC or VME. We have already placed an operator interface on Channel Access and we are currently designing alarm, archiving and sequencing tools as well. Numerous application-specific programs use Channel Access. This paper describes the unique feature of this approach and its performance as an integral part of the Los Alamos Accelerator Control System. © 1990.