New developments of the GANIL control system

Since the first ion beam, the GANIL accelerator has been driven by a Control System built around a minicomputer MITRA 125 and a distributed intelligence consisting of Programmable Controllers and INTEL 8080-equipped autonomous CAMAC Controllers. CAMAC is the digital transmission standard adopted to interface the processors to the GANIL facilities. In order to cope with the growing needs of the accelerator operation, many developments of the Control System have been carried out during the last years or are underway. After a brief description of the GANIL Control System, this paper describes the major improvements undertaken in four main directions: a) Upgrading the Control Computer. The minicomputer MITRA 125 will be replaced by a faster one equipped with much larger memories and disk capabilities. b) Introducing more powerful local intelligence. An autonomous CAMAC Controller called DIVA 68C using the 68000 microprocessor has been developed. Also, the 68000 will be used in a general purpose CAMAC module, the first application of which is to replace the existing data link modules. c) Improving the human-machine interface with the use of color graphic terminals. d) Meeting the requirements for the coming second injector. For this purpose, a fully equipped auxiliary console is being installed near the main console for operation by summer 1985. (orig.)