Install directions¶

Build EPICS base¶

Warning

Make sure the disk partition hosting ~/epics is not larger than 2 TB. See tech talk and Diamond Data Storage document.

$ mkdir ~/epics-sim
$ cd epics-sim

Download EPICS base latest release, i.e. 7.0.3.1., from https://github.com/epics-base/epics-base:

$ git clone https://github.com/epics-base/epics-base.git
$ cd epics-base
$ git submodule init
$ git submodule update
$ make distclean (do this in case there was an OS update)
$ make -sj

Warning

if you get a configure/os/CONFIG.rhel9-x86_64.Common: No such file or directory error issue this in your csh termimal: $ setenv EPICS_HOST_ARCH linux-x86_64

Build a minimal synApps¶

To build a minimal synApp:

$ cd ~/epics-sim

Download in ~/epics assemble_synApps.sh

Edit the assemble_synApps.sh script to include only:

$modules{'ASYN'} = 'R4-44-2';
$modules{'AUTOSAVE'} = 'R5-11';
$modules{'BUSY'} = 'R1-7-4';
$modules{'XXX'} = 'R6-3';

You can comment out all of the other modules (ALLENBRADLEY, ALIVE, etc.)

Run:

$ cd ~/epics-sim
$ ./assemble_synApps.sh --dir=synApps --base=/home/beams/FAST/epics-sim/epics-base

This will create a synApps/support directory:
```
$ cd synApps/support/
```

Clone the simepics module into synApps/support:

$ git clone https://github.com/decarlof/simepics.git

Edit configure/RELEASE add this line to the end:
```
SIMEPICS=$(SUPPORT)/simepics
```

Verify that synApps/support/simepics/configure/RELEASE:

EPICS_BASE=/home/beams/FAST/epics-sim/epics-base
SUPPORT=/home/beams/FAST/epics-sim/synApps/support

are set to the correct EPICS_BASE and SUPPORT directories and that:

AUTOSAVE
ASYN
BUSY
XXX

point to the version installed.

Run the following commands:

$ cd ~/epics-sim/synApps/support/
$ make release
$ make -sj

To run the simApp EPICS IOC server:

$ cd ~/epics-sim/synApps/support/simepics/iocBoot/iocSimEpics
$ ./start_medm
$ ./start_IOC

Build the python server¶

To build the simEpics python server you need to have Conda installed.

Next, create a dedicated conda environment for simEpics by running:

(base) $ conda create --name simepics python=3.9

then:

(base) $ conda activate simepics

and install the required python packages:

(simepics) $ pip install pvapy
(simepics) $ pip install pyepics

Finally you can build simEpics with:

(simepics) $ cd ~/epics-sim/synApps/support/simpics/
(simepics) $ pip install .

To run the python server:

(simepics) $ cd ~/epics-sim/synApps/support/simpics/iocBoot/iocSimEpics
(simepics) $ python -i start_simepics.py