Common tools for large experiment controls: A common approach for deployment, maintenance, and support

The four major LHC experiments have agreed to a common supervisory controls approach under the auspices of the Joint Controls Project (JCOP). This approach is based on a commercial SCADA product called PVSS. Apart from that, several other sub-projects of JCOP address common aspects of the experiments' Detector Controls Systems (DCS). Within JCOP a number of packages are being developed for the experiments. One of these is the so-called JCOP Framework which is a package of tools and devices to facilitate the implementation of the various control systems for the sub-detectors and their electronics. This framework went through a redesign to take into account user feedback, and now effort is being put into deployment as well as the consultancy for the users-the experiments. This is important as the detectors are being prepared for testbeams and increasingly also for the final systems. All experiments have by now built prototype controls applications and tested them in beam tests as well as part of integration tests for larger detector parts. The current state of the development and deployment of this framework and selected other JCOP sub-projects as well as the plans for the nearer and farther future, together with experience gathered during deployment, consultancy, and training are presented.