Ethernet-based slow control system for parallel configuration of FPGA-based front-end boards

The Ethernet network is a good control interface for distributed measurement systems. The de facto standard in HEP experiments is IPbus. The experiences from using IPbus resulted in the proposal of a new Ethernet-based control interface optimized for quick parallel configuration of multiple systems. The system ensures reliable delivery of control commands and responses. The adverse effects of the Ethernet round-trip latency are minimized by grouping the multiple commands in a single network packet, including the basic handshake operations like waiting with timeout until a specified condition is met. The performance may be increased by using multiple packets “in flight”. Usage of Layer 2 Ethernet frames minimizes the FPGA resource consumption. Implementation of the software part in Linux kernel space reduces dependency on specific software packages and libraries.