Free PCI-bridge in VHDL for Spartan-IIE

[Torsten Lauter]

Free PCI-bridge in VHDL for Spartan-IIE

Somebody knows the implementation of
http://www.infotech.tu-chemnitz.de/~tlau/pci_bridge

Regards.
__________________________________________________________________ Torsten
Lauter ICQ#: 14492119 Current ICQ status: + More ways to contact me
__________________________________________________________________

 

[Antti Lukats]

Torsten,

what do you mean by "Free" ?
on the link there is notice

"if interested please contact using a form" - there is no reference to any
form or download location or conditions.
so what it is all about?

also the website says the ref design uses Spartan III not IIE ?

antti
www.openchip.org


"Torsten Lauter" <tlau@infotech.tu-chemnitz.de> wrote in message
news:c1d6q4$blt$1@anderson.hrz.tu-chemnitz.de...

Free PCI-bridge in VHDL for Spartan-IIE

Somebody knows the implementation of
http://www.infotech.tu-chemnitz.de/~tlau/pci_bridge

Regards.
__________________________________________________________________ Torsten
Lauter ICQ#: 14492119 Current ICQ status: + More ways to contact me
__________________________________________________________________

 

[Kevin Brace]

Hi,

Mine isn't going to be free, but . . . I am considering releasing a PCI
IP core I have been working on for quite some time, and I am trying to
gauge the demand out there for a commercial-grade PCI IP core for
personal users.
However, the PCI IP core itself probably won't be available for another
three months at the earliest (I still need to fix some minor problems,
and setup the infrastructure before the release.).
The price I am thinking of charging for my PCI IP core is only $100
(USD) as long as the licensee meets the following conditions.

* The licensee resides within the United States (Don't have to be a US
citizen.).
* The licensee Will agree that the PCI IP core will be used only for
non-commercial, non-profit, non-academic research, and personal
purposes.
* The licensee is will agree, sign, and mail back to a license agreement
form I will provide.
* The licensee will pay for the PCI IP core license through an online
payment source like PayPal.



This is what my PCI IP core looks like:

* PCI Local Bus Revision 2.2 compliant.
* Burst initiator/target access support.
* 6 Base Address Register (BAR) and Expansion ROM BAR support.
* Meets 33MHz PCI timings with Spartan-II-5 (Currently, no 66MHz PCI
support with any device due to setup time issues . . .).
* General purpose PCI testbench comes with a PCI arbiter, PCI host
bridge emulator, and PCI target device to allow the user to quickly
debug their design.
* The PCI IP core supplied in NGO netlist format (Xilinx's proprietary
netlist format.).
* Nominally supports Xilinx Virtex, Spartan-II, or newer FPGAs.
* Constraint file supplied for Spartan-II PQ208 and FG456 package,
Virtex-E XCV300E BG432 package, Insight Electronics Spartan-II 150 PCI
card, and Spartan-II 200 PCI card.
* Comes with three reference designs (Two similar target only designs
and one target/initiator design.).
* Fully supports Verilog (Reference designs and the PCI testbench are
written in Verilog.).
* Limited VHDL support (No reference designs and PCI testbench. Might do
VHDL porting of reference designs and PCI testbench someday, but I won't
guarantee that.).
* Supports ISE WebPACK 3.2 or later (The use of ISE WebPACK 5.1 or later
is strongly recommended.).
* Should work with paid version (non-WebPACK) ISE software, but hasn't
been tested.
* Free Xilinx ISE WebPACK and ModelSim XE-Starter can be used to
simulate, synthesize, place & route, and generate a bitstream file.
* Should work with non-XST synthesis tools, but hasn't been tested.


The PCI IP core will also be available for commercial licensees
in NGO netlist format or as Verilog RTL code, but they will cost
considerably more than $100 (Especially the Verilog RTL license.).
The motivation behind this $100 license is to allow hobbyists to build
their own PCI device for about $500 ($275 for Insight Electronics
Spartan-II 200 PCI card with a parallel port JTAG cable, $100 for the
PCI IP core license, $100 for a printed copy of PCI specification from
PCI-SIG, and other miscellaneous costs like shipping cost and sales
tax.) without having them to spend too much time designing their own PCI
interface.
My guess is that there are probably a few hundred people in the United
States who will rather license a PCI IP core with testbench for $100
than to do their own or use Opencores.org PCI IP core.
I believe this PCI IP core is a great learning vehicle for those who
want to learn programmable logic or Verilog, or for use in a student
project (The student can concentrate on backend logic rather than the
PCI bus.).
Let me know if anyone is interesting in this product.


Kevin Brace




Antti Lukats wrote:

Torsten,

what do you mean by "Free" ?
on the link there is notice

"if interested please contact using a form" - there is no reference to any
form or download location or conditions.
so what it is all about?

also the website says the ref design uses Spartan III not IIE ?

antti
www.openchip.org

"Torsten Lauter" <tlau@infotech.tu-chemnitz.de> wrote in message
news:c1d6q4$blt$1@anderson.hrz.tu-chemnitz.de...
Free PCI-bridge in VHDL for Spartan-IIE

Somebody knows the implementation of
http://www.infotech.tu-chemnitz.de/~tlau/pci_bridge

Regards.
__________________________________________________________________ Torsten
Lauter ICQ#: 14492119 Current ICQ status: + More ways to contact me
__________________________________________________________________

 

[Kevin Brace]

Hi,

Mine isn't going to be free, but . . . I am considering releasing a PCI
IP core I have been working on for quite some time, and I am trying to
gauge the demand out there for a commercial-grade PCI IP core for
personal users.
However, the PCI IP core itself probably won't be available for another
three months at the earliest (I still need to fix some minor problems,
and setup the infrastructure before the release.).
The price I am thinking of charging for my PCI IP core is only $100
(USD) as long as the licensee meets the following conditions.

* The licensee resides within the United States (Don't have to be a US
citizen.).
* The licensee Will agree that the PCI IP core will be used only for
non-commercial, non-profit, non-academic research, and personal
purposes.
* The licensee is will agree, sign, and mail back to a license agreement
form I will provide.
* The licensee will pay for the PCI IP core license through an online
payment source like PayPal.



This is what my PCI IP core looks like:

* PCI Local Bus Revision 2.2 compliant.
* Burst initiator/target access support.
* 6 Base Address Register (BAR) and Expansion ROM BAR support.
* Meets 33MHz PCI timings with Spartan-II-5 (Currently, no 66MHz PCI
support with any device due to setup time issues . . .).
* General purpose PCI testbench comes with a PCI arbiter, PCI host
bridge emulator, and PCI target device to allow the user to quickly
debug their design.
* The PCI IP core supplied in NGO netlist format (Xilinx's proprietary
netlist format.).
* Nominally supports Xilinx Virtex, Spartan-II, or newer FPGAs.
* Constraint file supplied for Spartan-II PQ208 and FG456 package,
Virtex-E XCV300E BG432 package, Insight Electronics Spartan-II 150 PCI
card, and Spartan-II 200 PCI card.
* Comes with three reference designs (Two similar target only designs
and one target/initiator design.).
* Fully supports Verilog (Reference designs and the PCI testbench are
written in Verilog.).
* Limited VHDL support (No reference designs and PCI testbench. Might do
VHDL porting of reference designs and PCI testbench someday, but I won't
guarantee that.).
* Supports ISE WebPACK 3.2 or later (The use of ISE WebPACK 5.1 or later
is strongly recommended.).
* Should work with paid version (non-WebPACK) ISE software, but hasn't
been tested.
* Free Xilinx ISE WebPACK and ModelSim XE-Starter can be used to
simulate, synthesize, place & route, and generate a bitstream file.
* Should work with non-XST synthesis tools, but hasn't been tested.


The PCI IP core will also be available for commercial licensees
in NGO netlist format or as Verilog RTL code, but they will cost
considerably more than $100 (Especially the Verilog RTL license.).
The motivation behind this $100 license is to allow hobbyists to build
their own PCI device for about $500 ($275 for Insight Electronics
Spartan-II 200 PCI card with a parallel port JTAG cable, $100 for the
PCI IP core license, $100 for a printed copy of PCI specification from
PCI-SIG, and other miscellaneous costs like shipping cost and sales
tax.) without having them to spend too much time designing their own PCI
interface.
My guess is that there are probably a few hundred people in the United
States who will rather license a PCI IP core with testbench for $100
than to do their own or use Opencores.org PCI IP core.
I believe this PCI IP core is a great learning vehicle for those who
want to learn programmable logic or Verilog, or for use in a student
project (The student can concentrate on backend logic rather than the
PCI bus.).
Let me know if anyone is interesting in this product.


Kevin Brace




Torsten Lauter wrote:

Free PCI-bridge in VHDL for Spartan-IIE

Somebody knows the implementation of
http://www.infotech.tu-chemnitz.de/~tlau/pci_bridge

Regards.
__________________________________________________________________ Torsten
Lauter ICQ#: 14492119 Current ICQ status: + More ways to contact me
__________________________________________________________________

 

[David Brown]

"Kevin Brace" <kev0inb1rac2e@m3ail.c4om> wrote in message
news:c1f3ac$lrc$1@newsreader.mailgate.org...

* The licensee resides within the United States (Don't have to be a US
citizen.).

How can you possibly justify this restriction? You get a chance to explain
yourself before the rants arrive, but it'd better be *very* good.

David Brown
Norway.

 

[Torsten Lauter]

Hello

You must go on the website and must fill out the form.
You get the data per email then.
I have gotten the data per email and nothing pays.

Regards

Torsten Lauter

"Antti Lukats" <antti@case2000.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:c1di1m$vqs$00$1@news.t-online.com...

Torsten,

what do you mean by "Free" ?
on the link there is notice

"if interested please contact using a form" - there is no reference to any
form or download location or conditions.
so what it is all about?

also the website says the ref design uses Spartan III not IIE ?

antti
www.openchip.org


"Torsten Lauter" <tlau@infotech.tu-chemnitz.de> wrote in message
news:c1d6q4$blt$1@anderson.hrz.tu-chemnitz.de...
Free PCI-bridge in VHDL for Spartan-IIE

Somebody knows the implementation of
http://www.infotech.tu-chemnitz.de/~tlau/pci_bridge

Regards.
__________________________________________________________________
Torsten
Lauter ICQ#: 14492119 Current ICQ status: + More ways to contact me
__________________________________________________________________

 

[Knoll]

Dear Antti,

the code is provided free of charge via email.
However, no support or design guidance is guaranteed.
Its use is at your own risk.
So, simply fill in the form and expect a brief email conversation.
( http://www.infotech.tu-chemnitz.de/~tlau/pci_bridge/kontakt.php3 )


Cheers,
Thomas
--
http://www.infotech.tu-chemnitz.de/~knoll/

"Antti Lukats" <antti@case2000.com> wrote in message news:<c1di1m$vqs$00$1@news.t-online.com>...

Torsten,

what do you mean by "Free" ?
on the link there is notice

"if interested please contact using a form" - there is no reference to any
form or download location or conditions.
so what it is all about?

also the website says the ref design uses Spartan III not IIE ?

antti
www.openchip.org

 

[Sander Vesik]

Kevin Brace <kev0inb1rac2e@m3ail.c4om> wrote:

Hi,

Mine isn't going to be free, but . . . I am considering releasing a PCI
IP core I have been working on for quite some time, and I am trying to
gauge the demand out there for a commercial-grade PCI IP core for
personal users.
However, the PCI IP core itself probably won't be available for another
three months at the earliest (I still need to fix some minor problems,
and setup the infrastructure before the release.).
The price I am thinking of charging for my PCI IP core is only $100
(USD) as long as the licensee meets the following conditions.

* The licensee resides within the United States (Don't have to be a US
citizen.).
* The licensee Will agree that the PCI IP core will be used only for
non-commercial, non-profit, non-academic research, and personal
purposes.
* The licensee is will agree, sign, and mail back to a license agreement
form I will provide.
* The licensee will pay for the PCI IP core license through an online
payment source like PayPal.

Rather heavy-handed set of restrictions, don't you think?

--
Sander

+++ Out of cheese error +++

 

[Knoll]

Hello

There is also an english version of the description and contact form
page available by now.
The title is "Free VHDL implementation of a PCI Brigde using Xilinx
Spartan-IIE FPGA" for the design description page and
"Design reuse of the free VHDL PCI Bridge Core" for the actual contact
form.

There is no direct download, but the source will be sent as
attachement during a short email exchange.

http://www.infotech.tu-chemnitz.de/~knoll/vhdl_pci_bridge/

http://www.infotech.tu-chemnitz.de/~knoll/vhdl_pci_bridge/kontakt.php

Cheers,
Thomas
--
http://www.infotech.tu-chemnitz.de/~knoll/

 

[Kevin Brace]

Sander Vesik wrote:

Rather heavy-handed set of restrictions, don't you think?

--
Sander

+++ Out of cheese error +++

That's because the licensee is paying only $100.
If the licensee is willing to pay much more than that, that person can
use my PCI IP core in a commercial project.


Kevin Brace

 

[Kevin Brace]

Hi David,

That restriction is there for legal reasons.
If what I am dealing with wasn't an IP core, there won't be such a
restriction.


Kevin Brace



David Brown wrote:

How can you possibly justify this restriction? You get a chance to explain
yourself before the rants arrive, but it'd better be *very* good.

David Brown
Norway.

 

[Marius Vollmer]

Kevin Brace <kev0inb1rac2e@m3ail.c4om> writes:

That restriction is there for legal reasons. If what I am dealing
with wasn't an IP core, there won't be such a restriction.

Now I'm curious, too. What _are_ those legal reasons, precisely?

--
GPG: D5D4E405 - 2F9B BCCC 8527 692A 04E3 331E FAF8 226A D5D4 E405

 

[Kevin Brace]

Hi Marius,

I believe it is theoretically much harder to enforce contractual
obligation like prohibition of redistribution or the requirement of
non-profit use if the licensee resides in a foreign country.


Kevin Brace




Marius Vollmer wrote:

Kevin Brace <kev0inb1rac2e@m3ail.c4om> writes:

That restriction is there for legal reasons. If what I am dealing
with wasn't an IP core, there won't be such a restriction.

Now I'm curious, too. What _are_ those legal reasons, precisely?

--
GPG: D5D4E405 - 2F9B BCCC 8527 692A 04E3 331E FAF8 226A D5D4 E405

 

[Brian Drummond]

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 15:25:02 -0600, Kevin Brace
<kev0inb1rac2e@m3ail.c4om> wrote:

Sander Vesik wrote:


Rather heavy-handed set of restrictions, don't you think?


That's because the licensee is paying only $100.
If the licensee is willing to pay much more than that, that person can
use my PCI IP core in a commercial project.

Given Sander's email address, I'm guessing he was objecting to one
restriction in particular... and it may not have been the price.
I have problems with it too... ans I'm curious - what is it there for?

- Brian

 

[Taavi Hein]

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 15:25:02 -0600, Kevin Brace <kev0inb1rac2e@m3ail.c4om>
wrote:

* The licensee Will agree that the PCI IP core will be used only for
non-commercial, non-profit, non-academic research, and personal
purposes.

I could live with that restriction.

* The licensee is will agree, sign, and mail back to a license agreement
form I will provide.

I could live with that restriction.

* The licensee will pay for the PCI IP core license through an online
payment source like PayPal.

I almost could live with that restriction as well, although would prefer
direct credit card payment, as PayPal doesn't think my country worthy
enough to be able to subscribe.

* The licensee resides within the United States (Don't have to be a US
citizen.).

That requirement I find offensive. There is life outside US as well. There
might even be developers that don't reside in US.

That's because the licensee is paying only $100.
If the licensee is willing to pay much more than that, that person can
use my PCI IP core in a commercial project.

It's not the commercial project requirement that's unreasonable, as you
can see from above.

PS. Sorry if I was too sarcastic, I couldn't help it.

--
Taavi Hein,
developer residing outside US.

 

[Roger Larsson]

Kevin Brace wrote:

My guess is that there are probably a few hundred people in the United
States who will rather license a PCI IP core with testbench for $100
than to do their own or use Opencores.org PCI IP core.

So, what is wrong with the OpenCores PCI?

http://www.opencores.org/projects.cgi/web/pci/home

Especially when you concider that you also get the
generic source, you have not indicated any price
for that...

/RogerL

--
Roger Larsson
Skellefteĺ
Sweden

 

[Sander Vesik]

Kevin Brace <kev0inb1rac2e@m3ail.c4om> wrote:

That's because the licensee is paying only $100.
If the licensee is willing to pay much more than that, that person can
use my PCI IP core in a commercial project.

Not the point. The heavy handed part is 'US only, no-research, pay
money and return printed licence'.

You know, your licenceing is way more restrictive for which I can
download the Oracle database and most of their products, and same
applies to IBM and similar. Not only are your terms unreasonable,
you aren't even really all that price competitive as far as one-shot
PCI cores go.

Kevin Brace

--
Sander

+++ Out of cheese error +++

 

[Sander Vesik]

Taavi Hein <hein@bps.co.ee> wrote:

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 15:25:02 -0600, Kevin Brace <kev0inb1rac2e@m3ail.c4om
wrote:

* The licensee Will agree that the PCI IP core will be used only for
non-commercial, non-profit, non-academic research, and personal
purposes.

I could live with that restriction.

Really? You do realise that should you prototype something in the FPGA
that works with that core (whetveer directly or now) you are effectively
forced to *ALWAYS* start over from scratch if you want to use it in
some other project? This is the sucky part about such a core - you can't
get a replacement one and continue developing in that, be cause the moment
you try you may be suddenly retroactively screwed from start (notice the
word continue).

--
Sander

+++ Out of cheese error +++

 

[Kevin Brace]

The $100 license's US residency requirement is there because if
a licensee violates the license agreement of personal use, and uses the
PCI IP core in a commercial project in a foreign country, it is probably
going to be much harder to stop that than if it happened in this
country.
The no-academic research restriction is there because I want to charge
more than $100 for research-related academic use.
If you don't like that, talk to Xilinx, because I heard that they
sometimes donate their PCI IP core to universities.
Regarding your "one-shot PCI cores" comment, no, mine will cost
$100 more than a free one, but as a product it will be identical to a
commercial version I am planning to charge much more than $100.
Plus, the licensee can receive technical support through a forum in
Yahoo! Groups I am planning to set up.


Kevin Brace



Sander Vesik wrote:

Not the point. The heavy handed part is 'US only, no-research, pay
money and return printed licence'.

You know, your licenceing is way more restrictive for which I can
download the Oracle database and most of their products, and same
applies to IBM and similar. Not only are your terms unreasonable,
you aren't even really all that price competitive as far as one-shot
PCI cores go.


--
Sander

+++ Out of cheese error +++

 

[Kevin Brace]

I am trying to run a business (Sounds better than working at a
retailer.) licensing my PCI IP core to other firms or people, so the RTL
code will cost as much as a new car.
As far as I know, that's how much IP core firms charge for a PCI IP
core.
I probably shouldn't trash Opencores.org PCI IP core here, but I believe
my PCI IP core will be easier for beginners to use than Opencores.org
PCI IP core because it is structually simpler, will be supplied in
netlist format (As opposed to having to synthesize the PCI IP core.),
and comes with a constraint file to meet setup and hold time
requirements of PCI.


Kevin Brace



Roger Larsson wrote:

Kevin Brace wrote:


So, what is wrong with the OpenCores PCI?

http://www.opencores.org/projects.cgi/web/pci/home

Especially when you concider that you also get the
generic source, you have not indicated any price
for that...

/RogerL

--
Roger Larsson
Skellefteĺ
Sweden