ICALEPCS2023 - List of Authors (Matli, E.)

Paper	Title	Page
TU2AO04	Ensuring Smooth Controls Upgrades During Operation	321
	M. Pace, F. Hoguin, E. Matli, W. Sliwinski, B. Urbaniec CERN, Meyrin, Switzerland
	The CERN Accelerator Controls systems have to remain as stable as possible for operations. However, there are inevitable needs to introduce changes to provide new functionalities and conduct important consolidation activities. To deal with this, a formal procedure and approval process, the Smooth Upgrades procedure, was introduced and refined over a number of years. This involves declaring foreseen Controls changes as a function of the accelerator schedules, validating them with stakeholders, and organising their deployment in the production environment. All of this with the aim of minimising the impact on accelerator operation. The scope of this activity is CERN-wide, covering changes developed by all CERN units involved in Controls and encompassing the whole CERN accelerator and facility complex. In 2022, the mandate was further extended with a more formal approach to coordinate changes of the software interfaces of the devices running on front-end computers, which form a critical part of the smooth deployment process. Today, Smooth Upgrades are considered a key contributor to the performance and stability of the CERN Control system. This paper describes the Smooth Upgrades procedure and the underlying processes and tools such as schedule management, change management, and the monitoring of device usage. The paper also includes the major evolutions which allowed the current level of maturity and efficiency to be reached. Ideas for future improvements will also be covered.
	Slides TU2AO04 [1.506 MB]
DOI •	reference for this paper ※ doi:10.18429/JACoW-ICALEPCS2023-TU2AO04
About •	Received ※ 06 October 2023 — Revised ※ 10 October 2023 — Accepted ※ 14 December 2023 — Issued ※ 21 December 2023
Cite •	reference for this paper using ※ BibTeX, ※ LaTeX, ※ Text/Word, ※ RIS, ※ EndNote (xml)

TUPDP090	Web Application Packaging - Deploying Web Applications as Traditional Desktop Applications in CERN’s Control Centre	746
	M.H. von Hohenbühel, S. Deghaye, E. Galatas, E. Matli, E. Roux CERN, Meyrin, Switzerland
	Web applications are becoming increasingly performant and are now capable, in many cases, of replacing traditional desktop applications. There is also a user demand for web-based applications, surely linked to their modern look & feel, their ease of access, and the overall familiarity of the users with web applications due to their pervasive nature. However, when it comes to a Controls environment, the limitations caused by the fact that web applications run inside a web browser are often seen as a major disadvantage when compared to native desktop applications. In addition, applications deployed in CERN’s Control Centre are tightly integrated with the control system and use a CERN-specific launcher and manager that does not easily integrate with web browsers. This paper presents an analysis of the approaches that have been considered for deploying web applications and integrating them with CERN’s control system. The implications on the development process, the IT infrastructure, the deployment methods as well as the performance impact on the resources of the target computers are also discussed.
DOI •	reference for this paper ※ doi:10.18429/JACoW-ICALEPCS2023-TUPDP090
About •	Received ※ 10 October 2023 — Revised ※ 20 October 2023 — Accepted ※ 14 December 2023 — Issued ※ 16 December 2023
Cite •	reference for this paper using ※ BibTeX, ※ LaTeX, ※ Text/Word, ※ RIS, ※ EndNote (xml)

Paper

Title

Page

Ensuring Smooth Controls Upgrades During Operation

321

M. Pace, F. Hoguin, E. Matli, W. Sliwinski, B. Urbaniec
CERN, Meyrin, Switzerland

The CERN Accelerator Controls systems have to remain as stable as possible for operations. However, there are inevitable needs to introduce changes to provide new functionalities and conduct important consolidation activities. To deal with this, a formal procedure and approval process, the Smooth Upgrades procedure, was introduced and refined over a number of years. This involves declaring foreseen Controls changes as a function of the accelerator schedules, validating them with stakeholders, and organising their deployment in the production environment. All of this with the aim of minimising the impact on accelerator operation. The scope of this activity is CERN-wide, covering changes developed by all CERN units involved in Controls and encompassing the whole CERN accelerator and facility complex. In 2022, the mandate was further extended with a more formal approach to coordinate changes of the software interfaces of the devices running on front-end computers, which form a critical part of the smooth deployment process. Today, Smooth Upgrades are considered a key contributor to the performance and stability of the CERN Control system. This paper describes the Smooth Upgrades procedure and the underlying processes and tools such as schedule management, change management, and the monitoring of device usage. The paper also includes the major evolutions which allowed the current level of maturity and efficiency to be reached. Ideas for future improvements will also be covered.

Slides TU2AO04 [1.506 MB]

DOI •

reference for this paper ※ doi:10.18429/JACoW-ICALEPCS2023-TU2AO04

About •

Received ※ 06 October 2023 — Revised ※ 10 October 2023 — Accepted ※ 14 December 2023 — Issued ※ 21 December 2023

Cite •

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

TUPDP090

Web Application Packaging - Deploying Web Applications as Traditional Desktop Applications in CERN’s Control Centre

746

M.H. von Hohenbühel, S. Deghaye, E. Galatas, E. Matli, E. Roux
CERN, Meyrin, Switzerland

Web applications are becoming increasingly performant and are now capable, in many cases, of replacing traditional desktop applications. There is also a user demand for web-based applications, surely linked to their modern look & feel, their ease of access, and the overall familiarity of the users with web applications due to their pervasive nature. However, when it comes to a Controls environment, the limitations caused by the fact that web applications run inside a web browser are often seen as a major disadvantage when compared to native desktop applications. In addition, applications deployed in CERN’s Control Centre are tightly integrated with the control system and use a CERN-specific launcher and manager that does not easily integrate with web browsers. This paper presents an analysis of the approaches that have been considered for deploying web applications and integrating them with CERN’s control system. The implications on the development process, the IT infrastructure, the deployment methods as well as the performance impact on the resources of the target computers are also discussed.

DOI •

reference for this paper ※ doi:10.18429/JACoW-ICALEPCS2023-TUPDP090

About •

Received ※ 10 October 2023 — Revised ※ 20 October 2023 — Accepted ※ 14 December 2023 — Issued ※ 16 December 2023

Cite •

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