REAL-TIME UNIX IN HEP DATA-ACQUISITION

Today's experimentation in high energy physics is characterized by an increasing need for sensitivity to rare phenomena and complex physics signatures, which require the use of huge and sophisticated detectors and consequently a high performance readout and data acquisition. Mult i-level triggering, hierarchical data collection and an always increas ing amount of processing power, distributed throughout the data acquis ition layers, will impose a number of features on the software environ ment, especially the need for a high level of standardization. Real-ti me UNIX seems, today, the best solution for the platform independence, operating system interface standards and real-time features necessary for data acquisition in HEP experiments. We present the results of th e evaluation, in a realistic application environment, of a Real-Time U NIX operating system: the EP/LX real-time UNIX system.