RE: [partial-reconfig] Board Survey...

["Umar Mushtaq" <misfit_05@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi...

Thanks Javier, Mohammed and Kehuai for your replies...

As I was expecting, it came down to the Memec Virtex-II 1000 MB vs. the
Celoxica 203 Virtex-II 3000... 

Its good to know that the pin arrangement on the Celoxica 203 don't
hinder the RTR flow... however it isn't exactly the basic board I'm
looking for... It appears the Celoxica 200 had a Virtex-II 1000, which
would've made the comparison with the Memec board fairer, but 
they've apparently discontinued the board...

I had high hopes with the Memec one being the right choice, but I went
through Jens Thorvinger's thesis, and he writes:

"In the thesis a Virtex-II System Development Board, by Memec Design,
was used. The external interface of the FPGA is hereby quite fixed and
the
components surrounding the FPGA are those to be used. There exists eight
switches whom can be used as inputs and a two figure LED-display to use
as
output. This limits the static module to be a full interface to the
internal bus
macro, but externally just communicate with switches and LEDs. In the
static
module the testing algorithms has to be created and the result to be
displayed
at the LEDs"

There's a footnote here:

"The LEDs and switches are all connected to the upper row of external
pins of the FPGA.
Makes it necessary to limit the number of reconfigurable modules in the
thesis to three, placed
to the very right, since the static module must physically cover all the
pins used externally.
If the pins used would be placed at the left row of pins only, the
maximum number of seven
reconfigurable modules could be used"

The footnote seems to suggest that the external pins are placed at the
top edge, so if there were too many reconfigurable modules at the right
end of the FPGA, their tops would monopolize the pins, leaving very few
pins for the static module... also, if the external pins were all placed
on the left edge of the FPGA, then they could all be accessed by the
static module (which is on the left end of the FPGA), leaving the rest
of the FPGA free for the reconfigurable modules...

However, I couldn't quite understand what he meant about the static
module being limited to communicating with the outside world through the
LEDs and switches... 

I've written to Memec a couple of times, but haven't recieved a reply
yet... maybe I should write to Jens instead? And drop Celoxica a mail
over the possibility of ordering the 200 board...

Looking forward to hearing more from all of you...

Sincerely,
Umar
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