Hardware prototyping through programmable gate arrays

Abstract

A method of prototyping large computer systems with FPGA's has been developed. The computer system being modelled is assumed to be composed of a number of large gate-array chips and ram chips interconnected to form a complete system. Each gate-array chip in the prototype hardware system is modeled by a printed circuit card containing a number of FPGA's. The cards are then interconnected by individual wired connections. The main advantage of the prototype hardware is that currently available FPGA parts are used and that the entire design of the computer system is contained either in the soft wiring of the FPGA's, the wiring on the cards or the pluggable interconnections between the cards. Methods have been developed so that each element of the prototype can be changed rapidy, following changes in the design. Considerable attention has also been given to verifying the logical and physical correctness of the prototype model.