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Blocks and Groups

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Rory Potter edited this page Sep 5, 2018 · 1 revision

The blocks & groups area of the IBEX GUI is situated to the right of the Dashboard. It displays all the blocks defined for the currently loaded instrument configuration. The blocks are arranged in groups.

Blocks

A block is, in effect, an alias for a process variable. Process variables are defined in more detail on the Process Variables page. Any process variable can be assigned to a block. Blocks are defined in more detail on the Blocks page.

Run Control Indicators

A tick mark or an X mark next to a block indicates that the block is under run control.

  • An unadorned block (i.e. no symbol next to the value of the block) means the block is not under run control.
  • An icon featuring a black check mark on a green background next to the value means the block is under run control and within its limits.
  • An icon featuring a white X on a red background next to the value means that the block is under run control and outside its limits.

Alarm State Indicators

A coloured box surrounding the block indicates that the block is in an alarm state (or, more correctly, that the underlying PV is in an alarm state).

  • No border means the block is connected and is not in an alarm state.
  • An orange border around the block value means the block is under minor alarm.
  • A red border around the block value means the block is under major alarm.
  • A purple border around the block value means the block is disconnected.

If a block is in an alarm state, you should check the Alarms View to find out why an alarm has been raised.

If a block is flagged as being disconnected, it typically means there is a problem with the device which provides the value of the block or with the IOC which controls the device:

  1. the IOC is not running.
  2. the IOC has not been correctly configured and, therefore, is not communicating correctly with the device.
  3. the device is not connected to the instrument control PC (e.g. a cable is disconnected).
  4. the device is switched off.
  5. there is a fault with the device.

The last of these possibilities is the least likely to occur. It is good practice to rule out the other possibilities before concluding that there is a fault with the device.

Groups

Blocks can be arranged in groups. This provides a convenient way to group related blocks. You can create as many groups as you need to categorise your blocks.

If you do not explicitly assign a block to a group, it will, by default, be assigned to a group called "Other".

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