Experiences with a versatile prototyping platform for top-down hardware and software design for communication protocols

This paper discusses a new prototyping platform for effective protocol design and rapid prototype implementation. From specification to implementation all steps are supported by semi-automatic tools that just require the design specification itself plus some directives and constraints. For the hardware implementation of a prototype, a programmable core consisting of FPGAs is realized. Thus quick changes at the redesign of a system are possible. The hardware and the design software of the prototyping environment are modular and allow an easy substitution or extension of the parts of the system. A demonstration application (of a FDDI-on-SDH remote repeater) shows the functionality and effectiveness of the platform. The paper concludes with an extensive discussion of the experiences gained with the chosen top-down design approach for high-speed reprogrammable logic