Facility monitoring system

As the SLAC FEL Beam enters its new era of LCLS-II SC beam and plans ahead for LCLS-II-HE, interest has grown in the area of facility monitoring. A system is needed for the early detection and response to adverse conditions affecting critical infrastructure. An engineered solution aims to minimize the impact on facility operations due to overheated or over humidified enclosures, low cooling water flow rates, high cooling water temperatures, and cooling water leaks. The newly deployed monitoring system uses two main hardware systems: Raritan and Beckhoff. The former consists of a suite of sensors distributed throughout an area, up to 30 meters apart, all connected to a single controller, which itself occupies only 1 rack unit. The latter utilizes a Beckhoff EK9000 Bus Coupler which allows Ethernet networks to connect to EtherCAT terminals. The EtherCAT terminals utilize 4-20mA signals which can easily reach across large areas. These signals are then communicated through software to the user in three ways. The first way relies on EPICS Process Variable Alarm Status and the Next Alarm System (NALMS). The second uses the EPICS Archiver, Grafana, and Slack Chat. The last alerting mechanism, a multi-functional LED beacon and sounder combination, has been installed to notify staff with audio and visual signals.