Experience using a distributed object oriented database for a DAQ system

To configure the RD13 data acquisition system* we need many parameters which describe the various hardware and software components. Such information has been defined using an entity-relation model and stored in a commercial memory-resident database. During the last year, Itasca, an object oriented database management system (OODB), was chosen as a replacement database system. We have ported the existing databases (hw and sw configurations, run parameters etc.) to Itasca and integrated it with the run control system We believe that it is possible to use an OODB in real-time environments such as DAQ systems. In this paper, we present our experience and impression: why we wanted to change from an entity-relational approach, some useful features of Itasca, the issues we meet during this project including integration of the database into an existing distributed environment and factors which influence performance.