EPICS in practice at LCLS

At LCLS, EPICS plays a central role in our controls architecture. IOCs are used to interface directly or indirectly with almost all experimental hardware supporting our heterogenous requirements. EPICS network protocols are used for making devices available over network, data acquistion, and security and safety of devices. These ultimately enable a rich environment of controls tools built around standardized communication protocols like Channel Access and pvAccess, such as alarm systems, software interlocks, and data analysis. This poster/oral presentation will detail how EPICS is used at LCLS and the tools built around or on top of it with specific examples and applications used on a day-to-day basis to accomplish basic and advanced needs of a complex controls system. This includes tools developed at LCLS or SLAC specifically to fulfill general needs that other users may be able to take advantage of. I will also talk about specific IOCs and Channel Access based tools I have made or worked on, and describe what EPICS currently does well along with its limitations.