How do I install a mock Tango Control System server?

Question

I need to install a mock Tango Distributed Control System server. Following the instructions on http://www.tango-controls.org/howtos/binary_deb I have done the following (installing on a VirtualBox client running 11.10):

• Disabled IPv6
• Ignored wifi instructions (VB client is told it is using ethernet)
• Updated /etc/hosts to reflect current IP (my network address changes occasionally, so I will update it when it does)
• Added the ppa:tango-controls/core PPA
• Following the steps for Installing Tango on a control system main server
  • Installed the mysql-server package, created a root password for the database
  • Installed the python-pytango package - the correct hostname was already filled in when I was prompted for it
  • Installed the tango-starter and tango-db packages - filled in a password here
  • Did not install libtango-java package (I am using Python)
  • Installed the omninotify package
  • Did not install tango-accesscontrol (I don't think I need this)
  • Installed the tango-test package (it seemed like a good idea)
• Did not know what to do about the following "Nevertheless, the path used by the Starter device server to find other device server process executable is not initialized. You have to do it according to how you configure your system using the Starter device property or even better using the Astor GUI."
  • Where do I go to configure this?
  • I could not find a download for Astor on http://www.esrf.eu/computing/cs/tango/tango_doc/tools_doc/astor_doc/index.html - should I be looking elsewhere?
  • The Astor page above looks a bit old. Is there maybe a newer configuration tool?
• I forged ahead anyway, following the PyTango quick tour:
  • ipython -p spock (successful)
  • PyTango.__version__ (returned '7.2.0')
  • tangotest = DeviceProxy("
  • returns sys/access_control/1 sys/database/2 sys/tg_test/1 tango/admin/mycomputer
  • tangotest = DeviceProxy("sys/tg_test/1") (no results, looks successful)
  • tangotest.ping() (returns an error requesting tango_error)
  • tango_error returns full version of the previous error:

API_CantConnectToDevice : Failed to connect to device sys/tg_test/1
The connection request was delayed.
The last connection request was done less than 1000 ms ago
For more detailed information type: tango_error

Spock  [9]: tango_error
Last tango error:
DevFailed[
DevError[
    desc = Failed to connect to device sys/tg_test/1
           The connection request was delayed.
           The last connection request was done less than 1000 ms ago
  origin = Connection::reconnect
  reason = API_CantConnectToDevice
severity = ERR]
]

Where to next?

Answer 1

1. Astor is a Java application and therefore, it is part of the libtango-java package. If you want Astor, you have to install this package.

2. Pb with sys/tg_test/1. DeviceProxy creation is a stateless action. It always succeed (except in some rare case like wrong device name syntax). The error is reported only when you access the device (what you did with "ping"). If you want to access the device sys/tg_test/1, you have to start the device server in charge of this device. In your case, it is the TangoTest device server.