A distributed control system for the NAC cyclotrons

A microprocessor-based distributed control system is being developed for a 200-MeV cyclotron and two injector cyclotrons. The system will be based on at least 25 IBM PC/AT compatible microcomputers grouped into functions of operator consoles, instrumentation controllers, and database nodes communicating over an Ethernet LAN. The aims of the system design are flexibility of use, ease of configuration allowing for changing hardware and user requirements, and ready availability of data for performance analysis. >