Data Acquisition:

The telescope electronics are based largely around the VME standard electronic architecture: a fast VME backplane and distributed computation performed by local CPUs running a real-time operating system. Each controller will be connected, using fast, fiber-optic connections to a local workstation which in turn is connected to a central high speed switch connected to the central CPU. The central CPU will perform control and quicklook functions, further data compression and integration of the distributed data. This system will operate using cyclic and multi-thread processes, adhering to POSIX standards where possible in order to maintain future systems compatibility. Secondary systems to control mount movement and high voltage generation will be inexpensive Pentium PCs running a UNIX-like operating system such as LINUX. Again, communication will be via Ethernet connection. For a telescope readout rate of $\sim$1kHz each telescope is expected to have an average data flow rate of $\sim$800kbyte/s, resulting in a 200kbyte/s rate on any VME backplane. This rate includes real Cherenkov events and spurious background hits. The VERITAS data acquisition system expects to operate well within this limiting range.