Management of Equipment Databases at CERN for the Atlas Experiment

Abstract

The ATLAS experiment is about to finish its installation phase, entering into operation on the summer of 2008. This installation has represented an enormous challenge in terms of developing, setting up, and administrating the Equipment Databases, due to the large complexity of the detector, its associated services, and the necessary infrastructure. All major equipment is registered prior to installation including its electronic description and interconnectivity. This information is stored in Oracle databases. 3D visualization tools, user interfaces for portable devices, and generic retrieval/updating mechanisms have been developed in order to carry out the management of the sub-detectors databases. The full traceability of all installed equipment is crucial from ATLAS organizational point of view, and it is also a requirement by the French authorities to fulfill the INB (Installation Nucleaire de Base) protocol.