Distributed monitoring system for the Master Oscillator of the FLASH accelerator

The Master Oscillator (MO) and Frequency Distribution system for the FLASH accelerator is a very complex system of a low phase noise and low phase drift signal generation and distribution devices. The MO and Distribution systems contain many diagnostic devices monitoring such properties as temperature, power levels or signal phase changes. These devices are spread along the 300 m long accelerator facility. About 200 monitoring signals must be acquired and made available for the FLASH accelerator operators. A MO Monitoring System was developed that consists of a custom designed precise data acquisition hardware and server software. The data acquired from the MO diagnostic devices are sent directly to servers that collect, save and process the information. There is a Graphic User Interface (GUI) allowing the operators of the FLASH accelerator to access and observe the data on-line. The GUI allows the operator also to set limits and warnings (e.g. too high temperature), set units or change data acquisition precision. The MO Monitoring System is designed in a modular and flexible way allowing for easy reconfiguration and system extension in case of need for more monitoring channels. This paper describes briefly the design and operation of the monitoring system.