The Computer Assisted Control and Data Acquisition System for the CERN PS Booster

The four-ring 800 MeV CERN PS Booster (PSB), whose running-in is scheduled for spring 1972, is to provide 1013 protons per pulse with a high phase space density. The control and data acquisition of the four PSB rings are largely independent of each other, although their operation is to be synchronized with the 50 MeV linac (which serves as an injector) and the CPS (into which the PSB beam is transferred). Many of the control and measurement tasks will be performed with the aid of a computer which is shared with the linac and the CPS. The selection of a central computer operating with the Multiprogramming Operating Executive System (MPX) was made as an optimum compromise between efficiency and economy (e.g. sharing of existing facilities). A large number of analog functions will be generated via a small digital computer, connected to the main computer. This system is discussed in detail and the application programs listed.