Validation of the Data Consolidation in Layout Database for the LHC Tunnel Cryogenics Controls Upgrade

The control system of the Large Hadron Collider cryogenics manages over 34’000 instrumentation and actuator channels. The complete information on their characteristics and parameters can be extracted from a set of views on the Layout database, to generate the specifications of the control system; from these, the code to populate PLCs (Programmable Logic Controller) and SCADA (Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition) is automatically produced, within the UNICOS framework (Unified Industrial Control System). The Layout database is, since 2003, progressively integrating and centralizing information on the whole CERN Accelerator complex. It models topographical organization (layouts) as functional positions and relationships. After three years of machine operation, many parameters have been manually adjusted in SCADA and PLCs; they now differ from their original values in the Layout database. Furthermore, to accommodate the upgrade of the UNICOS Continuous Process Control package to version 6, some data structures and values have been modified. This paper describes the methodology to update and validate the new data, and the software tools developed for that purpose.