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Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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11 years ago

Low Performance NPU with TCP/IP Stack using NIOS with Internal Memory only

Is there any application notes on implementing a low performance Network Processor Unit using the NIOS processor with only internal memory available in a Cyclone IV, EP4CGX15. There would be a need t have a TCP/IP stack a it would nee to process and generate Ethernet packets along with being able to respond to ping and ARP IP messages. Also with internal memory only available, what is the OS would be appropriate?

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

    That would be a neat trick. Two words that you've used make this difficult to impossible: TCP/IP stack and OS. In my experience, even on low-end micro-controllers, you'd be looking at several hundred KB of RAM consumption for that alone.

    I'm not stating that what you'd like to do is impossible. I'm stating it's going to be hard.

    Altera's unreleased and (sadly) un-productized DPX product might have been suitable for you....c'est la vie!

    Cheers!

    slacker