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Re: [f-cpu] Use of VCI for F-CPU core



hi !

Michael Riepe wrote:
> On Thu, Jan 17, 2002 at 10:43:44PM +0100, Yann Guidon [systeme] wrote:
> > The VCI interface protocol is defined by the VSI Alliance (vsi.org).
> > I am investigating whether it can be used in the frame
> > of F-CPU. Why not Wishbone ? Could be, but VCI
> > is very simple and does not define a bus or whatever, just the interface.
> > Exactly what is needed to define a core, without caring for the fine prints
> > of the reference manuals.  I like VCI to the same point i dislike PCI.
> 
> It has its quirks, though. An asynchronous VAL/ACK cycle seems to be
> pretty unreliable -- you never know whether the ACK arrives in time --,
> while synchronous handshakes are slow (2 cycles per cell).

VCI (any version) is fully synchronous. It is clearly specified in the
documentation. As to whether it is slow, just consider that F-CPU is
meant to run at a higher frequency than usual circuits. This can also
involve crossing a clock domain. Although the minimum latency is 1 cycle, just consider
that the addressed circuits will probably require much more cycles before
they give an answer. This is where it becomes interesting (or awful
depending on how you see it). While in "Peripheral VCI" (a VCI subset for dumb I/O
for example) this is a limit, "Basic VCI" and "Advanced VCI" provide
4 bits for Transaction ID (a TID from 0 to 15) so the answers can come back
in order or not, after a variable number of cycles. In a way, VCI's design
makes the FC0's design easier, or if you prefer, it removes some burdens.

I think i'll start with designing an interface that looks like VCI
(but without the name, hehe ;-D, so people are not too disturbed).
I'll then add the "VCI interface" (connector) and people can replace it
with their own interface instead. If the desired interface does not exist
(for example you want to plug an AMBA bus to the FC0 but there is no such
connector ready), then you can use existing "wrappers" (ie a VCI/AMBA).
At ASIME we write such bridges and that's pretty easy.

>  Michael "Tired" Riepe <Michael.Riepe@stud.uni-hannover.de>
WHYGEE
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