A comparative study of industrial and open-source SCADAs to optimize the design of control systems for the IFMIF-DONES plant

This study aims to provide a technological comparison of possible alternatives for supervision and control system implementations to support the design of the IFMIF-DONES (International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility DEMO Oriented Neutron Source) plant and its CODAC (Control, Data Access and Communication) System. A methodology to compare and assess open control frameworks such as EPICS (Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System), versus industrial solutions from different vendors, is presented. The hypothesis to be investigated is that license cost should not be taken as the primary decision factor for choosing the framework, even when considering open-source software as an alternative. The key elements addressed for each solution include reliability, scalability, load balancing, resilience, the costs associated with risks, development effort, future upgrade planning, and maintenance. To ground the analysis, this work examines the essential supervision and control requirements for the IFMIF-DONES particle accelerator, focusing specifically on the top-level services of the central CODAC system. Finally, the study presents illustrative results and provides recommendations for future design activities.