artiq_master without real hardware

jfernand

Hi,
I thought there migth be a "simulation" mode, or maybe a "no-hardware" mode, which I could use to follow the tutorials or part of them, leaving the real equipment free for real use in the lab.
In https://m-labs.hk/artiq/manual/getting_started_mgmt.html#getting-started-with-the-management-system I read

The manipulations described in this tutorial can be carried out using a single computer, without any special hardware.

Of course, the manual wants me to choose a device_db.py from the examples. Looking up the examples, I have seen a no_hardware folder, its device_db.py carries no core_addr = "192.168.x.y" line (it has no simulated led device either), but when I try to start artiq_master with it, I get a BrokenPipeError: [WinError 232]
Running with -v -v I get
2020-06-11 16:24:18,801 DEBUG:master:asyncio:Using proactor: IocpProactor 2020-06-11 16:24:18,817 DEBUG:master:artiq.master.rid_counter:Using last RID from cache 2020-06-11 16:24:18,817 DEBUG:master:artiq.master.rid_counter:Next RID is 0 2020-06-11 16:24:18,817 DEBUG:master:artiq.master.experiments:processing file C:\Users\Javier\ARTIQ\Javier\artiq-master\repository mgmt_tutorial.py 2020-06-11 16:24:18,839 ERROR:master:asyncio:Pipe accept failed pipe: <PipeHandle handle=952> Traceback (most recent call last): File "C:\Users\Javier\anaconda3\envs\artiq5\lib\asyncio\windows_events.py", line 343, in loop_accept_pipe f = self._proactor.accept_pipe(pipe) File "C:\Users\Javier\anaconda3\envs\artiq5\lib\asyncio\windows_events.py", line 520, in accept_pipe connected = ov.ConnectNamedPipe(pipe.fileno()) BrokenPipeError: [WinError 232]

I have also found a couple of questions in the Forum, but one is too advanced for me (I don't understand the code shown as reply)
https://forum.m-labs.hk/d/81-dummy-coredevice-for-software-testing
and other is not exactly what I want, I think
https://forum.m-labs.hk/d/77-dummy-device-for-hardware-independent-experiment/

Is there a "simulation mode"? Is it documented somewhere? Where can I find an appropriate device_db.py? Would it be possible to simulate even the TTL and led tutorials, or just the management system tutorial?

Thanks in advance

Kaifeng

You don't need to do anything special to use the "simulation mode". All you need to do is to disconnect the hardware and run your code as usual. The only issue is that all the @kernel functions will give you an error message so just do not write any function with that.

You can use any device_db.py in the examples. ARTIQ is robust enough to work even when it fails to find the hardware.

lriesebos

Ran into this thread by coincidence, and quite late I see. Anyway, we have developed a simulation platform for ARTIQ that can run ARTIQ code without the need of core devices. We have simulated drivers for most common devices and we use this platform to test/debug code before running it on actual hardware. Simulation output is dumped in a VCD file. See https://gitlab.com/duke-artiq/dax .

jfernand

lriesebos Thanks! I asked a question in the other thread.