Integrating the New Generation of Isolde Controls into a Multi-Platform Environment

The CERN ISOLDE isotope separator facility has been relocated on the PS Booster machine and commissioned in spring 1992. Since then, the Isolde equipment is controlled by Front End Computers running DOS and desktop PCs, also named consoles, running Windows 3.1 as graphical user interface. Because of the success of the powerful development tools used at Isolde on the Windows platform (Visual Basic, Excel...), the desktop architecture has been extended to access the UNIX based PS control system through an access controlled ³gateway² computer. Linked to the introduction of Windows 95 at CERN, the Console - Equipment (FEC) computer communication model has been redesigned with enhanced performances and new features. The gradual replacement of IPX/SPX by TCP/IP as client-server communication protocol created new perspectives, like equipment access from the World Wide Web or through a wireless telephone connection. This report will explain the evolution from the initial ISOLDE control system up to its integration in a multiple platform environment.