Foreword

The xTCA for Instrumentation special session is devoted to development of instrumentation applied in High Energy Physics (HEP). The instrumentation used in HEP requires real-time data processing and transmission of huge amounts of data. Moreover, the developed hardware should be characterised with high reliability, availability and serviceability. Therefore, modern standards like MTCA, ATCA or AMC are under development to fulfil rough requirements of HEP systems. The standards derive profits from high-speed serial interfaces like PCIe, Gb Ethernet, Serial Rapid IO. Implementation of Intelligent Platform Management Controllers (IPMC, MMC, IRMC) is required to enhance the reliability of the hardware. The xTCA subgroup of PICMG standardisation committee was formed to simplify application of MTCA and ATCA hardware in HEP applications.