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Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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10 years ago

Access x86 memory from Nios II via PCIe interface in DE2i-150 development kit

Hi all,

I required to know is it possible to access x86(atom) processor memory(DDR3) from Nios II via PCIe interface

in DE2i-150 development kit.

Regards,

Varun

2 Replies

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    10 years ago

    There is no hardware reason why you couldn't. It is done all the time in PCs by network and storage controller cards. Getting the software to work is another matter. You will need a device driver written for the OS that is running on the Atom. Lots of supporting logic and software will be needed on the FPGA as well.

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    10 years ago

    Hi Galfonz,

    Thanks.

    - I am already having a design that communicates with x86 processor from NIOS II using the shared memory over the PCIe interface.

    - With new design my aim would be to reverse the shared memory and place it on the x86 processor DDR memory instead of FPGA SSRAM.

    - And aware of this would require some complex address translation logic to be included in the fabric.I am interested to know if someone has already achieved something similar and if it is possible to get hold of a reference design

    for this or related configuration to start with.

    Regards,

    Varun