This lecture begins with a definition of an accelerator control system, and then reviews the control system architectures that have been deployed at the larger accelerator facilities. This discussion naturally leads to identification of the major subsystems and their interfaces. We shall explore general strategies for integrating intelligent devices and signal processing subsystems based on gate arrays and programmable DSPs. The following topics will also be covered: physical packaging; timing and synchronization; local and global communication technologies; interfacing to machine protection systems; remote debugging; configuration management and source code control; and integration of commercial software tools. Several practical realizations will be presented
