ENHANCING CONTROL SYSTEM INTEGRATION ACROSS THE LIBERA PORTFOLIO

Control system integration is a critical part of particle accelerator instrumentation. Regardless of how advanced an instrument may be, it must integrate seamlessly into the facility’s control environment to provide reliable access to data, simplify operation, and support long-term maintenance.

In May 2026, Instrumentation Technologies introduced a series of improvements to the control system interfaces available across the Libera product portfolio. The latest developments focus on the two most widely used control system frameworks in accelerator facilities worldwide: EPICS and TANGO.

EPICS 7 Support

Libera instruments are now available with support for EPICS Base 7.0.9, enabling users to benefit from both the traditional Channel Access (CA) protocol and the newer PV Access (PVA) protocol.

The latest implementation introduces improved integration with EPICS archivers through support for archive events and atomic acquisition of signal components via Group PVs.

Upgraded TANGO Device Server

In parallel with the EPICS developments, the Libera TANGO Device Server has been upgraded to
TANGO 9.5.

The updated implementation introduces a number of improvements aimed at increasing flexibility,
diagnostics, and usability:

  • Support for multiple device classes within a single device server.
  • Improved device status reporting through dedicated ALARM and FAULT states.
  • Integration with the TANGO Logging Service for easier diagnostics and troubleshooting.
  • More flexible configuration and deployment options.

The upgrade also addresses a number of issues identified through customer feedback and long-term
operational experience, further improving the robustness of Libera integration within
TANGO-based control systems.

Flexible Deployment Options

To support different facility architectures, both the EPICS and TANGO adapters can be deployed either directly on the Libera instrument or on an external server.

This approach provides greater flexibility for facilities that prefer centralized management of control system interfaces, while simplifying maintenance and future software upgrades.

Continuous Development Driven by User Requirements

The latest improvements are the result of ongoing collaboration with accelerator facilities worldwide, combined with feedback gathered through testing, commissioning activities, and customer support.

Development of the Libera control system interfaces continues, with future plans including enhanced alarm handling, improved archiving support, expanded configuration options, and adoption of new capabilities provided by the latest generations of EPICS and TANGO frameworks.

Learn More

The details of these developments were recently presented by Aleš Kete, Robert Černe, and Mitja Babič at the Libera Workshop, TANGO Community Workshop, and in a paper presented at ICALEPCS 2025.

Customers interested in upgrading their installations or learning more about available control system interfaces are encouraged to contact our team at
sales@i-tech.si.