Front-End-Electronics Communication software for multiple detectors in the ALICE experiment

In the ALICE experiment at CERN, the Detector Control System (DCS) employs several interacting software components to accomplish its task of ensuring the correct operation and monitoring of the experiment. This paper describes the Front-End-Electronics Communication (FeeCommunication) software and its role within the DCS. The FeeCommunication software's central task is passing configuration and monitoring data between the top level DCS process control and the field devices of several detectors within ALICE. The lowest level of the FeeCommunication software runs on the DCS boards, specialized embedded systems which are ill direct contact with the field devices and are physically located within the detector. The middle and upper layers run oil standard PC hardware located in the counting room or other external locations. This paper focuses on the design and implementation of the FeeCommunication software and the steps that were taken to fulfill the imposed reliability and performance requirements,. specifically those related to safe operation in environments exposed to radiation and magnetic fields. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.