Developments on the SCADA of CERN Accelerators Vacuum

During the first 3 years of LHC operation, the priority for the SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) of vacuum controls was to attend to user requests, and to improve its ergonomics and efficiency: access & presentation of information simplified and normalized; coherent functionalities & menus across all accelerators; automatic scripts instead of fastidious manual actions; enhanced tools for data analysis and for maintenance interventions. Several decades of cumulative developments, based on heterogeneous technologies and architectures, have been asking for a homogenization effort. The first LHC Long Shutdown (LS1) provides the opportunity to further standardize the vacuum controls systems [1], around Siemens-S7 PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) and PVSS SCADA. Meanwhile, exchanges with other Groups at CERN and outside Institutes have been promoted: to follow the global update policy for software libraries; to discuss philosophies and development details; and to accomplish common products. Furthermore, while preserving the current functionalities, a convergence towards the CERN UNICOS framework is under preparation.