ATCA carrier board with dedicated IPMI controller

The Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA) specification allows to meet the newest trends in high speed communication technologies. Furthermore, it provides manageability, availability and exceptional reliability at 99.999% level. Therefore, this architecture is perfect to use in control systems of complex projects like the Free-Electron Laser in Hamburg (FLASH) or the X-ray Free Electron Laser (X-FEL) that work with high-frequency signal processing, use high-speed communication protocols such as PCIe, Gigabit Ethernet or RocketIO and require continuous stable operation. Modular construction allows for flexible system configuration. What is worth emphasizing, in contrast to previous solutions like, VME (Versa Module Eurocard), it is possible to change the system configuration without the need for power shutdown. Hot-plug functionality is delivered by Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) system. For this reason, all ATCA units, which can be replaced in the field should have Intelligent Platform Management Controller (IPMC) that provides IPMI functionality. The paper presents the newest solution of IPMC for Carrier Board for LLRF control system of XFEL accelerator. A microcontroller dedicated for IPMI management in ATCA systems fulfills the role of IPMC in this module.