Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) is a large optimized stellarator (B=2.5T, V=30m³) aiming at demonstrating the reactor relevance of the optimized stellarators. In 2015 W7-X will begin its first operation phase (OP1.1) with five inertially cooled inboard limiters made of graphite. Assuming the heat loads can be spread out evenly between the limiters, 1 second discharges at 2 MW of ECRH heating power could be run in OP1.1. The expected plasma parameters will be sufficient to demonstrate the readiness of the installed diagnostics and even to run a first physics program. The diagnostics available for this first operation phase, including some special limiter diagnostics, and their capabilities are being presented. A shorter version of this contribution is due to be published in PoS at: 1^st EPS conference on Plasma Diagnostics

The first Portuguese magnetic confinement experiment, the tokamak ISTTOK, has been in operation since 1993. This tokamak device is described and the main technological features, as well as the novel techniques of its diagnostics and control and data acquisition system, are reported. A synopsis of the experimental activity is also presented.

A multi-input-multi-output controller for the plasma vertical stabilization was implemented and installed on the Joint European Torus tokamak. The system can attain a control-cycle time of approximately 30 ¿s using ×86 multi-core processors but targets 10 ¿s via Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based processing. The hardware, complying with the Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA) standard, was in-house designed and implemented to achieve the required performance and consists of: A total of 6 synchronized ATCA control boards, each one with 32 analog input channels which provide up to 192 galvanically-isolated channels, used mainly for magnetic measurements. Each board contains an FPGA, which performs digital signal processing and includes a PCI Express communications interface; An ATCA rear transition module, which comprises up to 8 galvanically-isolated analog output channels to control the fast radial field amplifier (±10 kV, ±2.5 kA). An optical link to digitally control the enhanced radial field amplifier (±12 kV, ±5 kA). Up to 8 EIA-485 digital inputs for timing and monitoring information; An ATCA processor blade with a quad-core processor, where the control algorithm is presently running, connected to the 6 ATCA control boards through the PCI Express interface. All FPGAs are interconnected by low-latency links via the ATCA full-mesh backplane, allowing all channel data to be available on each FPGA running an upcoming distributed control algorithm.