FAIR (FAst Intercrate Readout) is a synchronous ECL bus system dedicat
ed to readout. It is based on a new trigger and readout hardware level
protocol and an on a new control system that ''learns'' how to setup
and control modules. The hardware protocol along with the data structu
re allow both readout and event building at the same time at the rate
of 22 ns/longword (1.44 Gbit/s) without the need of CPUs. It performs
trigger management and full pipelining by using a multilevel FIFO stru
cture. FAIR provides for a multi-crate front-end environment and uses
an embedded serial network to accomplish front-end control and setup.
The data transfer measured performances and the control system are pre
sented in some detail.