The National Ignition Facility Integrated Computer Control System - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The National Ignition Facility Integrated Computer Control System John P. Woodruff NIF Project Software Architect Lawrence Livermore National Lab Presented at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center 13 April 2000

The National Ignition Facility is a high-energy laser for inertial confinement fusion research Optics assembly building Cavity mirror mount assembly Pockels cell assembly Amplifier Spatial filters Control room Master oscillator room Power conditioning Switchyard transmission support structure lines Amplifier power conditioning modules Periscope polarizer mount assembly Beam control & laser diagnostic systems NIF Project Team Pre-amplifier modules Lawrence Livermore National Lab Diagnostics Los Alamos National Lab building Transport turning Sandia National Lab Target chamber mirrors Final optics Univ.. of Rochester/Lab for Laser Energetics system NIF-0046265 2-jpw/jj

Agenda for Presentation � Requirements for NIF Computer Controls – Subsystems and operational scenarios – Typical user interface � Integrated Timing System requirements and performance � ICCS Software Architecture – Distributed computational resources – Frameworks – Reusable abstractions – Construction of executable processes from generic templates � CORBA communication infrastructure – Role of interoperable distributed objects – Performance measurements NIF-0046265 3-jpw/jj

Computer control system functional requirements � Centralized control and monitoring of laser equipment � Maintain machine configuration and operational history � Coordinate shot countdown and data archiving � Conduct shot in ‘real-time’ over 2 second period � Conduct automated shot every 8 hours with 7 by 24 operation NIF-0046265 4-jpw/jj

ICCS is a distributed system that does not have hard real time requirements � Supervisory software is event driven – Operator-initiated actions and scripted sequences do not require specific response times – Speed requirements derive from operator needs for interactive response – Status information is propagated from the laser to updates on graphic user screens � No process-related hard deadlines must be met – Several hours of preparation precede shot – Shot executes in microseconds, controlled by dedicated hardware – Data gathering and reporting occurs in minutes after the shot � Some process controls are encapsulated in front-ends – Automatic alignment – Capacitor charging NIF-0046265 5-jpw/jj

The functional system description of the control system maps to distributed architecture Supervisor System (Distributed Software) Distribution Infrastructure Increasing Integration Front-end Processors and Controllers (Distributed Hardware) NIF Cable Plant and Control Points NIF-0046265 6-jpw/jj

Functionality is partitioned into subsystems Shot Director Shot Integration Optical Beam Laser Target Power Optical Shot Pulse Control Diagnostics Diagnostics Conditioning Switch Services Generation Vertical subsystems Supervisory Subsystems Deformable Master Switch Laser Energy Mirror Oscillator Pulser Automatic Preamplifier Target Power Plasma Industrial Laser Power Alignment Module Diagnostics Conditioning Pulser Controls Wavefront Precision Beam Pulse Image Diagnostics Transport Diagnostics Processor Application FEPs High Alignment Resolution Digital Video Timing Controls Video Service FEPs NIF-0046265 7-jpw/jj

The hardware boundary is the solid ground on which we build our software architecture � The control points are relatively inflexible – NIF equipment will evolve only slowly – Changes to equipment will be expensive – Therefore the software can expect to evolve slowly along with equipment evolution � By contrast, the user interfaces and experimental execution plans will evolve more rapidly – The user community will learn innovative ways to use the facility – Experimental campaigns will arise in response to researchers’ creativity NIF-0046265 8-jpw/jj

A typical user interface shows broad-view status and offers pop-up control panels NIF-0046265 9-jpw/jj

Activities that constitute a shot cycle are defined as abstract state transitions Secondary Retry Shot Analyze Shot & Update I IV II III End System Begin Interlock V Post Populate Implement Shot Ready Shot & Countdown Countdown VI Plan Plan Cycle Cycle Verify Archive Target Shot Concurrent Primary System Shot Shot! Maintenance Activities 3–7 hours 30 minutes ~10 minutes Cleanup (variable) Activities NIF-0046265 10-jpw/jj

NIF shot in ‘real-time’ lasts 2 seconds under control of dedicated hardware T -1 Abort System - suspend wavefront control Target PRE-SHOT POST-SHOT T 0 1 s 1 ms 1 s 1 ms 1 µs 1 µs Extended Range Fast Timing ±5 s (100 ns) Fast Timing Computer Computer Computer ±10 ms (1 ns) Network Network Network Precision Timing ±1 µs (30 ps) Lamp drivers Trigger PEPC Arm video switch PEPC Simmer Stop PEPC Simmer Start digitizers Framing Examples Cameras Transient Digitizers The Shot NIF-0046265 11-jpw/jj

The timing system orchestrates laser firing and triggering of diagnostics Laser Diagnostics Energy Power Imaging Beginning of time Optical Amplifier Optical Target Pulse Lamps Diagnostics Switch Generation Power Conditioning Integrated Timing System Optical Path Triggers (to 30 psec resolution) NIF-0046265 12-jpw/jj

Trigger System Requirements Extended Fast units Precision Range units # of channels 150 1900 50 Minimum +/- 1 sec. +/- 55 msec. +/- 10 usec. range Resolution <100 ns < 1 ns 20 ps (setting) Stability <1 ms (jitter & <100 ps RMS <20 ps RMS (jitter) wander) (over 10 sec) (over 10 sec) Stability See above < 500 ps - pk to pk <100 ps 95 % (wander) (over 7 days) (over 7 days) NIF-0046265 13-jpw/jj

Trigger system architecture ITS Trigger system is divided into two functional sub-systems Local Timing Sub- Facility Timing Sub-system systems located in 14 Located in one area of NIF areas of NIF 1x8 FO Master 8 ch Delay Fan Splitters Generators Timing 14 ea.. out Transmitter Rcvrs Up to 4 Up to 32 1 unassigned per Zone per Zone 16 outputs. 14 ea.. 14 Zones Ref. Master Timing Measurement Local sub-system Timing Single mode Fiber Optics components FEP connects Facility and Local Timing hardware Facility Timing FEP NIF Control Network Trigger System parameters set via users using computers, GUI and NIF Controls Network NIF-0046265 14-jpw/jj

First-article timing components have been demonstrated to exceed NIF requirements Parameter Specification Verified Delay range 2 sec 2 sec Resolution < 20 ps 7 ps Short-term stability < 20 ps RMS 5 ps RMS Long-term stability < 100 ps < 50 ps Timing transmitter Measurement system Precision delay generator NIF-0046265 15-jpw/jj

The computer network employs switching technology to assure performance 8 Supervisory Consoles Two Dual-Monitor Users & Workstations per Console External Databases Core ATM 1 G b/s Firewall 155 M b/s Ethernet Switch Remote Switch Workstations Servers Edge Edge 24 Automatic 200 Edge Ethernet Ethernet Video Switches Alignment Switch Switch Digitizers Servers 2,000 loops 500 TV Cameras Front End Front End 300 Legend Processors FEPs Processors ATM OC-3 155 Mb/s (Fiber) Ethernet 100 Mb/s Ethernet 10 and 100 Mb/s NIF-0046265 16-jpw/jj

Software applications are built upon a framework of distributed services Workstation Server Integration Services Supervisory Console Database - System manager Operator Status Event - History - Device hierarchy - Shots Controls Display Log - Access control - Configuration Software Distribution Bus (exists on network) CORBA Object Request Broker Device Status Control Monitor 300 front-end processors interface to NIF Controller equipment Interface Driver Front End Processor Software objects representing control points “plug in” to the software distribution bus NIF-0046265 17-jpw/jj

The ICCS software architecture centers on widely used “Framework” components � Our frameworks have been discovered by domain analysis – Experience with similar experimental facilities – System requirements that span subsystems – Abstractions of services � The dozen frameworks fall into three categories – Abstract services – “System Manager” starts processes, observes performance – Architecture - specific services – “Configuration” initializes the state of persistent objects – “Sequence control” embeds a scripting language into control objects – NIF - specific operational services – “Shot life cycle” abstracts the states that all subsystems enact in an experiment NIF-0046265 18-jpw/jj

These abstract frameworks are being built with prospective reuse in mind � Managing the lives of processes and application objects – System manager – Generic main programs – Configuration: delivers database services � Organizing operational records – Message Log – Machine history – Shot Data archive � Distributing up-to-date device status – Status monitor: polls locally and pushes updates � Managing interactions with operators – Graphic user interface – Reservation – Sequence control language – Alert notification � Implementing the state transitions in an experiment NIF-0046265 19-jpw/jj