Upgrade of the ATLAS Central Trigger for LHC Run-2

The increased energy and luminosity of the LHC in the run-2 data taking period requires a more selective trigger menu in order to satisfy the physics goals of ATLAS. Therefore the electronics of the central trigger system is upgraded to allow for a larger variety and more sophisticated trigger criteria. In addition, the software controlling the central trigger processor (CTP) has been redesigned to allow the CTP to accommodate three freely configurable and separately operating sets of sub detectors, each independently using the almost full functionality of the trigger hardware. This new approach and its operational advantages are discussed as well as the hardware upgrades.