A linux-based DAQ system with CAMAC serial highway system

The JT-60, JAERI Tokamak 60, project is one of the projects of fusion plasma research and development with using the JT-60 machine to realize fusion power plant. In this project, an inter-shot processor based on a UNIX operating system provides a functionality of communication with a supervisory control system. It also provides a functionality to communicate with each individual diagnostic CAMAC subsystem via UNIX-ACM-A to gathering and controlling the system. The UNIX-ACM-A consists of Force CPU-5VT, which is the SPARC-based VME board computer and Kinetic 2140 VME driver to access to CAMAC subsystems with the CAMAC serial highway. The maintaining and performance issues of the system with the UNIX-ACM-A are closed up because of the system developed with older technologies, although the UNIX-ACM-A has been used without any problems. A linux-baesd DAQ system with a CAMAC serial highway system has been, therefore, developed as a part of a replaced system for JT-60 data processing system. We have developed the new system which is based on the Intel architecture CPU with a linux operating system. The new UNIX-ACM-A consists of standard personal computer with PCI bus system and Kinetic 2115 driver module to access to CAMAC subsystems with the CAMAC serial highway, because most of CAMAC subsystems are still used in the system and cannot be replaced. The driver software for Kinetic 2115 on RedHat operating system and CAMAC access library for it has been developed. They have almost the same functionalities and structures as the old ones of K2140, so as to replace to the new system easily and smoothly. The throughputs as a function of the transferred data size were measured as performances of the new system. The measurements results higher throughputs of the new developed system. The new system has been already implemented and used for the real experiment with JT-60 without any problems and with better performance than the previous system.