Software Solutions for Dynamic Configuration and Deployment of EPICS Application for MTCA.4 Chassis Management

K. Kłys, W. Cichalewski, W. Jałmużna, A. Napieralski, P. Perek (Lodz Univ. of Techn., Poland), A. Persson, A. Lindh Olsson (ESS, Sweden)

In the European Spallation Source (ESS) accelerator, which is currently being built in Lund, Sweden, the typical hardware platform for fast acquisition devices is Micro Telecommunications Computing Architecture.4 (MTCA.4). A major part of the LLRF control system devices are designed as MTCA.4 modules - Advanced Mezzanine Carrier (AMCs) or Rear Transition Modules (RTMs). The main feature of the mentioned standard is its high reliability and maintainability. Those aspects are crucial in terms of keeping the accelerator in its operational state. Thanks to the management layer in MTCA.4 which is based on Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) protocol it is possible to control and monitor modules' states. The paper presents the software's development process supporting MTCA.4 chassis management. It shows the evolution of the proposed tool (in two phases), and how it has been modified and improved thanks to users' feedback. It explains why we started our work with an EPICS application with a single Input/Output Controller (IOC) and why our final solution is composed of several separate modules. Finally, the paper describes tests and activities performed to confirm the proper functioning of the software. It also discusses areas of possible improvements and encountered issues.