  An extensible power supply control and monitoring system has been developed
at Fermilab's Technical Division as a result of requirements to control and
monior power supplies of various types from within many different applications.
This system, deployed as a network service, provides uniform programming and
user interfaces for various types of power supplies, ranging from 20A to 30kA.
It allows for a concurrent multi-user access, with at most one application
granted controlling capabilities at a time. Users can control and monitor the
state of a power supply as well as monitor generated current by: a) sending
separate requests to the service via provided C/C+ and Java APIs, b) uploading
current control programs written in a specialized ramp profile description
language to be interpreted by the system, c) scripting using a provided set of
programs, and d) using supplied GUIs. In addition, special programs are
available to monitor and log all control requests being sent to the service and
to provide traces of current. Also, a graphical simulator is provided to
facilitate testing of ramp profiles developed by the user.
