A Proposal to Move from the LEP Topological to an
LHC Functional Control System Architecture

Michel Rabany
CERN /AT Division, Geneva



The knowledge increase of matter is governed by the energy increase of the particle accelerators. To address this issue, engineers and physicists have designed during the last forty years larger and larger accelerators and colliders. With the size of accelerators is growing the number of equipment signals which have to be sent and received to and from an operating centre. Simple cabling was more than sufficient to control small accelerators whereas distributed control systems were fundamental for large accelerators. CERN pioneered when distributing computers around the SPS accelerator and interconnecting them through private communication links. Networking with an emerging Token Ring was a major breakthrough for the LEP collider. While the evolution of accelerator control systems has been matching the technology progresses, industry was developing on its side very attractive generic solutions to address manufacturers' needs of automation, control and supervision. The clear advantages of industrial control solutions together with today's economic conditions lead us to consider their necessary integration. Following an analysis of the actual LEP control system, an evolution of its architecture is proposed for the control of the LHC.