A generic finite state machine framework for the ACNET control system

A significant level of automation and flexibility has been added to the ACNET control system through the development of a Java-based Finite State Machine (FSM) infrastructure. These FSMs are integrated into ACNET and allow users to easily build, test and execute scripts that have full access to ACNET's functionality. In this paper, a description will be given of the FSM design and its ties to the Java-based Data Acquisition Engine (DAE) framework. Each FSM is part of a client-server model with FSM display clients using Remote Method Invocation (RMI) to communicate with DAE servers heavily coupled to ACNET. A web-based monitoring system that allows users to utilize browsers to observe persistent FSMs will also be discussed. Finally, some key implementations such as the crash recovery FSM developed for the Electron Cooling machine protection system will be presented.