Software and firmware for controlling CMS trigger and readout hardware via gigabit Ethernet

Forthcoming hardware upgrades to the CMS experiment trigger and readout system are based upon the ATCA or μTCA bus standards, giving them the opportunity to be controlled via commodity gigabit Ethernet. These hardware upgrades supersede existing systems largely based upon the VME-bus standard, and thus a requirement has arisen to provide a new low-level control infrastructure for use by trigger and readout subsystem developers. This paper details the recent research and development into a tightly-integrated suite of software and firmware based upon the IPbus protocol that allows such Ethernet-attached hardware to be controlled in an efficient and highly-scalable manner.