FPGA Communication Framework

FPGA-CF is an open-source, portable, extensible communications package that consists of a small hardware core (less than 600 slices) and and a host-software library/API. It enables a host PC to transmit data at 120 Mb/s to Xilinx-based FPGA boards via Ethernet using standard internet protocols. The hardware core is directly connected to the Xilinx internal configuration port (ICAP) and supports all ICAP functionality. The core also provides an extensible user-channel interface and provides up to 15, 8-bit user-data channels. The host software API supports both Java and C++ and provides high-level functionality for making connections and transmitting data. The utility of the system is demonstrated by implementing an on-chip test/debug system.