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Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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20 years ago

PCI/mPCI/cardbus device

Hello,

I plan to use my Nios2 to connect to an external chipset. I have different choices for the interface : PCI, mPCI or cardbus. Can someone tell me what interface is the easiest to implement, I mean :

- are there opencores implementation for the hardware part ? How expensive is the licence if not in opensource ?

- does uCLinux support all these bus types ?

- how many pins are used by these busses ? (generally 32 for data, but what about the other control signals ?)

Thanks for helping.

pod

2 Replies

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

    Hi pod,

    > - are there opencores implementation for the hardware part ?

    I'm not sure whay you're asking here. But PCI, mini PCI, Cardbus are basically

    all the same.

    > How expensive is the licence if not in opensource ?

    It can vary quite significantly. I've seen numbers anywhere from

    3000 to 12,000 USD ... plus or minus royalties.

    > - how many pins are used by these busses ?

    > (generally 32 for data, but what about the other control signals ?)

    For standard 32-bit PCI:

    ------------------------------

    32 - Address/Data

    4 - Command/Byte Enable

    13 - Control

    1 - Clock

    I don't know what signal addition/removal (if any) for CardBus or mini PCI.

    Although, I've been told that mini PCI is identical to 32-bit PCI WRT the

    functional signals.

    Regards,

    --Scott
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    20 years ago

    Thanks a lot, Scott, it is exactly what I wanted to hear :-)

    Regards

    pod