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Altera_Forum
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16 years ago

Ethernet performance using TSE in uClinux

Hi all, I am measuring ethernet performance on a NIOS II based board with an Altera TSE IP Core running uClinux, and it's been disappointing so far. I've done timing using TCP and UDP, and bar...
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Altera_Forum
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15 years ago

Benjamin, what exactly are you trying to accomplish ?

Three factors are slowing down your transfer rate: Linux, UDP/IP, and NIOS.

Do you really need Linux ? There are other options. AFAIK you even can do a TCP/IP stack in Hardware with an FPGA.. If you do need Linux, you might run Linux on one CPU and provide dedicated hardware (perhaps including a CPU) for the communication stack.

Do you really need UDP ? Other options include "naked" Ethernet, Firewire and USB3. Those provide a much smaller protocol overhead.

Do you really need NIOS. Of course NIOS is a very viable option when you want to include a CPU in an FPGA. Do you really need an FPGA ? Do you really need a "single chip" design ? There are by far faster CPUs done in real Hardware.

-Michael