Download Comments - UCL HEP

Supplement to the NEMO3 Betabeta Shift Manual
(NB The comments below refer to the 3 November 2009 issue)
1. Getting Started: What You Need
If you are operating a shift from a UCL desktop, you should not need any additional
hardware or software (but note that you need to insert “-XY” into the initial connection
command, so that it becomes ssh –XY [email protected])
However, because shifts normally involve accessing NEMO at times when you will not
be in the office, you will also need either a laptop or home PC with internet access and
appropriate software installed. (No doubt there are lots of variations, and I only know
how I did it. If this does not work for you, or you prefer to use a different method, consult
Computing Support.)
I use a laptop running Windows. I had to download the following additional software, all
of which can be downloaded for free:
Putty
Xming
Xming fonts
Before commencing a session you need to “launch” Xming (e.g. by double clicking on
the icon) and open Putty.
In the “Putty Configuration” dialogue box, make sure “SSH” is clicked, and type
[email protected]
in the box marked “Host name or IP address”. It is a good idea to save this address by
using the appropriate button in the dialogue box, and giving it a suitable name, so that
you don’t have to type it again; for subsequent sessions, you then only need to use the
“load” button). In the left had side of the box (headed “Category”), under “Connection”
and “SSH” there should be a branch labelled “X11” – click that and ensure that “Enable
X11 Forwarding” is ticked. Then click “open”. You will then get a black “putty” box
opening, with a command line and prompt; from this point on you can follow the
instructions in the manual (the passwords will have been given to you separately).
2. About the Manual
The manual is very comprehensive, although it does omit some of the more basic
information, which is one reason for writing this supplement. I also found that the way
the manual is written does not make it easy for one to get an intuitive “feel” for what you
are actually expected to do. Accordingly I give below (3) a quick summary.
The manual was written in English, but probably by a French person; this is fairly clear
from the use of some words which exist in both languages but have different meanings in
each. A classic example is the word “control”. You will see from the manual that the
French use this word where we would say either “monitor” (e.g. as applied to data, when
there is no suggestion of modification) or “ensure”. In this supplement I will give
alternatives for any words which may not be clear to a non-French, non-native English
speaker.
3. Summary of Duties
You are expected to:
monitor the betabeta run at regular intervals – in practice this means every few hours;
stop the run, do a laser run, switch the Geiger HV off and on, and start a new run twice
a day. (No times are given for these – the manual refers to them as “morning” and
“evening” duties – but see the next section on timing);
carry out certain additional procedures (such as stopping the run or adjusting voltages
etc) if the on-screen diagnostics and the manual require you to.
4. Timing
You are expected to monitor a run after 50,000 events have been collected. Data rates
vary, but as a rule you may have to wait 3 to 4 hours to get this many events.
Consequently, if you don’t want to have to get up in the middle of the night (and there
does not seem to be a requirement to do this) you should aim to start the evening run at
least 4½ hours before you plan to go to bed. Working back, and allowing half an hour to
do the laser run, switch HV off/on, etc, clearly you will need to have started the morning
run at least 4½ hours before that; but, since presumably it is better for the two runs to
have equal amounts of data, you should aim to stop the previous evening’s run, and start
the morning one, as soon as you get up. However, be prepared for this neat schedule to be
disrupted by unexpected incidents and outages!
5. Diagnostic Tools
There are several ways of obtaining information about how the run is proceeding.
A good starting point is to look at the VNCViewer window (see manual, section 2.1).
When a run is proceeding, this window will give you the current number of events to the
nearest 5000, and the event rate. It is also used for stopping and starting runs, including
laser runs.
Another window you should look at regularly is the one which shows the status of the
Geiger High Voltage supplies; this is part of the system known as the slow control, and
access to it is described in section 4.2 of the manual. This will tell you if the HV supplies
are on or off, whether voltages are correct, and whether there are any excessive currents.
Finally there is the data survey program. (See manual section 3.2). The graphics box
which opens up half way through this procedure usually covers up the command line, and
has to be moved in order to input the remaining commands! You can run a survey on any
betabeta or file, whether currently running or finished, or on a completed laser file. Some
of the information presented (usually only that printed in red) needs to be written into the
log. The survey program also tells you whether an adjustment to the Geiger HV is
required, and by how much.
6. Calibration
The manual does not really mention the three-weekly calibration runs with the
radioactive sources. (The contents page promises a Section 8, “Calibration Runs”, but it
is not there!)
However, if you look at the manual for the calibration runs, it says that at the beginning
of the calibration run “the person in betabeta shift stops the betabeta run and decreases
the Geiger HV by 50 volts”. This is not correct. In fact it is a third agency – one might
call that person “the Shift Supervisor” – who does this. At the end of the calibration
procedure, the Shift Supervisor also informs the person on the betabeta shift that normal
running can resume. So, if your shift includes a calibration, it will not really start until
Thursday evening, since currently the calibrations are done on Wednesdays and
Thursdays.
7. Comments on the Manual, section by section
Section 1:
Paragraph 2, last sentence: I think this means “so if there are fewer than 50,000 events the
survey still has some limited significance”
Section 1.1:
Subsection 3: the first “control” here means “check”; the reference should be to section
2.2, not 1.2; and the second “control” means “monitor”. NB I have found that , during the
laser run, there is no command prompt, so it is not possible to carry out the tasks listed
here at that time; instead I do most of them after the new betabeta run has started, except
for the HV check (required in order to find out if there is a delta-V request) which I do
before the old run finishes. If anyone knows a way round this please tell me!
Subsection 6: “Control” here means “monitor”.
Subsection 7: Calo runs are no longer done, so this subsection should be ignored.
Subsection 8: “Control” here means “monitor”.
Subsection 9: Note that the reference to calo runs should be ignored.
Section 1.2:
Subsection 4: see Section 1.1 Subsection 3.
Subsection 7: see Section 1.1 Subsection 8.
Section 1.3:
Heading: “Control” here means “Check”.
Subsection 1: “controlling” here means “monitoring”
Subsection 2: see Section 1.1 Subsection 8.
Section 2.3:
Subsection 2.3.1: Make sure that you have the correct prompt, nemoacq@lsmlx4:~$,
and not the laser prompt, as the procedure will still work if you enter the command at the
laser prompt, but the resulting data file will be stored as a laser file! If there is no window
open with the nemoacq@lsmlx4:~$ prompt, I have found that clicking on the “Start”
button in the bottom left corner of the window will display a menu including the option
“xterm”; clicking on this will open a new window with (hopefully) the right prompt.
(NB If you are new to NEMO, you will probably find, as I did, that the system will not
accept your name so you will have to put in one of the three names suggested. Note that
the manual advises you to then contact Bernard Humbert to get your name registered as
an operator; however it is not clear how one contacts M Humbert as he is not listed on the
NEMO website.)
Subsection 2.3.2: I found the comment at the end of this section about keeping the xrc
acquisition window open rather baffling. When you close the VNC window, the whole
thing disappears; whether the xrc window is still “open” somewhere inside it is perhaps
an interesting philosophical question (a bit like the light in the fridge …) but it would
probably be best to interpret this remark as “do not close the xrc acquisition window”.
In the sentence about files at the end of this subsection, “control” clearly means “check”.
I am not sure what the second half of the sentence is saying, but it is good practice to
check this anyway.
Section 2.4:
As calo runs are no longer done, this section can be ignored.
Section 2.5:
An “important remark” advises that “if the acquisition does not start running after two
minutes” the operator should “click on “start” manually and wait one minute”. I am not
sure what this means; the only “start” button on the screen that one can click on is the one
in the bottom left hand corner, and this only brings up a menu; it is not clear what one
does next.
Section 2.7:
Subsections 2.7.5 & 2.7.6: The word “bottom” here presumably means “button”!
Section 3.2:
The figures referred to here are presumably figs 1-4 rather than 3.1-3.4, since the latter do
not exist.
Section 4.1:
Subsection 4.1.1:
“Do not control the acquisition crate on PC2 …” presumably means “do not connect to
the acquisition crate on PC2 …”.
Section 4.2:
“Visualise” in the heading presumably means “display”.
Section 4.3:
Subsection 4.3.2: Both “check” and “control” have been used here. For “control”, read
“check”.
Sections 4.5, 4.6:
All the actions listed are done with the mouse; so when it says “press Enter” it means you
have to click on the “Enter” button on the screen.
Section 4.7:
This describes the procedure for checking the coil voltage and current. This is not one of
the daily tasks listed in 1.1 – 1.4. Consequently I cannot comment on this section. (NB
Note that the text refers the reader to section 6.7 in the event that the voltage differs from
the normal operating value; however, heading 6.7 is followed by the words “to be
written”.
Section 4.8 – 4.12
These sections relate to adding or removing PM channels, switching PMs on and off, and
modifying their voltages. These are not actions that are normally done as part of the shift;
consequently I cannot comment on these.
Section 5.1 – 5.9
These sections refer to contingencies that I did not encounter during my shift. It seems
likely that “control” in these sections is to be taken to mean “monitor”.
Section 5.10 – 5.11
These are just headings; there is no text.
Section 6.2
Again, the word “control” here seems to mean “monitor” or “check”.
Section 6.3 – 6.4
These sections refer to contingencies that I did not encounter during my shift. It seems
likely that “control” in these sections is to be taken to mean “check”.
Section 6.5 – 6.7
These are just headings; there is no text. (NB In the heading of section 6.5 the word
“shortcut” probably means “short circuit”.)
Section 7
As with sections 6.5 – 6.7, it says “To be written” under the heading for section 7.
However there is some text beneath that but it is not clear whether the text is complete or
accurate.
8. Communications
The calibration manual lists some telephone numbers to contact if there is a problem, but
these numbers are not reproduced in the Betabeta Shift Manual, so I have copied them
below:
Georges:
33 (0)1 64 46 84 71 (LAL - Orsay)
Xavier:
33 (0)1 64 46 85 87 (LAL - Orsay)
33 (0)6 20 04 50 66 (mobile phone)
Christine:
33 (0)5 57 12 08 61 (CENBG - Bordeaux)
33 (0)6 18 50 62 24 (mobile phone)
LSM :
33 (0)4 79 05 08 08 (lab in the tunnel)