A universal time to digital converter (UTDC) and a digital I/O (DIO) card have been purpose-built for the new ASDEX Upgrade control system, the Thomson scattering diagnostic, a renovation of the magnetic measurements, and a couple of other diagnostics requiring renewed timing or real-time features. The principal features of these cards are presented and it is shown how synergy in hardware and software development was achieved. Examples of actual usage in diagnostics are given. Measurements of the real-time behaviour of cPCI-based diagnostics show low jitter of the Solaris operating system and highly reliable operation under moderate real-time conditions. Future applications of this family of cards are foreseen.
