FBEXPERT - An Intelligent Assistant to Diagnose FASTBUS

The complexity of the FASTBUS network at CDF makes access to expert assistance a necessity for efficient operation. A software Expert System, called FBEXPERT, is being developed to diagnose FASTBUS errors and advise users on recovery options in the interactive Data Acquisition environment. The prototype expert system, FBEXPERT, has been developed using OPS5 and applied to the diagnosis of a FASTBUS network problem. This paper introduces some basic features of the OPS5 "knowledge engineering" language, as well as mentioning other aspects pertaining to the specific implementation of VAX OPS5. The paper includes an example which shows how FBEXPERT updates its knowledge base as it proceeds to the correct solution.