ICALEPCS2023 - List of Authors (Lukaszewski, M.)

Paper	Title	Page
THPDP076	Stream-based Virtual Device Simulation for Enhanced EPICS Integration and Automated Testing	1522
	M. Lukaszewski, K. Klys E9, London, United Kingdom
	Integrating devices into the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) can often take a suboptimal path due to discrepancies between available documentation and real device behaviour. To address this issue, we introduce "vd" (virtual device), a software for simulating stream-based virtual devices that enables testing communication without connecting to the real device. It is focused on the communication layer rather than the device’s underlying physics. The vd listens to a TCP port for client commands and employs ASCII-based byte stream communication. It offers easy configuration through a user-friendly config file containing all necessary information to simulate a device, including parameters for the simulated device and information exchanged via TCP, such as commands and queries related to each parameter. Defining the protocol for data exchange through a configuration file allows users to simulate various devices without modifying the simulator’s code. The vd’s architecture enables its use as a library for creating advanced simulations, making it a tool for testing and validating device communication and integration into EPICS. Furthermore, the vd can be integrated into CI pipelines, facilitating automated testing and validation of device communication, ultimately improving the quality of the produced control system.
DOI •	reference for this paper ※ doi:10.18429/JACoW-ICALEPCS2023-THPDP076
About •	Received ※ 06 October 2023 — Accepted ※ 08 December 2023 — Issued ※ 12 December 2023
Cite •	reference for this paper using ※ BibTeX, ※ LaTeX, ※ Text/Word, ※ RIS, ※ EndNote (xml)

Paper

Title

Page

Stream-based Virtual Device Simulation for Enhanced EPICS Integration and Automated Testing

1522

M. Lukaszewski, K. Klys
E9, London, United Kingdom

Integrating devices into the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) can often take a suboptimal path due to discrepancies between available documentation and real device behaviour. To address this issue, we introduce "vd" (virtual device), a software for simulating stream-based virtual devices that enables testing communication without connecting to the real device. It is focused on the communication layer rather than the device’s underlying physics. The vd listens to a TCP port for client commands and employs ASCII-based byte stream communication. It offers easy configuration through a user-friendly config file containing all necessary information to simulate a device, including parameters for the simulated device and information exchanged via TCP, such as commands and queries related to each parameter. Defining the protocol for data exchange through a configuration file allows users to simulate various devices without modifying the simulator’s code. The vd’s architecture enables its use as a library for creating advanced simulations, making it a tool for testing and validating device communication and integration into EPICS. Furthermore, the vd can be integrated into CI pipelines, facilitating automated testing and validation of device communication, ultimately improving the quality of the produced control system.

DOI •

reference for this paper ※ doi:10.18429/JACoW-ICALEPCS2023-THPDP076

About •

Received ※ 06 October 2023 — Accepted ※ 08 December 2023 — Issued ※ 12 December 2023

Cite •

reference for this paper using ※ BibTeX, ※ LaTeX, ※ Text/Word, ※ RIS, ※ EndNote (xml)