CERN Accelerating science

The Electromagnetic Calorimeter (ECAL) is one of the sub-detectors of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. The Detector Control System (DCS) that has been developed and implemented for the CMS ECAL was deployed in accordance with the LHC schedule and has been supporting the CMS data-taking since LHC physics runs started in 2009. During these years, the control system has been regularly adapted according to operational experience and new requirements, always respecting the constraints imposed on significant changes to a running system. Several hardware and software upgrades and system extensions were therefore deferred to the first LHC Long Shutdown (LS1). This paper presents the main architectural differences between the system that supported the CMS ECAL during its first years and the new design for the coming physics runs after LS1. Details on the upgrade planning, including the certification methods performed in the CMS ECAL DCS laboratory facilities, reports on the implementation progress and the expectations for the post-LS1 system are highlighted.

The current shutdown of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), following three successful years of physics data-taking, provides an opportunity for major upgrades to be performed on the Detector Control System (DCS) of the Electromagnetic Calorimeter (ECAL) of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment. The upgrades involve changes to both hardware and software, with particular emphasis on taking advantage of more powerful servers and updating third-party software to the latest supported versions. The considerable increase in available processing power enables a reduction from fifteen to three or four servers. To host the control system on fewer machines and to ensure that previously independent software components could run side-by-side without incompatibilities, significant changes in the software and databases were required. Additional work was undertaken to modernise and concentrate I/O interfaces. The challenges to prepare and validate the hardware and software upgrades are described along with details of the experience of migrating to this newly consolidated DCS.

This paper discusses the evolution of the Detector Control System (DCS) designed and implemented for the Electromagnetic Calorimeter (ECAL) of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) as well as the operational experience acquired during the LHC physics data taking periods of 2010 and 2011. The current implementation in terms of functionality and planned hardware upgrades are presented. Furthermore, a project for reducing the long-term software maintenance, including a year-long detailed analysis of the existing applications, is put forward and the current outcomes which have informed the design decisions for the next CMS ECAL DCS software generation are described. The main goals for the new version are to minimize external dependencies enabling smooth migration to new hardware and software platforms and to maintain the existing functionality whilst substantially reducing support and maintenance effort through homogenization, simplification and standardization of the control system software.

The Detector Control System (DCS) software of the Electromagnetic Calorimeter (ECAL) of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at CERN is designed primarily to enable safe and efficient operation of the detector during Large Hadron Collider (LHC) data-taking periods. Through a manual analysis of the code and the adoption of ConQAT [1], a software quality assessment toolkit, the CMS ECAL DCS team has made significant progress in reducing complexity and improving code quality, with observable results in terms of a reduction in the effort dedicated to software maintenance. This paper explains the methodology followed, including the motivation to adopt ConQAT, the specific details of how this toolkit was used and the outcomes that have been achieved. [1] ConQAT, Continuous Quality Assessment Toolkit; https://www.conqat.org/