Honored Contributor
Honored ContributorLet's start with question 2. If you don't want to use any additional hardware then the only interface the Nano offers (that will connect directly to a PC) is the mini USB connector. You can solder wires onto the unit but you will not be able to connect them directly to any I/O connector on your PC. They will all need some sort of additional physical layer hardware.
As the link you posted confirms, the USB connector on the Nano is reserved for the USB-Blaster circuitry. So, if you are looking to use a cable, and nothing else, the route via the on board USB-Blaster is the only option. So, to question 1 - the USB connection is the only NORMAL way into the Nano. There is no absolute answer to the transfer rate. 'JTAG-Atlantic' refers to an embedded protocol, carried over JTAG - which isn't particularly fast. A couple of other factors, primarily PC related, are going to impact how fast the protocol will actually work. Having said that, I don't think you're trying to transfer that much data. 10,000 x 16b = 160kbits. Plenty of FPGAs are configured via JTAG, many (probably all) requiring considerably more data. I have a DE2-115 in front of me. FPGA image size is over 28Mbits - about 175 times the transfer size you discuss. The FPGA takes about 3 seconds to configure via the same on board USB-Blaster circuitry as the Nano. Assume, with jtag-atlantic, you only manage to realise an interface that is 10 times slower, you will transfer your data in about 17ms.
