Position Modification Tutorial

MISINT / CDFDB Test Database tutorial 1 : Position Modification -- NEW FOOL-PROOF Instructions

Version 2.3, John Yoh, 1/24/2001
(Recent Update) This form has been substantially modified by Norman Ho and Rick Tesarek. It should be more intuitive. To change to a different rack, you must finish your current changes, put the cursor in the rack box, and click on query to clear it--then type in another rack and click query or press return.

SOME PRELIMINARIES & DEFINITIONS

You SHOULD use Netscape 4.5+ or IE 5.5+ on NT workstations. Some of the steps below may not work properly in other platform/browser combinations (especially Linux/GNOME Fermilab release--although KDE is okay). Latest Netscape (6?) can be downloaded from www.netscape.com, though it might take several hours (so do it overnight).
While you can (and should) test the following instructions using the test db with the generic account: cdf_test and password: run2, you need an account/password AND access priveledges to do a Pos-Mod on the production db (see the main CMD web page for instruction)

THE WINDOW DISPLAY

You should use the "Module Maintenance Forms"--which will allow you to switch between the 6 forms without having to log in again.

Once you selected the "Position Modification" form, the Pos-mod window will show up. It consist of 4 areas. The top part contains a bunch of buttons, Forward/Backward/..., Query, Clear, Commit, and Exit buttons. The second part has a box with the Rack Name and Location. The next (Crate) part lists all the crates in the current rack. The last (Slot) part shows the slots in the selected crate. The very bottom gives a status line--if it displays "Enter a query,....", then you are in Query mode (see below).

MODES OF OPERATION

There are several modes of operations. THE MAJOR problems that people seem to have trouble with are trying to do operations in the wrong mode--or how to terminate a partially done operation. The 3 modes are :

QUERY MODE --indicated by the presence of a "Enter a query; ..." line at the bottom of the window. In this mode, you can type-in/select a rack and, after clicking on the "Query" button or pressing Enter, have the information of this rack displayed in the Crate and Slot window--after which the form is in Data mode. Type in the rack name exactly, or use the ? button to select the rack (very slow !!!). You can also use the wildcard (%) to query a number of racks (e.g., %RR15%). If you use the wildcard and it returns more than one rack record, use the forward/backward buttons (|<<, <, >, >>|) at the top to flip through the records until you find the rack you want. To go back to query mode, put the cursor on the rack name box, click on clear, then Query buttons. You can then select another rack.
DATA MODE -- no displayed message in the bottom of the window. The rack info is displayed, with the crate display showing the slots in crate 1. At this point, you can click on the crate display to select a different crate (e.g. crate 2). You can enter modules into postions, move module positions, etc in this mode.
IN PROGRESS MODE --You MUST clear an incorrect entry before you can do another entry. For example, if you try to type in a module and it's not in the db, or some other error, you MUST clear that entry by clicking on the "clear" button before going on to something else.
Before going to a different crate, or a different rack, you must commit all the changes made by clicking on the commit button; after that, you can select a different crate, or revert to the query mode to select a different rack

The problem is how to legitimately get into one of the two modes, and how to handle problems.

Position Modification Tutorials

INSERTING A NEW (NON-POSITION) MODULE INTO A POSITION

Once in Data mode with a Rack selected, you can enter a new module that is not yet in a "Position" in the db into any slot position on one of the crates in the rack. If the module is already in a "Position", go to the next section. (Note : Crates should only be installed by Fred Lewis, or someone authorized by him).

If you haven't done so already, type in the name of the rack you want to modify in the Rack Name field (or select from a list by clicking on the ? next to it) and hit return or press the "Query" button.
The slots in CRATE 1 (top crate) are displayed in the Slot window. If you need to go to a different crate (e..g., CRATE 2, which is the bottom crate in a 2-crate rack), just click on the "crate 2" line in the crate section of the window. The slots display should shift to crate 2.
Entering a unit into a slot is simple.
1. If you have the PREP number, just click on the appropriate slot (you may need to use the scroll bar), and type in the PREP number, press "Enter". If the unit is in the db and accessible by cdf (and you have the access priveledges), the rest of the line should fill in--you have just performed an insertion (note that you may need to click on the commit button after all your moves to have the record actually updated).
2. If you don't have the PREP number, you must type in both the module type and the serial number. You can use the wildcard % for the module type, such as %ADMEM, %TDC%, etc, as long as it is unique.
3. However, you may get an error message if the module "does not exist in the db" or "is not accessible by cdf". Write down those module's serial number or PREP number, and report all inaccessible module that you think should be accessible to lmyers@fnal.gov. To do something else, you must first click on the "clear" button while the cursor is still on the bad entry.
4. By default, the time is the actual time of database access. If you have actually physically move the modules eariler, you may want to change the time by backspacing and typing over. This "correct time-stamp" must be done during datataking, especially if you are entering the info into the db after several hours, during which a new run may have started.
When you have inserted all the modules you want to insert in a rack, you can click on the "Commit" button on the upper window, then exit or go the a different crate, rack, etc. Make sure that the information line at the bottom of the window shows a line saying that xx records or transactions have been updated (not needed if you use move).

MOVING A MODULE CURRENTLY IN A POSITION

Doing a module move from an existing position is more complicated. You have to start with the rack that the module is currently in, go to the slot that contains your module, then click on the "M" button to its right.

You will get a new third window on top of (and obscuring) the other two windows. You need to enter the new location or position.
If you are pulling out a modules to be fixed, move it to "New Location" B0 and put the activity to "broken spare". Do not put in a new slot position
If you are moving a module to a new location, type-in/select the rack, crate, and slot. For the crate and slot, wildcards can be used. For example, for "crate 2", use %2, for "slotA 11", use "%A 11" --the space is important.
Change the time to the actual time of moving during datataking periods.
When done, click on commit on this third window, then exit.

In this "Move" Window, you can also click on the "Service Request" button to initiate an ESR (Equipment Service Request; click to see tutorial 3 on how to fill out the Request).

GOTCHA'S TO AVOID

RECOVERING FROM ERROR OR PARTIAL ENTRY --You must clear the entry when error occurs or you change your mind midway through an entry (e.g., module type entered, but serial number not yet entered). For example, if you try to insert a new module into a position, and the module is not accessible (whether not in db or in db but not accessible by cdf), you have to clear that item before you can do anything else --using the "clear" button.

Preliminaries to doing a real move in the Production db

Make sure that the units you want to move are accessible. use the Report (CMD web page-->production-->Database report-->misweb), type in the module type on the 2nd line ("CDF Modules"), and get a list of all available modules accessible by the CMD. Note that some PREP units may not have been assigned to CDF, and thus may not be accessible.
Make sure that you have the privileges to make a position modification-- again, use the Report and enter your account name on the first line ("CDF User Access") to find out what your privileges are--ask me, John Yoh, to give you the needed privileges. For a unduplicated list of all available module types in CMD, type in "johny" as the user name.
Good luck.

If you have any problems, contact John Yoh, x4774, or send email to johny@fnal.gov