ICALEPCS2013 - List of Authors (Ratel, J.)

Paper

Title

Page

Prototype of a Simple ZeroMQ-Based RPC in Replacement of CORBA in NOMAD

654

Y. Le Goc, F. Cecillon, C. Cocho, A. Elaazzouzi, J. Locatelli, P. Mutti, H. Ortiz, J. Ratel
ILL, Grenoble, France

The NOMAD instrument control software of the Institut Laue-Langevin is a client server application. The communication between the server and its clients is performed with CORBA, which has now major drawbacks like the lack of support and a slow or non-existing evolution. The present paper describes the implementation of the recent and promising ZeroMQ technology in replacement to CORBA. We present the prototype of a simple RPC built on top of ZeroMQ and the performant Google Protocol Buffers serialization tool, to which we add a remote method dispatch layer. The final project will also provide an IDL compiler restricted to a subset of the language so that only minor modifications to our existing IDL interfaces and class implementations will have to be made to replace the communication layer in NOMAD.

Poster TUPPC042 [1.637 MB]

TUPPC083

FPGA Implementation of a Digital Constant Fraction for Fast Timing Studies in the Picosecond Range

774

P. Mutti, J. Ratel, F. Rey, E. Ruiz-Martinez
ILL, Grenoble, France

Thermal or cold neutron capture on different fission systems is an excellent method to produce a variety of very neutron-rich nuclei. Since neutrons at these energies bring in the reaction just enough energy to produce fission, the fragments remain neutron-rich due to the negligible neutron evaporation thus allowing detailed nuclear structure studies. In 2012 and 2013 a combination of EXOGAM, GASP and Lohengrin germanium detectors has been installed at the PF1B cold neutron beam of the Institut Laue-Langevin. The present paper describes the digital acquisition system used to collect information on all gamma rays emitted by the decaying nuclei. Data have been acquired in a trigger-less mode to preserve a maximum of information for further off-line treatment with a total throughput of about 10 MByte/sec. Special emphasis is devoted to the FPGA implementation of an on-line digital constant fraction algorithm allowing fast timing studies in the pico second range.

Poster TUPPC083 [9.928 MB]

THCOAAB08

NOMAD Goes Mobile

1070

J. Locatelli, F. Cecillon, C. Cocho, A. Elaazzouzi, Y. Le Goc, P. Mutti, H. Ortiz, J. Ratel
ILL, Grenoble, France

The commissioning of the new instruments at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) has shown the need to extend instrument control outside the classical desktop computer location. This, together with the availability of reliable and powerful mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets has triggered a new branch of development for NOMAD, the instrument control software in use at the ILL. Those devices, often considered only as recreational toys, can play an important role in simplifying the life of instrument scientists and technicians. Performing an experiment not only happens in the instrument cabin but also from the office, from another instrument, from the lab and from home. The present paper describes the development of a remote interface, based on Java and Android Eclipse SDK, communicating with the NOMAD server using CORBA via wireless network. Moreover, the application is distributed on “Google Play” to minimise the installation and the update procedures.

Slides THCOAAB08 [2.320 MB]

FRCOAAB05

JOGL Live Rendering Techniques in Data Acquisition Systems

1477

C. Cocho, F. Cecillon, A. Elaazzouzi, Y. Le Goc, J. Locatelli, P. Mutti, H. Ortiz, J. Ratel
ILL, Grenoble, France

One of the major challenges in instrument control is to provide a fast and scientifically correct representation of the data collected by the detector through the data acquisition system. Despite the availability nowadays of a large number of excellent libraries for off-line data plotting, the real-time 2D and 3D data rendering still suffers of performance issues related namely to the amount of information to be displayed. The current paper describes new methods of image generation (rendering) based on JOGL library used for data acquisition at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) on instruments that require either high image resolution or large number of images rendered at the same time. These new methods involve the definition of data buffers and the usage of the GPU memory, technique known as Vertex Buffer Object (VBO). Implementation of different modes of rendering, on-screen and off-screen, will be also detailed.

Slides FRCOAAB05 [1.422 MB]

Paper	Title	Page
TUPPC042	Prototype of a Simple ZeroMQ-Based RPC in Replacement of CORBA in NOMAD	654
	Y. Le Goc, F. Cecillon, C. Cocho, A. Elaazzouzi, J. Locatelli, P. Mutti, H. Ortiz, J. Ratel ILL, Grenoble, France
	The NOMAD instrument control software of the Institut Laue-Langevin is a client server application. The communication between the server and its clients is performed with CORBA, which has now major drawbacks like the lack of support and a slow or non-existing evolution. The present paper describes the implementation of the recent and promising ZeroMQ technology in replacement to CORBA. We present the prototype of a simple RPC built on top of ZeroMQ and the performant Google Protocol Buffers serialization tool, to which we add a remote method dispatch layer. The final project will also provide an IDL compiler restricted to a subset of the language so that only minor modifications to our existing IDL interfaces and class implementations will have to be made to replace the communication layer in NOMAD.
	Poster TUPPC042 [1.637 MB]

TUPPC083	FPGA Implementation of a Digital Constant Fraction for Fast Timing Studies in the Picosecond Range	774
	P. Mutti, J. Ratel, F. Rey, E. Ruiz-Martinez ILL, Grenoble, France
	Thermal or cold neutron capture on different fission systems is an excellent method to produce a variety of very neutron-rich nuclei. Since neutrons at these energies bring in the reaction just enough energy to produce fission, the fragments remain neutron-rich due to the negligible neutron evaporation thus allowing detailed nuclear structure studies. In 2012 and 2013 a combination of EXOGAM, GASP and Lohengrin germanium detectors has been installed at the PF1B cold neutron beam of the Institut Laue-Langevin. The present paper describes the digital acquisition system used to collect information on all gamma rays emitted by the decaying nuclei. Data have been acquired in a trigger-less mode to preserve a maximum of information for further off-line treatment with a total throughput of about 10 MByte/sec. Special emphasis is devoted to the FPGA implementation of an on-line digital constant fraction algorithm allowing fast timing studies in the pico second range.
	Poster TUPPC083 [9.928 MB]

THCOAAB08	NOMAD Goes Mobile	1070
	J. Locatelli, F. Cecillon, C. Cocho, A. Elaazzouzi, Y. Le Goc, P. Mutti, H. Ortiz, J. Ratel ILL, Grenoble, France
	The commissioning of the new instruments at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) has shown the need to extend instrument control outside the classical desktop computer location. This, together with the availability of reliable and powerful mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets has triggered a new branch of development for NOMAD, the instrument control software in use at the ILL. Those devices, often considered only as recreational toys, can play an important role in simplifying the life of instrument scientists and technicians. Performing an experiment not only happens in the instrument cabin but also from the office, from another instrument, from the lab and from home. The present paper describes the development of a remote interface, based on Java and Android Eclipse SDK, communicating with the NOMAD server using CORBA via wireless network. Moreover, the application is distributed on “Google Play” to minimise the installation and the update procedures.
	Slides THCOAAB08 [2.320 MB]

FRCOAAB05	JOGL Live Rendering Techniques in Data Acquisition Systems	1477
	C. Cocho, F. Cecillon, A. Elaazzouzi, Y. Le Goc, J. Locatelli, P. Mutti, H. Ortiz, J. Ratel ILL, Grenoble, France
	One of the major challenges in instrument control is to provide a fast and scientifically correct representation of the data collected by the detector through the data acquisition system. Despite the availability nowadays of a large number of excellent libraries for off-line data plotting, the real-time 2D and 3D data rendering still suffers of performance issues related namely to the amount of information to be displayed. The current paper describes new methods of image generation (rendering) based on JOGL library used for data acquisition at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) on instruments that require either high image resolution or large number of images rendered at the same time. These new methods involve the definition of data buffers and the usage of the GPU memory, technique known as Vertex Buffer Object (VBO). Implementation of different modes of rendering, on-screen and off-screen, will be also detailed.
	Slides FRCOAAB05 [1.422 MB]