Requirements for and experience with the vacuum controls during commissioning of the LEP UHV-system

The initial commissioning of the 127 sectors of the LEP vacuum system requires local control facilities. On the scale of the LEP, local control of one sector implies the supervision of vacuum equipment which may be spread over 480 metres, with pump power supplies located as far as 1700 metres from the pumps they drive. To minimize the cabling cost, all power supplies and control units are connected together via a local area network. Light pen driven consoles send messages to the equipment and display useful information for the vacuum operators. As for the control system, supervision was possible from the LEP Control Room as soon as the control system was made available at the various sites. After a brief description of the various components to be controlled, this paper will describe the particulars of the vacuum controls and report on our experience during the commissioning.