Data Acquisition System of the Virgo Gravitational Waves Interferometric Detector

Virgo is an experiment aiming at the detection of gravitational waves emitted by astrophysical sources. Its detector, based on a 3 km arms interferometer, is a complex setup which requires several digital control loops running up to 10 kHz, an accurate and reliable central timing system and an efficient data acquisition, all of them being distributed over 3 km. We overview here the main hardware and software components developed for the data acquisition system (DAQ) and its current architecture. Then, we briefly discuss its connections with interferometer´s controls, especially through the automation of the interferometer´s startup procedure. Then, we describe the tools used to monitor the DAQ and the performances we measured with them. Finally, are described also the tools developed for the online detector monitoring, mandatory complement of the DAQ for the commissioning of the Virgo detector.