Difference between revisions of "G2p DAQ How-To"

Revision as of 17:13, 6 January 2012

Normal DAQ Operations

DAQ Account Info

This assumes that runcontrol is running. If not, see Cold Start in section III.

• For g2p and gep we are running two separate DAQs, one for each HRS arm.
  • LHRS DAQ is run on the adaql2 computer on the a-onl account.
  • RHRS DAQ is run on the adaql1 computer on the a-onl account.
    
    

Start and Stop Runs

• Normally, runcontrol will be already running. If not, see section on Cold Start below (for the impatient: type “startcoda”).
  • To start and stop runs, push the buttons “Start” (6th button from left, looks like >>) and “End” (5th button, looks like a box).
    • Start is the same as the sequence prestart, go
      
      

CODA Configurations

• We are using the LHRSHAP configuration for the LHRS and RHRSBUFF configuration for the RHRS.
  • These are located in the “LHRS” and “RHRS” sessions respectively.
  • The configurations should be loaded by default.
    • To change configurations, use the “Configurations” menu and select COOL.
    • If you’ve been running, you will first have to push the “Reset” (<<) button. Choose the configuration from the dialog box, then press “Download” (looks like a disk drive).
      
      
• Re: the buttons in rcgui: If you let the mouse hover over the button for a few seconds you can discover what the buttons mean because a little dialog box comes up and tells you, e.g. which button is “Start”, etc.
  
  

Deadtime Monitor

• Deadtime is displayed in the ”datamon” window – make sure you are using the one on the same computer as runcontrol.
• Datamon is probably already running near the runcontrol window.
• If it is not running, type “datamon”
  • You will need to do this for both LHRS/RHRS on adaql2/adaql1
• If the deadtime is > 30% for an extended period of time you probably need to adjust the prescale factors

Editing Prescale Factors

• Go to a-onl/prescale and edit the files “prescaleL.dat” and “prescaleR.dat”

Trigger and Scaler Overview

How to start xscaler (HRS) / view the scalers

start xscaler :

• Go to the hapc5 terminal in the middle of rack CH01A09. If it is not logged in, log in as user "adaq"
• Type ssh adaq@adaql4 and enter the password when prompted.
• Type goxscaler
• Type ./xscaler Left(Right) depending on which HRS you want

to view the scalers :

• The simplest : login to adaq l1 as adaq
• Type xscaler
• Follow what it says

Definition of g2p/gep Triggers

• T1 = R-HRS main S1.and.S2m trigger
• T2 = R-HRS efficiency (2/3 among S1,S2m,Cer)
• T3 = L-HRS main S1.and.S2 trigger
• T4 = L-HRS efficiency (2/3 among S1,S2m,Cer)
• T5 = Nothing
• T6 = Nothing
• T7 = 103kHz pulser
• T8 = 1024 Hz pulser
• T9 = Nothing

Downloading/Checking the Trigger

Throughout the course of the experiment the trigger should not change, but if the CAMAC crates lose power then you will have to download the trigger again.
To download the trigger:

1. Logon to an adaq Linux box like "adaql1" or "adaql2" as user "atrig"
2. Navigate to the "trigger" directory
3. trigsetup trigger_left(right).map
4. In the window that just opened click "download all" and verify that there are no errors

Rebooting

Quick Resets

Problems with CODA 2.6.1 can usually be solved with a simple Reset (<< in rcgui) or with a Cold Start. Call an expert if you are stuck. Do NOT waste an hour stuck on resets.

Rebooting a ROC

If a ROC seems to be hung up, you can reboot it by going to the workspace with all the small x-terms logged into the frontend computers and typing ”reboot” at the vxWorks prompt (− > reboot). Wait 2 minutes and telnet back in to verify its alive. The name of the ROC computer is normally written in the name of the xterm (hallasfi1, hallasfi2, etc). Note, if a ROC cannot be reset via the GUI, they can only be reset by typing ”reboot” at the vxWorks prompt. Another possibility is to type “ctrl-X” at the vxWorks prompt; this sometimes works when typing reboot does not work. Finally, if the above does not work one can gain access to the cpu and press the reset button (or power cycle the crate).

Special Note on ROC3

If the LHRS crate is power cycled, the boot parameters for ROC3 will need to be re-entered. The boot parameters are located in doc/vmeram g2p.doc and also on the g2p Wiki. To change the boot parameters, go to the vxWorks prompt for ROC3 and type ”c”. This will allow you to enter the parameters, one line at a time. When finished, type ”p” to print the boot parameters (and check that they are correct) then type ”@” to reboot the ROC.

If you reboot the ROC, or if something on the workstation is hung up, try pushing the ”Reset” button in runcontrol (<<” in rcgui). Then Configure, Download, and Start a run as usual. If a “quick” reset doesn’t work, try a Cold Start (see below)

Cold Restarts

To perform a cold start of the processes on the Linux computer (adaql1 or adaql2), simply type “startcoda” on the a-onl account. This performs a “kcoda” for you, as well as starts all the components you need.

Before downloading, it is first a good idea to make sure the fastbus and VME crates (i.e. the ROCs) are running. One finds that when resetting, one can frequently avoid rebooting the frontend crates, and just restart runcontrol, but if you must: Press the reset buttons for the relevant subset of crates as explained in the Reset section above. A convenient way to reset (reboot) the ROCs is to go to the adaql2 workspace with x-terms logged into each frontend computer and enter “reboot” at the vxWorks prompt − > of each ROC. But one can also use the EPICS GUI as explained above. After a few minutes, telnet back in and verify they are up. Some of the crates take longer than others to reboot. Be patient. To start everything on the workstation, type “startcoda” as explained above.

Eventually runcontrol (rcgui) will pop up. In runcontrol press the Platform button and then ”connect”. After “connect”, verify you have the correct session (LHRS/RHRS) and configuration (LHRSHAP/RHRSBUFF). Usually you will, but if not you’ll need to select the session and config.

You may now do the “configure” by pressing the button with crossed screwdriver and wrench in the upper left corner. Be patient, configure takes awhile. Then you may download, which is the next button to the right, it looks like a tape drive. In general, the button names can be discovered by putting the mouse on it and letting it sit there for a few seconds; a small box appears with the name of the button.

To start a run, press the >> button. To end a run press the square box that’s sorta in the middle. To reset, press the << button.

If you ever logout of the DAQ computer adaql1 or adaql2 or have rebooted it, here is how to restart the preferred setup. Login to the adaql1(adaql2) console as ”adaq” and then

ssh -l a-onl adaql1(adaql2) 

emacs /prescale/prescaleL(or)R.dat 

Trouble Shooting

How to solve 100% dead time problem

If there is a 100% deadtime for more than a min, do the following

1. Stop the run, kill coda (kcoda)

2. Restart the coda by logging into a-onl account(even if you are in a-onl account).

3. In most cases this will solve the problem and if this doesn't help then reboot TS crates (type "reboot" in the ROC terminal) and start coda again.

4. If this doesn't help then reboot all the crates and start coda again.

Run number synch problem

• With CODA 2.6.1 there seems to be a small probability that the run number reported by rcgui is different from the one in the data file. Firstly, the one that is correct is the one in the datafile name, which also appears as a record in the datafile, and which derives from MSQL. Secondly, fixing this goofy problem is sometimes tricky; you can try Options ... Set Run Number, but the GUI needs to be in a proper state. Or just report it to the expert and let him/her fix it.