Computing and Data Acquisition

An outline of computing and data acquisition support at JRM & KSU.

As evidenced by the existence of this Web document, computing is of ever-growing importance to our scientific community. There are three families of computers available to users of the James R. Macdonald Laboratory:

We are introducing a new Linux-based multi-parameter data acquisition system to replace our aging VAX-VMS based XSYS system. There are now three data acquisition workstations, named Boltzman, Wheeler and Condon. These workstations connect to VME frontends, and via gigabit Ethernet to the central Physics Storage Area Network System (SANs), which provides safe, massive data storage. The next step will be the addition of remotely accessible Linux servers for offline data analysis.
The VAX-VMS system software licenses expired in October 2006, and our faithful old VaxStations are finally retired. Data acquisition and analysis tasks have been performed on Digital VaxStation 4000s, in concert with dedicated Motorola MVME single-card computer front ends (running the pSOSystem real-time OS) attached to CAMAC or VME electronics.
The XSYS data acquisition system was used. An XSYS & VAX VMS FAQ, a VMEDAQ primer and a complete VMEDAQ user's manual are available in print and on-line, along with Kevin Carnes' introductory JRM DAQ seminar PowerPoint presentation.
Scientific computing is provided by a network of Scientific Linux clusters and workstations. A wide variety of computing tools are provided by this system, along with access to other KSU computing resources and to the Internet.
Finally, hordes of PC microcomputers are available for process control, data reduction and presentation graphics work. These PCs are part of a Windows XP network domain that provides system flexibility and ease of maintenance. All basic services of our network are now provided by clustered servers running Windows Server 2003. We are beginning a system-wide upgrade to Windows Vista.

Users new to the system should consult the New User's Guide for helpful hints and important information.

All of these machine families are extensively networked together to provide easy transfer of data and maintain maximum user productivity and happiness. A campus-wide wireless network is now available, too.

In the event of user unhappiness with VAX/VMS/XSYS systems, contact Kevin Carnes; for JRM Lab PC support, contact Vince Needham; and finally, for general support or for Sun/Unix/Linux problems, contact the Physics Computer Support Center (PCSC).

Computing Facilities