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PCI Express

I am building a data input board that will have 1000/100/10 Base Ethernet, USB 2.0, IEE 1394, SATA, and a high speed expansion connector for future use. I am using harware chips to take care of the physical and link layers of the respective protocols. Each of these chips speaks PCI-E on the back side. I will also have a raw MGT connection using a custom protocol that is connected to a larger network of computers that also speak this protocol. I want to connect all of the hardware chips to a Virtex II Pro that has 8 MGT ports. I noticed the similarity between PCI-E requirements/operation and those for the MGTs. It appears that Xilinx has a core for this, but when I try to use the core corgen says that it's only available for Virtex 4s. Any suggestions or problems that I should be on the look-out for.

---Matthew Hicks

Reply to
Matthew Hicks
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Matthew,

I suggest you have a look at Lattice a forget a while of the Xilinx solution. Lattice can offer a very nice PCIe solution in their ECP2M (low cost solution for x1 and x4), and in their LatticeSC (high end up to x8). The IP core is smaller than Xilinx', and on top more robust.

Best regards,

Luc

Reply to
lb.edc

In my opinion, Alteaa's StratixII GX is better. VII Pro is too old and low performance and FX has too many bugges. Lattice's product has good difinition. But Lattice's FPGAs are not used widly, and Lattice's experience on FPGA is too poor and their software is also very poor. So I think Altera SIIGX is better. ??????: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Reply to
PLD Hacker

As long as the PCIe core is compliant, it's not a matter of better or worse. The range of products that Lattice can offer is broader than Altera's, so I assume that OP will find something that fits his needs.

Regards, Luc

Reply to
lb.edc

Problem is that one of our partners on the project is Xilinx, so I think we may be locked-in to a Xilinx based solution if it involves an FPGA. It will also save a good deal of money for us to use a Xilinx part. But, I did look at the Altera part and they seem to have a better high-speed serial solution and by default a more fleshed-out PCI Express IP core.

---Matthew Hicks

Reply to
Matthew Hicks

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