FieldSystemInterface — Overview

Description

The FieldSystemInterface is an EDD service that bridges the telescope Field System software and the EDD stack. The Field System controls the DBBC (Digital Base Band Converter) hardware and the Mark5b recorder via dedicated TCP ports. This service translates Field System commands into KATCP sensor updates visible to the EDD Master Controller, and gates VDIF recording in the VDIFPacker by writing to its POSIX message queue.

Because it needs to be reachable at all times during an observation session, it runs as a persistent service that starts automatically at provision time and restarts on failure.

Responsibilities

Connect to the DBBC hardware on its control port and expose its state as KATCP sensors
Connect to the Mark5b recorder on its control port
Forward configuration (IF/BBC frequency, attenuation) from the Field System to EDD sensors
Gate VDIFPacker recording by writing to mq_control
Provide the Master Controller with telescope and receiver state

Operational Context

Item	Value
Type	Always-running service
Upstream	Field System software (telescope control)
Downstream	EDD Master Controller, VDIFPacker (via message queue)
KATCP port	`fs_interface_port` (default 7150)
Container image	`field_system_interface`
Ansible role	`roles/field_system_interface/`
Registered with Master Controller	No (`register_as_pipeline: False`)
Launch at provision	Yes (`launch_on_deploy: True`)
Restart policy	`on-failure`