Experimental Physics and
Industrial Control System

[email protected] · Wed, 7 Nov 2001 13:39:41 -0600

We use optimation's 4 port rtu and a 8/4 point relay output module which grounds 
an in-house board on the P1 connector to provide a sysfail (does not cycle 
power).

www.optimate.com:  base is $149, PS $15, relay module $53/$42.

The base also includes an RS232 port which I use to monitor vxWorks booting etc.
The RS232 port is limited to a 40 char buffer and must be polled at 30 Hz (9600 
baud) in order to not miss characters.  There is an additional 2 port module 
which can be added to the configuration.  We have also used this connection to 
control an RS232 interface for a MUX card.

The significant advantage to this solution besides cost, is the extra modules 
which can be added to the base which include ADCs and counters for environmental 
monitoring.  Although I haven't peruaded anyone to amplify the signal(TTL) from a 
chipmuck appropriate for the counter, I believe it would be an excellent solution 
for radiation monitoring.  I've written a reasonable vxworks library which allows 
for module interrogation so 4 port and 8 port modules can be combined into one 12 
port module located in any available slot.

The I/O is via UDP/IP for simple data query/answer for the specified module.  
Each module has an ID and the configuration can be retrieved.

The downside to this solution is the lack of TTL I/O, most implementations is 
geared around industrial controls for switch control.

Just thought you might want to know about this solution, I'm not pushing 
anything.

--charlie briegel, Fermilab Controls

From:	SMTP%"[email protected]"  "john sinclair"    7-NOV-2001 
09:18:38.98
To:	[email protected]
CC:	[email protected]
Subj:	Re: Using a terminal server to catch boot messages

Date: Wed, 07 Nov 2001 10:15:43 -0500 (EST)
From: john sinclair <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Using a terminal server to catch boot messages
In-reply-to: <Pine.GSO.4.10.10111061348270.1160-100000@mahina>
X-Sender: [email protected]
To: Nick Rees <[email protected]>
Cc: [email protected]
Message-id: <[email protected]>
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Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

We use another device to accomplish the same objectives. Its a small unit
made by Rabbit Semiconductor. We used their development kit to build a
single connection telnet server and also added a relay for remote power
cycles. The SNS guys put together a packaging design that incorporates a
powere supply, rabbit board, relay, and receptacle on a din rail. The
rabbit board sells for about $150. I don't recall the prices of the other
components. We would gladly provide our software.

Using this device we can observe VxWorks boot messages and perform a
remote power cycle of the IOC.

This is a very nice product. The development kit comes with a number of
example applications. In half a day I was talking to the board from a
telnet client and a web browser (the telnet server and http server are
different applications; I could do one or the other).

John Sinclair
[email protected]
Oak Ridge National Lab
865-576-6362   865-574-1268 (fax)

On Tue, 6 Nov 2001, Nick Rees wrote:

> All,
> 
> Just because it hasn't really been mentioned in this thread, and specific
> products may be of interest, we use remote console switches for this. The
> advantage over a terminal server is that it buffers the console output so
> you can look at recent activity, without resorting to disk files. The
> price is pretty comparable.
> 
> Our current favorite is the CMS series from Western Telematic 
> (www.wti.com). They allow multiple telnet sessions so you can still have
> all your xterms running, if you want. However, we have found that it is
> useful to have up to date firmware. $1300 for a 16 port system.
> 
> WTI also do remote power switches - the ones you telnet into and type
> 'reboot ioc1' and it very graciously interrupts the 110 volt supply from
> ioc1 for 5 seconds or so. Also useful to have. $600 for 8 separately
> switchable plugs and a total of 30 amps AC.
> 
> So, maybe a crass advert for WTI, but we find them useful since driving
> two hours to the summit just to reboot an ioc is a bit boring.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> -- 
> Nick Rees
> 
> Joint Astronomy Centre               Ph:       +1 (808) 961-3756
> 660 N. Aohoku Place                  Fax:      +1 (808) 961-6516
> Hilo, HI.  96720                     Internet: [email protected]

Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System

Experimental Physics and
Industrial Control System