Fibre Channel IP Cores Enter FPGA Arena

Fibre Channel intellectual property (IP) cores have been developed for FPGAs, with the cores presently optimized for Stratix, Stratix GX, Cyclone, and Hardcopy devices. Initial offerings include three cores: a programmable 1-Gb/2-Gb Fibre Channel transport core that provides the Fibre Channel lower PHY layer and MAC layer functions and includes FIFOs and the company's Atlantic interface; a 1-Gb/2-Gb Fibre Channel transport core with Avalon interface that is SOPC Builder ready, allowing users to combine system-level components to create custom designs; and a Fibre Channel B-PORT controller core that eliminates the need for software overhead and is suitable for Fibre Channel bridging, including Fibre Channel over SONET or over Ethernet. Pricing for the 1-Gb/2-Gb Fibre Channel Transport IP core starts at $30,000 for an optimized netlist. (The cores were jointly developed with MorethanIP.) For more details, contact ALTERA CORP., San Jose, CA. (408) 544-6397.